RIGHT THINKING - 1

WBS.288

RIGHT THINKING - 1

Romans 12:1  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of IAUE, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto IAUE, which is your reasonable service.

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of IAUE.

A dear friend of mine many years ago told me that when you see “therefore” in the Scriptures, you have to go see what it is “there for.”  Romans 12 begins with, “I beseech you therefore.”  This means that what Paul was about to say was predicated on what he had just said.  Romans 11 explains the mystery of the gospel…IAUE’s brilliant plan of reuniting both the lost house of Israel and the House of Judah into one body acceptable and in covenant with Him; and that we who have been grafted in to the new covenant (which includes the Gentiles and the lost ten tribes of Israel) should be living in such a way that the mercy of IAUE expressed through our lives would woo the House of Judah to their Messiah. “Therefore,” unto that end, we should present our bodies as a living sacrifice to IAUE; and we should be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

Let’s first examine this “reasonable service,” of presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to IAUE.  Right thinking begins with understanding why this is a reasonable service…something we should be expected to do.

First, ask yourself, “What is a sacrifice?”  Throughout the Scriptures it refers primarily to the offering of the life of an animal in exchange for something, or as an expression of worship.  It is something that once sacrificed is no longer yours to take back and to do with as you please.  The life of it has been rendered unto IAUE.  We are to offer our bodies as a “living” sacrifice; which means, our sacrifice does not result in the death of that which is presented to IAUE; but it DOES mean that our use of it is no longer ours to do with as we please. It has been given to IAUE as a free will offering.  We relinquish our rights to our body as fully as we would as if it were a corpse.  We are dead to our own life and alive unto IAUE.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Messiah constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

These verses explain the justness of the exchange made in our sacrifice.  Messiah died for us that we might live; so in living, it is reasonable to live for him who died to make our life possible.  This is right thinking; but it is not the only reason, however, that this is a reasonable request.

James 2:26  For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Man is comprised of spirit, soul and body. As James clearly states above, the life of our physical bodies is sustained by our spirit.  When our spirit leaves our body, our body no longer is alive.  We call this “giving up the ghost,” today. When man exhales his last breath and his spirit departs, his body becomes a corpse.  It is the spirit of man that animates his physical body.  

When we are born into this world, our spirit is in darkness, alienated from the life and light of IAUE.  This is our heritage from Adam who transgressed the Law of IAUE and condemned all of his descendants to sin and death. We have no truth in the core of our being directing us to know IAUE and to do His will.  Our lives are orchestrated (manipulated) by what we can see, taste, hear, smell and feel of the natural world around us.  It was for this reason that it was necessary that one be born into this world apart from the seed of man to be qualified to deliver us out of darkness; because light could never be the heritage passed down to an offspring from a parent who was born in darkness.

When Yahushua died and rose again, he removed the sin issue between IAUE and man by paying in full the penalty/price our sin required.  When we trust in Yahushua by faith, and bow our knee to him as our master, we are “born again.”

John 1:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Yahushua by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from Elohim: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except Elohim be with him.

3 Yahushua answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of Elohim.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5 Yahushua answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Elohim.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

When we are “born again,” the spirit that animated our bodies from birth is dismissed.  We are given a new spirit…a new life that is uniquely ours and is created in light and in union with IAUE.  Paul says if anyone is in Messiah, he is a “new creature.”  We become something in an instant that did not exist before the moment of our new birth.

David prophesied of this.

Psalm 102:18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise IAUE.

Now, here is where it begins to get really exciting; and forms the foundation of right thinking in this matter of the reasonableness of our offering our bodies as a living sacrifice to IAUE.

Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Messiah, seek those things which are above, where Messiah sitteth on the right hand of IAUE.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Messiah in IAUE.

Here, Paul explains something extraordinary.  First, he declares that Messiah Yahushua is sitting on the right hand of IAUE.  We know this from many other Scriptures in the New Testament…that he ascended before his disciples in Acts 1, and was received by the cloud and taken to sit at the right hand of the majesty on high.  That is where our Master is, physically, right now, and where he has been for nearly 2,000 years.  Notice, however, that he goes on to say that we are dead; and that our life is hidden with Messiah (who is sitting at the right hand of IAUE in heaven) in IAUE.  The newly created spirit which would be what should be animating our fleshly body, isn’t actually in our physical bodies. It is hidden with Messiah right now in the throne room of IAUE.  So, what is animating our bodies?  How is it that we are still alive if our new born spirit is not in our body?

Colossians 3:4  When Messiah, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Paul says that it is Messiah who is our life.  He explains this in more detail to the Galatians.

Galatians 2:20  I am crucified with Messiah: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Messiah liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of IAUE, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

The apostle acknowledges that he died with Messiah and that despite his union with his death (see Romans 6), his body is still alive; but it isn’t HIM that is living in his body, now; it is Messiah who lives in him.  It is the spirit of Yahushua Messiah that is animating his fleshly body.  His newly created spirit is not what is animating his body.  That spirit is in the throne room of IAUE hidden in Messiah.  

If we can grasp the reality that when we came to Messiah and first trusted in Him, and united with him in his death and resurrection, that the spirit of Yahushua himself took the place of the spirit of darkness that had formerly animated our body from birth unto that moment, we must understand that we are alive solely because his spirit lives in us.  The master who walked the shores of Galilee and preached the truth to the masses, who healed the sick and who cast out demons, resides in our mortal bodies. He is the life force within us that keeps us alive, today.  He has the opportunity to live out that amazing life of righteousness and power through every single one of us if we just get out of his way.  It is reasonable that we would let him do it.  How do we do that?  We do it by offering him our bodies as a living sacrifice.  We are dead to our bodies; allowing him to live his life in us and through us, using our bodies as he would as if it was his own body.  This, if you have not figured it out by this point, is why the Scriptures refer to us as “the body of Messiah.”  We literally are.

Getting out of his way is the big problem; and that goes straight to our need for right thinking; and that is what the second verse in our opening passage of Scripture is all about.  We will look into that in our next post.