John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Romans 12:1-21
The Conseceated Life. The Law of LoveThe doctrinal part of the Epistle being finished, St. Paul now turns to practical exhortation. God’s mercy, shown in the gospel set forth in the previous chapters, calls for the sacrifice of ourselves to do His will (Romans 12:1-2), by the humble and devoted use of God’s spiritual gifts (Romans 12:3-8), and in love (Romans 12:9-21).1-21. Paraphrase. ’(1) God’s redeeming love should be answered by the true sacrifice and spiritual ritual service of a life of... read more
Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Romans 12:6
The gifts that we have are abilities that God gives us by His grace (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:6; Ephesians 4:7; 1 Peter 4:10). They are capacities for His service. [Note: For defense of the view that spiritual gifts are ministries rather than abilities, see Kenneth Berding, "Confusing Word and Concept in ’Spiritual Gifts’: Have We Forgotten James Barr’s Exhortations?" Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 43:1 (March 200):37-51.] "Spiritual gifts are tools to build with, not toys to play... read more