1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "You are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."
"Christ's call to sacrifice and unreserved surrender means crucifixion of self. ... His call to unreserved surrender is to be to them supreme. They are to allow no earthly tie or interest to prevent them from giving Him the homage of their hearts and the service of their lives. Earnestly and untiringly they are to labor with God to save perishing souls from the power of the tempter."
It means to surrender and consecrate all that we have and are to God!
Luke 9:23-24 (NKJV) "Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it."
Romans 12: 1 (NKJV) "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
Romans 6:13 (NKJV) "And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."
Romans 6:16 (NKJV) "Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?"
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV) "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s."
Psalms 100:3 (NKJV) "Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture."
2 Corinthians 5:15 (NKJV) "and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again."
Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV) "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths."
Those who would at last be received into heaven as members of the royal family must here give themselves--body, soul, and spirit--to the service of Him who paid the price of their redemption. All that we have and are belongs to the Lord. "Ye are not your own," the apostle declares; "for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." {ST, June 10, 1908 par. 1}
By the casting of grain into the earth, the Saviour represents His sacrifice for us. "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die," He says, "it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." Only thru the sacrifice of Christ, the Seed, could fruit be brought forth for the service of God. {ST, June 10, 1908 par. 3}
So with all who bring forth fruit as workers together with Christ, self-love, self-interest, must perish; the life must be cast into the furrow of the world's need. But the law of self-sacrifice is the law of self-preservation. The husbandman preserves his grain by casting it away. So the life that will be preserved is the life that is freely given in service to God and man. {ST, June 10, 1908 par. 4}
The fulfilment of the promise that we shall be joint-heirs with Christ rests upon our willingness to deny self. When Christ takes possession of His kingdom, it will be those who on this earth have followed Him in self-denial and self-sacrifice that will receive the reward of everlasting life. {ST, June 10, 1908 par. 5}
Christ's call to sacrifice and unreserved surrender means crucifixion of self. ... His call to unreserved surrender is to be to them supreme. They are to allow no earthly tie or interest to prevent them from giving Him the homage of their hearts and the service of their lives. Earnestly and untiringly they are to labor with God to save perishing souls from the power of the tempter. {ST, June 10, 1908 par. 6}
"I have seen a device representing a bullock standing between a plow and an altar, with the inscription, “Ready for either”—willing to swelter in the weary furrow or to bleed on the altar of sacrifice. This is the position the child of God should ever be in—willing to go where duty calls, to deny self, and to sacrifice for the cause of truth. The Christian church was founded upon the principle of sacrifice. “If any man will come after Me,” says Christ, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” He requires the whole heart, the entire affections. The exhibitions of zeal, earnestness, and unselfish labor which His devoted followers have given to the world should kindle our ardor and lead us to emulate their example. Genuine religion gives an earnestness and fixedness of purpose which molds the character to the divine image and enables us to count all things but loss for the excellency of Christ. This singleness of purpose will prove an element of tremendous power." {5T 307.1}
This short article from
This is a wonderful article on the importance of surrendering our lives at a very personal level, and how to make such a surrender.