Background Scripture: Romans 12:3-8
LessonContext: The book of Romans falls into two major sections. The first part, Romans 1-11, features some of the most doctrinally heavy thoughts in all the Scripture. A shift comes with Romans 12-16, which addresses how Christians should then live in the light of truth of those doctrines. Today’s lesson comes from the second section.
1. How to Think (Romans 12:3-5)
A. About Self (v. 3)
3a. “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think.” There is a play upon words in this phrase and those which follow which is nor preserved, and can hardly be preserved, in the English. “Not to be high-minded beyond that which he ought to be minded, but to be minded unto sober-mindedness.”
B. About Others (vv.4-5)
4. For we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office. Paul uses his analogy of the human body also in 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 and Ephesians 4:16. It should be obvious that not all parts of the body perform the same function. A hand does no function as an ear and vice versa. The word office is not referring to the office of elders or deacon. The Greek underneath this word is translated “deeds” in Romans 8:13 and Colossians 3:9, and that is the same sense here.
5. “So we, Being many, as one body in Christ, and every one member one of another. Paul desired his readers to think in terms of one as a collective singular of many. As Christians cannot serve effectively apart from other Christians, so also one body cannot operate independently of the head who is Christ.”
11. How to Serve (Romans 12:6-8)
A. With Well-Defined Gifts (vv.6-8a)
6. “Having then gifts differeing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith.” With the word prophecy, Paul begins a list of seven gifts differeing, which fall into a group of four and a group of three. The gift of prophecy is also found in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and Ephesians 4:11. Paul prized the appropriate display of this gift (see 1 Corinthians 14).
7a. “Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering” We move to the second gift in Paul’s grouping of four. The word translated ministry and ministering is also translated to “serve” in Romans 15:31, and that is the sense here. “Service” was the usual way to describe the work that Christians did on behalf of others.
References: David Gudik: Study of Romans,International Sundau School Lessons KJV 2023-2024