Spring 1987
In His Service
Richard Forde, M.D.
Academic Dean, PBTC

In regard to recruiting for the United States army, we are all familiar
with the phrase, "Uncle Sam wants you." When you join the army, you
literally become the property of the United States until the termination of
your period of enlistment. In a similar way, the body of Christ constitutes an
army. We are the soldiers and Jesus, Himself, is the Commander-in-Chief

.
Paul says in Romans 12:1, "I beseech you, therefore brethen, by
the mercies of God. that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, ac-
ceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." In the Amplified
Bible, it states: ". . .make a decisive dedication of your bodies - presenting
all your members and faculties - as a living sacrifice. . ." The Lord needs
these physical bodies, and our members fully yielded to Him, so that He
might carry out His purposes in the earth through us. Paul said, "I live,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." We become then, that living sacrifice.

Having presented ourselves in that fashion to the Lord, we no longer have
the right to say, I will not go here or there; I will not do this or that; but
instead, our meat becomes the doing of His will. We then say like Jesus,
"Not my will, but Thine be done."

What do we get then in return for this total commitment of our lives? We get
HIM. The very thing that our hearts yearn and long for: the unveiling of
Christ within. In Gal. 1:15,16, Paul refers to this when he said: "But when it
pleased God. . .to reveal (unveil) His Son in me. . ." Again, John the Baptist
said, "He must increase but I must decrease." As we present ourselves unto
God as a living sacrifice, we give up our self life for His life; we exchange our
strength for His strength; our self-will is crucified, that His will alone might
be done; and we are brought into that place of knowing Him who dwells
within, Christ our hope of glory.