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Copyright © 2006 Trumpet Ministries, Inc. All Rights ReservedWHAT COMES AFTER PENTECOST?
Pentecost is not the last gift of God before Jesus returns. There is a definite "more" of Jesus. There are not only two major works of Divine grace. The principal types of Scripture do not portray two stages of redemption but three. The three major aspects of the Christian redemption are as follows: Passover (salvation through the blood of Jesus); Pentecost (the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church); Tabernacles (the coming of the Father and the Son to dwell forever in Their eternal temple).
Table of Contents
PART I. THE
FEASTS
OF THE LORD
The Feasts of the Lord
The Three Areas of Redemption
Conquest—The
Third Area of Redemption
The Blowing of Trumpets
Preparation for War
You Can Be an Overcomer
The Day of Atonement
The Feast of Tabernacles
PART II.
THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES AND THE CHRISTIAN
The Concept of the House of
God
The Glory of God—In
His House
The Building of the Temple
of God
One in Christ in God
An Eternal Weight of Glory
The
Kingdom-wide Fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles
The Last Feast and the
Christian
Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place that he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks [Pentecost], and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty: (Deuteronomy 16:16)
When we first received the baptism of the Spirit, in 1948, the Lord gave us a burden for the work of Divine grace that comes after the Pentecostal experience.
The term Pentecostal is derived from the Jewish feast of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was sent from Heaven on the day of the Jewish feast of Pentecost (feast of Weeks—Deuteronomy 16:16).
Pentecost is number four in a series of seven feasts. The seven feasts were grouped into the three major convocations of Deuteronomy 16:16. The blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles are the final three feasts (Leviticus, Chapter 23), and appear in Deuteronomy 16:16 as the feast of Tabernacles.
The burden that the Lord gave in those days came to us in terms of the seven feasts of the Lord, and also through the design and furnishings of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.
The central concept was—and continues to be—Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Years passed, occupied mostly by work in public-school education. The "vision," if we would want to term it that, deepened and enlarged. A picture began to form of the scope of the plan of redemption as symbolized by the types and shadows of the Old Testament.
It wasn’t until 1967, however, that the motivation to write came. The words seemed to flow, perhaps having been formulated unconsciously over the years..
How does one approach the varied aspects of the New Testament fulfillment of the three feasts that follow the feast of Pentecost?
We have grouped the final three feasts together as constituting the feast of Tabernacles, and view their fulfillment as one of the three major aspects of the Christian redemption.
The feast of Tabernacles includes the blowing of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles itself—all coming in the first month Tishri of the Jewish year.
The three major aspects of the Christian redemption are as follows:
Passover (salvation through the blood of the Lord Jesus).
Pentecost (the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church).
Tabernacles (the coming of the Father and the Son to dwell forever in Their eternal temple).
In describing the Pacific Ocean, one might wonder whether to start with its geography, the marine animals and plants, the chemicals found in the water, or its role in the development of California. Like the Pacific Ocean, the feast of Tabernacles is an awesome topic.
Inasmuch as we have, during the last thirty years, written a number of books and booklets on topics associated with the work of grace that follows the new-covenant observance of the feast of Pentecost, it seemed desirable to pull together into one book a compilation of passages dealing with the several dimensions of "Tabernacles."
What is the best way to introduce the Lord’s people to the concept that Pentecost is not the last gift of God before Jesus returns; that there are not only two major works of Divine grace (salvation, and the baptism with the Holy Spirit), but three; that there is a definite "more" of Christ for us before He comes from Heaven with the saints and holy angels?
Perhaps the introduction could include the fact that the principal types of the Scripture, such as the Tabernacle of the Congregation, the feasts of the Lord, the days of creation, and the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, do not portray two stages of redemption, but three. It could be added also that an objective view of the present state of the Christian Church, the Body of Christ, will reveal that it has not as yet attained the state of maturity and unity that the Scriptures set forth as God’s will for the Body, the unblemished Wife of the Lamb.
We understand, therefore, that the types predict accurately what we see to be true. They stipulate that a third major work of grace is required in order to bring the Divine redemption to the perfection declared and prophesied in the holy Scriptures.
The several selections included in our text present some of the issues included in the spiritual fulfillment of Tabernacles. Hopefully they will serve the saints as an interpretation of the experiences that are coming now to the Lord’s people—particularly the Spirit-filled people.
Before we begin the text, it may be helpful to state what we mean when we speak of a third platform of redemption, as typified by the Levitical feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:33-43). We shall endeavor to sum up the "Pacific Ocean" in a few words.
Deuteronomy 16:16 speaks of the three annual gatherings of the Israelite men: Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
Passover, including the first three feasts, typifies the salvation experience of the blood atonement, repentance and water baptism, and the new spiritual birth.
Pentecost portrays the life lived in the Holy Spirit rather than in the wisdom and energies of the physical body and soul.
Tabernacles, including the blowing of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, symbolizes the spiritual warfare and judgment we experience as the Father and the Son make Their abode with us in perfect, complete union.
Doesn’t Christ come to live in us when we first are saved?
Yes, He does.
However, each of the three areas of redemption has an immediate fulfillment and a prolonged program.
Salvation takes place the moment we receive Christ by faith. Salvation also is a prolonged process, as evidenced by the statement: "he that endureth to the end shall be saved."
Pentecost should be experienced immediately. We should be baptized in water and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as soon as we repent and place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. However, learning to walk in the Holy Spirit is a lifelong program.
The Tabernacles experience, the abiding in us of the Father and Christ, takes place when we are reborn. Being reborn is just that—the beginning of a re-creating of all that we are. As we are being re-created, the Father and the Son increasingly are able to abide in us, as Paul outlined in the last part of the third chapter of Ephesians.
The Scriptures indicate there will be a specific, historical, Church-wide dimension of the fulfillment of Tabernacles, just as the atonement made by Christ and the fulfillment of Pentecost were specific historical events. The historical fulfillment of Tabernacles will put the finishing touches on the work of redemption, preparing us for the new heaven and earth reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It may be noticed that we view the blowing of Trumpets and the solemn Day of Atonement as being integral parts of the feast of Tabernacles.
The Scriptures do not state these two prior feasts are part of Tabernacles, and other writers and scholars that we have studied do not group Trumpets and the Day of Atonement with Tabernacles.
Therefore, an explanation of our position may be in order.
First, Trumpets and the Day of Atonement are considered together, in modern usage, marking the beginning and ending of the "Ten Days of Penitence."
The first day of Tabernacles begins only five days after the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement sometimes is considered to be the most important of all the Jewish observances. Because the last three observances take place in the same month, the first, the tenth, and the fifteenth through the twenty-second (counting Simchat Torah, the eighth day), it seems probable that Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles should be considered as one convocation. We think the Lord intends for the concept to be held in this manner.
Also, the first annual convocation, that of Passover, includes the feasts of Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits. Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits are of the greatest symbolic importance, their spiritual fulfillment including the descent into the interior of the earth and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Christ rose from the dead on the day of the observance of the feast of Firstfruits.
In the inclusion of Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits, the second and third of the seven feasts of the Lord, in Passover, the first of the three major annual convocations, we have a precedent for including Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, the fifth and sixth of the seven feasts of the Lord, in the third major annual convocation.
If Unleavened Bread and Firstfruits were included, but not mentioned, in the first annual gathering (as set forth in Deuteronomy 16:16), that of Passover week, it seems reasonable that Trumpets and the Day of Atonement, because of their calendar proximity to Tabernacles, could be considered as being anticipatory of Tabernacles and part of Tabernacles without violating sane and accepted principles of biblical interpretation.
It is not likely that the Lord would stipulate three major annual gatherings, and in the list omit one of the events of supreme importance—the Day of Atonement.
It is not these natural features alone that have caused us to include the blowing of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement as integral parts of the Feast of Tabernacles. Rather, it is the spiritual fulfillment of the three that, to our way of thinking, emphasizes their interrelatedness and unity.
The blowing of Trumpets announces the coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the dead—not only in the worldwide physical sense but also in a personal sense as part of our individual redemption. The blowing of Trumpets proclaims the nearness of judgment, of the Day of Atonement.
The Day of Atonement is the reconciliation of man with God that must take place when the Lord comes to live with man.
The Feast of Tabernacles is the eternal union that God in Christ is seeking with man, a union that can be based only on complete reconciliation.
It can be seen from the above that the three final feasts of the Lord must be considered together. It is impossible to have a "Tabernacles" experience until the King has come and cleansed His Temple in the "Day of Atonement." For this reason we include Trumpets and the Day of Atonement as inseparable elements of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Today many of the saints are seeking power. They desire power with God.
The goal of the true Christian is not power with God, the goal is union with God through Christ. Union with God is possible only as we allow the Lord to purge us, in fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, from all sin and self-seeking.
