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Romans 12:5 – It’s Not Personal

Posted on September 27, 2018 by Will

so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and we are members of one another.

Truth to Learn

In Christ you do not exist alone, but as part of a greater whole.

Behind the Words

Paul starts off this verse with the Greek word houtōs, which means “even so.” It is the other half of the kathaper with which he began the previous verse. Therefore, this verse is a direct correlation to the previous one.

The word translated “many” is pollos, meaning “much (singular) or many (plural).” In the Greek text, however, there is also a definite article (the). Thus, we see that the Greek text actually reads, “so we, the many, are one body …”

Meaning Explained

Paul is using the metaphor of a physical body to teach us something. He started off the last verse telling us that we each have a body with many body parts and not all of them have the same bodily function. And, you will remember that he started off the previous verse with “very much as” or “just as” meaning that he was making a close comparison between the physical body and something else.

The current verse contains that something else. So, just as we each have one body with many members, we the many, says Paul, are one body in Christ. This body has a head and in Ephesians Paul tells who the head is:

And He [God] put all things under His [Christ’s] feet, and gave Him [Christ] to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22, 23)

There is only one head in each body, and the head of “the body of Christ” (the church) is Jesus Christ, Himself. We, the many, that is, the members of the body, are united together in a single body with Christ as our head.

The last part of the current verse can be translated as, “and every one members unto each other.” Just as each of our physical bodies is made up of many parts (arms, legs, eyes, mouth, etc.) so the church is made up of many parts, and we each have a function to perform within the body. None of us are isolated members; rather, we are interdependent with each other, just as all of the members of our physical body are interdependent with each other. We are interdependent with all the other parts of the body of Christ for our spiritual nourishment, protection, and health. We need each other.

Here’s how Paul explained the body to the Corinthians:

For is not made up of one member but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the smelling be? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. (1Corinthians 12:14-18)

Application

These are important facts to keep in mind as we begin to talk about spiritual gifts. These gifts were not given to us for our personal use but for use within the church. Your spiritual gift is not for you, it is for the church. Think about that!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 12:4 – Sacrificial Body Parts

Posted on September 26, 2018 by Will

For just as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,

Truth to Learn

We are to function in the body of Christ as He chooses.

Behind the Words

Paul once again starts off the verse with “For” indicating that this and the following verse are closely linked to the previous verse.

The Greek word translated “just as” is kathaper, which is an adverb made up of katha, meaning “as” and per, meaning “very” or “very much.” Though this translates rather awkwardly into English as “very much as,” the notion in Greek is that there is about to be a comparison of two things that are very much like each other. He describes the first of these two things in this verse and the second one in the next verse.

The word translated “members” is the Greek word melos, which means “a limb or other body part.”

Meaning Explained

Paul has just told us not to “over think” ourselves. That is, we are not to think of ourselves as more important or more elevated than we really are. After all, we are only what we are because God has made us thus. He now goes on to show us that our importance, yea our very identity, exists in relation to the body of Christ, the church. Paul uses the metaphor of a physical body to show this.

He tells us, “we have many members in one body.” In other words, there are many different body parts in our physical body. In the second part of this verse Paul states that all these body parts don’t have the same function. Each part is important to the health of the entire body in a different way.

Each one of us has a body that is made up of a whole bunch of parts; arms, legs, head, spine, eyes, skin, liver, mouth, heart, sweat glands, nasal mucous, finger nails, etc. Some of these are more attractive than others and some are more obvious than others. Some we don’t even notice until they go into hyperactive mode, and then we tend to dislike them because they produce unpleasant sensations. But – they are ALL very necessary and we would be handicapped without any one of them. The same is true of the body of Christ.

This is the crux of what Paul is going to be talking about in the next 12 verses. We each have a place in the body of Christ and God has individually gifted each one of us for our unique function with spiritual gifts. But before we get wrapped up in the discussions about spiritual gifts, let’s remember how Paul started this out.

