In today's Epistle Romans 12:1-8, the apostle Paul wrestles with one of the deepest challenges facing every human life. That challenge is living our lives in obedience and surrendered to the will of God. God's sure reward for the surrendered human life is the believer's passing over from slavery to sin into the freedom of God's love, through the indwelling Christ of Faith. Living this Paschal Mystery involves seeking, worshipping and serving the Christ of Faith, God's image and likeness, in the spiritual body of the historical Jesus, one's self and all persons (Genesis 1:26-27).
Throughout his earthly ministry as Messiah, the historical Jesus sought, surrendered to, worshipped and served the Godhead, through the indwelling and incarnate Christ of Faith, in his spiritual body. Jesus presented his spirit, soul, mind and body, as a holistic living sacrifice to the Godhead. Jesus lived his life in full surrender and obedience to the indwelling and incarnate Godhead. As the Son of Man, Jesus declared that he came not to do his will, but the will of Godhead, who sent him (John 5:19, 30).
Paul declares that presenting our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto the Godhead is also the believers reasonable service. Being living sacrifices also involves the believers' spirits, souls, minds, bodies and relationships. The Bible declares that in Christ-centered, Holy Spirit-based faith, believers in all traditions, religions, cultures and ethnic groups can be acceptable living sacrifices to God, by following the historical Jesus in living the Paschal Mystery.
True worship and living sacrifices to the Godhead are centered in the secret place, within every human heart. The holistic approach to living sacrifice in the Gospel of Christ, which Jesus taught and modeled, is Christ-centered and Holy Spirit based. Jesus declared in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship must worship God in spirit and in truth ".
Christ-centered, obedient, spiritually awake human souls, hearts and minds are the essential inner transformation and regeneration needed to create effective witnessing paschal (passing over) faith communities, throughout our planet. These transformed believers repent by turning from and casting out the mind of the flesh. They instead by faith, embrace and are transformed in and through the mind of the spirit (Romans 8:1-11). Like the historical Jesus, they proclaim and manifest the indwelling Godhead's love, through faith in the presence, love, grace and truth of the indwelling and incarnate Christ of Faith, God's image and likeness, in the spiritual body of the historical Jesus and all persons (John 1:9-14) .
Effective witnessing paschal faith communities follow the historical Jesus in living the Paschal Mystery. By faith, with God's help, these believers are passing over from life in the mind of the flesh into the new and glorified life with the indwelling Godhead, in the mind of the spirit. They are no longer self-centered. They do not exalt themselves, in the conceit, hypocrisy and empty boastfulness of the mind of the flesh. Through Christ-centered spiritual mindedness they are being born of the spirit and born from above. These heavenly minded, humble and sober believers can be found in all traditions, religions, cultures, ethnic and secular groups throughout our planet (Romans 12:3).
In Romans 12:4-6 the apostle Paul compares surrendered, effective, witnessing paschal faith communities to the human body. First he declares that unity in these spiritually awake witnessing communities is established in the indwelling Godhead, through the Christ of Faith. Each member has a different offices and different, supernatural, spiritual gifts. Like the different members of the human body, these offices and spiritual gifts of the Godhead's grace are given to members, for the edification and building up of the universal body of Christ-centered believers, throughout our planet.
In Romans 12:7-8, Paul discusses some of the duties and supernatural, spiritual gifts, God has established within paschal witnessing faith communities. They include prophesy, teaching, ministering, giving, exhortation, leadership and mercy. In surrender to the mind of the spirit, believers minister and share these supernatural spiritual gifts with wisdom, diligence, cheerfulness, brotherly love and sincerity.
Are you in obedience, surrendering your life to the will of God? Have you chosen to be involved in a witnessing paschal faith community within your religion? Have you discovered the supernatural spiritual gifts God has given you? Are you learning to use those gifts to edify and build up the universal body of Christ, not just within your local community, but also throughout our planet?