Why don’t you, dear reader, come with us as we take our journey up from Sinai (Pentecost) and march toward the land of promise. A deeper judgment and reconciliation to God will prepare us for the fullness of God’s Glory promised in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Robert B. Thompson
Escondido, California
September 27, 2001
PART I. THE FEASTS OF THE LORD
What can we expect after we have experienced Pentecost?
Toward what do we press after Pentecost, after we receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit?
Under Moses, the Jews were given seven feasts to observe annually. Do you know what they were? Do you know how they apply to our Christian walk?
Pentecost was the fourth observance. Have you been as far as Pentecost? There were three feasts after Pentecost, showing us that the Lord has more for us. Christ does not want us to stop at Pentecost.
We should first briefly review the feasts of the Old Testament. These feasts are dealt with extensively in a book by the author entitled The Feasts of the Lord © 2001 by Trumpet Ministries, Inc., Escondido, Calif.)
The feasts of the Lord are one of the major types of the Scriptures. They portray the scope of the plan of salvation, guiding and encouraging us as we move on with the Holy Spirit to the rest of God, to the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles, to the fullness of the salvation that is in Christ.
And the Lord spake to me, saying, Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward. (Deuteronomy 2:2,3)
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. (Hebrews 4:9)
The feasts of the Lord are listed in the twenty-third chapter of the Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. Although they are referred to as feasts, they were not all feasts as we usually think of that term.
However, they were all convocations—observances in which the people of Israel were called together by the Lord.
Two Guidelines for Interpreting Bible Types
Before we go further, let us mention two rules for interpreting Scripture symbols, or "types" as they are called. Types, such as the seven feasts of Israel, help us understand the Lord Jesus and His plan of salvation.
The first rule of interpretation is this: study the symbol, and then ask the Holy Spirit to cause the main truth to rise to the surface. Do not attempt to carry every aspect of the symbol through to its logical conclusion—logical after the reasoning of the human mind.
The Holy Spirit always interprets His own statements and illustrations.
We see through a glass darkly, as Paul mentions in I Corinthians, Chapter 13. The Holy Spirit must be the One who throws light on the passage of Scripture we are studying. Usually a type presents one truth or line of truth, and the Spirit will give us the understanding.
For example: Christ is the "Lamb" of God. The truth that rises to the surface is that Christ was led away as an offering for our sins, and we eat His body and drink His blood as our Passover.
We cannot pursue the symbol further and claim Christ today is led around helplessly and is a prey for every wolf that appears.
Again: in one setting leaven is a type of sin. In another context leaven is a type of the Kingdom of Heaven. There is a flexibility of application showing that we must not create a rigid system of interpretation of the Scriptures based on types. If we do we will miss the point of what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us.
Still another example is this: the Christian Church is referred to in the New Testament as the Bride of the Lamb. The symbol of marriage indicates that we are to enter spiritual union with Christ, becoming one with Him. We cannot infer from this that Christians are feminine because they are termed the "Bride," and that the Bride is a different group from the sons of God who are male because they are "sons."
Every aspect and detail of a Scripture type or parable does not reveal spiritual truth.
The second guideline for interpreting Scripture symbols is as follows: the interpretation of symbols must be clearly taught in the New Testament.
For example, repentance from our sinful ways is portrayed by the removal of leaven during the feast of Unleavened Bread. The New Testament teaches us to put away sin (II Corinthians 7:1). Our adamic personality is to be brought down to death by entering the death of Christ on the cross. Our new sin-free personality is now qualified to rise from the dead and enter the resurrection of Christ. This death and resurrection is represented as we are baptized in water.
Also, we have the provision of confessing and receiving cleansing from the sins that we practice as Christians, as taught in I John 1:7-9.
If we claim the putting away of leaven during the feast of Unleavened Bread portrays the putting away of sin from the Christian, we must be able to turn to the New Testament and find written there that God indeed has provided grace through the Lord Jesus Christ by which we are enabled to put away sin from our life, and that we are commanded to do so.
Christ has made it possible for us, and has commanded us, to put away the old leaven of the world, of Satan, of our bodily lusts, and of our self-will and self-love.
If we are to make a success of interpreting Scripture types we must look to the Holy Spirit for the main idea and not attempt to force an interpretation that does not fit. We are not to press a meaning into each detail.
Also, there must be New Testament teaching for applications we make.
The purpose of types is not to teach doctrine, it is to provide a depth of understanding that is not always present when we read the bare statement of doctrine in the New Testament. A richness of perception comes to us when we read of Noah and his family being saved in the ark, and employ this story as a picture of the Christian salvation.
Enumeration of the Seven Levitical Feasts
1. Passover—"In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the Lord’s passover" (Leviticus 23:5).
2. Unleavened Bread—"And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread to the Lord: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread" (Leviticus 23:6).
3. Firstfruits—"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When ye be come into the land that I give to you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest" (Leviticus 23:10).
4. Pentecost—"And ye shall count to you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even to the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering to the Lord" (Leviticus 23:15,16).
The King James translation of the Scriptures uses the term "feast of weeks" or "feast of harvest" for what we would call the feast of Pentecost.
"Pentecost" is derived from a Greek word signifying the number fifty. The feast of Weeks, of Pentecost, is celebrated fifty days (a week of weeks) from the feast of Firstfruits.
5. Trumpets—"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation" (Leviticus 23:24).
6. Day of Atonement—"Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation to you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord" (Leviticus 23:27).
7. Tabernacles—"Speak to the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days to the Lord" (Leviticus 23:34).
Seven Feasts Grouped Into Three Observances
The seven feasts of Israel are grouped into three annual observances:
Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the Lord empty: Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee. (Deuteronomy 16:16,17)
The above are the three holy convocations that occur annually.
Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits are termed the feast of Unleavened Bread.
Pentecost is referred to as the feast of Weeks.
Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles compose the feast of Tabernacles.
Every Hebrew male without exception was to appear before the Lord in Jerusalem three times in the year. He was to come with something in his hand to give to the Lord: an animal from his flock or herd, some oil or wine, some grain or money—something taken from the riches with which God had blessed him.
The feast of Unleavened Bread, consisting of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits, takes place in April of our calendar. These three ceremonies suggest to us the first aspect of the process of Divine redemption:
Accepting the Passover blood shed by Jesus.
Entering water baptism for the washing away of our sins.
The born-again experience of being made alive by the Spirit of God and having the Firstfruits, Christ, born in us.
The feast of Pentecost, occurring approximately in May of our calendar, brings to mind the experience of the baptism of the Holy Spirit that causes us to grow strong in Christ, bear witness in power, lead a holy life, worship God in Spirit-filled adoration, be ministered to and minister, and serve as a priest of God by bringing the blessing of Christ to the peoples of the earth.
The convocation of Tabernacles, consisting of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the seven days of the week of Tabernacles, and the high Sabbath of the eighth day, takes place in September-October of our calendar.
The Blowing of Trumpets speaks to us of God’s New Year’s Day, of war, of rejoicing, of the redemption of the Year of Jubilee, of victory, of the entering of the King through the everlasting doors of our heart to drive the sin and self-will from us, of the appearing of our Lord, Christ, and of the redemption of our mortal body.
The Day of Atonement calls to mind our continuing need to bring our sins to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Day of Atonement is the Day of Reconciliation, the day of our warfare, the marriage of the Lamb.
Tabernacles portrays the coming of the Father and the Son to dwell in us forever; and also the establishing of the Kingdom of God on the earth, including the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
The eighth day of the feast of Tabernacles signifies the first day of the new week of eternity—the week that has no end. Complete fulfillment of the eighth day will occur during the new heaven and earth reign of Christ. The beginning of the fulfillment takes place at the moment of our believing in Christ: "Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:25,26).
In terms of our present calendar, the three annual celebrations were arranged as follows:
Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Firstfruits were included in The Feast of Unleavened Bread and were celebrated in April.
Pentecost is referred to as The Feast of Weeks and was observed by itself in May.
Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and Tabernacles composed The Feast of Tabernacles and were celebrated in September-October.
We are including the blowing of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement as part of the feast of Tabernacles because the three observances are associated in spiritual fulfillment. The Warrior-King comes to us in the blowing of Trumpets. He wages war against the enemy in our personality in the Day of Atonement. Then the Father and the Son are able to find rest in our personality in the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles.
"Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God" (Deuteronomy 16:16).
There are three major phases of the Divinely provided redemption in Christ. The three phases are not like three rungs on a ladder we are to climb or three grades in school we are to attain. Rather, the three phases are as three facets of one diamond.
They are three dimensions of the one redemption that we possess, entire and whole, when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.
The three areas of redemption are pictured in the Scriptures in a number of ways, in addition to the three feasts of Israel, and these portrayals enable us to gain additional insight.
The Outer Court, Holy Place, and Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle of the Congregation (Exodus 40:18-30).
The three divisions of the journey of the Israelites, which were the exodus from Egypt, the wilderness wandering, and the entrance into the land of promise.
