Surrendering the Body
Romans 12:1 "I beseech (beg) you therefore, brethren (brothers and sisters in Christ) to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (logical) service."
Continue reading through the end of the chapter.
Exodus 20:1-17 Relates to us the commandments which God gave Moses. While many see this as a list of Do's and Don'ts, even in the church sector, this is the law of love which is fulfilled in Christ. We are the body of Christ and this law of love should be evident in us.
Colossians 3:1-25 Instructing the Christian how to surrender their body to a life of love.
The Old Testament is the old covenant. Animal sacrifices are no longer needed to atone for one's sins. Cutting yourself is not necessary to release your internal pain. Chopping off a person's hands for stealing; cutting off a person's foot for trespassing and removing a person's eye for lusting are under the law. The law has been fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Like the purple mantle placed on His shoulders to mock him, the sins of the world were placed on His back through the whipping He got from the soldiers. His body took the punishment for our sins. His blood, which spilled upon the ground, at the foot of the cross, paid the debt for our unrighteousness.
The New Testament is the new covenant. Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the only begotten Son of God. He surrendered His will to His Father's will in the mount of Olives when He prayed. Matthew 26:26-44 After telling His disciples to pray that they would not give into temptation while He was away from them, He went into the garden and prayed: not one, but twice: V.39 "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as You will." and V.42 "O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." Mark 14:26 "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what You will." Luke 22:42 "Saying, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will but Thine, be done."
The new covenant is through Jesus Christ. While all other covenants foreshadowed this event, they are now past, for Jesus Christ lived for us, died for us and rose from the grave for us. He became the sacrificial lamb that was required at Passover. He is the firstborn of His Father. His blood is on our hands. It is only when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the only begotten Son of God, that He is the Messiah; then is our salvation through Him applied to the thresh-hold of our homes, of our lives.
He is our example of surrendering not only our will (our desire, our 'want to'), but our lives. And our life is lived in our body. We only get one. And it is how we choose to live here that determines not only our destination after death, but our reward. Colossians 3:24, 25 "Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ. But he that does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done: and there is no respect of persons." Regardless of your status in life, we all will receive a reward, whether for good or bad choices.
The key word in Colossians 3:1 is 'IF'. IF you are risen in Christ...." Here Paul is speaking to the Christians in Colossus. But we know that the Word of God goes on forever and so the Word is applicable to us also. Are you risen in Christ? Have you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior? Have you repented of your sins and surrendered your mind, your emotions and your will to Him? If you have made these decisions, he is speaking to you. And he is speaking to me. And because I know that the Word of God is to be applied to me personally, I can read it like this (and so can you):
Colossians 3
v1. Because I am risen in Christ, I seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.
v2. I set my affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
v3. For I am dead, and my life is hid with Christ in God.
v4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.
v5. I submit my body to clean living. I choose not to engage in fornication; not to participate in unclean (corrupt, dishonorable, inhealthful) actions; irrational or unrestrained affections; not to give in to sexual desires or lusts; and not to covet anyone or anything, as such would be idolatry.
v6. By choosing to live an unclean life, a life of disobedience to God, His wrath would be my reward.
v7. Once I walked that life, and lived in unrighteousness.
v8. But now I also put off of me verbal abuse and ignorance: anger (being or getting: mad, annoyed, furious, exasperated, indignant, violent); malice (meanness, vindictiveness, bitterness, hostility, spite, venom), blasphemy (abuse, cussing, cursing, swearing, profanity); filthy communication (obscenities, offensive, repulsive, impure, sleazy).
v9. We do not lie to each other; for we have put off the old person that we were before we knew Christ;
v10. And have put on the new person we are in Christ, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created us.
v11. We are no longer defined by our ethnicity, our circumcision (baptism, initiation, rite of passage, status changes), our geography (where we live) or class (free or slave); for Christ is all, and in all.
v12. I put on therefore, as the elect of God, Who is holy and beloved, bowels of mercies (in the Bible it is the bowels that contain the emotions of a person, not the heart), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
v13. Forbearing one another (exhibit self-control), and forgiving one another, if I have a quarrel with anyone: even as Christ forgave me, so I forgive you.
