Keys to Kingdom Greatness

📖 The Scoop

There is no way you are ever going to experience personally how wonderful, how good and well-pleasing and perfect God's will is until you: a) Know what it is, and b) try it for yourself. Paul wants us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can experience how wonderful doing God's will is. To prove (dokimazo to approve, test, try, find out) in this case has the idea of finding out and substantiating by personal experience. You won't taste how good God's will is until you do it; you won't do it until you know what it is; you won't know what it is until you renew your mind. How do we renew our minds? The noun (anakainosis) is only used here and Titus 3:5, "according to his mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." The verb is only used two other times, 2 Corinthians 4:16, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though the outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." Some clues for renewing our minds are these: The renewing is something the Holy Spirit does (Titus 3:5). An outside (A)gent is also implied in the other two verses where "being renewed," or "is renewed," are both in the passive voice. In other words the inward man, or new man, is not renewing himself (which would require the Greek middle voice), but something or someone outside of him is doing the renewing. Nevertheless, living according to the Spirit does not mean we are passive (8:1-17). As mentioned, it requires our willpower and having a spiritual mindset (see Walking According to the Spirit). Our part in "renewing" our minds would include the Spirit-aided obedience of thinking "on the things of the Spirit" which will include attention to the lifestyle commands which follow (the rest of Romans, 12:3ff.), and ultimately all the Scriptures. The command "be transformed" concurs with this. The word metamorphoo, the word from which we derive metamorphosis, is only used four times in the New Testament. Twice in reference to the transfiguration (Mt. 17:2; Mk 9:2), and illustration of the transformation we will experience when we get our glorified bodies. - Author.

Genre: Religion / General (fancy, right?)