(tm) Conquest—The Third Area of Redemption
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There are other titles we could have assigned to the third area of redemption, such as "consecration," or "perfection," or "throne-life."
The term conquest suggests the warfare necessary for entrance into the promised-land rest of God, and speaks also of the life of victory in Christ—the positive, dynamic, faith-filled Christian discipleship that keeps on marching toward the "city that hath foundations."
We always are to be pressing on toward the fullness of Christ in God.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:1,2)
It is the will of God that Christians not only be saved and sanctified but that they fight on to total reconciliation to God.
Being saved means we have been absolved of guilt and shall be brought through to the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.
Being sanctified means we now are following the Holy Spirit in the diligent application of our gifts and ministries, and also in putting to death the deeds of the flesh.
To become a conqueror we must press forward each day to the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion. Laying hold on the inheritance to this extent requires that we love not our life to the point of death. We must be willing to suffer delayed gratification of our most fervent desires.
In some instances the delay may be of many years duration. We must be ready to deny our own desires, our own lives—all of that to which we may have a "right." It is the place of unquestioned obedience as soldiers of Christ, as servants of the Lord.
Not only must we be willing to suffer delayed gratification—for years if desired by the Lord, but we also must be willing to continue doing things for which we have no heart, in which we take no delight. We are to do what the Lord tells us to do, and we are to do it without complaining or blaming others.
As far as it is possible for us to do so we are to rejoice in the Lord and look for blessings in the most difficult circumstances. Perfect reconciliation to God, the fullness of victory in Christ, requires that we give our best to the Master without grumbling.
Walking in the sins of the flesh brings misery and death. Obeying the laws of righteousness works peace in us and causes us to be fruitful and content in this life, even though we always will have tribulation on earth before Jesus appears (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Revelation 1:9).
The realm of conquest is a deepening and broadening of the process of sanctification. In order for us to achieve victory in Christ, all that we are, do, and possess must be brought through the Divine fire.
Conquest requires a cutting back of our "rightful" status, accomplishments, and possessions. The Spirit of God beckons us toward the place of denial, of crucifixion, of the loss of our life. Such loss is not easy to accept but it is the only path to total union with God, and fruitfulness and strength in the Kingdom of God.
Referring back to Romans 12:1,2 we find it is the body that is to be offered. This is the daily offering of our fleshly nature, and it requires strength of spirit on our part in order to hold our beastly self-life before God until He consumes the sacrifice.
"That ye present your bodies a living sacrifice!"
Presenting our body a living sacrifice is no easy, pleasant task. Each day of our life on earth we are to seek the mind of Christ as to what is important for the day. Our body is our link with the earth and the world.
When God requires the sacrifice of our body He is asking for the whole of our existence on the earth. The conduct of affairs on earth has to do almost exclusively with what is happening to, with, and in our body. Except for a comparatively small amount of religious effort that attempts to cultivate the spirit, the whole of life is centered on the enjoyment of the soul through the body.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (Luke 12:19)
The soul satisfies itself through the body in eating, in drinking, and in being merry. God calls for the daily sacrifice of the body and of the corresponding soulish desires.
Notice that we are to present our body a "living" sacrifice. It would be much easier if we could offer a "dead" sacrifice, "go into neutral," and resign ourselves to a "don’t care" attitude of mental passivity.
If we could flee to a place of hiding and spend our days in contemplation it might be easier. To stay alive in God with all our powers alert and our will decisive, full of energy, ambition, desires of all kinds, but always allowing God to blunt our thrusts as He will—this requires determination.
Presenting our body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, is our Christian act of worship. Instead of offering a young bull, a sheep, a goat, or a bird, we offer our own body as a whole ascending (burnt) offering to the Lord. We do it every day.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock. (Leviticus 1:2)
The first chapter of Leviticus describes the burnt (ascending) offering. Of the five principal offerings, the Altar was named after the burnt offering. The great bronze Altar standing at the entrance to the Tabernacle of the Congregation was referred to as the Altar of Burnt Offering. It can be seen that the burnt offering was of special importance in the sight of God. The burnt offering was not a sin offering but an offering of devotion and consecration.
If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord. (Leviticus 1:3)
We offer our consecration of our "own voluntary will." We choose to give all to Christ. He invites us but does not force us. We offer ourselves at the "door," that is to say, at the cross of Christ. All offerings are made at the cross. We take up our cross and follow Him. The cross of Christ is the only acceptable place of sacrificial death.
Devotees of other religions suffer pain and humiliation of the flesh but their offering is of no value before the throne of God. The only acceptable place for the offering of oneself to God is "at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord." This is where the Altar of Burnt Offering, the cross of Christ, is located.
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