Romans 12:1
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.
Therefore, on account of these things we just learned, we Gentile believers saved by God's grace out to present ourselves as living sacrifices unto God. It is logical, knowing we just talked about how God is above all things, and out of Him, through Him, and to Him are all things. By His mercy, He has given Jesus Christ as the propitiation for our sins, and that all who believe in Him will obtain salvation from sin and death and inherit eternal life. Therefore, we ought to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.
What exactly does that mean? Think about the sacrifices that were in place under the Law. They had to be without blemish. They had to be the best of the best, or the first of the harvest, and most certainly not leftovers. Our bodies ought to be used in this way. We should throw off all hindrances and allow God to work through us to bring salvation to those around us. And this so that all people everywhere may hear the gospel and make the decision to receive the gift of salvation or not. Additionally, it will provoke the unbelieving Jew to jealousy, and return them to the true faith.
The Greek word for "I beseech" is "parakaleo." It is a compound word of para (close beside) and kaleo (to call). It has the idea of making a personal call, but it is translated a number of different ways (appeal, beg, beseech, comfort, exhort, implore, plead, etc.)
The Greek for mercies here is different than in the previous verses in chapter 11. In chapter 11 it was the word eleeo, which means to have pity or mercy or to show mercy [1]. Here in 12:1 the word is oiktirmos, which has the meaning of "compassion (pity), i.e. deep feeling about someone's difficulty or misfortune" [1] God loves His creation so much He really stopped at nothing to win it back. He did all the work for us to fix our sin problem by veiling Himself in flesh as Jesus Christ and shedding His blood, being buried, and rising again the third day. Now He holds out the free gift to all who believe that He did that for them. He reconciled the world to Himself through Jesus Christ, now it's up to us to choose to accept or receive that gift. When the believer realizes the gift they have, they ought to desire to please their heavenly Father. It just makes sense, as this verse indicates.
Several verses to cross reference come to mind: 1 Cor 3:16, 6:18-20, Eph 5:25-30, etc.
Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
God just told us we ought to show our bodies to be holy in the previous verse. That was the positive affirmation. Now we have a negative that tells us something similar. Don't be like the world. Why not? because the world is dead in trespasses and sins, destined for destruction. Don't fit into that and be a Christian under-cover. Instead, flourish in who you are, a son or daughter of the living God through Christ Jesus. Be changed in your mind so you can come to that accurate knowledge of the truth (1 tim 2:4). Here we are told we can prove or test the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God if we let Him transform us (cf 1 Cor 2:16).
The Greek here says not to be conformed to this age. The word there is aion, which is a reference to a time, compared to kosmos, which is the created world. God doesn't want us to conform to the temporary of this age, but to set our minds on things above for the age to come (Col 3:1-17).
Romans 12:3
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; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
So knowing what God has gone through to get us to where we are today, we should understand that we were bought with a price and should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to Him. We ought to stand out from the world, not being conformed to it, but clearly be different and allow others to see Christ in us, the hope of glory. For these reasons and understanding the grace of God and Paul's gospel, we shouldn't think ourselves more highly or the "holier than thou" mentality. Instead, be clear-minded as we all have been given the same measure of faith.
What does that mean? It means a couple of things which will be expounded on. First, we all belong to the Body of Christ. It means each believer that is in the Body of Christ has the same hope or expectation, which most call the rapture. It is that blessed hope that we eagerly await for our Savior to call us home to Heaven and give us a body like unto Jesus' body (Titus 2:11-13, Phil 3:20-21). In the moment that we put our faith in the gospel of God's grace as given to the apostle Paul, we align with the faith of Jesus Christ, who is faithful and will perform what He says He will do. In that moment of faith, we become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor 5:21). We are called His saints and His children (Eph 1:1-5). No matter who you are and where you come from, when your faith is placed in Jesus Christ and the work He did for you to save from sins, you have this blessed hope to look forward to.
Beyond that, though, we each are coming from different walks of life.