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

There is no use in continuing the discussion about spiritual gifts if we are not first, totally submitted to our Lord Jesus Christ and totally committed to serving Him in the position and capacity that He has chosen for us! If we have offered ourselves as living sacrifices then we no longer have a say in how God chooses to use us.

Application

Have you offered yourself up to God to be used in whatever manner He determines? Are you a living sacrifice, or are you still in control of your own life?

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 12:3 – He’s Great, Not Us

Posted on September 25, 2018 by Will

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think of yourself with reasonable judgment, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

Truth to Learn

We must make an honest appraisal of ourselves.

Behind the Words

Paul starts off this verse with, “For”, implying that this verse is directly connected to the previous one in thought and intent.

In this verse Paul makes one of his familiar play-on-words with the word phroneō, which refers to “the mind, thinking, or a mindset.” Literally, Paul says that each of us should “not over think ourselves beyond what we ought to think, but to think toward sound thinking.”

The words translated “reasonable judgment” is sōphroneō, which means “to be of a sound mind” or “to be mentally self-controlled.”

The Greek word translated “as” is hōs, which is a tiny word with numerous nuances of interpretation. We could interpret its use here as, “in recognition of the fact that.”

Meaning Explained

In the previous verse Paul told us we should be transformed by renewing, or renovating, our minds. That is, we need to completely change the way that we think.

We in the United States, like the Romans of Paul’s time, tend to think of ourselves as a little bit better than others because we are part of a successful, powerful, influential country. And we tend to measure our own personal worth by our position, our income level, and our heritage. Couple that with the fact that we as Christians think of ourselves as better than the pagans and other unbelievers because we know the truth about God and they don’t. In other words, we are very proud of ourselves. It’s likely that the Jewish Christians in Rome felt exactly the same way about themselves.

Now that Paul has politely admonished us to offer ourselves up to God, recognizing that He is our master and we are His slaves, he tells us to quit being so arrogant! Of course, Paul is not as blunt as that, but in essence that’s what he’s saying. He gives us a guideline as to how we ought to think of ourselves; “in recognition of the fact that God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Everything we have and are has come directly from God. Even the measure of faith that we have, as small as it may be, has its source in God alone. Do you see that? This Christian faith which we have was measured out to us by God. We didn’t come up with it by ourselves.

When we recognize that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and without blame before Him” (Ephesians 1:4), we must submit to the fact that all things are under God’s control. And no matter how great we think we are as a nation, as a church, or as a person, we must recognize that we are nothing more than sinners deserving of Hell, who have been saved by God’s grace, not by anything of our own doing. Though we are adopted children of the King of Kings, we are at our best when we recognize that we are lowly slaves of our Master who bought us body, soul, and spirit, and paid for us with the blood of His own son.

Application

So – don’t waste your effort thinking about how great you are! Instead, think about how great our God is!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 12:2 – Transformed, Not Conformed

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Will

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, to prove in you what the good and pleasing and perfect will of God is.

Truth to Learn

Don’t be like everyone around you and don’t let others tell you what you should be. Instead, let God transform you to into the image of His Son.

Behind the Words

“Do not be conformed” is from me suschematidzesthe. Me is the conditional negation particle and suschematidzesthe is a compound made up of sun, meaning “together” and a form of schēmatidzo, from which we get our English word schematic. It refers to the pattern or outward appearance of something. So Paul is telling us not to allow ourselves to look, and act, like the world around us.

The word translated “world” is not kosmos (world system) as one might expect. Rather, it is from the Greek word aion, which refers to” the age or time” in which we live. So, Paul is saying, “… do not be conformed to this present age.”

“Transformed” is from metamorphoō, from which we get our English word metamorphosis, meaning not simply a change in outward appearance, but “to completely change form.” This is the same word that is used in both Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2 when referring to Jesus’ transfiguration before Peter, James, and John.

