Dedication — Romans 12:1
Dedication means "given up to," or "devoted to." It is used to describe those things which were devoted to the service of God. All the things willingly offered by the children of Israel towards the construction of the tabernacle were of this character. The offering of the princes recorded in Numbers 7 is spoken of as "dedicating," and the material given willingly by the people was doubtless of this character too. As handed to Moses it was at once devoted to the service of God. No one would have attempted to reclaim anything so given; it was irrevocably given up to the service of God. With this in mind we refer again to the first verse of Romans 12.
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
We have called attention to the fact of the children of Israel dedicating certain materials to the service of God, but here we go beyond certain things, and are faced with the fact that it is ourselves we are to dedicate, not merely that which we possess. It follows that if we dedicate ourselves to God all that we possess will be at His disposal also. The word is "your bodies," and that involves ourselves entirely — our minds, our movements, our desires, are all bound up with and function in relation to our bodies. It is to be absolute, and without any reserve.
Let us note that we are given the privilege of doing this. That which is referred to here is not what Christ has done for us, nor what the Holy Spirit has done for us, nor what God has done for us. What divine Persons have done for us is clearly stated in the first three verses of Romans 8, now the challenge is as to what our answer is to be. If we appreciate that which has reached us through the mercies of God, we shall yield ourselves and all that we have in willing service to God. This is true dedication.
The Levites after their dedication, as recorded in Numbers 8, are surely a type of this. All their subsequent movements had a bearing on the tabernacle service, and likewise our service should be related to those interests of divine Persons which answer in a spiritual sense to the tabernacle today. How wonderful that we in our day may be here for the pleasure of God, devoting our whole life to His interests!
Whatever is devoted to God must be characteristically holy; He can use only that which is such in His service. Our bodies are said to be earthen, corruptible, etc., but Scripture does not refer to them as sinful. If the body were sinful, how could we yield it to God as holy? No physical change has yet taken place in our bodies, but we nevertheless can present them as holy for the service of God.
This word holy is closely allied with sanctification, which means "kept apart from evil." Before the mercies of God reached us and set us right with Himself, we used our bodies entirely for our own will, and in sinful practices. Now we may use this same body in the holy service of God. It is not that the body has changed; we have changed, and the evidence that we appreciate the work of God which has wrought this change is seen in our preparedness to give to Him all that we are capable of giving in view of His own pleasure. That is the meaning of the word "acceptable," which carries the thought of "well-pleasing." What a triumph for God and what blessing for us, that we who once lived only to please ourselves, now live for the pleasure of God!
Ere leaving this verse, do not let us think that this is some advanced state into which we grow. The apostle says it is our "reasonable service," or it may read "intelligent service," and should be true of every saint of God who has rightly valued the work that God has done on our account. If God has done so much for us, and so values us that He has done this to secure us for Himself, then ought we not in everything to devote ourselves to Him for His service today? This truly is what dedication involves. May we all seek grace to answer to it.
Here is a quote. Everything becomes worship, even work ;) when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of his presence.
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