There are a few definite articles that make a difference here in the Greek. The KJV translates properly the Grace, but then the Greek has another article to emphasize it again. It literally reads "For I say through the grace of that having been given to me..." What grace did Paul receive? He writes about it all over His epistles. It's the glorious gospel of the blessed God where we are saved from sin and death through faith apart from works. The next definite article is to denote "to the all." The KJV has it translated "to every man". The next article occurs in the phrase "but to think soberly." In the Greek, it is "but to be minded toward (eis) that to be sober-minded." Paul is indicating the change that ought to take place after the moment that faith is put into his gospel. Saints shouldn't think of themselves above the rest of the world, but to transform our minds and keep a clear head, and conduct ourselves worthy of the calling that we have been called to (Eph 4:1). Finally, there is a definite article for the God.
Romans 12:4
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
And here we have another unfortunate instance of breaking a sentence up between verse numbers. We'll get the full thought through verse 5. We are introduced to the analogy of the body and understanding that all believers are part of the entity which is the body of Christ. Not everyone is the same, nor do we all do the same line of work. But that doesn't change the fact that we are all members of the body of believers, the body of Christ.
Interesting that the word chosen for the KJV is office at the end of this verse. The Greek word is praxis, which has the definition of an action, deeds, or function [1]. You can see the English word practice in there. I'm sure this is why we still say doctors practice at their clinics; it is the medical function that they are performing. I just wanted to clarify the definition of the word there if it was not already clear. The only other thing to point out in the Greek is the definite article for the members.
Romans 12:5
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
We each have many different parts of or own body, like head, shoulders, knees and toes (sing the song if you'd like), and we each are still considered one entity, one body, as shown inverse four. Just like that, all believers in Christ, though they are all different, are all in the body of Christ. We are all members of that body. Please see 1 Corinthians 12 for further detail on this concept.
The Greek reads differently here, though the concept is the same. For the sake of sticking for the original language, here is a more literal translation:
"In the same manner the many, we, are one body in Christ. According to that now, members one of another."
Romans 12:6
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
God created people, not robots. He didn't make us all the exact same either. Each of us in the Body of Christ have different gifts. The Greek word there indicates these are different graces (charisma) of God. It was His joy to make us unique but able to mesh together into the Body of Christ.
Knowing this, we should each adhere to those things that were graced us to build up the Body. Just like a finger should do what a finger does and the teeth do what they do, we each should use the grace given to us from our benevolent God. We're given two examples in this verse but there are more coming in the next verses. If you were given a ministry of telling forth the word of God, or filling the pulpit, or some sort of missionary work, then do so according to as God has given you.
An interesting thing in this verse is the Greek word for proportion. It is analogia, which should be easy to see where the English analogy comes from. It does mean proportion or measure, but is a compound word of ana (up, denoting motion from a lower plane to higher [2]) and logos (declared speech, reasoning, or word). In a literal sense, then, analogia means an elevated reasoning or moving from a point of comparison up to another. So if prophecy is the grace given to you, as it really is to all of us in the Body (2 Cor 5:18-19), we should be aware of what we are telling forth and make sure that it follows our faith, that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again the third day as a propitiation for our sin debt (1 Cor 15:3-4, Rom 3:21-26). It would do us well to note that there is a definite article here to denote the faith. This could only be faith in the gospel as given to the apostle Paul.
On other thing to point out in the Greek which continues in the next verses, is that all of these things that are noted are to be done "in" (Greek en) the thing that follows. Prophecy is in prophecy, ministry is in ministering, teaching is in teaching, etc.
Romans 12:7
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
Here are two more gifts of grace from God to the members of the church which is His body. If you have the ability to minister or to teach, whole-heartedly pursue those as our great God gives the opportunities (Col 3:23).
The Greek word for ministry and ministering comes from the root diakonia, where we get our English word deacon from. The word has the meaning of service, ministering, especially of those who execute the commands of others [2].
The Greek word for teacheth and teaching here is from the root didasko. It has the meaning to teach (literally, "cause to learn"); instruct, impart knowledge (disseminate information) [1].
There are loads of these opportunities for us each day if we look for them. I don't want anyone to think that if they don't believer they have one of these gifts that they should never use them. What I've noticed is that I have more opportunities in one area than others on a given day, but I have opportunities in all of these. As a parent, I have a plethora of opportunities to teach and minister, and whenever possible to prophesy to the children. God has blessed me with opportunities to fill pulpits as well. What I'm saying is that we all will have different opportunities, different gifts given from God which are good works preordained that we should conduct ourselves in them (Eph 2:10).
