THE THREE-FOLD NATURE OF MAN
A 3-part series
1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NLT) Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
Ampl – “And may the God of peace sanctify you through and through – that is, separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God – and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete (and found) blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah.”
Man has a tri-part nature and not a two-part nature as many people think.
The spirit part of man is not talked about very much. It is a mystery that is often obscured and needs to be explored.
Many people think that the spirit and soul are one and the same. This cannot be the case because of what the Bible teaches us…
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Man has three parts – body, soul and spirit.
1 Corinthians 14:14-15 (NLT) For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying. (15) Well then, what shall I do? I will pray in the spirit, and I will also pray in words I understand. I will sing in the spirit, and I will also sing in words I understand.
1 Corinthians 14:18 (NLT) I thank God that I speak in tongues more than any of you.
Notice how Paul how Paul uses “my spirit” and “I” interchangeably.
1. Spirit – Gr. – Pneuma – wind. This is the dimension of man which deals with the spiritual realm. The part of man that know God.
It is the area that deals with faith, hope, reverence, prayer, and worship.
2. Soul – Gr. Psuche – the dimension of man which deals with the mental realm. It is man’s intellect, sensibilities and will. This is the part that reasons and thinks.
3. Body – Gr. Soma – The dimension of man that deals with the physical realm. This is the house in which we live.
The Spirit deals with the spirit, and the body deals with the physical. This leaves the soul, the mental part of man, as the warring ground.
I believe that a lot of sicknesses that we incur in our lives today is because these three parts are not in one accord.
We need to start thinking of ourselves in a new light. Don’t think of yourself just as a physical being. Think of yourself as a spirit being who possess a soul and lives in a body.
Man works this way – body – soul and spirit.
God works this way – spirit, soul and body.
We are just spirit beings that live in earth suits.
SPIRIT – PNEUMA – wind – current of air This is the part of man that makes him higher than animals. Animals have a body and a soul but not a spirit.
Before one’s spiritual conversion…
John 3:3 (NLT) Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
He is conscious only towards the physical realm. His spirit is dead.
The spirit is darkened and turned inward, while the soul stresses the importance of the body – its desires and pleasures.
Titus 3:5 (NLT) he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.
John 4:24 (NLT) For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
We cannot know God or touch him physically. He is not a man. He is a Spirit – BUT – we can reach Him with our Spirit, and it is through our spirit that we can come to know God.
We have a new spirit now because we are born again. We will have a new body at the coming our Lord Jesus Christ…”
It is interesting that the words “heart” and “sprit” are interchangeable words in the Bible.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NLT) And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. (27) And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
1 Peter 3:4 (NLT) You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.
2 Corinthians 4:16 says that our “spirit” is renewed day by day…
2 Corinthians 4:16 (NLT) That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day.
The real “me” (the spirit part of me) is growing younger and younger every day and is renewed daily. My body might be growing older but my spirit is growing younger.
Man’s spirit has five senses just as the body does. These all need to be filled with God’s spirit. They are defined as:
1- The inner man – which hears the voice of God
2- The inner eye – which sees God’s vision
3- The inner mind – which ponders the voice and vision of God
4- The inner will – which decides to speak forth the vision and voice of God
5- The inner emotions – which constitute the deep underlying emotions of our lives and provide the volition for action.
Jesus’ inner senses of sight and hearing were such that his whole life flowed out of what God was revealing to Him and through Him.
John 5:19 (NLT) So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
Once we set our sights to the inner man it will help us to become filled with the purposes of God which are not negative but positive (in contrast) to Satan.
Romans 7:22 (NKJV) For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR SPIRIT NATURE
1. Meditate on God’s Word
Matthew 4:4 (NKJV) But He answered and said, "It is written, ’Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ "
Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
John 6:63 (NKJV) It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
Matthew 24:35 (NKJV) Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Psalms 138:2 (NKJV) I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your loving kindness and Your truth; For You have magnified Your word above all Your name.
2. Practice the Word of God
James 1:22 (NKJV) But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
3. Give first-place to the Word of God
Jeremiah 1:12 (NKJV) Then the Lord said to me, "You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word."
4- Obey the voice of your spirit
God is constantly speaking to our spirit. We need to obey the voice of our spirit and it will save you much heartbreak.
Some say that women have a sixth sense. I believe that as a whole that they just have a more sensitive spirit.
