Summary: Three Deaths and Three Resurrection

The first death we must die, as the Divine redemption is worked out in us, is our entrance into the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. It is death to the world.

The first resurrection we are terming salvation. The first resurrection results in our being preserved from destruction throughout all the coming Divine judgments. It is the beginning of life in the Kingdom of God.

The second death is our baptism into the Body of Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is death to our fleshly, animal life, making possible the working out in practical holiness and testimony our new life in the Spirit of God.

The second resurrection we are terming sanctification. The second resurrection is to life lived in the Spirit of God, with the resulting holiness of behavior, and testimony to the Person, will, way, and purposes of the Father.

The third death is the laying down of our will in obedience to the will of God. We may suffer delayed gratification of what we desire fervently. We may be required to continue doing things that are unpleasant. We may be "carried" where we do not choose to go (John 21:18).

The third resurrection we are terming conquest. The third resurrection brings us into oneness with Christ in God, with the resulting achievement of the fullness of the Glory of God. We have been redeemed fully when every aspect of our personality is perfectly at rest in the will of God and lives as an integral, eternal part of Christ.

There are other titles we could have assigned to the third area of resurrection, such as "consecration," or "perfection," or "throne-life." The term conquest suggests the warfare necessary to entrance into the promised-land rest of God, and speaks also of the life of victory in Christ—the dynamic, faith-filled Christian discipleship that keeps on marching toward the "city that hath foundations."

Christ asks: "Will you die to the world that you may live in the Kingdom of God?" If your answer is yes, He will bring you through death and resurrection.

Christ asks: "Will you follow the Holy Spirit into the holy Fire of God's Person, allowing your animal passions to be crucified? If your answer is yes, He will bring you a second time through death and resurrection.

Christ asks: "Will you lay down your life for My sake and the Gospel's?" If your answer is yes, He will bring you a third time through death and resurrection.

What are your answers to His three questions?

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