A Living Sacrifice
1 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you c to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, d holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. 2 Do not be conformed e to this age, f but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, g so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will h of God.
Many Gifts but One Body
3 For by the grace i given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. j Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith k to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body, l and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many m are one body in Christ n and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: o If prophecy, p use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; 7 if service, q use it in service; if teaching, r in teaching; 8 if exhorting, s in exhortation; giving, with generosity; t leading, u with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness. v
Christian Ethics
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. w Detest evil; x cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. y Outdo one another in showing honor. z 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; ,a serve the Lord. b 12 Rejoice in hope; c be patient in affliction; d be persistent in prayer. e 13 Share with the saints in their needs; f pursue hospitality. g 14 Bless those who persecute you; h bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; i weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. j Do not be proud; k instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. l 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. m Give careful thought to do what is honorable n in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. o 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, ,p says the Lord. 20 But
If your enemy is hungry, feed him. q
If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For in so doing
you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. ,r
21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
12:1–2. Paul signals in 12:1 that here begins a longer section in which he will draw out consequences of the gospel for everyday living. He begins with the fundamental charge that believers in Jesus Christ must consecrate their whole person (here designated as “bodies”) to God. That believers yield their entire life to God is “true worship,” the appropriate response to the mercies God extends to sinners. This total commitment is the “sacrifice” that believers offer to God, a reality in which they are alive (cf. 6:11, 13; 8:13) and holy (cf. 1:7; 11:16). They are thus acceptable to God since the stain of sin has been removed and the failure to properly worship God (1:25) has been reversed through Jesus Christ.
12:3–5. Paul’s exposition of the life of the believers and of the Christian community focuses on the church as the body of Christ (12:3–8), on love as the criterion of behavior (12:9–21), on believers’ obligation to civic authorities (13:1–7), on the fulfillment of the law (13:8–10), and on the urgency of the present time in view of Christ’s return (13:11–14).
12:6–8. Paul lists seven gifts that God in his grace has given to believers and with which they serve other believers. They are prophecy (spontaneous revelations received from God for the benefit of the believers; cf. 1 Co 14:29–33), serving, teaching, encouraging, sharing, leading, and acts of mercy. Since there is overlap between the gifts, Paul does not describe a clearly defined set of ministries. This is confirmed by the diversity of the list of spiritual gifts in 1 Co 12:8–10, 28–30; 13:1–3, 8; 14:6, 26. Paul’s point is that believers should respond to the promptings of God’s grace in active participation in the fellowship of Christians, serving with humble and openhearted commitment to one another while maintaining the unity of the faith.
12:9–13. Paul clarifies that the diversity of believers and their ministries can constitute one body only if their lives are controlled by love (12:9a; cf. 1 Co 13). The gifts of the Spirit are functions of the body, while love determines how the members of the body function. Love is the commitment, esteem, and affection believers have for each other as a result of having been saved by God’s love (Rm 5:5, 8; 8:39) and Christ’s love (Rm 8:35). Since all good gifts can be manipulated and devastated by human beings, Paul emphasizes that the love God has poured into our hearts (5:5) must be kept genuine, protected from evil, and focused on what is good, as an expression of commitment, affection, and esteem for the other believers (12:9b–10).
12:14–21. Paul expands beyond the internal relationships of believers within the congregation to include the relationship with their secular contemporaries. The criterion of love applies not only to believers’ behavior in the church but also to their behavior in general. If they are discriminated against and persecuted, the proper response is to bless (12:14), not to engage in payback or to take actions that are evil (12:17, 19). Since Gentile Christians have no official permission to meet regularly, Paul advises that Christians avoid trouble. These exhortations are not simply tactical, however. They are themes of OT and Jewish tradition (Ex 23:4–5; Pr 20:22) and, more specifically, the application of Jesus’s teaching (cf. Mt 5:44; Lk 6:27–28; for 12:18 cf. Mk 9:50; Mt 5:9).