One essential practical application of walking in newness of life is to recognize how much we all depend on one another's work. “For as in the body we have many members, and not all of the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another” (Rom.
We have unity in Christ, diversity of gifts to serve one another, and an interdependence on one another. This phrase depicts the church as a human body. The body cannot function without diversity of functions, such as eyes, ears, hands, and feet. Both diversity and unity obtain in the local church.
Paul is urging those who have received God's mercy through faith in Christ—all Christians—to use the spiritual gifts they have received through God's Spirit to serve each other in the church.
Paul wrote about the blessings that come to all who are justified by placing their faith in Jesus Christ. The free gift of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is a manifestation of divine grace. The Fall of Adam brought death and sin into the world; the Atonement of Jesus Christ overcame death and enables us to overcome sin.
What Does 'Nothing Can Separate Us from the Love of God' Mean? In 1 John 4:16, the apostle writes “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” We can't have God without love so to be separated from his love means to be separated from him entirely.
Sin Separates Us from God (Revelation 15:7)
The doctrine of separation, also known as the doctrine of non-fellowship, is a belief among some Protestant religious groups that the members of a church should be separate from "the world" and not have association with those who are "of the world".
Loving God with your soul means to love Him for eternity. When our hearts stop beating, our souls keep living. And God wants our relationship with Him to last forever. Loving God with your mind means to love Him unconditionally–because we know that He is worthy of love–even when we don't feel like it.
In other words, just as God's power is His love is His wisdom is His eternality is His knowledge, and so on, our "heart" is our "soul" is our "mind" is our "strength." To love God with all of our strength, then, is to love God with all our being, which involves the whole man, both body and soul.
The book of Hebrews contains a verse that each Christian should pay close attention to. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
“For as in the body we have many members, and not all of the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another” (Rom. 12:4–5). This interdependence is not a weakness, but a gift from God.
Dear Heavenly Father, I have often wished I had the talents and spiritual gifts of other people. How silly it is of me when I forget that other people are given gifts to bless me and not impress me.
Romans 12:1-8 is a summary and reminder of Romans 1-11, in which the Apostle Paul is writing an apologetic of the presence, work, and callings of God on the entire human family. Readers are called to live a countercultural lifestyle, moving from the life of flesh to a life formed by the Holy Spirit.
Paul here explains how to live out the will of God: Keep in mind the rich mercy of God to you – past, present, and future (by the mercies of God). As an act of intelligent worship, decide to yield your entire self to Him (present your bodies a living sacrifice).
Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.
Each one of us has one body, and that body has many parts. These parts don't all do the same thing. In the same way, we are many people, but in Christ we are all one body. We are the parts of that body, and each part belongs to all the others.
To love God with all of our hearts, we use our time, energy, talents and resources to keep His commandments. I invite you to reflect on how you use your time, energy, talents and resources. Are you using your time to learn what God's commandments are, so that you can keep them?
Gratitude is key to loving God with all our soul. The Bible tells us that we love God because he first loved us (1 John 4:10). We can't love God with all our soul if we have lost our gratitude for him and all he has done for us.
To “love the Lord thy God with all thy mind” is done when our thoughts dwell on Him; and His holiness, and goodness, and love, and mercy, and beauty… Then we reply to His perfection with prayer, praise, perhaps a song, and worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23).
That is why love is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 13:10). The law is an explanation of what love is. If you love God with all your heart and you love your neighbor as yourself, then you will have done all that God commands you.
Having a “willing mind” connotes giving our best effort, our finest thinking, and seeking God's wisdom. It suggests that our most devoted lifetime study should be of things which are eternal in nature. It says to me that there must be an inextricable relationship between hearing the word of God and obeying it.
God allows nothing to separate us from his love (Romans 8:38-39). Paul considers some powerful threats in the universe, but none of them can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Don't let suffering cause you to doubt God's love.
To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.