“Prove” is translated from the Greek word dokimadzō, which means “to test something with the intent of finding its value.” It is the notion of proving gold by subjecting it to extreme heat, thus removing the dross and leaving the pure, valuable gold only. Some translations say “that you may prove.” The problem with this is that dokimadzō is expressed as an infinitive (to prove), and the word translated “you” is not in the form of a subject, rather it is in the form of an indirect object. Therefore, we should translate this as “to prove in you.”

Meaning Explained

At the end of the previous verse Paul told us that we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices because it is only logical and reasonable that we should serve God in this way. Now he continues on. Not only should we offer ourselves as God’s slaves, once and for all, but we should allow God to reshape our thinking instead of letting the world in which we live do so.

We should not take on the same appearance, habits, and attitudes as all the people around us. Instead of being this kind of a conformist, we need to “be transformed.” This transformation is one of the mind, from being worldly minded, focusing on the thing of this world, to being heavenly minded, focusing on what God is doing to and through us. And our ultimate objective is that of giving glory to God Himself. The reason that we are to be transformed instead of conformed is so that God can “prove in us what His will is.”

As we are transformed by God in our minds, we become more like His son. That is, we become more Christ-like in our attitudes and actions, which is, in fact, what God’s will is for our lives.

Application

What Paul has told us in these two verses is that we need to surrender our physical lives to God for His use. We are to do so by not letting the things of this age influence our thoughts and actions. Instead, we are to let His Spirit transform us to be more like He wants us to be, like Jesus Christ our Lord.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 12:1 – Living Sacrifices

Posted on September 21, 2018 by Will

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Truth to Learn

We are to turn over ownership of our lives to God.

Behind the Words

The word translated “urge” is parakaleō, which means “to call one alongside.” It is Paul’s polite way of giving a command, as if he’s saying, “I am calling on you to come join me.”

The word translated “present” is the Greek word, parastēmi, which means “to stand or to place beside.” This is the word that was commonly used of bringing and presenting a sacrifice before an altar and standing beside it.

“Service” is from latreia, the noun form of the verb latreuō, meaning “to worship.” Latreia refers to “service rendered as a slave, particularly divine service to God.”

Meaning Explained

Because our salvation is by grace alone, we who have received this marvelous gift should be immediately humbled at God’s feet with gratitude in our heart and a willingness to do whatever He asks of us. Paul now tells us what it is that we should do to show our gratitude to God. He says, “present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” This implies that the offering is a free and voluntary one. This type of sacrificial offering is at the expense of the one offering it and it is to be destroyed or, as in the case of the drink offering, poured out before God so as to no longer be useful to the one offering it. Here’s what Albert Barnes says about this offering in his Notes on the Bible:

It implies that he who offers it presents it entirely, releases all claim or right to it, and leaves it to be disposed of for the honor of God. In the case of an animal, it was slain, and the blood offered; in the case of any other offering, as the first-fruits, etc., it was set apart to the service of God; and he who offered it released all claim on it, and submitted it to God, to be disposed of at his will. This is the offering which the apostle entreats the Romans to make: to devote themselves to God, as if they had no longer any claim on themselves; to be disposed of by him; to suffer and bear all that he might appoint; and to promote his honor in any way which he might command.

We are to offer our physical bodies in this way, as a living sacrifice. We are not to be slain in God’s presence; rather we are to continue to live, but to do so recognizing that we no longer have any right of ownership to our physical lives. We are to offer our living existence to God for His use in whatever manner He chooses. If God chooses to have us suffer persecution for His sake, it is His choice and we should glorify Him in it. If He chooses that we should be in an accident and become paralyzed, it is His choice and we should glorify Him in it. We no longer have any claim whatsoever to our earthly existence because we have been offered totally to Him.

Application

Wow! That’s a tall order! Who can do this? None of us can under our own power. We need to prayerfully offer ourselves to God and seek the power of His Spirit to keep us submitted and committed to Him and Him alone.

