Presenting the Body

In Romans 12:1-2 we are exhorted to present our bodies. Then our service to God is spiritual, and our mind is set free from soulish influ­ences.

When we read Romans 12:1-2, we need to examine ourselves to see whether we constantly see something deep and attractive in these verses, and whether they continue to exercise the same intense grip on our hearts as when we first received light over them. We have gone astray if all we see in them is first-class knowledge, but they have nothing more to give us beyond that.

There are certain flowers from which some bees cannot suck out the nectar, but other bees have a longer proboscis, which enables them to reach the nectar. He who overcomes shall eat of the hidden manna. The knowledge of God is boundless in content, depth, and dimension; it is given in abundance to the one who seeks to enter into the depths of God because he searches and longs for it.

Presenting our bodies releases all the blessings; it causes us to stand firmly so that we are never moved. Jesus said, “If anyone wants to do His will [who sent Me], he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.” John 7:17. The bride’s way of life is: being an acceptable sacrifice to God, and experiencing a constant renewal of her mind.

We do not meet the works of the flesh in this battle of being an acceptable sacrifice to God, but we do meet the deeds of the body. The flesh, together with its unbelief, drawing back, and wickedness, is not found on this way. We are finished with drawing back to perdi­tion. We cannot heed an exhortation to present our bodies as long as the flesh rules.

We must have gone past the outer court and the veil that bars the way into the Holy Place as a testimony to the fact that we have re­ceived forgiveness for our sins—that we have been cleansed from them—and that we have received faith to put off the old man. Then we are ready to go through the second veil that bars the way into the Holiest. The way that Jesus consecrated for us through His flesh goes through this veil. Seeing that Jesus’ flesh is also our flesh—because we are members of His body—we know that this way has also been opened through our flesh. Those who believe can now walk on it. This is where we meet opposition—not from the manifest works of the flesh (because we have victory over them), but from the other law in our members. Therefore our body has to be presented as an accept­able sacrifice to God.

Once we have presented our bodies, all hindrances from family life, our place of employment, reading the newspaper, and relaxation, etc., that occupy our mind and thoughts too much, are overcome. We can be in the Holy Place and be soulish all our lives long without ad­vancing beyond the lampstand that casts light on the second veil. When we present our bodies, we receive revelation about the way through the second veil. We receive faith and understanding to walk on it, and this produces a brother who is full of wisdom and love. When we present our heads to inquire into and search the Scriptures, the result is bound to be a sharp and knowledgeable brother, but without a fullness of goodness and mercy. Jesus offered Himself through the eternal Spirit without spot to God. By God’s grace, this same power is at our disposal today.