Proverbs 20:7 (NKJV) The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.
Romans 8:14 (NLT) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
John 14:16-17 (NLT) And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. (17) He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth…
Claim this today!
Smith Wiggleworth – “I’m 10,000 times bigger on the inside than I am on the outside.”
It is interesting – our eyes are a gate to our spirit…
Luke 11:33-36 (NLT) “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house. (34) “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when it is bad, your body is filled with darkness. (35) Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. (36) If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light.”
MIND (psyche)
This is where our imagination is, reason, reflection, memory. This is the seat of senses and appetites.
We have, with our soul a common ground with animals. This becomes extinct at death.
Driving forces – self-preservation, instinct to live, appetites, sexual drives, possession – and a drive to accumulate things.
Romans 12:2 (NLT) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
God doesn’t do anything with our bodies or minds. He contacts our spirit. That is why it is important to listen to our spirit.
Remember that the spirit deals with the spirit, our body deals with the physical body and our soul deals with the mental part.
It is in our minds that the battle takes places.
Our mind is divided up (scientifically proven) by two hemispheres.
The left cerebral hemisphere in most adults is typified by processes that are linear, relational and digital (the logical, practical side of man).
The right cerebral hemisphere, on the other hand operates through metaphoric, intuitive and analogic processes (the creative side).
Drawing is often used to show what side of the brain people use. The left side controls our right hand, and the right side controls our left hand.
Some people, although right handed draw better left handed.
Further, they have learned by how people shift their eyes which side of the brain they are using at that time.
Ex. – in a time of confrontation most people shift their eyes to the right indicating they are at that time using their left side to do the processing (trying to find the logic in it).
If the person shifts to the left side they are most likely using their right side of the brain indicating it is an issue that needs processing and creativity.
Robert Samples who had done much research on this says… “What we know is that, judged by its characteristic functions, the left cerebral hemisphere tends to act like a filter to sensory input. It tries to limit and cut down on all the data and select those pieces that are important. In other words, it tries to be logical. It works like a digital computer and strings relevance into linear, logical messages. It is fed by the skills of reading writing and arithmetic because they are linear forms of communication. The right cerebral hemisphere, on the other hand, is specialized to process sensory information simultaneously and probably tends to elaborate and increase the variables resulting from each input. Many researchers call this intuition.”
It’s interesting that the “left brain, because it has logical functions, is much easier for educators to measure and evaluate.” People who are of a right brain function are often misunderstood in life.
Galatians 5:15-24 (NLT) But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. (16) So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. (17) The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. (18) But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. (19) When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, (20) idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, (21) envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (22) But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (23) gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (24) Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.
Notice the difference between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the spirit. You choose which way you will go.
Matthew 26:41 (NLT) Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!”
John 6:63 (NLT) The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Romans 8:9 (NLT) But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)
Romans 12:2 (NLT) Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
THE IMPORTANCE OF A RENEWED MIND
1- A renewed mind transforms the human personality
Through our born-again experiences we now have “fellowship” with God.
When man lost fellowship with God with the fall of Adam, his spirit became dead in trespasses and sins and he is governed by his soul and not the spirit of Christ.
Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:
As the mind is renewed – deliverance and healing will take place in the total man – spirit, soul, and body.
2- A renewed mind enables us to know the will of God
Romans 12:2 (NKJV) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Example of an un-renewed mind…
Isaiah 55:8 (NKJV) "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.
3- It is through the mind that Satan has access
The only way Satan can have access to the believer is through the mind. Satan sows his thoughts of deceit in the mind of the believer in order to cause him to stumble.
The battlefield is in the mind.
It is not a sin to be tempted!
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NKJV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. (4) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, (5) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, (6) and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
4- Our thoughts will determine our confession and actions.
If you think positively on the word of God, then your confession will be positive too, based on the word of God.
Your actions will also prove that you have been meditating on the word of God since they will result in good success.
Matthew 15:18 (NKJV) But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
GOD’S INTENT FOR THE MIND
1. God intended the mind to be a creative instrument to bring Him glory.
The Bible says that the deep things belong to God and He reveals them to us by the Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:9-12 (NKJV) But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him." (10) But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (11) For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. (12) Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
However, in order for God to reveal His hidden wisdom, our spirit must be quickened through the new birth and our mind renewed by the Lord.
