From what then has God bought us? Galatians 4:5 says, “That he might redeem them that were under the law.” This verse reveals that God has redeemed us from under the law; God has bought us from under the law. What is it that God has redeemed us from the law? The reason is that when we sinned and fell, we not only came under Satan, sin, and the world and became their captives, but we also offended God’s righteousness, transgressed God’s law, and became sinners. Because we became sinners, we fell under God’s law and were kept and retained by this law. The fact that we were thus retained by the law of God is altogether righteous and legal. If God, therefore, wanted to release us from under His righteous law, He must pay the full price to satisfy the demand of His law. This price is the precious blood shed by His Son. Since this blood satisfied the requirements of the law, we are redeemed from under His righteous law, that is, we are bought from under the law. Since the day we obtained redemption, we have been released from the rule of the law; we are no longer under its authority. Formerly we belonged to the law, but now we belong to God. The right of ownership over us has been transferred from the law to the hand of God. It is on the basis of this transfer of right that God demands that we consecrate ourselves to Him. God’s right of ownership over us through purchase, therefore, is the basis upon which we should consecrate ourselves to God.

When we lead others to consecrate themselves, or when we examine our own consecration, we must attend to this basis of consecration. We must realize that we were bought by God and that the right of ownership over us has been transferred to God. We are no longer, therefore, in our own hands. We are no longer our own. When we thus realize the basis of consecration, our consecration is stable and secure.

If we were to investigate the consecration experiences of Christians, we would discover that most were constrained by the love of the Lord. This motive is truly good and reasonable. But if we were to consecrate ourselves to the Lord only because of the constraint of the Lord’s love, would this consecration be sufficiently stable? Experience tells us that it is not. The reason is that love is the story of our heart’s mood and desire. When we are happy, we love; when we are not happy, we do not love. Today, we are in the mood to love, so we consecrate ourselves; tomorrow we are not in the mood to love, so we do not consecrate ourselves. Therefore, if consecration is purely a matter of love, it will not be sufficiently stable. It will be subject to as much change as our unstable mood. When we understand the basis of consecration and realize that consecration is based on the matter of purchase, our consecration will then be stable and secure. A purchase is not a matter of mood, but a matter of ownership. God has already bought us and has the right to own us. Therefore, whether we are happy or not, we must consecrate ourselves.

I feel deeply that not many of those brothers and sisters among us who have already consecrated themselves truly realize God’s right of ownership. We must return, therefore, and make up this lesson. Our consecration must not only be because of the love of the Lord; we must realize that God verily has the right to possess us. Following the Lord is not always exciting, and serving Him is not always pleasant. Even those of us who have served the Lord for many years sometimes feel that it is really not easy to serve the Lord, but the urge within forbids us to do otherwise. We often feel like giving up, but we cannot. The reason is that we have realized God has a right to us. We were bought by God, and we belong to Him; therefore, whether we like it or not, we cannot but consecrate ourselves and serve Him. In the world today, people get married when they feel like it and divorced when they feel like it. They act according to their mood without recognizing any right of ownership. Our consecration must not be like that. True consecration must sooner or later rest on the realization of God’s right to us, based on His purchase. Whether we are in a happy mood or not, this fact remains the same. When we stand before the judgment seat to be judged by the Lord regarding our consecration, judgment will not be on the basis of whether we love Him or not, or whether we liked to be consecrated or not; it will be based on the fact of whether we were bought by Him or not. If we were bought by Him, we can do nothing but consecrate ourselves; we have nothing to say. From now on, therefore, whenever we speak about consecration, we must not neglect this basis.

When we read these words regarding the basis of consecration, we may understand with our mind and receive with our heart, but this is still not adequate. We cannot say that we thus have the basis of consecration. We need to experience this basis practically in our daily life. Each time something occurs that causes us to argue with God, we must bow before Him and say: “Lord, I am the slave You bought. My right of ownership has been purchased by You. I here and now declare Your right. Even in this matter I will let You be the Lord and decide for me.” Every time we depart from the position of consecration, we should feel that we are in a state of rebellion similar to that of Onesimus, the slave who fled from his master, Philemon. Whenever we are confronted with the opportunity to make a choice, we should consider this basis of consecration, this purchase, as the foundation rock under our feet. We must stand securely thereon, never daring to depart from it. If we experience consecration in such a sincere way, we have truly laid hold of the basis of consecration.

At the time John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, was being martyred, he expressed that regardless of how God treated him, he would still only worship Him. He realized that he was but a purchased slave, one over whom God had the complete right of ownership. However God treated him, he had nothing to say; he only worshipped. He knew that to make his own choice meant to escape and that to accept God’s will meant consecration. For this cause he let God do all the choosing for him and was willing to accept His arrangement, whatever it might be. Until death he stood on the foundation rock of the basis of consecration. He really was one who knew God’s right and the basis of consecration. Our realization of the basis of consecration must also go to the same extent.
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