Romans 12:1-8

12:1-2 | Paul uses God’s mercies as the basis for his appeal to the believers in Rom. The core of Christian commitment to Christ – the believer’s motivation for giving him or herself wholly to God – is the mercy He has demonstrated toward His people. What God has already done for the Christian is the basis of everything the Christian does for God.

12:1 | Beseech is the Greek verb parakaleo. It consists of para (“beside”) and kaleo (“to call”) and literally means “to call to, exhort, or urge.” Parakaleo is used 54 times in Paul’s epistles, demonstrating his heart as a counselor and encourager to the infant church rather than a demanding authority over them. A related word is parakletos, or “the Paraclete,” the descriptive name given to the Holy Spirit, who comes alongside the faithful to encourage and exhort them in their walk with Christ (John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7).

12:2 | Conformed was sometimes used for a masquerade or an act. If people conform to the world’s standards of behavior, they mask who they are in Christ. The Christian’s life should be marked by transformation, seen through the renewing of the mind, ever seeking to grow in understanding to discern (or prove) God’s will (Eph. 4:23). Metamorphosis comes from the Greek word for transformed and indicates change “from the inside out.” The term is used twice in reference to Christ’s Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-2; Mark 9:2). Jesus’ brightness was His inner person shining through, visible on the outside. His brightness should likewise shine through His followers.

12:3-8 | There is only one body of Christ, but there is a diversity of gifts within that body (1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7, 16), a diversity that ensures the health of the unified whole. If God by His grace gives everyone a unique task in the church, then there is no reason for people to think more highly, or lowly, of themselves than they ought to.

12:4 | The church is not an organization but an organism, a living and unified entity with many parts (Eph. 4:16; 1 Cor. 10:17; 1 Pet. 4). If part of a person’s body just disappeared, they would desperately seek it out. Do believers do the same when a member of their church disappears?

12:6-8 | Here Paul mentions seven of the 19 spiritual gifts that are listed in the NT (1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4). Since none of the lists of spiritual gifts are identical, many believe there is no set, finite number of gifts. Gift is a rendering of the Greek word charisma, which has as its root the word charis, or grace. Therefore, a spiritual gift is really a grace-gift, bestowed by the God of grace.

12:6 | Prophecy is a gift used to speak God’s truth. Like OT prophets, some NT prophets had the ministry of foretelling – addressing the future. But most probably had the gift of “forth telling” – speaking God’s truth into present situations. Regardless, the prophets’ purpose was to speak words of “edification and exhortation and comfort” to the church (1 Cor. 14:3). Prophets today do not have the gift of foretelling the future but function as teachers and proclaimers of God’s truth.

12:7 | Ministry, or service, is from the Greek diakonia, from which comes deacon. While every Christian is called to serve one another, deacons do so with a special grace. Teaching is for explaining God’s truth. Teachers study the Bible diligently and search out what the church needs to learn for its edification.

12:8 | Exhort could also be translated as “encourage.” People with this gift are moved to come alongside those who are hurting, weak, or discouraged (Acts 15:32). People with the gift to give do so joyfully and sacrificially (2 Cor. 9:7).

12:8 | The church always needs leaders who lead with a sense of what the church should do. The sons of Issachar had a reputation for leadership in the OT (1 Chron. 12:32). People naturally follow others with this gift. The gift of mercy is the Spirit-given ability to extend love and compassion toward suffering members of the body of Christ. It is reaching out to the outcasts, those whom others ignore.