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 11:36 – It’s All His

Posted on September 20, 2018 by Will

For from Him and through Him and unto Him are all things, to Him be glory forever. Amen.

Truth to Learn

God deserves all our praise for only He is worthy.

Behind the Words

There is a three-fold expression that Paul uses in the first part of this verse which is very simple and yet profound. In the Greek Paul says ex autou kai di autou kai eis autou ta panta. Let’s look at this in detail.

The word kai simply means “and” and the word autou means “him, that is, in relation to him or with respect to him.” Next, let’s look at the three words ex, di, and eis. All three of these are prepositions. The first, ex is a form of ek, meaning “from” or “out of,” implying that He is the source. The second preposition is di, a contraction of dia, meaning “through, either as movement or as the instrument of action.” Finally, the third preposition is eis, meaning “into” or “unto.” Paul then finishes the first phrase with the two words, ta panta which mean “all things,” or “everything.” Thus, Paul says that all things originate with God, He is the instrument of action for all events, and all things will culminate in Him.

“Glory” is translated from doxa, from which we get our English word doxology. It is derived from the verb dokeō, meaning “thought or opinion, particularly favorable human opinion.” Thus, we see that doxa means “dignity, glory, or honor.” This word is sometimes translated as “praise” or “worship,” since that is the highest possible form of favorable human opinion.

The Greek expression translated “forever” is eis tous aiōnas. This literally means “unto the ages” or “forever.”

Putting this all together we could paraphrase this verse as: All things come from God, are created and sustained by God, and ultimately belong to God. Therefore, He alone should receive our praise both now and forever! Amen.

Meaning Explained

Paul ends this chapter of Romans with a doxology that we would all do well to meditate on. He says that everything which exists, both physical and spiritual, has its source in God and God alone. Everything that is, exists through God’s instrumentality, that is, it has come into being as a result of His creative action. Finally, everything that exists belongs to God and will be laid at His feet, and all creatures will give Him the glory. We see this in the heavenly scene painted for us by the Apostle John in the book of the Revelation:

the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and they cast their crowns before the throne, saying: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, To receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created." (Revelation 4:10-11)

And I heard every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that are in them, saying: "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and power, forever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13)

Application

Think about that as you worship Him this Sunday!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 11:35 – Who’s In Charge?

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Will

"or who has first given to Him that it should be repaid to him?"

Truth to Learn

God does not owe you a thing, nor is He obligated to do what you want Him to do.

Behind the Words

The Greek word translated “has first given” is prodidōmi, which is a compound word made up of pro, meaning “before, in position or time” and didōmi, meaning “to give.” Thus we see that prodidōmi means “to give ahead of time.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense, indicating an action that was performed at a point in time in the past. So, we could translate the first part of this verse as, “or who first gave to Him.”

“Repaid” is from antapodidōmi, which is made up of anti, which means “opposite, against, or in turn,” apo, meaning “from or away from,” and didōmi, which means “to give.” When we put this all together we see that antapodidōmi means “to give or do something which is necessary to fulfill an obligation, doing so in return for something previously done.

Meaning Explained

This verse is essentially the same as Job 41:11 which says

Who has first given to Me, that I should repay him? Everything under heaven is Mine.

What Paul is pointing out is the fact that God is not indebted to any one of us. He does not owe us a thing! There is nothing that we have done or that we could do which would force God to take any action apart from His eternal plan. There is nothing that we have produced that God did not already own. There is nothing we can give Him that was not already His.

Think about that! There is nothing that we can do that will require God to take action of any kind. He is not indebted to anyone.

