Date: December 13, 1940Place: UnrecordedScripture Reading: Rom. 12:1; 14:7-9; 1 Cor. 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 5:14-15; Exo. 12:29; 13:1-2; 32:26; Num. 3:44-45
Redemption is a great event in the universe, whereas consecration is a great thing for a Christian. While redemption is God's great act, consecration should be our great act. If I asked, "Is redemption a great thing in the universe?", you will surely say yes. Redemption is indeed a crucial thing, but consecration is just as crucial as redemption. In fact, the goal of redemption is achieved through consecration. Redemption recovers God's lost authority in man, while consecration returns God's lost authority and position in man back to God. Hence, we can say that redemption and consecration are two sides of the same thing. No one can be a proper Christian without consecrating himself to the Lord. It is vain to exhort, encourage, or inspire others to consecrate themselves. Unless a man sees the basis of consecration, he cannot consecrate himself. Once a man sees the basis of consecration, it becomes very spontaneous for him to consecrate himself to the Lord. Only those who have seen the basis of consecration will consecrate themselves to the Lord in a thorough way.
Paul was very clear concerning the basis of consecration. His consecration was an answer to God's compassion. Chapters one through eight of Romans are on redemption. Chapters nine through eleven are parenthetical words; the nation of Israel is presented as an illustration. Following this, chapter twelve speaks of consecration. The basis of consecration is redemption. First there is redemption, and then there is consecration. First Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Do you not know that...you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price. So then glorify God in your body." Redemption is the reason and the cause for consecration. Second Corinthians 5:14-15 says, "For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised." These verses say that since the Lord has died for us, we should live to Him. When we see His redemption, we offer up our consecration. We must show others what redemption is before we can talk to them about consecration.
If a man has not seen redemption, his consecration will be temporary and baseless. If a man does not see redemption, he cannot consecrate himself. Even if he has consecrated himself, his consecration will not be thorough. What is redemption? Redemption is the greatest subject in the eyes of God. It recovers God's lost right. In God's eyes this world is not only sinful, but lost. Luke 15 does not say that there were a hundred sheep and that one lost its temper; rather, it says that one was lost and missing. It does not say that a woman had ten silver coins and that one became rusty. It says that one was lost. In the parable of the prodigal son, it says that the prodigal son was lost and was as good as dead. In God's eyes, when man sinned and fell, He lost something.
Christians are God's inheritance. God created the universe with the intention that Christ would be the Head over all things and that all things would be made subject to Him. But a tragedy happened — man sinned and fell. The man that God created became lost; he became someone else's possession. This was a tragedy to God. Would you not feel grieved if your hard-earned monthly salary fell into someone else's hand and was lost? The same is true with God. His greatest grief is His loss of man.
Man's sins are a secondary issue. The main issue is that God lost something. The prodigal son may have made money or squandered money, but he remained a prodigal. Others may have found him to be a good man, even a gentleman, but they would still have to say that he was a lost man. This shows us that the primary goal of redemption does not concern the issue of sin. This is like a watch being pawned to the pawn shop and remaining there for three years. During the three years, the owner of the watch has lost his right to the watch. On man's side redemption means the forgiveness of sins, while on God's side it means God gains something back. Sal- vation is for man to gain something, whereas redemption is for God to gain something. Redemption brings back to God what He had lost in Eden. Redemption also tells us that henceforth we belong to God. Originally, man belonged to God. Later, he belonged to someone else. Now God is redeeming man and recovering him.
Since redemption means the recovery of man back to God, the matter of consecration immediately follows. Consecration is man's acknowledgement of God's right in him. It is the acknowledgement of God's place in the universe. There are three passages in the Old Testament which provide an understanding of consecration: Exodus 12—13, Exodus 32, and Numbers 8. Exodus 12—13 provides the most complete type of redemption. On the night of the Passover, all the firstborn were killed. At that time the Israelites were slaves under the domination of foreigners. They cried out as a result of their suffering, and their cry reached God. God cared for them and promised to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians. He said that the Israelites were His people, while Pharaoh said that they were his people. God wanted the Israelites to serve Him in the wilderness, but Pharaoh wanted to keep them in Egypt to make bricks and build cities for him. The controversy between God and Pharaoh was centered around to whom the Israelites belonged. It was not a matter of whether or not the Israelites were going to heaven; it was a matter of to whom the Israelites belonged.
