CHAPTER FIVE

A PROPER CONSECRATION

CONSECRATION BEING TO GIVE OURSELVES 
AS VESSELS TO THE LORD

In this chapter we will fellowship concerning consecration. Every one of us should have a genuine consecration; we should spend time to earnestly pray and offer ourselves to the Lord. What is a proper consecration? A person may say that since he has consecrated himself to the Lord, he no longer wants certain things. This is not the kind of consecration that we are speaking of, because not wanting certain things may just be something according to a person’s desire. He may say that he no longer wants to study, but the Lord may say, “I want you to continue to study.” Consecration is not a simple matter. Sometimes our consecration is not thorough, because we still want to have the final say in everything. Formerly, studying was our decision, and now giving up our studies is still our decision. Formerly, obtaining a bachelor’s degree was our decision, and now giving up a bachelor’s degree is still our decision. Even our desire to gain the Lord is our decision. This is not a proper consecration.

Consecration means that we offer ourselves as vessels to the Lord to let Him fill us, occupy us, and be expressed through us. As a result, we are not the ones making decisions. If the Lord says that our attitude to our parents is not good, we should respond by asking Him to forgive us and cleanse us with His blood. The Lord may say that we offended a younger brother, and we should respond by asking Him to forgive us for offending this brother. This is the result of genuine consecration. Hence, it is not that we decide whether or not to study. Rather, we ask the Lord whether or not He wants to study. If the Lord does not want to study, we do not study further. If the Lord wants to study, we should study. Consecration does not mean that we should give up studying and eating, leave the world, and retreat to the mountains. That is a religious concept of consecration. Even consecrating to be an evangelist is according to a [164] religious concept of consecration. It is not the result of touching and gaining the Lord in a genuine way.

When we touch and gain the Lord, we realize that we are vessels created by the Lord, and we are willing to give ourselves to Him and receive Him as our Lord. We let Him speak and do everything. As a result, we do what He wants us to do. If the Lord says that we should get rid of something, we get rid of it, and if the Lord says that we should keep something, we keep it. Whatever the Lord does not want, we should not want, and whatever the Lord desires, we also should desire. This is consecration. When the young people give testimonies concerning their consecration, there is often a religious flavor. They say that they want to do this or that for the Lord. Actually, the Lord does not want you to do anything for Him. He only wants you to be an empty vessel. Never think that the Lord does not want you to get a degree. The Lord may want you to get a Ph.D. We do not have a proper understanding of consecration, because we are influenced by tradition. Even when we tell the Lord that we will do whatever He wants, there is still a religious flavor. The Lord does not want us to do anything. He wants to be our person. It is not a matter of what the Lord wants us to do; rather, it is a matter of our following the Lord.

CONSECRATION BEING 
TO LET THE LORD BE OUR PERSON

The Bible says that we are a vessel (Rom. 9:20-21, 23) and that we have a treasure in our earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4:7). An earthen vessel is meaningless without a treasure. We are merely vessels in need of content. A car without a driver as its content is meaningless. Just as a car is a vessel in need of a person who can drive, we are vessels in need of Christ as our person.

We are often influenced by natural concepts, religious thoughts, Christian tradition, and even our history in the recovery. These four layers are like a pair of tinted glasses that hinder us from seeing things clearly. If my glasses are tinted dark brown, everything I see will be dark brown. Similarly, if I have a layer of “dark brown glasses” on my mind, whatever I hear becomes “dark brown.” This is the way that our natural, religious, and traditional concepts influence our understanding of consecration.

To consecrate ourselves to the Lord is to receive the Lord into us [165] to be our person. A car does not have a person; it is just a machine. A car can merely receive commands; it cannot receive me as its person. Likewise, we often consecrate ourselves to the Lord merely to receive His commands but not to receive Him as our person. Hence, the Lord is still not our person. At the most He is able to give us commands. We go when the Lord tells us to go, or we get a job when He tells us to do so. This is the consecration of a religious person. It is an old consecration.

The Bible shows that this is not the kind of consecration that the Lord wants. The consecration that the Lord desires is for us to give ourselves to Him as vessels and let Him be our person. If there is anything that frustrates Him from being our person, we should say, “Lord, remove the hindrances! Remove whatever occupies me. If there is anything unclean in me, remove it.” When we allow the Lord to cleanse and empty us, He will be enlarged in our being. The Lord desires to be our person.

Once the Lord comes in to be our person, we are no longer the person. This means that if the Lord wants to study, we follow Him to study. It is not we who decide; the Lord decides. It is not that I no longer have any opinions but that I am no longer the person who makes the decisions. In Galatians 2:20 Paul says, “I am crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” The self, that is, me as the person, is crucified. Hence, I am no longer the person; the Lord is now my person. I am a vessel to let the Lord come in and be my person. When I take the Lord as my person, I make room for Him. I do not want anything to occupy me. I will let the Lord take away anything that is a hindrance to Him so that I can take Him as my person.

After consecrating ourselves, how do we live? Suppose we are about to study, and we say, “Lord, I am about to study. I have consecrated myself to You, so please help me to study.” This is a religious prayer. Suppose there is no meeting in the evening, but there is a movie at the theater. Will you pray and ask the Lord Jesus to keep you from going to watch the movie? Such a prayer does not indicate that you are a consecrated person.

REJECTING TRADITIONS AND RELIGIOUS CONCEPTS

Christianity has brought us many traditions. The teachings and practices in Christianity are just traditions. Even the exposition of [166] the Bible is based on traditions. These traditions frustrate believers from understanding God’s desire according to the original intention and revelation of the Bible. Most believers have a preconceived idea concerning the filling of the Holy Spirit. Some think that this involves a miraculous experience or a special physical feeling. Hence, if such things are absent, they question the authenticity of the filling of the Holy Spirit. Others think that the filling of the Holy Spirit involves being filled with power, holiness, and love. These concepts are only half right; they are not absolutely wrong or absolutely right. We must completely give up our previous understanding, comprehension, and impression concerning the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Otherwise, our understanding will be veiled.