The Holy Spirit: Romans 12:1

Rom 12:1

I skipped the end of Romans 8 and all of chapters 9 and 11, even though they are entirely relevant to the subject at hand. But I covered that material extensively not too long ago in a series called “Election,” and so I’m not going to delve into it here.

Now, one of the puzzles we struggled with in considering chapter 8 was just what it is that the Spirit is supposed to do for or in the Christian. For example, what does it mean to be “led” by the Spirit? What is the nature of the Spirit’s testimony regarding our salvation? I think chapter 12 says quite a lot on the subject.

(Rom 12:1 ESV) I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

“Living sacrifice” is an obvious parallel to Jesus’ own sacrifice. A good parallel is —

(Eph 5:2 ESV) 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

To be a living sacrifice is to die to others, and that translates into love in action, preferring the good of others to your own.

(Rom 6:13 ESV) 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

“Instruments of righteousness” means you offer yourself to God to be used by him to accomplish his righteous purposes. This is sacrifice: to lay your life on the altar and let God do with it as he pleases. It’s his.

“Spiritual worship” is an intriguing phrase, because both words are ambiguous in the Greek. “Worship” could mean “service.” Indeed, the word most commonly used of Christian worship could just as well be translated “worship,” with the result that translations often disagree over the correct meaning. The KJV says “reasonable service.” The NIV says “spiritual act of worship.” The NAS says “spiritual service of worship.”

“Spiritual” translates logikos, meaning logical, reasonable, or even sincere. There’s no direct reference to the Spirit. Rather, the thought may be more like: “Given what we considered in the earlier chapters, your logical response is one of service as a living sacrifice.”

Most translations say “spiritual” service, but this is not at all Paul’s usual word for “spiritual.” There’s an interesting discussion of the question by men more learned in Greek than I at the ibiblio forum. You see, logikos refers to the logical part of man, the “spirit” in Greek thought. But it’s not “spiritual” in the sense of the Spirit or the spirit realm. It’s “spiritual” in the sense of referring of our most essential and pure selves — having to do with the human spirit.

Thus, logikos refers to the utterness or completeness of the required sacrifice. It must come from our deepest, truest selves, and so some commenters refer back to the Shema —

(Deu 6:4-6 ESV) 4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.  5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.”

Of course, the very same thought is found in —

(Deu 10:12-16 ESV)  12 “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?  14 Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.  15 Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.  16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.”

You see, to “circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn” is to “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” Both call for you to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” and both require your heart to be right.

This passage therefore isn’t much about worship as we think of worship — except that it’s all about worship — because worship is the offering of oneself utterly to God. Except it’s not the way we normally do it. I mean, ask the typical church member why he attended the “worship service” this week, and you’ll likely get answer along the lines of —

* Because God commanded it and I want to obey.

* Because I get so much out of it! I need to have my spiritual batteries recharged!

* I learn so much from the preacher!

* To see my friends.

Not many of us would say: to offer myself as a living sacrifice to God. That’s not how we think. Indeed, as Western consumerists, we think mainly in terms of what’s in it for us. Or as legalists we think in terms of avoiding punishment. We just don’t think in terms of sacrifice.

Well, yes, if a preacher were to preach this sermon, we’d be pleased with fine lesson, but we still wouldn’t change. The culture is deeply embedded in who we are and what our churches are. We do not go to church to be called to greater and deeper commitment. We go because the classes are good for the kids — or something like that.

Paul, however, thinks that true worship is all about self-sacrifice. But wait! Maybe Paul meant “service” and not worship! Maybe this isn’t a worship passage at all!? Well, let’s see how the word is actually used.

In the Septuagint, the word latreia is found in —

(Exo 12:24-27 ESV) 24 You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever.  25 And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service.  26 And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’  27 you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.'” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped.

“Rite,” “sacrifice,” and “service”=latreia are used as virtual synonyms and all refer to the Passover — on which the Lord’s Supper is based. Compare Exo 13:5.

Then there’s —

(Jos 22:26-27 ESV)  26 Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice,  27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the LORD in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the LORD.”‘

Here latreia is a reference to worship in the tabernacle. 1 Chr 28:13 uses the word to refer to the temple service.

Much later, Jesus warns the disciples,

(John 16:2 ESV)  2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.

Was the killing of a Christ-follower an act of worship to a Jew?

(Rom 9:4 ESV)  4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

In Rom 9:4, Paul seems to use “service” to refer to the worship in the temple — not private worship. Just so, Hebrews uses the word to refer to the temple service —

(Heb 9:1-6 ESV) Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.  2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.  3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place,  4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.  5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.  6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties,

And so latreia seems to focus on worship, especially ritualized worship, such as at the temple or the Passover celebration, but may be used ironically. Thus, when Jesus says that people will think they offer “service” by killing you, he means they’ll think this is the highest form of worship, comparable to the priestly service in the temple.

Thus, when Paul encourages us to a logikos worship/service, he’s saying that the highest form of worship is not some ritual like the Passover or the temple ritual — both which involve animal sacrifice! — but to instead offer a human sacrifice in response to God’s own human sacrifice — yourselves! Now, Paul says, that’s real worship. Nothing else is good enough.

(Luk 9:23-24 ESV)  23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”