Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (Romans 6:13)
In thus dedicating his members unto God, the Christian commits himself to strive, by the empowering of God’s Spirit, for the greatest possible perfection of every organ of the body and quality of the mind, that he may know, love, and serve his Redeemer acceptably (see COL 330).
That are alive.
That is, as men raised to new life in Christ (v. 11).
Yield yourselves.
That is, once for all (see above under “yield ye”).
Instruments.
Gr. hopla. The same word is translated “armour,” or “weapons,” in John 18:3; Rom. 13:12; 2 Cor. 6:7; 10:4. In the NT it seems to be used particularly of weapons of war. Some commentators have seen in this verse a picture of sin and righteousness at war with each other and enlisting supporters in their armies. As sin struggles for the mastery, it calls out an army of the lusts of the flesh and seeks to use the organs and faculties of the body as weapons by which the lusts may re-establish the tyranny of unrighteousness. Others, however, prefer to understand that Paul is simply stating that our members should never be submitted to the direction of sinful desires to accomplish any kind of unrighteous purpose. Compare 2T 454.
The word “yield” occurs twice in this verse, but the forms in Greek are different. The first implies continuous action, “do not go on yielding,” or “stop yielding.” The second means, “yield yourself once for all” (see also ch. 12:1).