In his book to the Romans, the apostle Paul uses strong terms to compel the church into a specific system of thought, saying, ‘I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service’ (Romans 12:1). The apostle refers not to one body, but to plural – signalling the physical body, mental body, and the spiritual body – appealing to the church that they fully hand over all of themselves to God and die to self. He continues to say, ‘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’ (v.2); showing the church that stagnation is not the way of the kingdom, we have to be continually transforming to who God says we are. He shows what this process of transformation yields in the life of a believer; their ability to determine the [good, acceptable, and perfect] will of all, revealing the resulting stages of growth as one continually converts. Central to this path of growth, is the daily mortification of self.
Dying to self is essential because it kills self-centeredness, wherein you think everything happens for and because of you, which leads to a belief that whenever you do not get your way, there is something being kept from you. This is what we see in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. The Bible tells us, ‘Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made’ (Genesis 3:1), we see the subtle ways of satan – he did not use assertive beings, but came as a sly whisper that can remain undetected for long. This is what he does even today, where he plants subtle thoughts in our minds that will then grow to manifest the fruit of sin. He did this to Jesus Himself and you are no different, Satan will come and attempt to introduce perversion in your thoughts and it will be your vigilance and knowledge of the Word that will uncover him. Satan will test your knowledge like he did Eve, saying to her, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’? – see the trickery of satan, he presents an inflated sense of loss for Eve on the account of God, as if God would withhold all good things from His children, tainting Eve’s understanding of the goodness of God. And revealing her ignorance and gap in understanding, Eve responded, ‘We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’ (v.2-3). Eve amended the instruction of God; God never said to never look nor touch the tree, and He did not suggest that they might die, but assured them that they certainly would – this is the opening that Satan used to exploit Eve. There was no strong conviction, thus Eve could be uprooted through trickery. Later, we then see Eve ‘see’ that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable for wisdom (v.6) – a negative revelation from the enemy that brought understanding which caused her to act against the counsel of God. Eve was deceived into thinking God had something to gain from withholding something from her; she had placed herself at the center of her universe, which eventually led her out of the will of God.
Relatedly, Proverbs 13:10 tells us ‘By pride comes nothing but strife, but with the well-advised is wisdom’. In our day, we have only focused on one element of pride, the loud arrogance, but there is also the other end that is just as deadly – low self esteem. Low self esteem is a result of one being so consumed with themselves and what others have to say about them – self-centeredness in its highest form. Real humility is not going above or below the Word of God, it is agreeing with exactly what it says and running forward on that foundation. Saints, we have to come to a place where darts from the enemy do not easily discourage us, we need to know what God has said and uncover all that is in our heart that does not align with this truth. Ask yourself, why do you think the way you think, how do I let God’s word in to shine light in these areas? Revelation brings freedom, demons will flee the entrance of light and understanding – that is the power of the Word! He says, ‘He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction’ (Psalms 107: 20-22). This is our sure deliverance, church!
Prayer
Father, we thank Your word that has the potency to both heal and deliver us. The understanding of Your word brings freedom, and it is the highest form of defence we have in this war against the enemy. Father, we therefore pray, that the eyes of our understanding be opened, that our hearts be flooded with light, that we may know the hope of our calling, the riches of Your glorious inheritance in us Your people. The son of perdition has nothing on us! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
