Well, some of the very best questions we get in the inbox are really short and pointed questions like this one from Elizabeth in Tempe, Arizona. "Pastor John, what does it mean to 'give your life to God'? I hear that phrase all the time. But what are some biblical categories that you would use to explain this phrase?" I can't say for sure what others mean when they say that they have given their lives to God or want to give their lives to God, but I can tell you what I mean by it and then show you from Scripture why I believe this is a biblical way of talking and what the Bible intends for this kind of language to mean and the experience to be like.

So that's what I'm going to do. If I say to God in prayer, "Oh Lord, I give myself to you," what I mean is this. I am saying yes, a very earnest, heartfelt yes to God's purchase of me by the death of his Son so that I belong to him.

He purchased me so that I belong to him, not only by virtue of his paying a price for me, but also by virtue of my willing surrender to him. So that's what I'm doing when I say, "I give myself to you." I'm saying, "I'm no longer my owner, my master, my shepherd.

You are my owner, master, shepherd, Father, my treasure, my wisdom, my hope, my source of fullest and lasting pleasure. I renounce finding all of that in me, and I look for it now in you because I am utterly yours." And the key thing here is, did God give his Son to purchase me for himself?

If he did, then the words, "I give myself to God," mean, "I gladly agree with that." I am happy, happy, happy about that. That's what we mean. I want this to be true for me. I want to accept and live in the reality of that purchase. I want to renounce all claims upon my own life.

I want to surrender completely to his protection and provision and leading and satisfying and that final embrace I desperately will need when I die. That's what I want. That's what I mean when I say, "I give myself to him." Now, here's the biblical foundation for that way of thinking.

First, there's the great event of divine purchase, 1 Corinthians 6.19. "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." Now, that's a fact.

God did that. God has purchased a people for himself. They are not their own. They belong to God. That is, they exist to glorify and enjoy God forever. Their sins are forgiven. Their guilt is taken away. Their rebellion is overcome. And what they say is, "I'm happy about that.

I agree with that. I give myself freely and joyfully to the one who has purchased me." So you're just bringing yourself into alignment with what God has already achieved for his people when you say, "I'm yours." And he said, "You bet you're mine. I bought you." One way of expressing it is found in Romans where Paul says, for example, in chapter 12, verse 1, "I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." "I give myself to God" means, "I do this.

I do," Romans 12.1. "I receive the mercies. I present my body as a living sacrifice. I mean it as an act of worship. I long for God to completely possess me, rule me, satisfy me, use me for his purposes." And then if you go back to chapter 6 of Romans, he says it this way, "Do not present your members"—your arms and legs and tongue and so on— "Do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from the dead to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness." So when we read that and want to obey it, we say, "I present to you, O God, myself, my members, my arms, my legs, my hands, my eyes, my tongue, so that you may possess them as your own and accomplish your good and holy purposes through the use of my self, my body, my soul, as instruments of righteousness.

I give myself to you." And there's a beautiful story in 2 Corinthians about how the Macedonians did this. It says, "They were begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to God, to the Lord, and then by the will of God to us." So Paul was simply blown away by the beauty of this obedience of these young Christians.

They gave themselves to the Lord, then in the confidence that they belonged to God, they gave themselves to Paul and to his purposes of mercy for the poor down in Jerusalem. And then we have a great example of Jesus calling out with a loud voice. Jesus said on the cross, "Father, into your hands, into your hands, I commit my spirit." Having said this, he breathed his last.

So, "Into your hands I commit my spirit" is another way of saying, "I give myself to you. I'm dying, and if I am to live again, it will be because you possess me, hold me, keep me, preserve me. I give myself to you for that care." And it's no surprise then when the early Christians described their own suffering and their own death that way.

1 Peter 4:19, "Let those who suffer according to God's will and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good." Entrusting your soul to a faithful creator means, "I give myself to you. I give myself to you, God. You're faithful. You're powerful. You're my creator. I belong to you.

You made me. Take care of me now. I'm dying." So, I think the key for Elizabeth when she asks about this, and the key for all of us, is that we settle it in our minds and in our hearts whether we believe we have been purchased by God through Christ or not.

Do we believe that? And that we are therefore not our own, that we are utterly dependent on God for our life, our choices, our provision, our protection, our satisfaction, our meaning, our hope of eternal joy. If in fact God has purchased us for this, then the words, "I give myself to you, O God," mean, "Yes, yes, yes, yes to your purchase of me.

Yes to your purchase of me. I am thrilled to be utterly yours, bought with the price of your Son in this way. I renounce therefore all self-reliance, all self-exaltation, and I give myself utterly to you for your use forever." Amen. So much biblical truth behind such a simple phrase.

Thank you, Pastor John. And thanks for the simple but profound question, Elizabeth. So good. This is my chance to let you know that we do this three times a week, and you can stay on top of the episodes as we release them by subscribing to our audio feeds. And of course, we have now over 1,050 episodes released to date, and you can search through all of them.

And you can send us your own question. You can do all of that through our online home at DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn. Well, many of us have friends or relatives who are enduring constant physical suffering and with no immediate hope of relief in sight. So how can we encourage them with truth and not give up in our quest to serve them over the long haul as they endure these sufferings?

That's the question on the table for Friday. Until then, I'm your host, Tony Reinke. Thanks for listening to the podcast. We'll see you then.