The water to the ankles, knees, and loins (Ezekiel 47:3-5).
The hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold (Matthew 13:8).
The fruit, more fruit, and much fruit (John 15:2-5).
The three stories of Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6:16).
The three means of overcoming Satan: the blood of the Lamb, the word of our testimony, and loving not our life to the death (Revelation 12:11).
The three "days" (Hosea 6:2; Luke 13:32).
The manifestation of Christ’s glory on the third day (John 2:1-11).
The three testings of Christ (Luke 4:1-13).
The three "cities" in which the saints are overcome: Sodom, Egypt, Jerusalem (Revelation 11:8).
Christ rose from the dead on the third day.
Be alert as you study the Scriptures for events that had to do with a three-day period of time (Joshua 1:11; Nehemiah 2:11; Exodus 19:15; Jonah 1:17; and so forth).
These dissimilar and widely scattered examples may seem to be unrelated at first glance and their "threeness" coincidental. A closer look may show that many of the examples portray much the same thing and yield further understanding of the meaning of the redemption that is in Christ.
Paul speaks of being "caught up to the third heaven" (II Corinthians 12:2), and so it appears there are at least three heavens.
Since Hebrews 9:21-24 informs us that the Tabernacle and its vessels were "patterns of things in the heavens," we may conclude that Heaven itself is in three divisions, and that we can learn many things about the redemption that comes to us from Heaven by studying the Old Testament types, as well as by meditating on what Christ has done and is doing in the earth. This we will do in subsequent chapters.
The redemption that is in Christ is a powerful work, a broad work, a perfect work. It includes the growth of the believer to spiritual maturity, which is the image of Christ; the growth of the Church, the Body of Christ, to "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ"; and the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth.
The believer is (1) "born again" into the Kingdom of God and baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Church, the Body of Christ. The saint then (2) fights his way, by the wisdom and power that the Holy Spirit gives, into the (3) "throne" phase of redemption. He must "overcome" if he is to rule with Christ and be God’s son (Revelation 3:21, 21:7).
In spite of the "threeness," it is one redemption, one Lord Jesus Christ, one blood of the Lamb of God, one God the Father of whom and by whom are all aspects of the one redemption.
In order to enter each of the three areas of redemption we must die the specific death God has ordained. If we are willing to go through the "deaths" God has decreed we will receive the accompanying resurrection.
The deaths are just that—deaths. The resulting resurrections are so glorious that the deaths soon are forgotten.
"No man can see God and live." Therefore we die that we may live eternally in His Presence.
It is our understanding that the greatest of all revivals of human history now is beginning in the Church of Christ. The third death, which we will be describing by the help that the Spirit gives, never before (as far as we know) has been taught by the churches to any great extent. Yet, the third death is the one that will bring us into the authority and power the Lord Jesus has promised to His Church.
The doctrine that the Holy Spirit is giving us in these days is not new; rather it is apostolic. It has been contained in the Scriptures since they were written. There have been many outstanding saints throughout the centuries who have pressed into close fellowship and union with God by Christ. These have been blessed individuals. Now God is increasing the understanding of the Church as a whole. Perhaps this "latter rain" revival of understanding and experience began with the Protestant Reformers.
It appears we have been in a period of restoration for the past several hundred years. The scriptural teaching that the Holy Spirit is unfolding concerning the maturing of Christ in us is straightforward, clear, and brings peace and joy to our heart.
Sometimes the outworking of redemption in our lives involves of necessity a fiery trial for a season—a "death" out of which can come newness of resurrection life.
Salvation: The First Area of Redemption
The first area of redemption we are terming "salvation." The call of the evangelist is that people may receive salvation.
What does it mean to be saved ? From what are we saved, and toward what are we moving?
To be saved means to possess God’s guarantee that when the Day of Wrath comes—and it surely is coming!—the believer will be kept from destruction by the power of God. God is coming to the earth to judge the works of men and devils. The judgment that is just over the horizon is terrible.
People today, including Christian people, have talked themselves into the belief that God is a kindly old gentleman who will do good but not harm. Paul warns: "knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (II Corinthians 5:11). We Christians need to gain some idea of the terror of the Lord before we really can appreciate what it means to be saved from wrath. In fact, it is the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom.
Christ came to seek and to save those who are lost. If any person, young or old, will receive Christ by faith and hold that faith, serving the Lord patiently throughout all the testings and tribulations of life, he or she will be saved in the Day of the Lord.
"He who endures to the end shall be saved." Some will gain an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of Christ, while others will be saved "yet so as by fire."
Perhaps you as an individual are not making a success of the Christian discipleship, at least not in your own opinion. If you will keep your hope steadfast in the Savior and not turn your heart away from Him in discouragement, pride, lust, or rebellion, you too will be saved in the Day of Judgment, the Day of the Lord.
The next coming of Christ will be so frightful that no words of ours can portray adequately what the world is about to face. The most terrifying scene that ever has appeared on the earth will seem like child’s play when compared with the wrath of God that will be poured out under the administration of Christ and His saints.
The blood of Christ is a protection over us and our household when God passes over the earth to judge the gods of the world. Let us make sure we are under the protection of the "Passover blood" in the Day that is at hand.
After the Kingdom Age will come the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is no mere symbol of God’s anger, it is a real lake, a place of eternal torment. It is reserved for the devil and his angels and for all others who reject the lordship of Christ.
There is a lake that burns with the pungent smell of burning sulfur. There will be angels, demons, and people in it.
In Christ there is salvation in the Day of God’s wrath. Let us not neglect this salvation. Let us embrace it and preach it. It is God’s gift freely given, the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son. We do not want to be numbered among those who reject God and His Gift. Let us receive Christ and be saved.
Heaven is a real place, a Paradise of peace and joy. Heaven is the most wonderful dream of people in solid and enduring form. To be received into Heaven when we die requires accepting Christ in obedience to the will of God. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
Each person who receives Christ as Savior and Lord is at once redeemed from the authority, guilt, and death of sin. By death, in this instance, we mean separation from the Presence and acceptance of God.
Each human being is born in sin because of the transgression of Adam and Eve. We all have an inborn tendency toward moral corruption. We sin because it is our nature to do so. There is no way in which we can redeem ourselves. We do not possess the price to pay God for past transgressions and we do not have the power to quit sinning now. We must have a redeemer.
The root of our problem is Satan and the rebellion in the heavens. This is where sin began. Sin was introduced into the garden by the serpent, not by our ancestors, Adam and Eve. God has determined to judge and bring to an end the entire first creation and to punish the angels who rebelled against Him.
We are not to attempt to please God by our own wisdom and strength. God has a master plan and we can enjoy perfect peace and rest only as we are willing to fit into God’s design for our life.
Christ bore on Himself the sins of the whole world. The judgment of God came upon Christ and He was crucified. In Christ, God brought to an end the first creation. In Christ, God brought judgment on the evil lords of darkness and destroyed their authority and power.
God in Christ conquered Satan.
All of this was accomplished on the cross of Calvary. We had nothing to do with it. The Divine program of redemption is concerned with God’s wrath, God’s Law, God’s righteousness, God’s provision, God’s Nature and grace. We must accept it and cooperate with it.
When we come to Christ, God directs us to be baptized in water. "Go down into the water," God commands, "showing that you are willing to die to your first life, to the first creation. Accept My judgment on the source of sin in your life. Take your forgiveness by faith and be believing and thankful. It is my gift to you."
By faith we establish that our "old man," our first personality, is now dead by our participation with Christ on the cross. We count that our sinful nature is being destroyed, its authority over us having been completely removed in Christ. We declare in militant faith that our new inner man, the new life that has been born again in Christ, is now risen with Christ.
We understand from the Scripture that the new life we possess is without condemnation from any source. We are free from all guilt. Every "Egyptian" died in the Red Sea, so to speak, as demonstrated by baptism in water. By the death of our old personality we are free to be married to the Lord Jesus Christ.
At the moment of receiving Christ we gain perfect redemption by the payment of the blood of the Lamb of God. The life’s blood of Christ, God’s Lamb, has paid for our deliverance. We go free. The first creation came to an end on the cross. The believer in Christ comes up from the waters of baptism free from condemnation, having been forgiven every sin by the redemption God has provided.
Salvation is a first reaping of our life. It is a reaping to Christ. It is an instant death by faith, potentially destroying the ability of our old nature, our sin and self-will, to dominate us. We say potentially because the actual destruction of sin and the transformation of our personality depend on our working out in hope, faith, and obedience what God and we declared to be true in our baptism in water.
Water baptism portrays what will become a fact if we follow Christ faithfully: the death of our first personality and the creation of a new personality. Our new life is raised to be hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:1-4).
The righteousness of Christ Himself is imputed (ascribed) to us—freely given to us. It is the grace of God in action. We now are without condemnation and are invited and welcomed to enter boldly into the Most Holy Place in Heaven before the Father, there to make our needs and desires known to Him who sits on the throne of the universe.