Romans 12:8
Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
For those that are especially good with comforting and building up others, or charitable giving, do so whole-heartedly as your work is in the Lord. For those that have been blessed with a position of authority, be sure to lead diligently, knowing your authority is in Heaven (Eph 6:9, Col 4:1). God is consistent with each one of these commands to us throughout scripture. Isn't it nice that He also is showing us the right attitude for doing these things? There is a time for everything, so when these opportunities arise, let us be ready and willing to execute these gifts according to the will of God and to be thankful for each and every one.
I did enjoy looking into the Greek for each of these gifts of God's grace. There are several in this verse, so bear with me. The Greek for exhorteth and exhortation is parakaleo, a compound word of para (alongside) and kaleo (to call). It is also translated as comfort in 2 Cor 1 or 1 Thess 4:18, but is found many times (109 according to biblehub.com) in the New Testament. Calling alongside oneself sure does paint a clear picture of bearing one another's burdens (Gal 6:2) and helping a brother or sister out.
The word for giveth is metadidomi, a compound word of meta (with or after) and didomi (to give or offer). It has the idea of sharing or offering indefinitely, or of changing the owner. These are gifts with no intention of ever being paid back. The word for simplicity here is haplotes, which means simplicity, sincerity, or purity. There should never be an ulterior motive for charitable donation in the eyes of God.
The word for ruleth is proistemi, which is a compound word of pro (before) and histemi (to stand). So it literally means to stand before another or to take the lead. The word for diligence is spoude, which has the idea of hastily zealous diligence. The verb form of that word (spoudazo) is found in Eph 4:3 (endeavor) and 2 Tim 2:15 (study). There's a familiar phrase going around with a lot of truth to it, "With great power comes great responsibility." No matter where you think that came from, God said it first.
We've already looked at the Greek word for mercy before (eleeo), but it may be of interest to see the Greek word for cheerfulness. It is hilarotes, from which we get our English word hilarious. It has the idea of cheerful readyness. Lastly, I want to revisit each of the descriptive words have the little Greek word "en" before them, which means in, within, or among. The KJV translated them as on or with here, which may be misleading. It more literally says this:
Or the one that exorteth, in the exhortation, the one giving, in sincerity, the one leading, in zealous diligence, the one showing mercy, in cheerful readyness.
Romans 12:9
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
I often wonder why people ask the question, "I wonder what God's will is for my life?" when God so clearly lays it out. Sure, the minute details are different for each of us here on this earth, but all that are in the Body of Christ should be generally following the same behavior regardless of what we do. No one should show false charity nor enjoy and condone evil. We should all strive to be good, or more accurately to be godly. God will tell us in the next chapter to put off the old things and put on Christ. We should imitate Christ in our daily life (1 Cor 4:16, 11:1).
The original language is succinct and powerful here. The first part of this verse has three words: he (the) agape (God's unconditional love) anypokritos (not hypocritical). Now the Greek language doesn't have punctuation in it but rather is determined by the parsing of the words. The word for abhor in the Greek is apostugeo, a compound word of apo (away from) and stugeo (hate). This word is in the present tense, not the imperative. The same is true for the verb cleave (kollao). A more proper rendering in my opinion is this and note each definite article:
"The sincere love abhors the evil; cleaves to the good."
God just told us how we ought to behave with the differing gifts each member of the body of Christ has been given. It's summed up here in God's unconditional agape love. God gives us a clear definition of that love in 1 Cor 13. This same love covers a multitude of sins and sums up the Law (Gal 5:13-14, 1 Pet 4:8). Staying in this love forces evil and sin to be removed far from us. But God does warn us if we don't get along, problems ensue (Gal 5:15).
We encounter something quite interesting here. For the next few verses I believe this is a description of agape love, akin to 1 Cor 13. There is no imperative verb in the Greek until we get to verse 14, "Bless". There are no nominative nouns (subjects) until we get to verse 19 either. For these reasons I don't believe that the KJV is accurate. These verses are not commands, but rather descriptions of agape. After verse 13 I'll lay out all the Greek and may the Lord guide us in the truth of these verses.