2- God intended the mind to have a positive attitude toward God.
After the fall Adam developed a negative mental attitude toward God. He was afraid of God and hid himself.
God, who had created Adam and with who Adam had enjoyed fellowship, now became the source of Adam’s fear.
The fall caused his relationship and concept of God to become negative.
Some Christians have a wrong mental concept of God. They think that God is a hard master who requires things from them that they are not able to fulfill.
They feel that if they truly commit their lives to the Lordship of Christ, then God will send them to Africa or some deserted place.
Serving God and doing His will can be a blessing when we have a positive attitude toward God and His word.
We cannot be bitter and angry towards God.
3- God intended the mind to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.
As the mind goes through the process of being renewed it then learns how to be sensitive to the Hoy Spirit.
Jesus said that He would bring all things back to our remembrance by the Holy Spirit – John 14:26.
God wants us to be so sensitive to the Holy Spirit that we will hear him beckon us to any situation.
4- God intended the mind to experience God’s liberating power.
Jesus died on the cross in order for us to experience His liberating power from sin and death.
It is one thing to be forgiven of our sins, but quite another thing to be liberated from the power of sin.
Romans 7:24 (NKJV) O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Many Christians are living in Romans 7 and struggling with the principle of sin and death.
Although their sins have been forgiven, yet they are still bound by old sinful habits and wrong mental attitudes.
Paul’s deliverance came as he moved out of Romans 7 and into Romans 8 where we read about another principle – the law of the Spirit of life which will set us free from the law of sin and death.
This liberating power is realized in our lives as we cease to be carnally minded and set our minds on spiritual things – Romans 8:1-6.
As we allow our mind to be renewed by the Lord, then we become spiritually minded and this produces life and peace.
5- God intended the mind to know inner peace.
One of the promises made by Jesus when he walked the earth was to give us inner peace.
Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV) You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.
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Deuteronomy 1:2 (NLT) Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir.
The children of Israel wandered around in the wilderness for forty years making what was actually an eleven-journey.
Why? Was it their...
enemies
their circumstances
the trials along the way
Or was it something entirely different that prevented them from arriving at their destination?
Let me propose to you this today... The children of Israel spent forty years in the wilderness making an eleven-day trip because they had a ‘wilderness mentality.’”
Deuteronomy 1:6 (NKJV) "The Lord our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ’You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.
SAY WITH ME - YOU HAVE STAYED HERE LONG ENOUGH!
We shouldn’t be so astonished at Israel. Each of us do exactly what they do. We keep going around and around the same mountains instead of making progress.
THE RESULT... it takes us years to experience victory over something that could have and should have been dealt with quickly.
I think the Lord is saying the same thing to you and me today that He said to the Children of Israel in their day:
“You have dwelt long enough on the same mountain; it is time to move on.”
We need to “SET OUR MINDS AND KEEP IT SET”
Colossians 3:2 (NKJV) Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.
We can have right or wrong mindsets. The right ones benefit us, and the wrong ones hurt and hinder our progress.
Colossians 3:2 teaches us to set our minds and keep them set. We need our minds set in the right direction. Wrong mindsets not only affect our circumstances, but they also affect our inner life.
There have been times in my life when my circumstances were not really bad, but I couldn’t enjoy anything in my life because my mind was not in a right place.
At times like that - you can’t enjoy anything because of how you feel inside.
Some people see things negatively because they have experienced unhappy circumstances all their lives and can’t imagine anything getting any better.
Then there are some people who see everything as bad and negative simply because that is the way they are on the inside.
Whatever its cause... a negative outlook leaves a person miserable and unlikely of making any progress toward the Promised Land.
God had called the children of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to go into the land he had promised to give them as a perpetual inheritance - a land that flowed with milk and honey and every good thing that they could imagine - a land in which there would be no shortage of anything they needed - a land of prosperity in every realm of their existence.
Most of the people who left Egypt never entered into the Promised Land but died in the wilderness.
It is the same for us also and it is very sad. We have so much available to us but we are never able to enjoy any of it.
THREE CHALLENGES PETER GIVES CONCERNING OUR MINDS - 1 PETER 1:13
1 Peter 1:13 (NKJV) Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
NASB - Therefore gird up your minds for action...
To this point Peter has been talking about the greatness and the glory which the Christians can look forward to: but we cannot live just in the dreams of the future. We must be ever ready for this present battle.