Redemption speaks of the great controversy between God and Satan. God used all the firstborn as a type of the whole family, because the firstborn is born at the height of a man's strength. For God to kill the firstborn means that everyone is to be killed. All those who are lost to God have only one end — death. Redemption is God's act of recovering the fallen ones from Satan's hand. Redemption is for God to gain something, whereas salvation is for us to gain something. Because we need salvation, redemption comes. The way of redemption is through the cross. As the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus bore the sins of the world. He shed His blood on the cross. This is typified by the blood of the lamb in the Old Testament.
In Exodus 13:2 the Lord said, "Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine." All the firstborn were to be sanctified unto the Lord. I do not believe that a person who has truly seen redemption can remain unconsecrated. This is impossible. Many Christians only know what it means to be saved; they do not know what it means to be redeemed. Many children of God only know salvation; they do not know redemption. Salvation secures blessings for man but has no reference to God's right or to man's position before God. Salvation is related to us personally. In God's eyes, we have gained something. If we look at ourselves, we see that we are saved. But if we were taken away in a trance to God's throne like Paul was, and if we looked at the matter from God's point of view, we would see that we are not only saved but also redeemed. Spontaneously, we would consecrate ourselves and say, "I can no longer live unto myself."
In 2 Corinthians 5:14 Paul said, "For the love of Christ constrains us because we have judged this, that One died for all, therefore all died." The word judged in Greek means "carefully considered." Salvation addresses the matter of who is living, whereas redemption addresses the matter of to whom one is living. Salvation looks at the matter from man's side, whereas redemption looks at the matter from God's side. All the saved ones are also redeemed ones because salvation is based on redemption. Without God's redemption, there can be no salvation for man.
Consecration is an unknown topic to many people. Actually, it is a simple thing. Consecration is not man doing many things for God. A man can do many things for God without being consecrated. It has nothing to do with whether or not we will be preachers for the Lord. It has to do with our ownership; to whom do you belong? To whom are you living? Many people struggle and strive for their own preferences because they have not seen the meaning of redemption. If we do not see that redemption settles the matter of the Lord's ownership of us, and if we only pay attention to outward works, we will find that it is hard to go on. We should not try to tackle this problem in ourselves. We need light from God to see the meaning of redemption. Once we see it, we will consecrate ourselves spontaneously. Many people think that consecration is a difficult and insurmountable thing. But Paul said, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1). He considered and concluded that consecration was the most reasonable and sensible thing to do.
A consecrated person is one who kneels under the cross and at the same time stands by the throne. He kneels under the cross to receive salvation, and his view from the throne constrains him to consecrate himself. Those with a sensitive conscience consecrate themselves as a gesture of gratitude for their salvation, while those whose conscience is not as exercised do not consecrate. But no matter how we feel and no matter what kind of conscience we have, we have to realize that consecration is not something that we can muster up. Consecration is based on light; we need to consider the matter from the point of view of the throne. Knowing a doctrine and seeing revelation are two different things. Many people know the doctrine, theology, and teaching of redemption, but they do not have the revelation of redemption. Exodus 12 tells us that God smote the firstborn of the whole land of Egypt, but redeemed the firstborn of the household of Israel. This shows that all the redeemed ones belong to God.