v14. And above all these things, I put on charity (advocacy, benevolence, encouragement, guidance), which is the bond of perfectness.
v15. We, you and I, let the peace of God rule in our hearts, for we are called to be one body, and be thankful.
v16. I am to let the Word of Christ live in me richly in all wisdom; teaching (demonstrating, nurturing, training) and admonishing (exhorting, forewarning, reprimanding) each other in psalms (poetry in all its forms which praises God) and hymns (sing the praises of God) and spiritual (devotional) songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord.
v17. And, whatever we do in word or deed (action), we do all of it in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, and the Father by Him.
v18. As the wife, we submit ourselves to our own husband, as it is fit in the Lord.
v19. As the husband, you love your wife, and are not bitter against them;
v20. As the children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
v21. As the father, do not provoke your children to anger, for they will be discouraged (intimidated, confused, depressed, distressed, troubled, scared).
v22. As the servant, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, how we see you behave; but with singleness of heart, fearing God:
v23. And whatsoever I do, I do with all my heart, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
v24. Knowing that of the Lord I shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for I serve the Lord Christ.
v25. But he that does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done: and there is no respect of persons.
My body is Christ's body. And as such, by His example when He prayed, I surrender my body a living sacrifice. For it is the only logical thing that I can do for Him. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. The "I" in me dies daily, when I disciple my mind and my heart and my emotions to surrender to His will.
See also, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17; Romans 13:9-14; 1 Corinthians 13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 2 Corinthians 10:3-7 and 13:11. Philippians 2:1-16 and full circle back again to the Book of Colossians, which is where we started. But don't stop there; the whole New Testament enriches our souls with God's Word on how to live a life that is pleasing to God.
Surrender Dictionary and Surrender Thesaurus.
Song:
I surrender my vessel to You, to You
As an offering, I lay it down, it's Yours;
As You gave to this world, Your only Son,
I surrender my vessel to You.
I surrender my family to You, to You,
As an offering I lay them down, they're Yours;
As You gave to this world Your only Son,
I surrender my family to You.
Romans 12:1 "I beseech (beg) you therefore, brethren (brothers and sisters in Christ) to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable (logical) service."
Continue reading through the end of the chapter.
Exodus 20:1-17 Relates to us the commandments which God gave Moses. While many see this as a list of Do's and Don'ts, even in the church sector, this is the law of love which is fulfilled in Christ. We are the body of Christ and this law of love should be evident in us.
Colossians 3:1-25 Instructing the Christian how to surrender their body to a life of love.
The Old Testament is the old covenant. Animal sacrifices are no longer needed to atone for one's sins. Cutting yourself is not necessary to release your internal pain. Chopping off a person's hands for stealing; cutting off a person's foot for trespassing and removing a person's eye for lusting are under the law. The law has been fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Like the purple mantle placed on His shoulders to mock him, the sins of the world were placed on His back through the whipping He got from the soldiers. His body took the punishment for our sins. His blood, which spilled upon the ground, at the foot of the cross, paid the debt for our unrighteousness.
The New Testament is the new covenant. Jesus Christ is Lord. He is the only begotten Son of God. He surrendered His will to His Father's will in the mount of Olives when He prayed. Matthew 26:26-44 After telling His disciples to pray that they would not give into temptation while He was away from them, He went into the garden and prayed: not one, but twice: V.39 "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as You will." and V.42 "O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." Mark 14:26 "Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what You will." Luke 22:42 "Saying, Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will but Thine, be done."
The new covenant is through Jesus Christ. While all other covenants foreshadowed this event, they are now past, for Jesus Christ lived for us, died for us and rose from the grave for us. He became the sacrificial lamb that was required at Passover. He is the firstborn of His Father. His blood is on our hands. It is only when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the only begotten Son of God, that He is the Messiah; then is our salvation through Him applied to the thresh-hold of our homes, of our lives.
He is our example of surrendering not only our will (our desire, our 'want to'), but our lives. And our life is lived in our body. We only get one. And it is how we choose to live here that determines not only our destination after death, but our reward. Colossians 3:24, 25 "Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ. But he that does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done: and there is no respect of persons." Regardless of your status in life, we all will receive a reward, whether for good or bad choices.
