Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Romans 12:1

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service." — Romans 12:1 (ASV)

“Therefore” establishes a connection with the entire foregoing presentation in this letter. It particularly relates to 6:13, 19, as a comparison of the terminology will show. The apostle begins by urging his readers instead of simply instructing them (“urge” lies between commanding and beseeching). “Mercy” (GK 3880) denotes that quality in God that moved him to deliver sinners from their state of sin and misery and therefore underlies his saving activity in Christ. It serves here as the leverage for the appeal that follows. Whereas the heathen are prone to sacrifice in order to obtain mercy, biblical faith teaches that the divine mercy provides the basis for a life of sacrifice as the fitting response. Since the milieu of thought is so similar to ch. 6, it is natural to conclude that “bodies” (GK 3393) here include both the person (the volition of the one making the dedication) and the bodily powers that are thus set apart for God’s use. In Greek thought the body was considered the receptacle containing the soul, but this was not the Hebraic concept, which viewed the human being as a unit. Thus Paul is not urging the dedication of the body as an entity distinct from the inner self; rather, he views the body as the vehicle that implements the desires and choices of the redeemed spirit. Through the body we serve God.

The words “offer” and “sacrifices” are cultic terms (cf. 15:16). Before a priest in Israel could minister on behalf of others, he had to present himself in a consecrated state and the sacrifices he offered were to be without blemish (Malachi 1:8–13). “Holy” (GK 41) is a reminder of that necessity for the Christian, not in terms of rite or ritual but as renouncing the sins of the old life and being committed to a life of obedience to the divine will (cf. 6:19). The body is not evil in itself; if it were, God would not ask that it be offered to him. As an instrument, it is capable of expressing either sin or righteousness. If we do the latter, then we give an offering “pleasing to God.” The word “living” may glance by way of contrast to the animal sacrifices of the OT, which, when offered, no longer possessed life. But it is also a reminder that spiritual life, received from God in the new birth, is the presupposition of a sacrifice acceptable to him. Christian sacrifice has in view a total life of service to God. In Israel the whole burnt offering ascended to God and could never be reclaimed. It belonged to God.

Next, the living sacrifice is equated with “spiritual worship.” While the exact sense is difficult to determine, the main idea is that the sacrifice we render to God is intelligent and deliberate, in contrast to the sacrifices of the Jewish worship in which the animals had no part in determining what was to be done with them. “Worship” (GK 3301) is perhaps too narrow a translation, for in the strict sense worship is adoration of God, which does not fit well with the concept of “bodies.” The term “service” (KJV) has an advantage, since it covers the entire range of a Christian’s life and activity (cf. Dt 10:12). Serving God is the proper sequel to worship.