The passage
      v1. As a response to the "kindness", "long-suffering" and "love" of God toward us in the salvation won on our behalf by Christ, we are encouraged to offer our whole selves as "living sacrifices", dedicated to the service of God. We are to do this on the basis of the "mercies of God". In Christ we are made perfect sons of God, so be perfect sons, or at least work at it. Such behavior is reasonable (rational, intelligent) service to Christ. The NIV phrase "spiritual act of worship" is a terrible translation. The word "spiritual" here means "thinking", while the word "worship" means "service", here service to God.
      v2. Rather than allowing ourselves to be conformed to this age, we should submit to the transforming, renewing work of the indwelling Spirit of Christ. This renewal progresses through the renewal of our minds. Obviously, Paul is thinking of the effect of a preaching and teaching ministry. It is through a word ministry that we understand God's truth and so discern what is "good, acceptable and perfect", and then apply that understanding in our daily living.
      v3. Paul now deals with the first of a number of practical applications that flow from his exhortation in v1-2. Because of Paul's authority as an apostle ("grace given to me" = the gift of apostleship), he encourages us to discover our spiritual abilities, our God-given gifts, in line with the discerned will of God, and then exercise them for the building up of the Christian group. We are to do this free from a desire for status. The phrase, "in accordance with the measure of faith", is rather vague, but it defines the type of the assessment undertaken. It's a spiritual exercise, a godward exercise, rather than a mere assessment of natural abilities.
      v4-6a. Although believers possess individual spiritual abilities, each member, with their gifts, functions as the various members of a single body. Although each member of a congregation has different gifts shaping various functions (ministries), each function is essential for the benefit of the whole.
      v6b-8. Paul now lists some of these functions and encourages his readers to apply them in the life of the church:
        a) Prophecy - the proclamation of divine truth in line with the revealed Word of God, and the application of its relevance;
        b) Serving - works of practical ministry;
        c) Teaching - the exposition of scripture;
        d) Encouragement - encouraging the weak hearted. The New English Bible describes this quality as "the gift of stirring speech";
        e) Generosity - financial support, possibly financial guidance;
        f) Leadership - administration;
        g) Kindness - the care of the sick, the poor, the aged and disabled.

Mutual ministry
      One particular aspect of our being is found in the God-given talents that we possess. Our natural tendency is to use these talents for our own end. We succeed in business and the professions by drawing on a pool of personal resources that are part of our nature, or are acquired in our life's journey. This egocentric aspect of our natures can even show itself when we exercise these talents within the congregation. When personal status becomes our goal, there is a good chance we will misuse our God-given gifts/abilities/resources.
      We all have personal resources, talents, gifts.... When we give our lives to Jesus our personal abilities can be accentuated and empowered by the Spirit. We may even receive new spiritual abilities to use for the King. We can then use these gifts to exercise a particular ministry within the congregation. Each has their gift, and each is different. Each one of us has a peculiar combination of gifts that make us special and unique. Each one of us can use these gifts to build up the people of God.
      So, a congregation is made up of a group of believers possessing diverse abilities for the perfection and extension of Christ's kingdom. There is no pecking order, just different believers with different gifts. There is certainly nothing in this passage to promote the development of a professional ministerial class. The clergy do not possess all the spiritual gifts nor do they have the right to impose their will on the life of the congregation. Rather, each member is to prayerfully and thoughtfully seek to understand their abilities and then use them within the group for the benefit of the whole.
      When it comes to ordained pastors/priests, the Christian church has traditionally used ordination as a means of identifying those gifted to exercise a ministry of the Word. Yet, there are many functions in the life of the Christian community and each member needs to apply their gifts for the building up the body of Christ.

v1
      parakalw pres. "I urge" - I exhort, encourage. A strong word used to encourage someone to achieve a difficult objective; "I implore", NEB.
      dia + gen. "in view of" - through, by means of. The NRSV "by" is most unlikely since this is one of those occasions when this preposition moves from an instrumental sense to a causal sense, even though followed by a genitive, so "because of / on account of."
      twn oiktirmwn (oV) "the mercy" - the compassions, pity. Here of God's mercy in Christ; "great mercy", TEV. What "compassions"? Pilcher is probably on the mark with "in view of these saving acts of the divine mercy (namely, the sacrificial atonement made for our sins and the gift of the indwelling of the life-giving Spirit)".
      parasthsai (paristhmi) aor. inf. "to offer" - to present. The infinitive forms a dependent statement of exhorting, "I urge .... that you present ..." As in presenting a sacrifice to God
      swmata (a atoV) "yourselves" - body, physical body. We are to offer our life, our being, "our very selves", NEB - be other person centered rather than self centered.
      qusian (a) sing. "sacrifices" - sacrifice. "Dedicated to his service", TEV.
      euareston adj. "pleasing" - well pleasing, acceptable. The "sacrifice" has three modifiers, namely, living, holy ("consecrated", Moffatt) and pleasing. It may well be true, but can we, by our compromised behavior, ever please God? The word is used in the NT 8 times, mainly by Paul. "Acceptable", Moffatt, is a more appropriate meaning.
      logikhn adj. "spiritual" - rational, reasonable, logical..... The meaning "spiritual" is increasingly accepted, having moved from the AV "reasonable", but Phillips "intelligent" is closer to the sense of the word.
      latreian (a) "worship" - service. Service rendered to God, but definitely not worship in the sense of adoration. Three cheers for the old AV, "your reasonable service."

