To Consecrate a thing or a person in simple terms is to Dedicate such to a sacred service or duty. Consecrated things are sacred and hallowed, separated from the common and Set apart to God. Consecration simply affirms Divine ownership,It is a statement that loudly says…”I am God’s property Alone”
The popular phrase “Holiness” carries this idea, not just in the sense of sinlessness which many have come to know it as but in a sense of Being set apart from the Common as a Sacred thing. The Cups in the Tabernacle were Holy Cups, not because they were sinless and stainless steel but because they separated unto the sacred work in the Tabernacle.
1 Corinthians 7:34 (KJV) …The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be HOLY BOTH IN BODY AND IN SPIRIT: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
So when Paul speaks about the Holiness in spirit and body of an unmarried woman, he refers to the fact she is completely dedicated to the things of God without distraction. Since she only belongs to the Lord, she is completely set apart to God’s service. However, once she marries, she is no longer Holy in Body and Spirit. This means that her dedication to God may not be as absolute as it used to because of the demands of family life. She is Holy to God in her Spirit and also Holy to Her Husband in her Body. The Christian is Consecrated and Holy on the basis of Jesus purchasing us through His blood and Making us His own.
In a general sense, Every Christian is Consecrated at salvation, we simply became God’s property and we are separated from the world when we receive eternal life. However, this discourse must look beyond fundamental consecration and press into the deeper things of God. Our initial Consecration by Salvation was something that God did all by Himself but subsequent measures of Consecration is something we must decide and cooperate with God.
Consecration and Holiness is in degrees,
It is measured by How much of me is fully dedicated as God’s property.
Beyond the general statements of “I have given my life to Christ” How much of your time, money, resources, thoughts and energy is used as a Sacred thing for God?A lot of Christians claim to be giving God a lot of things.
Time spent in church services and personal devotions are considered by many as great treasures in a very busy world. But for some others, they still don’t understand why God should have so much of their time,
Why exactly does God seem to demand so much?
To understand Consecration and the Dedication of our lives to Divine things, we should be reminded that God made all things. He created all things for His pleasure and it is very much in place to demand and Lord it over His creation. The sabbath, The tithe and the Dedication of First borns were all consecration principles affirming that God was the owner of every day and so one day was set apart to Honour Him as a reminder that He owned all things. A Tenth of the harvest was set apart as an affirmation that He was the Lord of tie Harvest. The First Born sons were also initially Consecrated as an affirmation that it was God who brought the entire nation Israel out of Egypt by slaying the first born of the Egyptians.
So since God owns all things, it is perfectly reasonable if He demands what He demands. It is perfectly justified that we offer Him whatever we offer in worship and Sacrifice. However, many Christians don’t understand that it is wrong to offer God “cheap Sacrifices”… And by cheap, stop thinking about money, there is more to this conversation.
Let me paint a scenario.
If I travel all the way to Mexico to see my wife, she will consider that a great Sacrifice. The hours spent in the air and the energy consumed too see her makes it a valuable sacrifice. But if she soon discovers that my trip to Mexico was actually for ministry and I was just “branching” to see her, she may not Consider the trip a Sacrifice for love, The worth of the trip in her sight diminishes once she discovers I didn’t travel exclusively for her.
Real Value is founded on Exclusiveness.
A custom made car can be sold for a fortune not because it is the fastest but because it’s specially made for the buyer. The fact that there will be no other car like such makes the car extra valuable. My wife is Holy to me because she is exclusive to me. There are names I call her that I can’t call anyone else. There are Sacrifices I make for her that I won’t make for anyone else. There are things I tell her that I won’t tell anyone else.
How does this apply to Consecrated Christian living?
Much or what we give to God is cheap because it is not a gift exclusive to Him. Our church attendance is intact but we’re mostly not giving God all the four hours spent in church. While praying, we scroll through the media and give God very little attention even though we seem physically present. It’s not extreme to switch off your data while praying. It’s not extreme to avoid your phones when reading the Bible. It’s completely unacceptable to come to church with your feet and mouth, yet your heart and mind are with the activities happening in the world.
All that we offer God is too cheap if we don’t understand the sacredness of time spent with Him and the Exclusiveness of our offerings. Beyond God not accepting cheap devotions, what we offer God goes a long way to determine the quality of our fellowship with Him. If we invest cheap resources, we will be poor and wretched in our walk with Him.
An accurate way to measure your consecration to God is to examine if you both share similar emotions and burdens.
To be Consecrated means that you’re exclusively God’s possession, but God’s ownership of you is to the end that there will be a oneness in Mind, priorities, values, perspectives and emotions. It is at this point that a man operates more as a Delegated Authority. He has lost most of Himself in his Walk with God and has allowed God to influence every part of His life. At this point, success is redefined, Pleasure takes a new meaning.
Anger and Sorrow are expressed only as a reflection of Divine emotion. And your life is lived with the mentality of a Pilgrim and Stranger who completely belongs to another Kingdom. It is easy to say…”I belong to Jesus”
But just as the image of Cesar was on the coin that belonged to him, your life should reflect Godliness in every dimension when you’re truly His possession.
My wife’s consecration to me means that what hurts me automatically gets her attention and could also hurt her.
Since she’s my exclusive possession, an insult to her is perceived as an insult to me. Because she’s sacred to me, her happiness will most likely be my happiness too. The prophets of Old knew this path, they were God’s property, they had no life of their own, has no personal opinion, had no right to selfish pursuits. A wasted life it was, poured out as a Sacrifice to the King whom they served. It was a very selfless life, but that’s what consecration demands.
While modern Christianity seems to focus on what to get from God, Consecrated Christianity emphasis what you’ll give up in your walk with God so that you can maximise the riches of eternal life.
The thrill of Consecration however is that it establishes an Intimacy beyond general communication.
Just as Moses and other prophets encountered God in very unique ways.
Just as Peter, James and John encountered Jesus in a sacred moments, there are realities in God reserved for the Consecrated Saint.