We are accepted in the beloved Son, Christ. The holy angels rejoice and the bells of Heaven ring because a prodigal son has returned to Father’s house. From now on, death holds no terrors for us. When we die our spiritual personality will be received into the realms of light, there to dwell with God and the Lamb and with the holy saints and elect angels.
We had been dead spiritually, being cut off from God because of our inherited and acquired sin. Now, through the atonement made by the blood of the righteous Jesus, we are accepted of God. God’s Holy Spirit has taken up His abode in us for eternity (John 14:16,17).
The Spirit of God is eternal Life in us and the guarantee of the more complete redemption yet to come. All past transgressions have been forgiven. The covering of the "Passover blood" shields us from the wrath of God.
In the preceding paragraphs we have described the salvation phase of the Divine redemption that comes through Christ. Every person who would have eternal life must appear here. We must receive Christ personally as our own Lord and Savior and be baptized in water. Then the Holy Spirit causes the Life of Christ to be born in us. We are "born again."
The only way a man, woman, boy, or girl can enter the Kingdom of God is by being born again. Until a person is born again he can neither see nor enter the Kingdom of God.
Our death with Christ on the cross and our new birth into the Kingdom of God are the first death and the first resurrection—the first area of redemption.
Sanctification: The Second Area of Redemption
The first area of redemption is that of salvation, of acceptance by the Lord, of passing from death to life, of remission (forgiveness) of the guilt of past sin through the blood of Christ. The grace of God is given freely to us by Christ and we are received as a child of God.
The second area of redemption is that of sanctification. By sanctification is meant the setting apart of the Christian as holy to the Lord. Many Christians have had a genuine experience of salvation but have stopped there. They never have cooperated with the Holy Spirit in the task of directing their daily behavior into ways pleasing to the Lord Jesus.
In the first area of redemption, initial salvation, we die to the world and are raised in Christ.
In the second area of redemption, sanctification, we die to the works of the flesh, the fleshly nature, and are raised into the life lived in the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit.
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:4,5)
The second area is the area of the testimony, the area of the Holy Spirit. He predominates in this area as He leads us, instructs us, builds us up in preparation for our presentation to the Lord Jesus Christ as the Church without spot or wrinkle. The area of sanctification is one of conquering sin, of instruction in godliness, of the testimony of the Person, will, and way of God Almighty, of preparation for greater transformation and blessing to come.
Here the Holy Spirit enables us to live by the Scriptures and to bring other people to the Savior. The Holy Spirit leads us as we share with them our personal experiences with Christ. He imparts to us gifts and ministries. Through the anointing of the Spirit, the Word of Christ is confirmed in our life with powerful signs and wonders.
The Holy Spirit works night and day to form Christ in us. He intends to bring us into the image of Christ and into oneness with Christ. If we will cooperate with Him, He will set us apart each day as holy to the Lord. He is the Holy Spirit.
It is the will of Christ that the members of the Body of Christ begin to follow the Holy Spirit into putting to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13). If He is not leading us into conquest of the deeds of our flesh we are not sons of God. No person walks in peace and fellowship with Christ and continues in known sin.
Although our deliverance from the bondages of the flesh takes a while to accomplish (we are not delivered into sinless perfection overnight), yet our redemption in this area is as definite, as certain, as is our initial step of salvation. The Book of I John holds forth the idea that Christians are not to continue in sin, that whoever is continuing to sin is not walking in Christ and has neither seen Him nor known Him.
In time past we have not understood how to overcome our sinning, and so we have put our trust in Christ and have left the problem with Him. Now the Lord is showing us that if we will allow the Holy Spirit to do so, He will enable us to wash the robes of our conduct in the blood of the Lamb, becoming sparkling white in the righteous conduct God requires.
We must learn to judge ourselves through the Holy Spirit. Little by little we achieve the victory of sanctification of spirit, of soul, of body. In this manner we purify ourselves in preparation for His glorious appearing (I John 3:1-3).
We may say that the area of sanctification is a reaping to the Holy Spirit just as the area of initial salvation is a reaping to Christ. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit always work together in all aspects of our redemption. Nevertheless, dividing the Christian redemption into these three areas for the purpose of analysis may be helpful to us as we ponder the meaning of redemption and atonement.
Sanctification is a second death and resurrection. In sanctification we become dead to the life lived in the impulses of the flesh and mind. By the power that the Holy Spirit provides we are raised into freedom from the need to keep on serving the lusts of the flesh and of the eyes. The second area of redemption is a place of wilderness wandering, of learning the ways of God, of coming under God’s law of the Spirit of life, of Christ pruning back the fruit of our life and the bearing of more fruit, and of daily manna from the Lord.
In the area of sanctification the Church, the Israel of God, begins to be formed into an army. The Body of Christ moves toward maturity as the Servant of the Lord (Isaiah, Chapter 42).
However, the fullness of the development of God’s warriors and servants takes place in the third area—that of conquest, as we shall see later on.
In the first area, salvation, we Christians are so occupied with what we are receiving from God that not too much is accomplished from the standpoint of what we will return to God in the way of service. Growth in service comes to us if we follow on to know the Lord. We begin to exercise a priestly role as we learn more about how to please the Lord and serve Him.
Spiritual warfare rages about us as we press on past initial salvation into the fullness of sanctification and victory. There yet is much evil in the Christian churches—sometimes more than is found in the world. It may be recalled that when Pilate was faced with the Lord Jesus Christ he wanted to release Him, but he was prevented from doing so by the leaders of God’s chosen people.
The rulers of Israel howled for Christ’s blood. Here is Satan working in a religious setting. Pilate represents the world. The leaders of Israel represent religious activity and church government. When the world would have set Christ free the church authorities demanded He be crucified.
This is an example of the problems of covetousness and self-seeking that exist at the second level of spiritual life, the level of ministry and church activity. Today the world is evil and becoming worse all the time. There is increased satanic activity in the world and abominations are being committed. When Christ pours out His Spirit in these last days there will be persecution from the churches as well as from the world. Satan will be cast down from the heavenlies into the earth, and his thrashing about in the earth will be expressed both in the world and in the religious organizations.
The battle against sin, against the kingdom of darkness, is taking place in every true believer in Christ. The battle against sin cannot be waged successfully in unsaved people because the world is dead in sin. The Holy Spirit of God is dwelling eternally in the believers in Christ. Therefore, in them there is a struggle going on night and day.
Satan is striving to maintain his hold over the conduct of each Christian. The Holy Spirit in each Christian is attempting to bring him or her into deliverance from having to obey the spirit of the world, Satan, and the lusts of the body. Also, his or her self-will and self-love are in the process of being "crucified."
The Christians who are pressing forward in the Lord Jesus Christ are gaining the upper hand over sin. Victory requires a period of time for its accomplishment. The Lord God of Heaven has promised that He will deliver even the lords of darkness into our hands and that we will destroy them until they have been utterly consumed (Deuteronomy 7:23).
Through the wisdom and power of Christ, and in His time, we will be able to tear down the strongholds of Satan in the heavenlies. Every spirit will be brought under the feet of Christ, who will use the members of His Body to crush the evil armies of wickedness (Romans 16:20).
When a Christian confesses a sin, and gains victory over that sin through the authority of the blood of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, the victory constitutes a judgment of Christ on the particular sin and on the spirit performing that sin.
The members of the Body of Christ are to walk in absolute righteousness and holiness of deed, word, motive, and imagination. God’s judgment is on His own household in these days. God can have no fellowship with the evil works of darkness and neither can His children. We must learn to put to death the deeds of our flesh by the wisdom and power the Holy Spirit provides.
The second area of redemption, that of sanctification, is a protracted actual death of the compulsion to sin that resides in our flesh. It is a protracted spiritual resurrection as we change from walking in the sins of the flesh to walking in the holiness of the Life of the Holy Spirit.
The "dying" and "living" consist of a long series of lessons in learning how to resist sin and how to live, speak, think, fight, and minister in the Spirit of God. Such sanctification of behavior requires a period of time, and sometimes we become discouraged "in the wilderness" of testing.
There will come an end to the instruction, at least for the present stage of our transformation into the image of Christ. We will "graduate" eventually. We must not allow ourselves to become weary in the battle. Our end will be glorious if we do not faint.
In the preceding paragraphs we have discussed the sanctification phase of the Christian redemption. Every person who would be a member of the Body of Christ must appear here.
We must be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Upon entering the Life of the Spirit we begin to receive power to minister, and also power to bear the fruit of the image of the moral Character of Christ (Galatians 5:22,23). The law of the Spirit of life guides us in putting to death the deeds of our body. We must confess our sins as the Spirit directs and empowers. We must submit ourselves to God, draw near to God, and resist the devil.
Only then are we prepared and equipped to enter the third aspect of our full redemption.
