Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.
Romans 12:1- A Living Sacrifice
This title may seem initially strange to you, and you may have wondered for a second if there was really sacrifice in worship. I too didn’t realize this until the Lord opened my eyes to this truth but there is. The Lord led me to Romans 12:1 to verify this truth that our true and proper worship is when we are to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.
What exactly is worship, the importance of it and what happens when we worship? Worship according to Webster’s 1828 Dictionary is “to adore; to pay divine honors to; to revere with supreme respect and veneration.”
Derek Prince argues that true worship is not passive or purely spiritual — it is a full-body activity that engages spirit, soul, and body together. He believed that worship is the highest human activity (direct, intimate, personal communion with God), it belongs to God alone, and it requires the total surrender of your entire being.
Prince’s central discovery from studying every Hebrew and Greek word for worship in the Bible — is that every word for worship describes a physical posture: bowing the head, lifting hands, spreading hands, kneeling, clapping, shouting, dancing, and falling prostrate on one’s face. Each posture carries meaning: kneeling signifies total submission to God’s sovereignty; falling prostrate expresses complete dependence; dancing reflects liberation and joy in the Lord.
He explains the flow as: the Holy Spirit stirs the spirit, the spirit directs the soul, and the soul moves the body. Christians who suppress physical expression are essentially imprisoning their spirits. The opposite error — body and soul going through religious motions without the spirit — produces empty religion.
Prince also distinguishes thanksgiving (acknowledging God’s goodness), praise (acknowledging His greatness), and worship (acknowledging His unique holiness) — noting that Psalm 100:4 maps the path: thanksgiving at the gate, praise in the courts, and worship in His presence. He also believed that worship served as the necessary entry point into God’s presence before effective prayer.
Prayer according to the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary means “in worship, a solemn address to the Supreme Being, consisting of adoration, or an expression of our sense of God’s glorious perfections, confession of our sins, supplication for mercy and forgiveness, intercession for blessings on others, and thanksgiving, or an expression of gratitude to God for his mercies and benefits.”
This is incredibly important, whatever you worship or pray to you make it your Supreme Being and deity but since worship as I said earlier is the highest human activity as it requires surrendering of our entire being, that belongs only to God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the triune God- God the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit- the only Supreme Being.
Idolatry in the Webster’s 1828 Dictionary means “the worship of idols, images, or any thing made by hands, or which is not God.” If we worship and pray to anything else which is not God, you also bow down to that making the person or thing a deity or Supreme Being in your life which is idolatry. Simply put, if it’s not the triune God of the Bible and you pray to it, it’s idolatry.
God explicitly commands as part of His ten commandments, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3), indicating He will not share His glory with anyone or anything else, rightly so. He is the one and only God, Creator of all the universe. We see in Psalm 141:2 that our prayers go up before God as sweet-smelling incense and in worship by lifting up of our hands as the evening sacrifice.
2 Corinthians 2:15 shows us that believers in Christ are the aroma of Christ to God. In Philippians 4:16-19 Paul shows us how, it’s the way in which we live our lives goes up as a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. On the other hand, it can go up as a horrible stench if we live our lives badly.
In true worship, as I mentioned Derek Prince stated, is a full-body activity that engages spirit, soul, and body together to God in total surrender of the entire being. Jesus our Savior, the sinless and spotless lamb, offered Himself up as a pure sacrifice in total surrender of His entire being- spirit, soul and body in worship, to reconcile us back to God.
He first surrendered and sacrificed His soul which is His mind, will and emotions in the garden of Gethsemane, which now allows us healing for our souls. On the whipping post He sacrificed His body, which allows us access for healing in our bodies. Last but not least, on the cross He willingly gave up His spirit so that we could have, spiritual and eternal life, the hope of heaven. Christ’s work on the cross was absolutely perfect.
Nothing could we do to gain salvation for it’s by grace we have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). We also certainly didn’t deserve it because while we were still sinners Christ died for us in demonstration of His love for us (Romans 5:8) and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Going back to where we started in Romans 12:1, in view of God’s mercy by of what our Savior did for us, let us worship Him by the way we live our lives in true and proper worship offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy, acceptable and pleasing to God.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we have been crucified with Christ (that is, in Him we have shared His crucifixion); it is no longer we who live, but Christ lives in us. The life we now live in the body we live by faith (by adhering to, relying on, and completely trusting) in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself up for us (Galatians 2:20).
