Scripture References: 2 Corinthians 5:14-20

From last lesson: Because of the redeeming mercy of God in Jesus Christ, we are now free to “present [offer] our bodies a living sacrifice” to God. What did Paul mean by this claim of the gospel?

He wants to show how we should implement the righteousness of God in Christian living. He does not define right conduct here as conformity with a moral code or as a virtue that we must cultivate through a discipline of self-improvement. It is the harvest of the gospel and of the Spirit of God in the believer. Paul therefore sums it all up in the fundamental calling: “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice . . . to God—this is your true and proper worship” (NIV).

Real worship of God is personal self-dedication to God to seek His will in our lives to serve God and to bless others. He mentions first our “bodies” to indicate that we are our “bodies,” that we express our inner self in our bodily conduct. God is not primarily interested on our external gifts or sacrifices but in ourselves! The Jewish religion required to sacrifice animals on the altar of the temple. This kind of worship has been fulfilled and superseded by the infinite self-sacrifice of the Son of God. The Christian has therefore now a “spiritual worship,” a “true and proper worship,” “which is your reasonable service,” that consists in a total devotion to God and in the constant seeking of His will, so that he can live a life that is “holy” or set apart for God, and that is “pleasing and acceptable to God.”

This goes more into the demand for personal responsibility for our choices in life than just following externally the Ten Commandments. Paul explains this, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2).

Now he mentions the human “mind” and says that our mind must be “transformed by the renewing!” The renewal begins in our minds. That means in our thinking, in our philosophy of life which needs to be changed by Christ, as part of our spiritual “transformation.” From a self-centered way of thinking we begin to think Christ-centered! That is a radical change of thinking that gives us the norm to “prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Compare to 1 Thessalonians 5:19–21).

In the light of verse 2 Paul in essence presents our responsibility: “do not allow yourselves to think and to act as the world does.” This world is still in the grip of evil, but the Christian must rise above the pattern of this evil age, because he no longer belongs to it. We are heirs of the coming age, the age of renewal and resurrection. It is by the power of the age to come, that is, by the power of the Spirit of Christ, that we can resist the tendency to live on the level of this age. Paul emphasizes: “Be transformed.” What exactly does that mean?

The only other place where Paul speaks of this Christian “metamorphosis” is 2 Corinthians 3:18, which is a helpful commentary on Romans 12:2:

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (Emphasis mine).

This is the way of the sanctified life that pleases God. It reflects something of the glorious character of God’s love and mercy to others. In Romans 8:29 Paul explains that we are “predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV © 2011 by Biblica, Inc.
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