Conquest: The Third Area of Redemption
Salvation from Divine wrath is the first area of redemption. Salvation requires that we leave the spirit of the world, and includes the birth of Christ in us.
Sanctification is the second area of redemption, and has to do with learning to follow the Life of the Holy Spirit rather than the life of the natural man. The natural man is the human, soulish, flesh-and-blood personality that was born of our human parents. The natural personality has a strong tendency toward the lusts of the flesh, covetousness, and self-exaltation.
One of the results of the process of sanctification is the elimination of unclean spirits from our personality.
Conquest is the third area of redemption. Conquest is the level at which we gain victory over every enemy of God and man, particularly over self-love and self-seeking. Such victory begins with salvation, is developed during sanctification, and attains its fullest expression as we follow Christ into obedience to the Father.
Such victory in our lives is made possible by the blood of the Lamb, by the testimony that the Holy Spirit works in us, and by our willingness to love not our own life to the death (Revelation 12:11).
Initial salvation, the first area of redemption, makes it possible for us to enter the plan of redemption.
Sanctification, the second area, is a school. It is the place where we make the transition from the life of flesh to the life of the Spirit.
Conquest, the third area, is the final result, the goal of the first two areas. In the realm of conquest we enjoy the fruitfulness and dominion promised to the heirs of the Kingdom of God.
Conquest comes in a third death and resurrection. The blood of Jesus leads the way toward conquest. The Holy Spirit testifies to us, in us, and through us, moving us along toward the rest of God—the place of total victory in Christ. The final victory depends on our willingness to allow God to slay our will. We must be willing to deny our self. Death to our will is the deepest of the deaths that we die. It leads to the fullness of resurrection glory.
In initial salvation we are assigned to the death of Christ and we share with Him in His stupendous resurrection from the dead.
In sanctification we die to the desires of our flesh and mind and are raised into life lived in the Life of the Holy Spirit of God.
In conquest, the third area of redemption, we die to the deepest level of self—the origin of our identity. God has His own methods of touching the center of our being, often using suffering as a tool.
Death of the self-will. If we allow the Lord to enter the source of our individuality we will be raised into the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion in God the Father as one of His eternal servants (Revelation 22:3; Philippians 2:5-9).
All living creatures, whether physical or spiritual, have wills of their own. Mules, men, and angels all have wills of their own. In bringing us to the fullness of conquest God does not take away or destroy our will; rather, He transforms it until our will corresponds to His will.
It is difficult to die to the deepest levels of the will, even for the most devout Christian. We are glad to be saved from wrath and to be accepted of the Father. We are thankful to be delivered from the sins of the flesh and the other bondages that Satan places on human beings.
The re-creation of the will, the death to what in many instances is lawful, is not easy to accept. However, death to our self-will and self-exaltation leads to the highest realms of fruitfulness and service to God.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. (Mark 8:35)
It is not easy or pleasant to lose one’s life.
There are many flaws in the human will. These flaws must be corrected by the grace of God working through the Lord Jesus Christ before we can serve as kings, priests, and prophets in the Presence of the Lord God of Heaven. Christ was probed for these flaws during His three temptations (Luke, Chapter Four). Christ passed the tests with honors.
Some of the more prominent of the flaws of the will include: presumption, personal ambition, disobedience, double-mindedness, suggestibility, man-pleasing, self-aggrandizement, stubbornness, pride, self-pity, self-destruction, self-preservation.
We Christians are to walk in the way that Christ directs us and not attempt to force spiritual results before the Lord prepares the time and place. There is a significant difference between presumption and aggressive faith, although sometimes we must be prayerful in order to distinguish between the two.
Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. (Psalms 19:13)
Presumption leads to sin and defeat. Faith leads to victory in the Lord.
No person can serve the Lord and personal ambition at the same time. He will end up hating one and cleaving to the other.
Some of the principal motives behind the desire of the elders of Israel to crucify the innocent Christ were their envy, personal ambition, pride of station, desire for self-glorification, and instinct for self-preservation. They were fearful that Christ was threatening their position as the leaders of the Jews.
An uncrucified will can lead to tragedy. Jonah was a disobedient prophet. The nation of Israel, from the time the people demanded a king until the carrying away into Babylon, witnessed few periods in its history when God was able to bless the nation because of obedience to His ways.
It requires the resources of Heaven and earth in order for the Holy Spirit to create obedience to the Lord in the will of a human being. We by nature are disobedient to the will of God. We must learn obedience, and it is a difficult curriculum.
A double-minded person is unstable in all his ways and cannot proceed in the plan of redemption because he cannot make up his mind. Double-mindedness is a flaw in the will.
The Christian who is suggestible is unable to proceed straight on in God’s will because he is open to all voices. Do you recall the prophet who was led into disobedience by the suggestion of an older prophet? (I Kings, Chapter 13).
It is well that we "salute no man by the way," so to speak, but steadfastly go about our business in the Lord without being led astray by the suggestions of others. We are not recommending that we refuse to heed the advice and counsel of other Christians, because it is a fact that there is wisdom in the multitude of counselors. Rather, we are speaking of being led off course by suggestions and by not bringing each decision that we make into careful prayer before the Lord.
It is impossible to be a true prophet of the Lord if we are given to man-pleasing. Jesus never went out of His way to "sell" the Gospel or to please His listeners. "The fear of man brings a snare."
If we fear the faces of clay that are looking at us we never will be free to declare the whole counsel of God. We must prepare the Divine food and make it palatable so the sheep will be inclined to eat. However, we never are to hold back what the Holy Spirit is speaking in order to gain the approval of our audience.
Neither self-pity nor harsh criticism of ourselves is pleasing to the Lord or has any place in the Kingdom of God.
It is impossible for one to be God’s prophet, priest, and king—God’s servant, in other words—while being subject to presumption or personal ambition or disobedience or double-mindedness or suggestibility or man-pleasing or self-pity. Christ is able to correct these flaws in our will so our will begins to correspond to the will of God.
From self-centeredness to God-centeredness.
In the first death and resurrection, that of salvation, we pass from spiritual death into spiritual life in the Presence of God.
In the second death and resurrection, that of sanctification, we pass from sinful behavior to holy behavior—behavior free from the lusts of the flesh.
In the third death and resurrection, that of conquest, we pass from self-will to God’s will, from self-centeredness to God-centeredness, from self-love to the love of God, from self-seeking to the serving of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As soon as we possess the fullness of Divine Life in body, soul, and spirit, perfect liberty in body, soul, and spirit, and perfect obedience to the Divine will in body, soul, and spirit, having been joined perfectly to God through Christ, then we have been redeemed fully. We are able to receive the fullness of the abiding of the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.
The product of all three deaths and resurrections is our acceptance by the Lord God and our rest in Him. In the third death and resurrection we die to the imperfections of our will and are raised into the Presence and fellowship of the Father. It is a reaping to the Father. It includes the crucifixion of our self-will.
How blessed to be released from the bondage of having to have our own way! God strikes down our youthful glee, our striving for position and preeminence, our impulsive enthusiasms. We rest in His will.
The means to the righteousness of the first resurrection is the blood of Christ. We overcome the accuser by the blood of the Lamb of God.
The means to the liberty of the second resurrection is the Holy Spirit, who brings us into accord with the written Word of God. We become and we declare the Word of God, and this testimony overcomes the accuser.
The means to the fruitfulness and dominion of the third resurrection are the power of Christ’s resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings. We overcome the accuser by loving not our own life to the death. This is the path to the throne of Christ.
Every Christian, through the blood of his Redeemer, has access to the Throne of God, there to offer adoration and to make his needs known to the Father. The extent to which the believer is able to abide in the Presence of God in every situation depends on his willingness to allow the grace of God to work full redemption in him.
The third death requires a period of time for its accomplishment. It is a protracted death to our tendencies toward presumption, toward the desire to be pleasing to our hearers, to gain the admiration and support of people. The third resurrection is a protracted entering into rulership with God and into restful service to Him in our land of promise.
As soon as we have been saved from wrath, set free from the bondages of sin, and transformed from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness, we are ready for the making alive of our mortal body. This will occur "in the twinkling of an eye" for those who have prepared themselves, at the appearing of our Lord and Savior, Christ.
The third death and resurrection is necessary for the fullness of the image, union, fruitfulness, and dominion that accompanies coheirship with Christ. It is a death to attempting to serve God in our own wisdom and power. It is judgment on us as individuals, on the deepest center of will and being.
The fullness of the inheritance will be assigned to those who are faithful to God at this level of redemption.
The third death and resurrection is typified by the crossing of the Jordan River. It is a change from Christ as Moses, the shepherd, to Christ as Joshua, the commander of battle. It is the throne phase of Christianity.
The third death and resurrection brings us into the rest of God, into the image of Christ, into the realm of power, into the consummation of redemption. The Servant of the Lord must be in the image of Christ, of the Divine Substance of Christ, of the Divine Nature of Christ.