v2
      mh suschmatizesqe (suschmatizw) pas. imp. "do not conform" - do not be conformed, fashioned, formed, molded. "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould", Phillips.
      tw/ aiwni toutw/ "to the pattern of this world" - to this age. "The world's ways", Barrett.
      metamorfousqe (metamorfow) pas. imp. "be transformed" - be changed. Note the passive, "let yourself be transformed by God", Cranfield. The prefix may indicate inward transformation, as opposed to outward conforming, but Cranfield argues against this view. Cranfield argues the two verbs, "conformed" and "transformed" are virtually synonyms. Hendricksen and others doubt this. "There is a basic difference between outward conformity and inward transformation", Morris.
      tou nooV (noi noun) dat. "of [your] mind" - reasoning, thinking ability. The dative is possibly instrumental, "by the mind". Cranfield argues that Paul is referring to that element of our conscious self that entails "moral sensitivity and perceptiveness." Renewal is present tense indicating an ongoing process of intellectual renewal, obviously through the Spirit; "let God change the way you think", CEV.
      to dokimazein (dokimazw) inf. "then you will be able to test and approve" - to prove. The articular infinitive probably forms a purpose clause, "in order that ...." The word can mean "prove", "test", but can also mean "approve." The NIV takes two bites of the cherry, but Paul most likely means "test", in the sense of distill out the truth of God's revealed will.
      to agaqon kai euareston kai teleion adj. "[his] good, pleasing and perfect [will]" - the good and well-pleasing and perfect. Paul concludes the verse with three adjectives. The NIV has them describing "the will of God", but the sense is that believers, having their minds renewed by the indwelling Spirit, are then "able to discern the will of God, and to know what is good, acceptable and perfect", REB.

v3
      mh uJperfronein (uJperfronew) inf. "do not think of yourself" - not to think more highly of oneself, haughty, self centred. An infinitive of command (imperatival). Possibly, "go beyond the bounds of wisdom", Calvin, but probably better, we "are not to estimate oneself too highly", Cranfield.
      fronein (fronew) inf. "[more highly than you aught]" - [beyond what is necessary] to think. Complementary infinitive, completing the sense of the verb "it is necessary." The second usage in the sentence is again imperatival, "but rather, you must think ...."
      eiV to swfronein (swfronew) inf. "with sober judgment" - to not be reasonable, sensible thinking, measured, sober-minded. This construction, an articular infinitive preceded by the preposition "to/into", would normally form a purpose clause, sometimes result, although most translators treat it as epexegetic, explaining the substance of the infinitive "to think"' "to be thinking with a view to a sensible appraisal of himself", Wuest. We should "entertain a sober opinion" of ourselves, Cranfield; "take a sane view of", Moffatt.
      metron (on) "measure" - proportion. "Amount", TEV, runs with the idea of a measured amount, but the word is of a measuring standard, eg. a ruler. "A standard (by which to measure himself) namely (his) Christian faith", Cranfield.

v4
      praxin (iV ewV) "function" - action. "Each part of the body has a different use." Paul likes the body illustration with the different parts having their own particular function.

v5
      ouJtwV "so" - in the same way
      en Cristw/ "in Christ" - Due to our incorporation in / union with Christ believers form a unified whole in much the same way as the individual parts of the body form a whole.
      to de kaq eiV eiJV "and each" - and each one. Moule suggests this phrase is just bad grammar. "Relatively to (adverbial phrase) / and that (pronoun), as members of one another", Godet. "With relation to each individual", BDF.

v6
      If we are to take this verse as the beginning of a new sentence, the verb must be supplied. NIV suggests an indicative, but an imperative is possible; "having gifts, let us use them", RSV.
      carismata (a atoV) "gifts" - kindly gift. Probably here with the more specialized meaning of the word, namely "gifts of the Spirit", spiritual abilities given to, or enhanced in, individuals to enable them to minister in the church for the building up of the congregation.
      profhteian (a) "prophesying" - a declaration of the will of God. The prophetic function is primarily forth-telling rather than fore-telling, although the actual function of a New Testament prophet is open to debate. For example, some argue that prophets, as with apostles, only existed in the New Testament church and that with the formation of the New Testament scriptures, the function of prophet became redundant. It is certainly hard to argue for the existence of primary prophecy today, but certainly in a secondary sense, prophecy as forth-telling is alive and well.
      kata + acc. "in" - according to
      thn analogian (a) "proportion" - the relationship with, in proportion with, right correspondence with. The prophets are to proclaim truth in accordance with, in line with, the revealed word of God. They have no right to proclaim something which they believe is inspired, but does not align with the body of truth upon which they rely for their salvation. "According to a right correspondence with the revealed Word of God."
      thV pistewV (iV ewV) gen. "to his faith" - of the faith. The presence of the article may imply that "the faith", meaning the body of Christian truth revealed by God, is in Paul's mind. "The prophet is to prophesy in accordance with the faith", Morris.

v7
      diakonian (a) "serving" - ministry. The word is used of service to the brotherhood (church), either generally, or specifically, eg. giving aid. It may also include a ministry of the word. "Practical service", Goodspeed.
      oJ didaskwn (didaskw) part. "teaching" - catechetical instruction in the scriptures given to the members of the Christian community by a gifted member.