Romans 12:10
Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
Another Greek word for love besides agape is found in this verse, which we named a city after in the United States: philadelphia. It means brotherly love. There is also another word, which is translated as "kindly affectioned," and that is philostorgos. That has the idea of tenderly loving or devotion, but it is an adjective here so the proper translation would be devoted or kindly affectioned as the KJV has it. While I'm on the Greek, the word for preferring is proegeomai, which is a compound word of pro (before) and hegeomai (lead), and has the idea of going before as a leader.
The Christian walk is consistently described as putting others ahead of the self, which is contrary to our sin nature. Our flesh desires the self to be in front, or has the "What's in it for me?" mentality. But agape love doesn't do this. It tenderly loves with a brotherly love and puts others before the self. We were warned not to have the "holier than thou" mentality in the last chapter when we were made aware that God concluded Israel in unbelief that He may usher in this age of the gospel of His grace. Really, we are seeing Rom 12:3 reiterated here. We can live out Rom 12:3 by practicing agape.
One other thing to note is the definite article for the honour.
Romans 12:11
Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
Agape is not slothful or hesitating in diligence. Love doesn't take a backseat when there is a need, that much should be clear. Quite the opposite, it burns to make things right. This kind of love always serves God because it comes from Him.
It is interesting to note the word for business here is the same as diligence in verse 8 (spoude). Also, the word for serving comes from the Greek douleuo, which has the idea of slaving or being subject to. There are definite articles for the business and the spirit.
Romans 12:12
Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Agape love rejoices in hope, which is an expected end. What end is that? The beautiful reunion of God with His saints. For us in the Body of Christ, that is what is called the rapture event. But really, it includes all of God's saints throughout the ages. Israel has a hope that will come to fruition too. We just read about that in the previous chapter. God is no respecter of persons, so He doesn't love His saints in the Body of Christ more than those faithful in Israel during the dispensation of the gospel of the circumcision. Believers in that age knew God's love and rejoiced in their hope (Psalm 136).
Praise the Lord for His love that sees us through tribulation. It's that love and hope we have that allows us to face our trials and maintain a joyful outlook. It's that same love and hope that allowed Paul and Silas to sing when they were thrown in the Philippian jail (Acts 16:16-25).
The word for continuing here is proskartereo (pros + kartereo), which has the definition to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty [1]. God defines agape as bearing all things, enduring all things, and never failing (1 Cor 13:7-8).
Romans 12:13
Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
I'm not sure if the word distribute has changed over the last 400 years since the printing of the KJV, but I want to clarify what is being said here. The verb is koinoneo, and means to come into communion or fellowship, to become a sharer, be made a partner [2]. I would think the word "Partaking" would fit better in this verse. The word "necessity" is in the Dative case and there is no preposition there, so we must supply one that fits the context. Typically "to" fits, and I think it does here based on word order. A literal rendering may be "To the needs of the saints, partaking." Another could be "To the needs of the saints, having fellowship." Again, we have to go all the way back to verse 9 to get what is partaking here, and it's still agape.
The KJV makes the latter half of this verse much more pleasant sounding. The Greek has more of the idea of persecuting hospitality. The verb there is dioko which is mostly translated as persecute or pursue. It was used of Jesus Christ when He asked, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (Acts 9:4, 22:7, 26:14). The word hospitality is the Greek philoxenia, a compound word of philo (brotherly love) and xenia (stranger or foreigner). Hospitality is a good translation, but I do enjoy seeing the roots of words and where their meaning stems from.
So after all of this, I want to list the attributes of agape in Romans 12:9-13.
Sincere love abhors the evil; cleaves to the good (9), is devoted toward one another with the brotherly love, goes before one another with the honor (10), is not lagging in the diligence, is fervent in the spirit, serves the Lord (11), rejoices in the hope, endures in the tribulation, continues with intense effort in prayer (12), has fellowship with the needs of the saints, pursues hospitality (13).
Can you see many similarities between this list and 1 Cor 13:4-7? I sure can. We get a fuller picture in these two excerpts what God sees as true, unconditional love.
Romans 12:14
Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
This is a command from our God. There will be some that come after us simply because of our faith and the word of God. God sure knows us, too, that we would be tempted to exact retribution on those that would do so. However, to make far more impact, God tells us to bless them instead. Why? Because the impact will be far greater, the seeds of truth can blossom that much fuller, and we get the concept of change burning in the unbeliever down in verse 20.