In this world at times, it may be difficult to live a life pleasing to God, Jesus Himself said in John 16:33 that in this world we will have trouble but to take heart, He has already overcome the world through His perfect work on the cross and because of this, in Him we would have peace. Derek Prince also affirmed that true worship is the pathway to entering God’s rest where we are able to hear Him more clearly.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:31 describes his daily surrender to God, where he says he dies daily facing constant persecution and overcoming selfish desires. If we are to be His disciples Luke 9:23 states that we are to deny ourselves and take up our cross daily, obey and follow Him. When we surrendered to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we are supposed to surrender every aspect of ourselves to Him.
It’s a daily sacrifice and surrendering where we start our day with him, end our day with Him and all throughout the die we keep our focus on Him. How do we know what is pleasing to Him and what His will is for us? His will is His word. In the Bible we find out what His will is for our lives and if you have any problem, in there, you’ll always find the answer.
In your daily walk and fellowship with Jesus and by spending more time with Him and His word you get to know Him more and develop an intimate relationship with Him. When this happens, you are less likely to fall for the increasing deception in these last days that may deceive, if possible, even the elect.
One day the Lord revealed this simple yet profound truth to me, that people may at first think they have to sacrifice so much to take up their cross and follow Him, but in that sacrifice they actually gain so much more in this life and in the next, and woe it is unto them who don’t follow Him for the cost of that, the consequences, are dire- eternal life in hell.
As we reflect this Easter about the perfect work Jesus has done on the cross, let us thank and praise Him and be in awe of Him, of His holiness and wonder. Let us pay Him divine honor and worship Him, honor Him and revere Him with our entire being and posture. For this is the one thing we can give to Him for all He has done for us.
The greatest gift and expression of love this world has ever and will ever know is God the Father sending His one and only son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16), and Jesus, the willing, spotless and sinless sacrifice gave Himself completely to reconcile us with the Father so that we may live. For this our God alone is more than worthy.
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Jesus is the resurrection and the life and whoever believes in Him, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Him shall never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26) Do you know where you are going after this life?
You are greatly loved by God and if He had to come and endure what He did for only you, I assure you He would have. There’s no sin too great to keep you from God’s love and today is the day of salvation for tomorrow or even the next hour is promised to no man. If you have backslidden and want to come back to God or if you have never surrendered yourself to Jesus and want to or maybe you want to renew your covenant with Him, I urge you to say this prayer.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for sacrificing your one and only son Jesus so that you can have a relationship with me again after the fall of Adam. Thank you Jesus for willingly enduring the brutal torture and pain for me. In all you did, I thank you for providing healing for my body, soul and spirit. Father I am a sinner and I need a savior; I repent of all of my sins. I humble myself- my spirit, soul and body before you Heavenly Father and come before you in the name of Jesus. Your Word says, "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21). I am calling on You now.
Your word also says that if I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in my heart that God has raised Him from the dead, I will be saved (Romans 10:9). Father, I do so now, I confess with my mouth and make Jesus Christ my Lord and savior and I believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead on the third day. Jesus, I present myself as a living sacrifice to You, and ask You to come into my heart.
Here I am Lord, use me and reveal yourself to me in great and mighty ways so that I may glorify you and worship you by the way I live, and reflect you to others. I thank you Jesus that through you I am now reborn, a new creation, the old has passed away; behold, the new has come as the Holy Spirit comes and lives within me. I am now yours Lord and you are now mine forever. In Jesus’ matchless and mighty name, I pray, Amen.
Congratulations your name is now written in the lamb’s book of life, and you have the hope of heaven, hope of eternal life with our heavenly father. All the angels are rejoicing greatly as you have turned to God (Luke 15:7). I urge you now to read your bible and spend time with God getting to know Him and ask the Lord to lead you to join a good Bible-based church to continue your journey. To find out more you can download this free pamphlet, “Jesus, Why It Is the Way It Is by Robin D Bullock, I know it will bless you greatly: https://robindbullock.netviewshop.com/shopDetail/JESUSTRACT
If you would like to go a step further and be baptized with the Holy Spirit, to Receive and Walk in Power see our blog post below: https://absolutetruth7.com/receive-and-walk-in-power/
References:
Prince, Derek. “Free to Worship (Part 1): Derek Prince Ministries.” Derek Prince Ministries International, www.derekprince.com/teaching/95-2.
Prince, Derek. “Worship and Rest: Sermon: Derek Prince Ministries.” Derek Prince Ministries International, www.derekprince.com/sermons/484.
Prince, Derek. “Worship: Sermon: Derek Prince Ministries.” Derek Prince Ministries International, www.derekprince.com/sermons/483.
“Webster’s Dictionary 1828 - Idolatry.” Websters Dictionary 1828, webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/idolatry.
“Webster’s Dictionary 1828 - Prayer.” Websters Dictionary 1828, webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/prayer.
“Webster’s Dictionary 1828 - Worship.” Websters Dictionary 1828, webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/worship.