The composite Servant of the Lord is Christ—Head and Body (Isaiah, Chapters 42 and 43).
As soon as God has brought His sons through the three areas of redemption it will be time for the Lord Jesus to appear, the hour of the revealing of the sons of God (Romans 8:19). The entrance of Christ and His brothers into the earth will cause the Battle of Armageddon—the confrontation between Christ and Antichrist.
Prior to Armageddon the sons of God must come to know Christ, to know the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering. Then they will be prepared to put down all opposition to the rule of Christ. Christ is King of all kings and Lord of all lords. The creation, whether of the heavens, the earth, or the spirit realms in the interior of the earth, must bow the knee to Him.
Are we willing to have the "sentence of death" in ourselves until we do not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead? Are we willing to be troubled on every side, perplexed, persecuted, cast down, as we attempt to follow the Lord? Are we ready to say yes to the death of the "I will"?
If we consent to die the death God requires of us as an individual we will cross the Jordan, speaking figuratively, and begin to conquer our land of promise. We will enter the Most Holy Place and abide there. We soon will be eating of the "old corn of the land" with the Lord Jesus. We will know and understand as we are known and understood.
We have termed the third area the conquest phase of redemption. Every believer who would rule with Christ must appear here. We must learn to depend on the power of His resurrection. The power of Christ’s resurrection will be developed in us as we are willing to share in His sufferings. This is the route to becoming part of the Servant of the Lord and to fighting alongside the Lord in His war against His enemies.
We must accept the sentence of death in ourselves and learn to trust in God who raises the dead. We must never attempt to serve God out of ambition or presumption, or neglect to serve Him because of fear, double-mindedness, or disobedience.
Experience teaches us to serve from our position on the cross, and to bear our own cross behind Jesus. Our personal cross converts us from the rule of self to the rule of Christ. The cross is the wisdom of God.
Until a disciple consents to serve Christ after this fashion he may be alive unto God and he may have victory over many of the sins of the flesh. However, he still is in bondage to his own will. Now he is to allow Christ to bring him over Jordan until he can testify: "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:.. ". (Galatians 2:20).
The material creation is waiting in the chains of corruption and futility until God’s sons have died to their self-centeredness, until King Jesus, rather than King Self, is sitting on the throne of their personality (Romans 8:19-21).
Death to self is the third area of redemption. From this vantage point the sons of God will be revealed.
Redemption includes the establishing of a relationship with God such that freedom from the guilt, bondage, and effects of sin is obtained along with release from the bondage of self-will.
The person who is wise, whether he or she is young or old, will turn away from everything else in life, if need be, in order to more perfectly lay hold on the fullness of redemption. It is the Father’s good pleasure to bring many sons through every aspect of redemption—all the way to the full measure of the Glory of God.
There is no route to complete redemption other than by battle against the adversary. Satan is our enemy. He will utilize every device to block our attempts to escape from his influence. But Christ is greater than Satan.
One of God’s greatest joys arises from beholding His son or daughter lay hold on the grace and Virtue He has provided through Christ, and by them escape from every unclean influence. God anoints us with the Holy Spirit when we love righteousness, hate lawlessness, and are perfectly obedient to Him.
Christ asks you: "Will you be saved?"
If your answer is yes, He will bring you through death and resurrection.
Christ asks you: "Will you follow the Holy Spirit in sanctification?"
If your answer is yes, He will bring you a second time through death and resurrection.
Christ asks you: "Will you lose your life for My sake and the Gospel’s?"
If your answer is yes, He will bring you a third time through death and resurrection.
What are your answers to His three questions?
CONQUEST—THE THIRD AREA OF REDEMPTION
There are other titles we could have assigned to the third area of redemption, such as "consecration," or "perfection," or "throne-life."
The term conquest suggests the warfare necessary for entrance into the promised-land rest of God, and speaks also of the life of victory in Christ—the positive, dynamic, faith-filled Christian discipleship that keeps on marching toward the "city that hath foundations."
We always are to be pressing on toward the fullness of Christ in God.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1,2)
It is the will of God that Christians not only be saved and sanctified but that they fight on to total reconciliation to God.
Being saved means we have been absolved of guilt and shall be brought through to the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
Being sanctified means we now are following the Holy Spirit in the diligent application of our gifts and ministries, and also in putting to death the deeds of the flesh.
To become a conqueror we must press forward each day to the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion. Laying hold on the inheritance to this extent requires that we love not our life to the point of death. We must be willing to suffer delayed gratification of our most fervent desires.
In some instances the delay may be of many years duration. We must be ready to deny our own desires, our own lives—all of that to which we may have a "right." It is the place of unquestioned obedience as soldiers of Christ, as servants of the Lord.
Not only must we be willing to suffer delayed gratification—for years if desired by the Lord, but we also must be willing to continue doing things for which we have no heart, in which we take no delight. We are to do what the Lord tells us to do, and we are to do it without complaining or blaming others.
As far as it is possible for us to do so we are to rejoice in the Lord and look for blessings in the most difficult circumstances. Perfect reconciliation to God, the fullness of victory in Christ, requires that we give our best to the Master without grumbling.
Walking in the sins of the flesh brings misery and death. Obeying the laws of righteousness works peace in us and causes us to be fruitful and content in this life, even though we always will have tribulation on earth before Jesus appears (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Revelation 1:9).
The realm of conquest is a deepening and broadening of the process of sanctification. In order for us to achieve victory in Christ, all that we are, do, and possess must be brought through the Divine fire.
Conquest requires a cutting back of our "rightful" status, accomplishments, and possessions. The Spirit of God beckons us toward the place of denial, of crucifixion, of the loss of our life. Such loss is not easy to accept but it is the only path to total union with God, and fruitfulness and strength in the Kingdom of God.
Referring back to Romans 12:1,2 we find it is the body that is to be offered. This is the daily offering of our fleshly nature, and it requires strength of spirit on our part in order to hold our beastly self-life before God until He consumes the sacrifice.
"That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice!"
Presenting our body a living sacrifice is no easy, pleasant task. Each day of our life on earth we are to seek the mind of Christ as to what is important for the day. Our body is our link with the earth and the world.
When God requires the sacrifice of our body He is asking for the whole of our existence on the earth. The conduct of affairs on earth has to do almost exclusively with what is happening to, with, and in our body. Except for a comparatively small amount of religious effort that attempts to cultivate the spirit, the whole of life is centered on the enjoyment of the soul through the body.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (Luke 12:19)
The soul satisfies itself through the body in eating, in drinking, and in being merry. God calls for the daily sacrifice of the body and of the corresponding soulish desires.
Notice that we are to present our body a "living" sacrifice. It would be much easier if we could offer a "dead" sacrifice, "go into neutral," and resign ourselves to a "don’t care" attitude of mental passivity.
If we could flee to a place of hiding and spend our days in contemplation it might be easier. To stay alive in God with all our powers alert and our will decisive, full of energy, ambition, desires of all kinds, but always allowing God to blunt our thrusts as He will—this requires determination.
Presenting our body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, is our Christian act of worship. Instead of offering a young bull, a sheep, a goat, or a bird, we offer our own body as a whole ascending (burnt) offering to the Lord. We do it every day.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. (Leviticus 1:2)
The first chapter of Leviticus describes the burnt (ascending) offering. Of the five principal offerings, the Altar was named after the burnt offering. The great bronze Altar standing at the entrance to the Tabernacle of the Congregation was referred to as the Altar of Burnt Offering. It can be seen that the burnt offering was of special importance in the sight of God. The burnt offering was not a sin offering but an offering of devotion and consecration.
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. (Leviticus 1:3)
We offer our consecration of our "own voluntary will." We choose to give all to Christ. He invites us but does not force us. We offer ourselves at the "door," that is to say, at the cross of Christ. All offerings are made at the cross. We take up our cross and follow Him. The cross of Christ is the only acceptable place of sacrificial death.
Devotees of other religions suffer pain and humiliation of the flesh but their offering is of no value before the throne of God. The only acceptable place for the offering of oneself to God is "at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord." This is where the Altar of Burnt Offering, the cross of Christ, is located.
We are not allowed to choose our own death. We must die the death the Lord requires of us as an individual. Our dying must be the dying of the Lord Jesus as expressed in our unique personality. We must be showing His death on the cross, not our own religious zeal. Otherwise our death is of no profit before the Lord.
. . . and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the Lord. (Leviticus 1:9)
The sacrifices of the Lord involve fire. When we determine that we will present our body a living sacrifice we must set out the sacrifice and wait for the fire of God to consume the offering.
We cannot hurry God. Working with God requires patience. God is never late, He is painstaking and thorough. Our problem is to keep the "birds of the air" off our sacrifice until God "passes between the pieces" (Genesis 15:10-17).