3 Challenges
1. He tells them to “gird up the loins of their minds"
Or as the NASB puts it "to gird up their minds for action."
This is a vivid phrase. In the east, men wore long flowing robes which hindered fast progress or strenuous action.
Around their waist they wore a broad belt or girdle; and when strenuous action was necessary, they shortened the long robe by pulling it up within the belt in order to give them freedom of movement.
Peter is telling his people that they must be ready for the most strenuous mental endeavors.
They must never be content with a flabby and unexamined mind. They must set to think things out and think them through.
It may be that we will have to discard some things. It may be that we will make mistakes. But as we strive to have the "mind of Christ," (Philippians 2:5), our hearts and minds will be "guarded" through the power of Jesus Himself (Philippians 4:7)
"gird up: gr. "be prepared" (prepare yourself)
"loins of your MIND" - gr. faculty of your understanding, feelings and desires.
This same Greek word is used in:
MAT 22:37 Jesus said to him, " `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your MIND.’ (NKJ)
EPH 1:18 the eyes of you UNDERSTANDING being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, (NKJ)
PHI 2:5 Let this MIND be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (NKJ)
II. He tells them to be sober.
The Greek has two meanings like the English.
1- refrain from drunkenness
2- be steady in your minds
As we must not be intoxicated with intoxicating liquor, we must not have intoxicating thoughts. We must keep a balance in our thought life.
"sober" - gr. used 6x’s in the NT - "calm, collected in spirit.
Barnes - sober - "A man who follows sound reason, not under the control of passions. The idea is that he should have his desires and passions well regulated. He should be prudent."
III. He tells them to completely fix their hope on the grace to be brought to them at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
It is a great characteristic of the Christian that He lives in hope; and because He lives in hope he can endure struggle and hardship... if he is certain that it is leading somewhere.
Notice These Scriptures In Closing...
ROM 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what {is} that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJ)
EPH 4:23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (NKJ)
1 COR 2:16 For "Who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (NKJ)
BODY – Gr. “soma”
3 John 1:2 (NLT) Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.
Psalms 6:2-3 (NLT) (Ps 6:2 (NLT)) Have compassion on me, Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony. (3) I am sick at heart. How long, O Lord, until you restore me?
James 2:26 (NLT) Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
This is where we house our soul and spirit. The area of the senses – touch, taste, smell, hearing, sight.
Body Potential in a 24-hour period:
1. Heart beat – 103,689 times
2- Blood travels – 168,000,000 miles
3- You will breathe – 23,040 times
4- You generate 450 tons of energy
5- You will speak 4800 words (If you are a man)
6- You will move and use over 700 muscles
7- You will walk 7 miles
8- You will use 7 million brain cells
FACTS ABOUT OUR BODY
Psalms 139:13-18 (NLT) You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. (14) Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. (15) You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. (16) You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. (17) How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! (18) I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!
1. God knew me before I was born – vv. 15-16
2. We are fearfully and wonderfully made – v.14
- ex. Skin, bones, eyes, etc.
3. God’s thoughts are precious – v.17
4. Our bodies are to be the temple of God –
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NLT) Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? (17) God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.
5. We must discipline our body
- what we eat, exercise etc.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT) (1Co 9:24 (NLT)) Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! (25) All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. (26) So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. (27) I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
Discipline – gr. To strike one under the eye; to beat black and blue.
Paul says that he’s not shadow boxing but he is actually beating his body under subjection.
It is a person who is being “spirit-ruled” and not “body-ruled.”
6. Not all things are profitable for our body
1 Corinthians 6:12-13 (NLT) You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything. (13) You say, “Food was made for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” (This is true, though someday God will do away with both of them.) But you can’t say that our bodies were made for sexual immorality. They were made for the Lord, and the Lord cares about our bodies.
v.13 addresses the food issue and it also addresses sexual immorality.
7. Our bodies are members of Christ.
16) And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” (17) But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. (18) Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body.
We are to be one with Christ and not the things of this world.
8. Our bodies are not our own but belong to Christ
(19) Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, (20) for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
9. Our bodies are only “temporary housing.”
2 Corinthians 5:1 (NLT) For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
10. Our bodies are to be a living sacrifice to God.
Romans 12:1 (NLT) And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
This decision is up to you.