The word for "persecute" here is the same as "given to" in verse 13. It may be of interest to note the word for "bless" here is the Greek eulogeo, where we get the English word eulogy from. It means to speak well of another, coming from eu (well, good) and logos (word, speech). This is in the imperative here, so we of the Body of Christ are commanded to follow this.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
On the outset, this looks like another command. However, when we look in the Greek it is not. Both of these verbs are in the infinitive. A literal translation is this:
To rejoice with those of rejoicing, to weep with those of weeping.
That's not really a sentence, is it? It would seem that verses 14, 15, and the first part of 16 should be combined into one sentence. Paul is about to tell us of the Body of Christ to be of the same mind in the next verse. To do that, to be of the same mind, we should all bless those that persecute us and not curse them, to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep, minding the same thing one toward another, not minding the haughty things, but being carried away with the humble. If we're all of the same mind in the Body of Christ, these things will follow.
Think about times of fellowship with other believers in the Body of Christ. Do you not rejoice with them in good news? Most of the time it's talking about healing from sickness, answers to hard questions, or about stories of others being saved, though there are plenty of other reasons to rejoice. Do you not weep with them when there's sad news? A brother or sister that is separated, meaning they have passed on into Heaven, brings grief due to the separation. Even though we know where they are, there is still place for grieving as death is not meant to be here. How about sharing accounts of people rejecting the gospel? Opportunities of salvation lost? There are plenty of times where fellow members of the Body of Christ weep together. But the fellowship we share, whether in rejoicing or in weeping, should come from us being of the same mind since we are all part of the one Body.
Romans 12:16
Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.
I've already teased on the first two thirds of this verse since it makes more sense to combine the last 3 verses to one sentence and culminate in the second sentence with the command not to be wise in ourselves. All of these commands in this chapter are telling us how to live out our character as a member in the Body of Christ. Again, it goes back to 12:3. God is laying out the details of what He means there.
Both times we see the word for mind here, and the word wise, the Greek root is the same. It is phren, which has the idea of the midriff or diaphragm; the parts around the heart [2]. The verb form is phroneo, which essentially equates to personal opinion fleshing itself out in action [1]. This is why God wants us to remain humble, in order to save us from the consequences of egoism. The command at the end of this verse more literally says, "Be not minded beside yourselves." In other words, don't inflate yourself or become egotistical. it shouldn't be a characteristic of someone in the Body of Christ. Remember, as a believer, you are holy and without blame before God (Eph 1:4), but that is no reason to flaunt it. The love that lives inside you should compel you to share the gospel of reconciliation with others sot they may partake with all the spiritual blessings in the heavenlies with you (2 Cor 5:13-21, Eph 1:3).
Romans 12:17
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
Here again, we should have verse 17 combined with the end of verse 16 to complete the thought. There is no command given in the Greek in verse 17, but rather "recompense" and "provide" are both in the present tense. Combining this with the previous verse gives this:
Be not minded beside yourselves, recompensing to no one evil for evil, providing good in the eyes of all mankind.
All of these are things we ought to be doing, but I think it's important to stick with the same tense of the original language so we understand the truth of what God is trying to tell us. We are commanded not to be egotistical. The consequence of obeying that will be fleshed out by not repaying evil for the evil done to us and doing good before all eyes.
Other things to note is that the word "for" here is the Greek "anti" which means in place of, instead of, or opposite. The word for "recompense" is apodidomai, which is a compound word of apo (away from) and didomai (to give). We have the idea of giving away evil against evil to no one. Really it's the same concept as the KJV has, but the original language provides a deeper definition. Finally, note the phrase "all men" which is repeated in the next verse. The phrase in the Greek indicates all mankind and not just men and excluding women.
Romans 12:18
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Isn't it interesting that we have a hypothetical about living at peace here? Does not God know mankind? Since He does know us and that we are prone to fighting because of sin, He tells us here as far as ability goes to have peace with all mankind.
Take a look back in this chapter at the ways we ought to be living as members of the church, the Body of Christ. We ought to bless those who do evil to us, not recompensing the same evil back to them. isn't that our nature though? He did it to me so I want to do it to him. Or let's see how she likes it. God doesn't want us to behave that way.
A similar concept is in the Greek, but once more there is no imperative here. The verb to "live peaceably" is in the present tense and is something we ought to be doing on a continual basis. The word for "if" is "ei" which is the factual statement, not a conditional. A more literal translation is this:
Since it is possible, that out of you all being at peace with all mankind.