Now, apply this to what Paul has been teaching us in this and the previous chapters of this letter. God was not forced to turn to the Gentiles when the Jews rejected Him, He chose to do so. And God is not required to save anyone from their sins, He chooses to do so and He chooses whom He will save. It is His choice and it is of His own free will, it is not our choice. There is nothing we can do that will require God to save us. If we are saved, it is because He decided to do it before time began as Paul teaches in Ephesians:

just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, for us to be holy and without blame before Him in love. (Ephesians 1:4)

Neither is God required to bless anyone whom He does not choose to bless, nor is He required to answer in the affirmative any prayer He does not choose to answer that way. He is not a puppet that we can control by pulling the right strings or by reciting a magic mantra. God responds to our prayers according to His desires and His will. We are totally at His mercy and we are totally subservient to Him. The sooner we realize this and submit to His authority and will, the sooner we will know the peace that only He can provide through His spirit.

Application

What we have here is big God, little man theology. He is the sovereign ruler over all creation. Our attitude should be like that of Jesus Christ, “Not my will, but yours be done, O Lord!”

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 11:34 – The Greatest Mind

Posted on September 18, 2018 by Will

"For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has become His adviser?"

Truth to Learn

God is infinitely more intelligent and wise than we are; therefore, we have no reason to question his actions or plans.

Behind the Words

“Known” is from ginōskō, which means “to know, either in a beginning or completed sense.” It is expressed here in the aorist tense, indicating action that occurred in the past at a point in time. It does not express the process of gaining knowledge of God, but of having such knowledge.

The word translated “mind” is noun, which refers to “the consciousness that precedes actions or recognizes and judges them. That is, intelligence and understanding.”

“Adviser” is from the Greek word, sumboulos, which is made up of sun, meaning “together” and a form of boulē, meaning “advice or counsel.” Together they indicate “someone who is called together to give counsel or advice.”

Meaning Explained

A parallel verse to the current one is 1Cointhisns 2:16:

For "who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

Both our current verse and this one above appear to be paraphrases of Isaiah’s words:

Who has measured the Spirit of the LORD, or instructed Him as His counselor? (Isaiah 40:13)

Paul is teaching us that God is infinitely more knowledgeable and wise that any man. No man can teach God anything nor could any man ever give counsel to the infinitely wise God. Earthly rulers have advisors to consult in times of difficulty or danger, but God needs no such council. He sits alone on His throne, ruling over all His creation with perfect wisdom.

Before we were saved, we did not know God’s mind, his intentions, or His plans. It is only since we have received His gift of grace that we now have “the mind of Christ” as we see in 1Corinthians 2:16. Therefore, who are we to question His plan of pruning out the Jews and grafting in the Gentiles until the fullness of the Gentiles comes? Who are we to question why He will once again turn to the Israelites and lead them in the ways of salvation? Who are we to question why God allows some to suffer the consequences of their sinful ways and bestows His grace on others, choosing them to be saved when they don’t deserve it? Who are we to ask Him “Why?” when He allows sorrow or heartbreak or tragedy to come into our lives? Who are we to question anything that God does?

Instead of trying to make God’s words say what we want them to say, let us accept His teaching as truth – God’s truth! Instead of questioning Him, let us humble ourselves before Almighty God, submitting ourselves to His will and committing ourselves to living His way.

Application

Instead of asking “Why?” let us simply ask, “What? What do you want me to learn from this, God? Teach me, for I am here to do Your will, O God!”

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 11:33 – Immeasurable Riches

Posted on September 17, 2018 by Will

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways intraceable!

Truth to Learn

God has given us a gift of immeasurable worth.

Behind the Words

The word translated “depth” is the Greek word bathos. This word literally does mean “depth,” but by interpretation it refers to the profundity or the extent of something.

Anexeraunētos is the Greek word translated “unsearchable.” It is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and the noun form of exereunaō, which means “to search out.” So this Greek word refers to something that no one can completely search out. The implication is that his judgments are unquestionable because no one could ever completely understand all that went into them.

“Riches” is translated from ploutos, which refers to “monetary wealth, richness, or abundance of possessions.” So what Paul is proclaiming in the opening part of this verse is how vast and extensive is the abundance of value of both God’s knowledge and of His wisdom.

