A Living Sacrifice

12 ^(A)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[a] by the mercies of God, ^(B)to present your bodies ^(C)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^{[b] 2 (D)}Do not be conformed to this world,^[c] but be transformed by ^(E)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(F)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[d]

Gifts of Grace

³ For ^(G)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(H)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^(I)each according to ^(J)the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴ For ^(K)as in one body we have many members,^[e] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, ^(L)though many, ^(M)are one body in Christ, and individually ^(N)members one of another. ^6 (O)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^(P)prophecy, ^(Q)in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if ^(R)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^(S)the one who leads,^[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^(T)cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

^9 (U)Let love be genuine. ^(V)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ^10 (W)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(X)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(Y)be fervent in spirit,^{[g] (Z)}serve the Lord. ^12 (AA)Rejoice in hope, ^(AB)be patient in tribulation, ^(AC)be constant in prayer. ^13 (AD)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(AE)seek to show hospitality.

^14 (AF)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ^15 (AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ^16 (AH)Live in harmony with one another. ^(AI)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^{[h] (AJ)}Never be wise in your own sight. ^17 (AK)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(AL)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(AM)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, ^(AN)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(AO)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, ^(AP)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Unity in the Body of Christ

4 I therefore, ^(A)a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to ^(B)walk in a manner worthy of ^(C)the calling to which you have been called, ² with all ^(D)humility and ^(E)gentleness, with ^(F)patience, ^(G)bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in ^(H)the bond of peace. ⁴ There is ^(I)one body and ^(J)one Spirit—just as you were called to the one ^(K)hope that belongs to your call— ^5 (L)one Lord, ^(M)one faith, ^(N)one baptism, ^6 (O)one God and Father of all, ^(P)who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But ^(Q)grace was given ^(R)to each one of us ^(S)according to the measure of Christ's gift. ⁸ Therefore it says,

⁹ (^(V)In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into ^(W)the lower regions, the earth?^{[b] 10} He who descended is the one who also ^(X)ascended ^(Y)far above all the heavens, that he might ^(Z)fill all things.) ¹¹ And ^(AA)he gave the ^(AB)apostles, the prophets, the ^(AC)evangelists, the ^(AD)shepherds^[c] and teachers,^{[d] 12 (AE)}to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for ^(AF)building up ^(AG)the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to ^(AH)the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, ^(AI)to mature manhood,^[e] to the measure of the stature of ^(AJ)the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, ^(AK)tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in ^(AL)deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, ^(AM)speaking the truth in love, we are to ^(AN)grow up in every way into him who is ^(AO)the head, into Christ, ^16 (AP)from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, ^(AQ)when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

The New Life

¹⁷ Now this I say and ^(AR)testify in the Lord, ^(AS)that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, ^(AT)in the futility of their minds. ¹⁸ They ^(AU)are darkened in their understanding, ^(AV)alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to ^(AW)their hardness of heart. ¹⁹ They ^(AX)have become callous and ^(AY)have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. ²⁰ But that is not the way you ^(AZ)learned Christ!— ²¹ assuming that ^(BA)you have heard about him and ^(BB)were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, ²² to ^(BC)put off ^(BD)your old self,^[f] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through ^(BE)deceitful desires, ²³ and ^(BF)to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on ^(BG)the new self, ^(BH)created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

²⁵ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you ^(BI)speak the truth with his neighbor, for ^(BJ)we are members one of another. ^26 (BK)Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and ^(BL)give no opportunity to the devil. ²⁸ Let the thief no longer steal, but rather ^(BM)let him labor, ^(BN)doing honest work with his own hands, so ^(BO)that he may have something to share with anyone in need. ^29 (BP)Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give ^(BQ)grace to those who hear. ³⁰ And ^(BR)do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, ^(BS)by whom you were sealed for the day of ^(BT)redemption. ^31 (BU)Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. ^32 (BV)Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ^(BW)forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

When Brothers Dwell in Unity

A Song of ^(A)Ascents. Of David.