Again, we get a better picture by combining verses since it looks like we don't finish the thought here. I'll do that with verse 19 and allow the bible student to prayerfully consider what I say.
Romans 12:19
Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
Now we know the reasoning as to why we don't repay evil against evil. God tells us He will do that Himself. Think of a time when you took your case to your father, or mother, or another authority, and their response was something like, "Don't worry about. I'm going to take care of it." That's what we have here. As we spread the gospel of the grace of God, we will meet with resistance (2 Tim 4:1-5). We will be persecuted simply because of our faith (Gal 5:11, 6:12, 2 Tim 3:12). But we should live peaceably with all mankind because of the grace and peace God is giving us. God will take care of those who treat you with evil in the perfectly just way.
Okay, we need to reconstruct the last couple of verses to get the tenses right again. First the "dearly beloved" appears in the vocative case, but isn't the beginning of this thought. It comes after the "avenge not yourselves," and really is an adjective of the root agapetos and should be rendered "beloved." The verb "avenge" is in the present tense, not the imperative. A more literal translation is this:
Not avenging yourselves, beloved, but rather give (imperative) place to the wrath.
What wrath is the wrath? God explains it is His right to repay to those who do evil to Him and His saints. God quotes Himself from Deuteronomy 32:35.
Putting together the previous verse with this one makes more sense. Here's the latter part of 18 and then the first part of this verse. I'll leave it to the student to decide if this is more accurate to what God is saying.
Since it is possible, that out of you all being at peace with all mankind, not avenging yourselves, beloved, but rather give place to the wrath.
Romans 12:20
Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
It seems to me that the KJV translators were taking a bit more liberty in this chapter. There is no "therefore" in the Greek here. Instead, it is a continuation of the previous point. Instead of avenging ourselves, we should give place to the wrath. We encounter the same language here. Instead of avenging ourselves, should an enemy hunger or thirst, we should give them what they need. God gives us the reason why: it puts burning coals on their head.
Now I hope no one thinks this is literally what happens in our kind acts of service. What came to my mind first are these three passages:
Romans 1:16
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
2 Corinthians 10:4-6
4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.
Ephesians 6:12-18
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints
The spoken word of God has the ability to remove carnal thoughts. The word of God is the power to translate someone from unbelief to belief. Hearing the word of God and seeing His agape love played out will put the burning desire to know the truth on everyone.
The original language starts out with "alla" which means "but rather." Again, there is no "therefore" in the Greek. The "ifs" here are "ean" which is the conditional version of if. The rest of the verse is spot on with the Greek.
Romans 12:21
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
We close this chapter with two commands of God which sum up this chapter beautifully. We were introduced that our reasonable service to God is to offer our bodies for His use. We have all the reasons why from Romans chapters 1 through 11. After this, we are told how our mindset should be and how our daily conduct should look in the agape love of God. God detailed what He meant in verse 1 through the rest of this chapter.
Though we have differing gifts, we are to conduct ourselves similarly. Whether one has more opportunities or excels as prophesying, teaching, etc., we all should be united under the agape love of God, not thinking ourselves as above anyone else, but rather putting others before ourselves. By following all of these commands and knowing who we are in Christ, these two commands of verse 21 will follow. Evil will be overcome in the good.
There are three definite articles that aren't translated here. The preposition translated as "of" is hupo, which more properly means under or subordinate. The preposition translated as "with" is en, which means in or among. A more literal translation of this verse is:
Be not overcome under the evil, but overcome the evil in the good.
Remember how God told us we more than conquer through Christ in Romans 8:37? Doesn't that look similar to what is being said here? Knowing that we are in Christ and how we ought to conduct ourselves in good works as a result of being in Christ, we will overcome the evil (Eph 2:10). But therein lies a choice, doesn't it? We can choose to obey God and overcome the evil in the good, or we can choose to let it get the best of us (Eph 5:17-18). None of that affects our salvation from sin and death, but it sure affects our life here on this earth. We'll be getting plenty more commands from God in the chapters to come so that we know how we ought to conduct ourselves in the Body of Christ.
References
HELPS Word-studies [1]
Thayer's Greek Lexicon [2]
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