Redemption signifies a change in right. God delivered those who were under Satan's hand into His hand. Does this mean that all of the Israelites belonged to God? The firstborn of Israel were only taken as representatives. All of the children of Israel should have been God's, but the history of Israel shows that not all the firstborn belonged to Him. Most of them did not want God, and God put them aside. In Exodus 13:2 all the firstborn belonged to God. But Numbers 8:18 says, "And I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the sons of Israel." Only the Levites could participate in the services after God's tabernacle was erected. Why was it only the Levites? While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the people worshipped the golden calf under the mountain. When Moses heard this, he declared, "Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me" (Exo. 32:26). At that word the sons of Levi came to him. All the Israelites were redeemed, but only the Levi stood up to declare that they were the Lord's. Numbers 8:18 tells us that God chose the Levites to replace the firstborn of Israel. Exodus 12 and 13 speak of the whole nation of Israel being redeemed. All of them received salvation and redemption. In Exodus 32 they murmured against God and did not believe that He would lead them into the promised land. As a result God chose from among them the Levites. Here the Levites signify consecration. They took the place of the firstborn among the Israelites to serve God.
What is consecration? It is coming out of your own house and your own tribe to stand on Moses' side and declare, "I am on the Lord's side."
There is a definite date when we are saved. In the same way, there has to be a definite date when we are consecrated. Just as salvation should not be delayed, our consecration should not be delayed. At the time of Moses, the Levites stood up in an absolute way on his side and declared, "We are on the Lord's side." Tonight you should declare that you belong to the Lord and that you are consecrating yourself to Him. Tonight may some declare, "I belong to the Lord. I am a consecrated one." If you consecrate yourself to the Lord this way, you will be like the Levites who came out of their own house and their own tribe.
If you consecrate yourself to the Lord this way, you will have to rise up to kill (Exo. 32:27). Your husband, brothers, friends, and those whom who love should have the mark of the sword on them. You should be like the Levites, who put the swords by their sides and went in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, slaying every man his brother, companion, and neighbor. The sword of a consecrated one is turned outward to kill. Those who are consecrated cannot be afraid of hurting others. Of course, while the killing is done on others, the real hurt is in one's own flesh. When a consecrated one draws his sword to kill, the real hurt is to himself.
I am not saying that you have to do this by yourself. I am saying that if a man lives in the light and if his eyes are opened to redemption, he will behave this way spontaneously. Romans 12:1 says, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice." This presenting has to be done by yourself. Those who are consecrated to the Lord are living sacrifices on the altar. This means that when a consecrated one rises up to kill, the hurt of the sword is felt by him, even though he puts his sword on his brother or his neighbor. The sword is applied to others, but the hurt is in himself. A consecrated person can rise up to slaughter things, events, and people because he has first been slaughtered. If a man has never passed through the cross, he cannot live the consecrated life. Tonight may some pray, "Lord! You have purchased me. Because of this, I consecrate everything to You. Because of Your redemption, I am willing to be killed, burned, and removed." Such a heart will cut off all fleshly activities. Only such "Levites" can become the real firstborn.
In order to have the Passover, the lamb must be killed. The killing in this case refers to Christ's death. But the killing of the Levites refers to our death. The first killing secures our salvation, while the second killing fulfills the true meaning of redemption. A genuinely consecrated person is one who chooses to be one of God's people and who stands on His side. Only those who will draw their swords to kill are qualified to be God's genuine people. Being part of God's people is something common, but drawing one's sword to kill is not common. We can divide the world into two classes of people: those who are saved and those who are unsaved. We can also divide the church into two classes of people: those who are consecrated and those who are not willing to be consecrated. May we, by the mercy of the Lord, be those who are consecrated.
I hope the message tonight will open our eyes to see that a redeemed person must consecrate himself. Those who want to consecrate themselves must know the real significance of redemption. Only the consecrated ones can serve. Service is the result of consecration. May the Lord drive away any fear in the matter of our consecration so that we may not lose the Lord's sovereign rights on us through our fear of this and that kind of thing.
Prayer: May those who hear this word say when they return home that consecration is the only way to serve You. Show us that service is the result of consecration. Do not allow us to have any fear in this regard and do not allow us to sacrifice Your sovereign rights in us. Grant us to be the real Levites, standing on God's side. Give us the sword to kill all the things that are not of God. May we not care for human affections, ourselves, or anything. May these feeble words produce some effect in us. In Your victorious name we pray, amen!