God requires of you and me that we present our bodies a living sacrifice. It is not an option. He insists we do so without delay. The time is short. Now is the hour to set out our offering. Tomorrow Christ may be here, and we have lost for eternity our one opportunity to take up our cross of self-denial and follow that social Outcast—Christ.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)
The only way by which we can be transformed into Christ’s image, escaping the molding influence of the spirit of the world, is to offer ourselves each day a living sacrifice. The only way by which we can prove the will of God for our life is to present our body each day a living sacrifice to the Lord Jesus Christ, just as He presented His body each day a living sacrifice to the Father.
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. (Luke 9:23,24)
Notice the choice: "If any man will come after me." It is our responsibility. If we choose to come after Him we must deny ourselves, setting aside our own interests in favor of the interests of Christ until our time on the earth has been terminated.
Setting aside our own life must be performed conscientiously and consistently on a daily basis. We must take up our cross of self-denial and follow Christ every day of our pilgrimage on the earth.
There is nothing to be gained by refusing to give our life to Christ. The cost of refusing is exceedingly great. There is so much to lose! If we seek to save ourselves from the death that Christ requires we end up losing our life.
If we give our life for His sake the Divine promise is that we will save it. We will be saved and resurrected into glory, having emerged unscathed from the fires of sacrifice and judgment.
Our part is to tell God that we wish to take up our cross and follow Christ. God’s part is to take us at our word and furnish the appropriate circumstances. This He does—thoroughly, ingeniously, effectively.
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (II Corinthians 4:8-10)
There are several benefits that result from being willing to accept the death God sends our way. Two of them are as follows: fruitfulness in the impartation of the Glory of Christ to other people; and the receiving of God’s eternal strength, which enables us to gain dominion in the contest at hand.
God adds His strength to our weakness. The almighty authority and power of our Lord Jesus Christ flow from His crucifixion.
For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the Glory of God. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inner man is renewed day by day. (II Corinthians 4:15,16)
The perishing of Paul’s outward man, as he gave his life to the will of the Lord Jesus, resulted in the Life of Jesus being made manifest in Paul’s physical body. The resurrection Life of Christ that was manifested in Paul brought the Glory of God to the listeners and has brought that same glory to those who have read Paul’s Epistles throughout the centuries of the Christian Era.
Divine Life was made available to other people through the "death" of the Apostle Paul. God’s Life must flow from someone’s death—death meaning the giving of our life and activities to the Life and activities of the Lord.
When Paul witnessed the Divine Life that was being revealed to others he was able to keep from fainting. Our determination to obey Christ is strengthened when we can see other people begin to partake of the Divine Glory.
Paul speaks of the second benefit—that of receiving God’s eternal strength such that we are able to gain dominion over the forces that would resist the doing of God’s will.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (II Corinthians 4:17)
The "weight" of glory referred to here is Paul’s house from Heaven, mentioned in Chapter Five of II Corinthians. Paul’s house is a vehicle of unimaginable power and authority, an eternal, incorruptible source to him of liberty in God, of breadth of service, of glory, of joy, of life.
When we respond properly to the afflictions that produce our death in Christ, weight is added to the house that will descend on us from Heaven at the time of the first resurrection from the dead.
Our willingness to abide with Christ in the furnace of testing causes a Divine purity and an overcoming strength to be developed in us. The Divine Gold in our being is purified, and the "bronze" in our personality, which results from the judgment of God that works in us, becomes pure and glowing.
Marvelous things happen to us in the furnace of tribulation, not the least of which are the companionship of the Son of God and the burning of our bonds.
Both fruitfulness and dominion result from our death in Christ.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)
It is God’s way that we bear fruit through our death. There are many scriptural examples of the principle of life from death. The greatest example is that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ did many miracles and taught truth as no other man before or since has taught it.
But it is from His death that the salvation of mankind has come.
Paul the Apostle ministered to people in what is now Turkey, Greece, and Italy. Several thousand people heard Paul teach and preach during his lifetime and witnessed the miracles that God performed by his hands.
But Paul’s knowledge of Christ that he recorded in his letters to the young churches has produced eternal life in millions upon unnumbered millions of souls. This knowledge of Christ resulted from Paul’s willingness to "fill up that which is behind of the sufferings of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church" (Colossians 1:24).
The sufferings associated with our consecration sometimes have to do with the bringing of life to other people. If we insist on serving Christ on our own terms, having our own way, refusing to deny ourselves at His request, we may pursue "Christian work" but we will "abide alone." We can only bring forth the fruit of Christ through our death in Christ.
Samson: a type of the Church today. The Old Testament story of Judge Samson gives us a picture of the Church of Christ in the last days. Samson’s hair represented his consecration. His enormous strength was related directly to its uncut length.
Samson enjoyed the pleasures of the world until the world uncovered the secret of his strength. We may marvel at the willingness of Samson to cast away his gift from God, but are we doing the same thing? Are we throwing away our spiritual strength by partaking of the lusts of the present world system?
The Church of Christ possessed spiritual strength in the first century. Because of the willingness of subsequent leaders to socialize with the world and to adopt human solutions for the problems of the Church, the separation of the Church from the world was impaired. The inevitable occurred. The Church lost much of its spiritual strength.
The world destroyed the ability of the Church to "see" Christ. The world bound the Christian Church with the chains of Satan and put it to work "building treasure cities for Pharaoh." For two thousand years the Christian organizations have been "grinding away in prison," attempting to exalt themselves and to impress a world system that always rejects the Lordship of Christ (Judges 16:21).
Whenever a Christian loses his consecration, his separation to the Person and will of Christ, his strength leaves him. He loses his vision of God and of Heaven. He becomes bound in affliction and trouble. He is "thrown into prison," becoming the slave of the world spirit.
Since the time of the Protestant Reformers the "hair" of the Church has been growing back. The separation to God is returning, for a remnant of believers. The world does not perceive what is occurring in the godly remnant just as the Philistines were unable to perceive the danger of Samson’s hair growing back.
The day will come when the flood of filth will fill the earth and the demons of Hell will make the Christians come out from their prison of shame and weakness and "make sport" for them. We are entering the days when the peoples of the earth will deride and despise the Christian churches.
The blind Samson was led out by a lad and he played the clown for the entertainment of the Philistines. Often today the churches are so pathetically eager for a wink of approval from the local community leaders that they will "play the clown" for the applause of the world, hoping to ingratiate themselves and win the approval of worldly people. This is done in the hope those people will be "won for Christ."
The Philistines in their ignorance placed the longhaired Hebrew between the two supporting pillars of the temple of Dagon. Evil spirits and evil people always bring to pass the will of God and heap destruction on themselves.
Samson called out to God and asked to be avenged for the loss of his two eyes. In the last days before Jesus appears, the consecration of the Church will be renewed and the Christians will cry out to God because of the darkness and oppression that has come upon them and the earth through the rulership of the forces of Hell.
At that time the two hands of the Church will be guided by a "lad" to the supporting pillars of the kingdom of darkness.
In the day in which we are living the Lord is bringing forth a generation of young people who will "cross Jordan," so to speak. They will "take the Kingdom." There is no time left to dawdle with the present generation of believers. The characters of today’s Christians, in numerous instances, have been so ruined by the doctrines of grace and of the "pre-tribulation rapture" that they never will be able to enter the travail that is to bring forth Christ. They are so occupied with their own psychological problems that they are unable to enter the grueling race that the true disciples of the Lord must endure.
The new generation, having been given sound doctrine, will press through to the fullness of victory that now is available. Guided by these young warriors the Church will place its right hand of the blood of the Lamb on one pillar and its left hand of the testimony of the Holy Spirit on the other pillar.
Then the Church will bow itself before God’s throne will all its might in the fullness of the death of consecration to God’s will. The result will be that the kingdom of darkness will come crashing down to destruction. Satan will be crushed under the feet of the Church. The Seed of the Woman (Christ in the saints) will crush Satan’s head under foot.
The Church, through its death to self-will and self-seeking, will bring greater liberation to the people of the world in the last days than it has been able to do through its own efforts during the two thousand years of its history.
At the time of greatest darkness on the earth the saints will attain a level of consecration deeper than has ever been true before, deeper than that of the believers of the first-century churches (with the exception of the Apostles and other notable men and women of God). The result will be a move of God through the Body of Christ that will destroy the kingdom of Satan.
"So the dead that he slew at his death were more than they that he slew in his life" (Judges 16:30).
Other Old Testament examples. Fruitfulness and strength result from our death in Christ.
And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt [test] Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. (Genesis 22:1,2)
Here is the third death and resurrection, the trial of obedience, the test that is more demanding and difficult than that of striving against the bondages of sin.
The calling of Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees is a type of salvation. Then, when Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and required a walk of sanctification (Genesis 17:1).
In the offering of Isaac we witness a much more severe testing—that of the offering up to God of Abraham’s only son, the promised heir, his inheritance in the Lord. Isaac was the only means of obtaining the abundant fruitfulness that God had promised Abraham. Abraham’s righteousness was based on the fact that he believed the Word of God concerning that fruitfulness.
