81
Consecration
tify.” This signifies to me that consecration and sanctifica tion—I speak from an experimental standpoint—are separate things. I t is clear that they are closely connected, that one precedes the other and leads to the other, and that the other follows the one and results from that one. Indeed, one may truly say that they are inseparable. At the same time, con secration comes first and sanctification comes second. To put it in the form of a picture, consecration is the initial act of going through the outer door of a palace, and the subsequent acts of passing through other doors in the palace in order to occupy the whole and to reach the throne-room of the king; and sanctification is the palace itself, the whole of which is the home of the king, and where the king may be seen face to face. Or, to put it more simply and plainly, consecration is an initial act and many subsequent, similar acts; and sanc tification is the consequent and resultant state. The second thing which I noticed is, that the one who was to be consecrated had to belong to the right family. There were many orders of people in the world at that time. First, there were the great nations without; then, there were the Israelites in an inner circle; then, there were the Levites at large in a more inner circle ; then, there were the sons of Aaron still nearer the center; and, finally, there was Aaron himself at the very center. Now, consecration—in the sense used in this passage—was not for the nations, nor for the Israelites, nor for the Levites at large. I t was only for Aaron , and Aaron’s sons, and the only way, therefore, that a person could reach the experience of consecration was by being born into that particular family. This suggests, of course, the idea of exclusiveness. At the same time, it is more inclusive than it appears. For who are the successors of Aaron and Aaron’s sons? The answer comes from Rev. 1:5, 6, in Johns as cription of praise: i
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker