Title: Spiritual Worship (Romans 12:1-5)
Content 'Spiritual worship' means 'reasonable service', not a mysterious, magical, and ambiguous act as commonly thought. Linguistically, the word 'spiritual' comes from the Greek word 'logikos' (λοικ), which is derived from 'reasonable', 'logical' and 'to make sense', and is used as the word 'reasonable' in English. The word 'worship' is the Greek word for 'proskunein' (προσκυνειν), which is a universal term that is closest to the meaning of 'worship' and expresses the meaning of 'to bow down' or 'to pay homage'. It is understood. The other is the Greek term λατρευω (λατρευω), which means “to serve” with a slightly different meaning.
‘Spiritual worship’ refers to the reasonable service life of the members, and it refers to the sacrifice of all their personalities. That is why Paul exhorts us to “present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God” (12:1). So, let's take a closer look at what rational service, that is, 'spiritual worship' means.
First: to discern according to the will of God. (12:2)
'Spiritual worship' means to receive a change of heart in this generation that wants to live according to human desires, to know what is good in God's sight, what God is pleased with, and what God considers completely acceptable. say to live Then, we face the problem of what to do in order to live a rational life like the one above.
The conflict of human beings is that they try to live by fulfilling their own desires, but that does not happen. This means that all things must be done according to the will of God. That is why Paul is admonishing us to change our hearts and live the beautiful life that God wants, not to live to fulfill our desires like the people of this world. The problem is that every believer wants to live according to God's will, but that doesn't happen. Then, how can we live according to God's will? To live according to God's will, we must first know God's will. To know God's will, we must understand the 'Bible' that summarizes God's will. Therefore, 'spiritual worship', that is, a rational service life, means living by thoroughly learning the word of truth (2 Timothy 3:13-17) and interpreting personal interests centering on God's sovereignty, power, and plan.
Second: To think according to the measure of faith. (12:3)
Third: to serve according to the gifts of the members. (12:4-5)
‘Spiritual worship’ refers to the members of the church who are members of Christ who live their lives diligently fulfilling their assigned duties according to the gifts God has given them. In order to fully establish the body of Christ, the church (Ephesians 4:12), God has given each of us various gifts to serve, teach, authorize, give, rule, and show mercy. This is consistent with the situation whether the missions were assigned to each tribe when they liberated the Israelites from slavery in Egypt and arranged their ranks in the wilderness (Numbers 3:-4:). Similarly, in the New Testament church, each member is given the office according to the gift in order to form and strengthen it as one body.
‘Spiritual worship’, that is, a reasonable life of service, refers to the discovery of the gifts God has given to each and the faithful performance of their duties. However, the important thing in taking on an office is not that you are unconditionally loyal because you have received the office, but that you learn the secret of self-sufficiency to the extent that God’s will is discerned, and that the sense of duty that is moved by God’s grace is activated to the extent that you are full of self-sufficient faith. It is to serve with a voluntary passion. Paul testifies that he was moved by the love of God, who was faithful to him, who was the chief of sinners, so that he willingly endured service and sacrifice for the body of the Lord, whether eating, starving, living or dying (1 Timothy). 1:12-15). In this way, it is not burdensome to become a member of the Lord and carry out the mission entrusted to you, but it is more enjoyable and joyful the more you do it.
'Spiritual worship', that is, a rational service life, begins with discovering the glory of God through the Word of God. Man's duty is to fear God (Ecclesiastes 12:13), and it is essential to know God, the object of worship, in order to have a spiritual worship that fears God. Since all the lives of the saints are manifested to the extent that they realize the power and love of God, the object of faith, it is confirmed once again that the driving force of the saints' life is the Word.
Since 'spiritual worship', that is, a reasonable service life, is started by the efficacy of the Word movement, anyone can do it easily if they understand the Word.
Ecclesiastes 5:1 Guard your feet when you enter the house of God, for it is better to come near and hear the word than to offer the sacrifices of fools, for they do evil and do not understand it.
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