Having begun in belief and confession of what the LORD has accomplished in Jesus, how then shall we live in Jesus? Paul addresses fellow believer/confessors in Jesus that we should all give Jesus all we are as a living sacrifice, that this gift back to Him is our reasonable response to Him.
If God is Spirit and those who worship Him must do so in spirit and in truth,2 how else could we live but to be a living life given up to Him for whatever He desires, to be less of self and more of Him? ‘Holy’ is that which is distinctive in the same way that God is distinctive so we are living out our lives in His image and that is in agreement and pleasing to Him. We are different, have His priorities in place of our old priorities. We are changed and continuing in change to His Will.
The division of ‘this world’ and the ‘will of God’ requires a re-orientation of our perspective from what it was before we ‘believe and confess’ His work in Jesus and the way we learn to perceive from the LORD’s view of Life. ‘The old man has passed away and all things are becoming new.’ 4
Newness of life also means that we have a new viewpoint, that we no longer see the same values as when we lived for ourselves rather than the LORD.
Think about it: doesn’t it seem reasonable that we would thankfully exchange what we were for what God is wanting to live out through us? I think so! May we ‘lay it down’ LORD.