12Therefore, I urge you,^f brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,^g holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ²Do not conform^h to the pattern of this world,ⁱ but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.^j Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is^k—his good, pleasing^l and perfect will.

Humble Service in the Body of Christ

³For by the grace given me^m I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,ⁿ ⁵so in Christ we, though many, form one body,^o and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts,^p according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying,^q then prophesy in accordance with your^a faith;^r ⁷if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;^s ⁸if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;^t if it is giving, then give generously;^u if it is to lead,^b do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love in Action

⁹Love must be sincere.^v Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.^w ¹⁰Be devoted to one another in love.^x Honor one another above yourselves.^y ¹¹Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor,^z serving the Lord. ¹²Be joyful in hope,^a patient in affliction,^b faithful in prayer.^c ¹³Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.^d Practice hospitality.^e

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you;^f bless and do not curse. ¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.^g ¹⁶Live in harmony with one another.^h Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.^c Do not be conceited.ⁱ

¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil.^j Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.^k ¹⁸If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.^l ¹⁹Do not take revenge,^m my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”^dⁿ says the Lord. ²⁰On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”^e^o

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Submission to Governing Authorities

13Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities,^p for there is no authority except that which God has established.^q The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted,^r and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.^s ⁴For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.^t ⁵Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.^u

⁶This is also why you pay taxes,^v for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes;^w if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Love Fulfills the Law

⁸Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.^x ⁹The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”^a^y and whatever other command there may be, are summed up^z in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^b^a ¹⁰Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.^b

The Day Is Near

¹¹And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come^c for you to wake up from your slumber,^d because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹²The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.^e So let us put aside the deeds of darkness^f and put on the armor^g of light. ¹³Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness,^h not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.ⁱ ¹⁴Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,^j and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.^c^k

Read in Logos

Footnotes

aOr the
bOr to provide for others
cOr willing to do menial work
d Deut. 32:35
e Prov. 25:21, 22
a Exodus 20:13–15, 17; Deut. 5:17–19, 21
b Lev. 19:18
cIn contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.

Cross references

f Eph 4:1; 1 Pe 2:11
g Ro 6:13, 16, 19; 1 Co 6:20; 1 Pe 2:5
h 1 Pe 1:14
i 1 Co 1:20; 2 Co 10:2; 1 Jn 2:15
j Eph 4:23
kSee Eph 5:17
lSee 1 Ti 5:4
m Ro 15:15; 1 Co 15:10; Gal 2:9; Eph 3:7; 4:7; 1 Pe 4:10, 11
n 1 Co 12:12–14; Eph 4:16
o 1 Co 6:15; 10:17; 12:12, 20, 27; Eph 2:16; 4:4, 25; 5:30; Col 3:15
p 1 Co 7:7; 12:4, 8–10
qSee Eph 4:11
r 1 Pe 4:10, 11
sSee Eph 4:11
t Ac 11:23; 13:15; 15:32
u 2 Co 8:2; 9:5–13
v 2 Co 6:6; 1 Ti 1:5
w Ps 97:10; Am 5:15; 1 Th 5:21, 22
x Ps 133:1; 1 Th 4:9; Heb 13:1; 1 Pe 1:22
y Php 2:3
z Ac 18:25
a Ro 5:2
b Heb 10:32, 36
cSee Lk 18:1
dSee Ac 24:17
e 2 Ki 4:10; Job 31:32; 1 Ti 3:2; 5:10; Heb 13:2; 1 Pe 4:9
fSee Mt 5:44
g Job 30:25
hSee Ro 15:5
iver 3; Ps 131:1; Isa 5:21; Jer 45:5; Ro 11:25
jver 19; Pr 20:22; 24:29
k 2 Co 8:21
lSee Mk 9:50; See Ro 14:19
mver 17; Lev 19:18; Pr 20:22; 24:29
n Dt 32:35; Ge 50:19; 1 Sa 26:10; Ps 94:1; Jer 51:36
o Pr 25:21, 22; Ex 23:4; Mt 5:44; Lk 6:27
p Tit 3:1; 1 Pe 2:13, 14
q Da 2:21; 4:17; Jn 19:11
r Ex 16:8
s 1 Pe 2:14
t 1 Th 4:6
u Pr 24:21, 22
v Mt 22:17
w Mt 17:25; 22:17, 21; Lk 23:2
xver 10; See Mt 5:43; Jn 13:34; Col 3:14
y Ex 20:13–15, 17; Dt 5:17–19, 21
z Mt 7:12
a Lev 19:18; See Mt 5:43
bSee ver 8; ver 9
c 1 Co 7:29–31; 10:11; Jas 5:8; 1 Pe 4:7; 1 Jn 2:18; Rev 22:10
d Eph 5:14; 1 Th 5:5, 6
e Heb 10:25; 1 Jn 2:8
f Eph 5:11
g Eph 6:11, 13; 1 Th 5:8
hSee Eph 5:18
i Lk 21:34; Gal 5:20, 21; Eph 5:18; 1 Pe 4:3
j Gal 3:27; Eph 4:24; Col 3:10, 12
kSee Gal 5:24