A person who wants God to work in him must be consecrated. God has much work to do in us. Although we are saved, we still need God to work in us. The Bible says that we, the believers, are living stones. God desires to use these living stones to build His spiritual house, His dwelling place. These stones need to be dealt with by God. Ephesians 2:10 says that we are God’s masterpiece, a very special part of God’s work in the universe. God desires to work His nature, disposition, thinking, desires, wisdom, and all of His virtues into our being. God works in us so that we can be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29).
Since we are not dead material, like wood or stone, God needs to have our consent before He can work in us. We are living. God will not have a way to work in us if we do not agree. God will never force us. He is a patient God; He can wait. Although He is willing to work in us, He will not proceed if we do not give our consent. He will wait until we are willing. It is true that He desires to break us, but He first needs to obtain our consent. If we say, “God, I am here, willing to be broken by You,” He can begin to break us. It is a pity that many believers have never consecrated themselves or agreed to let God work in them. They may have been saved for five, ten, twenty, or even thirty years, but there is very little of God’s work in them because they do not allow God to work. In order for God to work in us, we need to come before Him on our knees and say, “I know that You chose me and saved me because You want me to become good material for Your building. You want to do Your good works in me so that I can be conformed to the image of Your Son for the accomplishment of Your masterpiece in the universe (2 Tim. 3:17; Eph. 2:10). I agree with Your work in me. I welcome You to work in me. I offer myself to You and commit myself into Your hands. My consecration is not only for You to lead me but also for You to do a thorough work in me.” Brothers and sisters, this is a thorough consecration. Consecration is, in fact, our consent.
The blessings that we enjoy in God’s salvation are so rich! God Himself, Christ, and the Holy Spirit are our portion. Christ’s death and resurrection, His glorification, His obtaining authority over all things in heaven and on earth, and His transcending over all enemies are our portion. We gained all these at the time we were saved. However, in order to enjoy these blessings, we must be consecrated.
If we have never offered ourselves to the Lord, we have no way to enjoy the Triune God even though He dwells in us. We will also be unable to experience the Lord’s mysterious death and glorious resurrection, and the Holy Spirit will have no way of leading us into these experiences. Although we have ascended with Him and are seated together with Him in the heavenlies, we will still be earthy people in our practical living if we are not consecrated. Although the Lord’s victory is our portion, we will remain in our failures if we do not offer ourselves to Him. The Lord has received authority over all things in heaven and on earth, and this authority has also been given to us. However, in order to enjoy and experience this authority, we must be consecrated. If we do not give ourselves to the Lord and stand together with Him, we will have His authority in position but not in experience or reality. Everything that the Lord accomplished for us is ours; however, in order to experience them, we must be consecrated.
Throughout the ages those who have spoken concerning spiritual experience paid much attention to the matter of consecration. Brother Andrew Murray, who mainly spoke concerning abiding in the Lord and fellowshipping with the Lord, said that in order to experience abiding in the Lord and fellowshipping with the Lord, one must be consecrated. In The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life, Hannah Whitall Smith said that if a believer wants to lead a happy life, he must be consecrated. George Müller, who spoke concerning faith, said that if one wants to have a living faith, he must consecrate himself to the Lord. There are others, who advocated gaining the power of Pentecost, who said that a person must consecrate himself in order to gain the power of Pentecost. There are also people who said that learning how to pray and becoming praying persons require consecration.
These statements are all true because consecration is a gate, a door. If we do not enter through this gate, we will remain outside; we will be unable to see and partake of the rich contents inside. When we go to a hospital, a school, or even our own home, we must enter through a door. Wherever we go, we need to enter through a door. Consecration is the gate to experiencing all the riches in God’s salvation. Whoever has not entered through this gate cannot practically experience the riches of God’s salvation.
Every believer has received God’s love, which is great. Romans 5:5 says that the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Second Corinthians 5:14 says that the love of Christ constrains us. We deserved to die and perish. However, the Lord died for us. The love that caused the Lord to die for us constrains us. It would be difficult for any Christian who meditates on this love not to be touched or constrained by this great love of the Lord. We cannot but respond to this moving and constraining love. Our response is spontaneous. The love of God constrains us inwardly when He requires something of us. The love of God leads us to answer God’s requirement, saying, “I am willing to offer myself to You. Even though I have nothing but my dreadful self, all I can do is offer myself entirely to You.” Presenting ourselves to God in this way is a response to His love.
Romans 12:1 says, “I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice.” This is the constraining of God’s love and His requirement on us. With this love, we should respond to God and say, “I have no way to repay Your love; any repayment is beyond me. I can only present myself to You.” When someone expresses his love for us, how can we not respond? Dear saints, we have received such a great love from God. How can we not respond to God’s love?