The key word in Colossians 3:1 is 'IF'. IF you are risen in Christ...." Here Paul is speaking to the Christians in Colossus. But we know that the Word of God goes on forever and so the Word is applicable to us also. Are you risen in Christ? Have you accepted Him as your Lord and Savior? Have you repented of your sins and surrendered your mind, your emotions and your will to Him? If you have made these decisions, he is speaking to you. And he is speaking to me. And because I know that the Word of God is to be applied to me personally, I can read it like this (and so can you):
Colossians 3
v1. Because I am risen in Christ, I seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.
v2. I set my affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
v3. For I am dead, and my life is hid with Christ in God.
v4. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.
v5. I submit my body to clean living. I choose not to engage in fornication; not to participate in unclean (corrupt, dishonorable, inhealthful) actions; irrational or unrestrained affections; not to give in to sexual desires or lusts; and not to covet anyone or anything, as such would be idolatry.
v6. By choosing to live an unclean life, a life of disobedience to God, His wrath would be my reward.
v7. Once I walked that life, and lived in unrighteousness.
v8. But now I also put off of me verbal abuse and ignorance: anger (being or getting: mad, annoyed, furious, exasperated, indignant, violent); malice (meanness, vindictiveness, bitterness, hostility, spite, venom), blasphemy (abuse, cussing, cursing, swearing, profanity); filthy communication (obscenities, offensive, repulsive, impure, sleazy).
v9. We do not lie to each other; for we have put off the old person that we were before we knew Christ;
v10. And have put on the new person we are in Christ, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created us.
v11. We are no longer defined by our ethnicity, our circumcision (baptism, initiation, rite of passage, status changes), our geography (where we live) or class (free or slave); for Christ is all, and in all.
v12. I put on therefore, as the elect of God, Who is holy and beloved, bowels of mercies (in the Bible it is the bowels that contain the emotions of a person, not the heart), kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
v13. Forbearing one another (exhibit self-control), and forgiving one another, if I have a quarrel with anyone: even as Christ forgave me, so I forgive you.
v14. And above all these things, I put on charity (advocacy, benevolence, encouragement, guidance), which is the bond of perfectness.
v15. We, you and I, let the peace of God rule in our hearts, for we are called to be one body, and be thankful.
v16. I am to let the Word of Christ live in me richly in all wisdom; teaching (demonstrating, nurturing, training) and admonishing (exhorting, forewarning, reprimanding) each other in psalms (poetry in all its forms which praises God) and hymns (sing the praises of God) and spiritual (devotional) songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord.
v17. And, whatever we do in word or deed (action), we do all of it in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, and the Father by Him.
v18. As the wife, we submit ourselves to our own husband, as it is fit in the Lord.
v19. As the husband, you love your wife, and are not bitter against them;
v20. As the children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
v21. As the father, do not provoke your children to anger, for they will be discouraged (intimidated, confused, depressed, distressed, troubled, scared).
v22. As the servant, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, how we see you behave; but with singleness of heart, fearing God:
v23. And whatsoever I do, I do with all my heart, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
v24. Knowing that of the Lord I shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for I serve the Lord Christ.
v25. But he that does wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done: and there is no respect of persons.
My body is Christ's body. And as such, by His example when He prayed, I surrender my body a living sacrifice. For it is the only logical thing that I can do for Him. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. The "I" in me dies daily, when I disciple my mind and my heart and my emotions to surrender to His will.
See also, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17; Romans 13:9-14; 1 Corinthians 13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 2 Corinthians 10:3-7 and 13:11. Philippians 2:1-16 and full circle back again to the Book of Colossians, which is where we started. But don't stop there; the whole New Testament enriches our souls with God's Word on how to live a life that is pleasing to God.
Surrender Dictionary and Surrender Thesaurus.
Song:
I surrender my vessel to You, to You
As an offering, I lay it down, it's Yours;
As You gave to this world, Your only Son,
I surrender my vessel to You.
I surrender my family to You, to You,
As an offering I lay them down, they're Yours;
As You gave to this world Your only Son,
I surrender my family to You.
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