The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 345

ilnm juvo.tur cwhortntinnibue," Dongel), that the tr!l'n.slation given aJ,,,vr, bein~ drA<, t,, :,e pre■ent :,our bodie1 a living aaoriflce, the ongm~l.) It is a rnatt,Jr ,,f no impr,rtanr,P, holy, aooeptable unto God, which is your for exege81S that ancient authr,riti-,3 l~av13 it reasonable service, Tho vorb 1rapa11-r71rra, ie uncertain whether the verbs at the be'!:innirw tho usunl one for the preBenting of sacrificial of this verse ebould be read "" irn;rative; o.uirnnls o.t the altnr (Xon., 'Annb.,' vi. I. 22; (11u11x11,u,.-ri(errBe and µ<'T'aµop,poiirr8,) or a3 Lucian, 'Do Bncrif.,' 13. The LXX in Lev. iafinitives (<1urrx11µa-rl(,11B~, anr! W"'worr xvi. 7, 10, hBS IT'Tf)IT«, er. Luke ii. 22 ; Col. i. q,ov11Bw), I'! the latt.er caae they:depenrl, with 22, 28, o.nd supra, vi. 13). Our bodies a.re 1rapu1TTTJ1Ta, ID ver. 1, on Tapcuca>.,,,. The mean- here specified, with probable referflnco to the ing remains unaffected. As to the wr,rr13 bodies of victims which were offered in the themselves, Meyer's assertion that they stand old ritunl. But our offering differs from in_ contra.at 01:1Jy through the p-re]>')sitioM, them in being " a living so.crifice," replete without any difference of sense in the stem- with life and energy to do God's will (cf. worcls, is surely wrong. St. Paul is not in Ps. xl. 6, 7, 8, and Heb. x. 5, 6, 7), yea, and the habit of varying his exprf:SSions without even inspired with a new life-a life from a meaning; and he might have written µ,-.a- the dead (eh. vi. 13). Further, the thought ux11µ.o.-rl(err8e (cf. 1 Cor. iv. 6; 2 Cor. xi. 13, is suggested of the abuse of the body to un- 14 ; Phil. iii. 21) instead of µ.e-ra.u.op,pou,;9, cleanness prevalent in heathen society ( cf. or uuµµnpq,ovrrBe ( cf. Phil. iii. 10) instead of eh. i. 24). The bodies of Christians are 11urrx11µ.o.Ti(err9e. And there is an esse::).. '' members of Christ," "temples of the Holy tial difference between the seDBeS in which Ghost," consecrated to God, and to be devoted rrx11µ..,,. and µnpq,f, may be -ised. The former to his service (cf. 1 Cor. vi. 15, etc.); and denotes outward fashion, which may be not in heart only, but in actual life, of fleeting, and belonging to accident and cir- whioh the body is the agent, we are to offer cumstance; the latter is used to express ourselves, after the example of Christ, Your essential form, in virtue of which a thing ~ reasonable service(-r¾w AO')'<K~v M.-rpelav {,µii,v) what it is; cf. Phil. iii. 21, and also (though must be taken in apposition to "present your Meyer denies any distinction here) Phil. ii. bodies," rather than to "sacrifice," it beinp 6, 7. The apostle warns his readers not to the act of offering, and not the thing offerea, follow in their ways of life the jaJJhums of that constitutes the ;\a-rp.ta. This word is this present world, which nre both false and especially used for the ceremonial worship fleeting (cf. 1 Cor. vii 31, IIapa-ye, 'Y<Jf' .,-o of the Old Testament (cf. Exod.. xii, 25, 26; ux:;,µ.o. -rou Ko11µnu TOIITou ), but to undergo xiii. 5 ; eh. ix. 4; Heb. viii. 5 ; ix. 1, 6, 9 ; such a change of essential form as to pre- x. 2; xiii. 10), the counterpart of whioh in clude their doing so. If they become (JlJ,u- Christians is, e,ocording to St. Paul, not µ&p,po, with Christ ( cf. eh. ,iii 29), the ceremonial service, but rather that of a world's fashions will not affect them. The devoted life (cf. Acts xxvii. 23; eh. i. 9; phrase," this world" or" a,,<>e"("'P "'"'"'To,;.,..,), Phil. iii. 3 ; 2 Tim. i. 3; Heb. xii. 28). The may be understood with reference to th~ epithet Ao')'•K~v has been variously under- rabbinical division of time into alcl,v o~os, stood. It pl'obnbly means rational, denoting and cucliv µbv,OTV, or lpx6µ,vos; the latter 11 more.I and spiritual serving of God, in denoting the age of the Messiah. The Kew implied opposition to mecho.nical acts of Testament writers seem to regru,l them- onhmrd worship, "Reepectu intellectus et selves as still in the former, though to iliem volnntatie" (Bengel). It mny be taken to it is irradiated by bel\DlS from the latter, express the same idea. as ol Ilvevµan 0e,p which had already dawned in Christ. though 11.a-rpeoov-res (Phil. iii. 8), and 1rveuµa-r1~v not to be fully realized till the Tt1povrr1a (see llurrlav (1 Pet. ii. 7; cf. John iv. 24). Though note on Hob. i. 2). The transformation hero the offering of the body is being spoken of, spoken of consists in the renmcal of the mind yet "bodily self.sacrifice is an etliical act" (-rov vol>s), whioh denote11 the nuderst~ding, (Meyor). Cf. 1 Cor. vi. 20, The word itself or thinking power, regarded as to its moral occurs in the Now Testrunent only here o.nd activity. And Christian re11~cal imparts in 1 Pet. ii. 2, where its melllling, though not only the will nnd power to do God':i obeoure, mny bo simila.r. will, but also intelligence to di&eru it. Vor. 2.-And be not oonformed to (rnther, Hence follows eis TO lio,uµ.afeu, ilµ.as, etc. (cf. fashioned after; the verb is uurrx11µuTl(eJ• Eph. iv. 17, 23; 1 Tim. ,·i. 5; 2 Tim. iii. S : Ba,) this world; but be ye transformed (the o.nd nlso s"pra eh. i. 2S, where the Geutile:i verb here is µe-ruµopq,oii119a,) by the renew- were said to hnve beeu given up, in judg- ing of your mind, that ye may prove (or, ment, ,is clliJKiµov voiiv, whcu aoo1<1µov may diacern) what iB the will of God, that whioh possibly mean m1dis=illg. St'e noto ou is good and aooeptable and perfeot, (So, fu11t pil&!Bgl]). It is to be obsl'.r,ed, bstly, mthor than ne in tho Authorized Vereion; funt the pl'l'sent tc:uses of tho wrbs trv- tho opithete acceptable nud perfect not being lTX'll'-"Tl(ea-Ge and µE"Tc,µopq,oii.,.0,. unlike the propl'rlI applionble to tl10 will of God; und previous nori.st trUf'«orrij;rui, intim,,tu pro-  'l'RE EPISTLE 01<' PAUL TO THE ROMANS. [OB. :ir:u.1-21.