Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, gave a command—not just to the Roman Christians as of then, but also to us; to present our bodies to God as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). In today's teaching, we will learn how to become a living sacrifice.
The same instruction was also given to the Believers at Corinth—further affirming to us how important it is.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 KJVWhat? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? [20] For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
It is needful to stress that, becoming a living sacrifice to God doesn't end at us presenting our bodies to God. It goes way beyond that. We will look into it as much as possible in this article.
Why Become A Living Sacrifice
Why is so much emphasis laid on us becoming a living sacrifice to God?
Man is a spirit being who is having an experience of living in a physical world. To be able to live comfortably and interact with the physical realm, man needs a body—a substance from the physical world.
Among these three: the spirit, soul and body, the human body tends to be the lowest. Made from clay (and not from a spiritual substance), the human body is always drawn to earthly things.
Being carnal (instead of spiritual), the body finds it difficult to submit to and obey God. The human body turns out to be a barrier to man serving God effectively.
The body wrestles with the Holy Spirit for the place of supremacy over the human being.
Galatians 5:17 NIVFor the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
If the body is given the opportunity, it would wreck the whole man and take him to hell.
Therefore, something has to be done to this rebellious body. We cannot let it steer us away from the path of God, or make us live in disobedience to God.
The best way to handle the nuisance of the rebellious flesh, so that we are able to live wholly for God, is to present it as a living sacrifice to God.
Presenting our body as a living sacrifice to God isn't us losing our freedom. There is more to gain than to lose by this single act.
There is liberty in Christ. But if our body is not given to God, it can cause us to abuse this liberty that we have in Christ.
Prepare To Become A Living Sacrifice
Presenting our bodies to God as a living sacrifice is not an option, it is a command. Walking with God demands sacrifices from us also.
God does not exist just to meet our needs while we do nothing. There are instructions and guidelines for Christian living. Necessity is laid upon us to obey and live by them.
When the flesh is overly pampered, it becomes a serious problem to our relationship with the Lord.
The human body does not love spiritual things, it prefers carnality. In Galatians 5:19-21, we've been given a long list of what the flesh can do if given the chance:
Galatians 5:19-21 KJVNow the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these ; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, [20] Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, [21] Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Have you noticed that flesh is always weak when it comes to spiritual things, but full of strength when it comes to carnal things? The flesh has to be disciplined. It must not be allowed to continue doing whatever it wants.
1. An Act Of Love
If we truly love God, and we understand the consequences of allowing the flesh to rule over us, then we would willingly lay it down on God's alter.
Presenting our bodies to God as a living sacrifice is an expression of our love for God.
Some of us are fond of asking God for what we can do for Him. He doesn't want our money. He says, "lay your body as a living sacrifice on My alter, so that you can walk with Me in complete innocence and purity."
If we finally discovered one thing we could do for God, we should be willing to do it, right?
And we are further told in Romans 12:1 that presenting our body to God as a living sacrifice, is our spiritual worship. If we love God, we would worship Him. Obedience is the highest form of worship.
2. Just Lay It Down
Presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to God is about letting the Holy Spirit rule over the flesh and its sinful desires. This is a deliberate decision and action that we must live up to daily.
When this is done, the body will come under the rulership of the Holy Spirit, and will cease from its striving to make us disobey God.
Romans 8:13 NIVFor if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
How To Become A Living Sacrifice
As I earlier said, becoming a living sacrifice to God stretches beyond submitting the body to God.
It encapsulates submitting the body, soul and spirit to God. Our self-will as well, has to be submitted to God, in order to get replaced with His will. But the major problem lies with the body, that is why greater emphasis is laid on it.
When the body is submitted to God, the soul and spirit of man will always follow suit.
Matthew 22:37 NIVJesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
Benefits Of Being A Living Sacrifice
- A living sacrifice is totally submitted to God and is obedient to Him in all ramifications.
- A living sacrifice is lost in Christ, and have no life of their own. They live through Christ and for Christ (Galatians 2:20).
- A living sacrifice is God's vessel of honour on earth—one whom God works through to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13, 2 Timothy 2:21).
- Those who have laid down their lives as a living sacrifice on God's alter, are those who live and walk by the Spirit.
- When the flesh is submitted to God, the Holy Spirit rules completely over the entire human being. This brings spiritual sensitivity. Those who are in this place do not have a hard time hearing God's voice.
- A living sacrifice is a spiritual person. Carnality had been laid down, together with the flesh.
- A living sacrifice is able to see the world and life through the eyes of God.
- A living sacrifice becomes a spiritual router, connecting heaven and earth, and downloading the mind of God to the inhabitants of the earth.
- A living sacrifice becomes a conduit of God's Power.
Final Thoughts On Becoming A Living Sacrifice
We can go on and on concerning how to become a living sacrifice. Revelation into God's word is endless. We cannot exhaust it all in a blog post.
Becoming a living sacrifice to God should be the desire and pursuit of every child of God, as it brings out the best in us.
We don't become our best spiritually by attending theological schools and being part of worship services here and there. It is by submitting to God completely.
There is no substitute for total submission to God. Our religious activities cannot replace submission to God.
Having studied and understood the message in this article, I hope that someone reading this will start making deliberate efforts towards becoming a living sacrifice unto God.
Remain blessed!
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