The word translated “intraceable” is anexichniastos, which is made up of the privative a, meaning “not” and the noun form of exichniadzō, which means “to explore.”

Meaning Explained

Throughout this eleventh chapter of the book of Romans, Paul has been demonstrating why it was necessary for the Israelites to be rejected. But he also teaches that they will someday be brought back into the fold. In this and the following three verses he will now step back to acknowledge and admire the wisdom and sovereignty of God.

He proclaims that no one can completely search out or fully comprehend God’s judgments, nor can anyone discover the fullness of God’s way of doing things. This can surely be applied to God’s plan of election. We certainly can’t understand why He chose whom He did, especially since we know that none of us deserve it.

We who are in the Church age should consider ourselves quite fortunate that we have as much insight as we do into God’s redemptive plan, both for the Gentiles and for the Jews. Many of the truths that are contained in the New Testament were foretold by the Prophets of old, and yet they didn’t understand fully even that which they were prophesying about. Not only that, but we are privy to the truth of God’s grace in a way that even the angels of heaven can’t experience . However, they are desirous of looking into and learning about these things. Both these facts are pointed out by the Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 1:10-12 which says:

Of this salvation the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, have sought diligently and searched carefully, searching what person, or what time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels long to look into.

At the risk of using a word which is heavily overused and barely understood, let me ask, “Isn’t our God awesome?!”

Application

Do you realize the extreme value of your salvation? Even the richest person who has ever lived could not purchase a “get out of Hell” pass. And yet, we who have believed God’s truth about our sinfulness and Christ’s sacrificial death will not have to pay the penalty for our sins. God has paid it for us. Our gift came in the form of a little baby, born in poverty, in a stable among farm animals. Let’s thank God for our free gift!

In God's service, for His glory,

Romans 11:32 – Freed Prisoners

Posted on September 14, 2018 by Will

For God confined them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

Truth to Learn

We were once imprisoned by sin, but God has set us free.

Behind the Words

The word translated “confined them all” is the Greek word sugkleiō. This word is made up of sun, meaning “together” and kleiō, which means “to enclose.” The notion is of a group of people who have all been incarcerated or put in prison together.

Meaning Explained

Let’s look carefully at this verse so that we get the true meaning. First of all, this verse does NOT say that God has caused all people to be in a state of unbelief and it does NOT say that God will show mercy to all people. Let’s see why.

God has put people in prison. In this case the prison is unbelief and the “who” is all of mankind. God has not caused this unbelief but, rather, having found all to be in unbelief, He has left them there where they cannot get out by themselves.

One of the best ways to understand what is meant by any passage of Scripture is to find a parallel passage and see exactly what it says. A parallel passage to the current verse is found in Galatians 3:22:

But the Scripture has confined [put in prison] all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ [freedom from the prison of sin] might be given to those who believe.

The word here translated has confined all, is sugkleiō, the same word as in today’s verse. Also, you may recall what Paul said back in the third chapter of this letter?

As it is written: there is none righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one seeking God. They all turned away; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, not even one (Romans 3:10-12)

As we take these all together we see that all of mankind, Jews and Gentiles, are sinners and are bound in unbelief because of sin. But why would God do such a thing? The second half of today’s verse tells us why, “that He might have mercy on all.” As we compare this with our parallel passage we see that this mercy is not referring to “all people” but to “all who believe.” If you look at the context of the verse in Galatians (read it with the previous verse), you will see that “all” refers to “Jews and Gentiles.”

Finally, you may ask, “But if all are imprisoned in unbelief, how can they believe so that God’s mercy can be shown?” Only God can release a sinner from the prison of unbelief, and it is strictly by His grace and not from any action on our part. In Ephesians Paul tells us:

that in the ages coming He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:7, 8)

Application

If you are a born-again Christian then God has shown His mercy on you by allowing you to see and believe in the Gospel message. You were bound in prison by sin, but God has set you free. Think about that, and show your gratitude to Him!

In God's service, for His glory,