Wasn’t this an exceedingly difficult trial?
Notice that God was testing Abraham. God reserves the right to test any one of us at any time He chooses. Our part is to pray and serve the Lord to the best of our ability in as cheerful and uncomplaining a manner as possible. Sometimes the tests of the Lord are quite difficult to endure. The test we are discussing now was extraordinarily difficult, but an eternal issue was being decided.
God said, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest."
"Thine only son Isaac." God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that his seed would be as the stars of the heaven. Abraham had proceeded to attempt to work out the fulfillment of God’s promise by using Hagar, a servant of Sarah.
God would not accept Hagar’s son, Ishmael, as the heir of promise. God commanded, "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac." At this point, God did not regard Ishmael as a true son of Abraham. Ishmael had not been given to Abraham by the Lord.
Much of our striving in Christian work is not even recognized by the Lord. It will prove to be wood, hay, and straw. All that God will accept in the Christian Church is what He Himself has accomplished in us.
"Thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest."
If God had called for Ishmael the test would not have been nearly as difficult. Isaac was the fruit of the promised miracle. There was no doubt in Abraham’s mind that it would be through Isaac that the end would come to his lack of fruitfulness, and that the promise of the Lord would be realized.
If God would require us to sacrifice only those things we have accomplished in the appetites of the flesh it might prove to be a difficult trial of our faith in Him.
When God begins to demand of us what truly is our gift from Him, our acts of obedience bring forth in us the kind of character that is able to receive successfully the fullness of the fruitfulness and strength God desires to impart to us.
To offer up Isaac as a burnt offering was a severe test of obedience. Sometimes when we are tested severely by the Lord we cannot understand what is taking place. We are unable to glimpse the purpose of the test or any end to our misery. It is at such times that the extent of our faith in the goodness of God and in the dependability of Christ is revealed.
Although it appears Abraham had no example to draw on, yet he believed that God was going to raise Isaac from the dead and fulfill His promise to Abraham in this manner (Hebrews 11:19).
The aged patriarch had the sentence of death in himself (II Corinthians 1:9).Abraham trusted in God who is able to raise the dead.
It is characteristic of the third death and resurrection that the Lord requires the surrender of relationships, circumstances and things that are dear to us—things that are lawful and, in some cases, our possession by the promise of God. The test may be surrounded with mystery and we may not be receiving our customary answers from the Lord.
The trial may be accompanied by unfair treatment. It must have been difficult for Paul to see younger men "reign as kings" while Paul, who was responsible for their knowledge of salvation, was in custody in uncomfortable and threatening circumstances.
It is not easy to pass through a seemingly endless tunnel of painful drudgery without understanding the reason for it, and yet refrain from blaming people or God. When we understand the reason for our test and know when it will be terminated, the test is not nearly as difficult.
The required sacrifice of Isaac turned Abraham into a living dead man (Romans 12:1). Abraham had the sentence of death in himself that he would not trust in himself but in God who raises the dead.
When God puts us through our most severe trials we become as walking dead people. The heart goes out of us. Only the Word of God carries us forward each day. We are crucified with Christ, yet we live. Now it is Christ living in us.
Those who will ride with Christ in that day will be dead-living people. The guile and self-seeking will have been drawn from them by the death of the cross.
The high point in Abraham’s life was the offering of Isaac and the restoration of Isaac to him. Death and life go together. Until we experience being wounded by the Lord we cannot know the glory of being renewed by the Lord. Those who are willing to go through God’s assigned deaths will come to know the power and glory of God’s resurrections. There not only are three deaths but three resurrections as well.
There are some aspects of redemption that come about through the death of Christ and other aspects that come about through His resurrection. We cannot obtain the desired goal of rest in God through death alone or through resurrection alone. We must have both death and resurrection in order to achieve the will of God.
So great was the pleasure of God over the obedience and faith of Abraham that God called to him from Heaven. There are not many instances recorded in the Scriptures in which God spoke to people from Heaven. This was a special occasion. Abraham here typifies the saint who is brought to the limits of consecration and faithful obedience to God.
When we consider all that was involved in this incident we are staggered at the degree of consecration that God required, and also at the strength of obedience residing in Abraham, who was more than one hundred years of age at the time.
We appreciate the quality of stern obedience in the Lord Jesus. Jesus is so much better than we that we are not too astonished at His willingness to go to death, even though His death was more painful spiritually and physically than anything we can imagine.
Abraham, however, was a human as frail as any of us. He had not been born again of Christ. His willingness to slay Isaac portrays the sublime heights that can be attained if we are faithful in pursuing Christ with all our might. From Abraham’s consecration to the will of God came exceedingly great fruitfulness and exceedingly great strength and dominion.
That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; (Genesis 22:17)
The blessing that comes to us from reading the life of Joseph is derived partly from the knowledge of the years that Joseph spent in prison, of the days of his consecration and death to his own ambitions and desires.
Jonah also speaks to us of the life that comes from death (Jonah 2:6).
One of the most dramatic and helpful examples of our death in God is that of Job. Billions of people have lived on our planet. Job was one person from among those multitudes. Yet, few people have made an impact on the personalities of their fellow humans equal to that of Job. His name is a household word, at least among Christians. Why is this?
Job was a wealthy man. He was not distinguished as a prophet, priest, or king, merely as a righteous, wealthy individual. Job followed after righteousness and hated wickedness.
The priceless legacy that Job has left is the story of his suffering in the Lord, the account of his death and resurrection in God. The life of Job would have had little effect on the rest of us if he had lived out his life without incident as a wealthy, righteous person.
Job became one of God’s eternal witnesses because of his suffering and his restoration. Powerful interventions of God in the life of an individual produce a powerful witness of the Person and way of God. It is our death and resurrection that create change in other people.
Both Abraham and Job teach us that what we receive from God must be received twice. Until God removes our gifts, the gifts possess us. After God has taken them away in the fire of His judgment, and then has restored the gifts that are part of His plan for our life, our gifts no longer possess us. We worship them no longer.
Instead we, under God in Christ, are set free from the bondages that can result from relationships with other people, from circumstances, and from things. After we have been freed from the bondages, and worship and adore God alone, we are ready to receive Divine fruitfulness and dominion.
Another of the important Old Testament portrayals of our death and resurrection in consecration to God occurred in the life of Jacob. It is found in the thirty-second chapter of the Book of Genesis.
Jacob had been blessed of God. Much of Jacob’s achievement in life had been forced by guile and cheating. Finally there came a day when Jacob had to return and face the consequences of his actions, particularly his actions concerning his brother, Esau.
Isn’t it true of us that we accomplish much by guile and cheating? There always comes that day when God calls us to death and resurrection in Himself. If we successfully endure our contest with the Lord we emerge from the battle greatly enlarged in fruitfulness and strength.
Jacob sent his family across the Jabbok, a tributary of the Jordan River, into the land of Canaan. Jacob himself remained alone. This is a type of giving all to God in preparation for our struggle unto death and life.
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. (Genesis 32:24)
We can bring no one with us through our consecration wrestling. It is well if there is another person in whom we can confide and seek counsel and prayer; but there only is so much that others can share, only so far they can go with us. Eventually we wrestle alone in the night. The contest is between God and His saint.
We wrestle "until the breaking of the day." If we let go we lose the fight. If we stay in the contest long enough the morning light will break.
And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. (Genesis 32:25)
The thigh of man is the place of both fruitfulness and strength, the center of reproduction and physical stamina and exertion. We always are affected in the realm of fruitfulness and strength when we prevail with God Almighty.
And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. (Genesis 32:26)
In spite of his guile, Jacob was a determined individual. God told him that the morning was at hand. Jacob was seeking God’s peace, God’s blessing, deliverance from the power of Esau, the favor and protection of the Lord. Jacob prevailed with God, just as we can prevail once we determine that we must have the favor of God.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. (Genesis 32:28)
Jacob means supplanter, schemer, trickster. Israel signifies he struggles with God. The change of name indicates a change of personality, blessing, and inheritance. Prior to the struggle, Jacob was in the habit of getting what he wanted by scheming and trickery. After the struggle he came to realize the only way to obtain anything of value is to receive it by struggling with God. This is the lesson we learn when we die in Christ and are raised in consecration to God.
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. (Genesis 32:29)
As a result of the wrestling match, Jacob became more interested in God than he was in obtaining the answer to his prayer. The same change of attitude occurs in us. In the course of our consecration-wrestling we come into such closeness to God that we become more interested in God Himself than we are in obtaining what we sought originally.
And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. (Genesis 32:30)
No man can see God and live. How, then, could Jacob live after seeing God face to face?
The answer is, part of Jacob died. He died and was raised again in God just as we die and are raised again as the result of our consecration-wrestling. We come to the point of believing all hope is gone; but somehow our life is preserved. Not only do we now have the answer to our prayer but—best of all—we have come to know the Lord.
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