By the Scripture’s Own Writers
Dedication
Definition
DEDICATION. An act by which a person or thing is initiated into some way, course or use. Christian dedication is the act of a person in setting himself apart by solemn agreement, unreservedly and unconditionally, to do the will of Jehovah God through Christ Jesus, as that will is set forth in the Bible, being made plain by God’s holy spirit. It means one must live a holy life, separate from this world, and serve God henceforth to eternity.
CONSECRATION. As used in the Hebrew Scriptures, literally, to “fill the hand”, to put full power into the hand of those who are to serve in a priestly office. Installation into the priesthood. To Christians it is God’s act of installing them as priests of God under the great consecrated High Priest, Christ, and empowering them to act as such. It applies only to Christ and the anointed, spirit-begotten members of His body.
SANCTIFICATION. A setting apart for God’s holy purpose or use. God sanctifies his spirit-begotten ones by means of His holy spirit and word of truth. They become God’s “holy nation”, a people for God’s Name. The ones sanctified co-operate in maintaining sanctification by their action in study and following God’s will.
DEDICATION
Required of All Who Will Serve God, Receive Everlasting Life
Luke 14:27 “Whoever is not carrying his torture stake and coming after Me cannot be My disciple.”
Genesis 47:19, 20, 25 “Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh: and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land be not desolate. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; … And they said, Thou hast saved our lives: let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”
One Must Be Drawn to God by Faith Based on Knowledge of His Word
John 14:6 “Jesus said to him: ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ “
John 6:44 “No man can come to Me unless the Father, who sent Me, draws him, and I will resurrect him in the last day.”
Hebrews 11:6 “Moreover, without faith it is impossible to win His good pleasure, for he that approaches God must believe that He is and that He becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking Him.”
Repentance Must Precede Dedication
Acts 2:37, 41 “Now when they heard this they were stabbed to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles: ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Therefore those who embraced his word heartily were baptized, and on that day about three thousand souls were added.”
Acts 3:19, 20 “Repent, therefore, and turn around so as to get your sins blotted out, that seasons of refreshing may come from Jehovah and that He may send forth the Christ appointed for you, Jesus.”
Cost of Dedication Must First Be Calculated
Luke 14:28-33 “For example, who of you that wants to build a tower does not first sit down and figure out the expense, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, he might lay its foundation but not have the funds to finish it, and all the onlookers might start to ridicule him, saying: ‘This man started to build but had not the funds to finish.’ Or what king, marching to meet another king in war does not first sit down and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand troops to cope with the one that comes against him with twenty thousand? If, in fact, he cannot do so, then while that one is yet far away he sends out a body of ambassadors and sues for peace. Thus, you may be sure, none of you that does not say good-bye to all his belongings can be My disciple.”
One Dedicating Self Must Recognize Jehovah as Supreme Sovereign, Life-Giver, Christ as Savior, King, Holy Spirit as God’s Active Force
Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit.”
Psalm 83:18 “That they may know that You alone, whose name is Jehovah, are the Most High over all the earth.”
Psalm 36:9 “For with You is the fountain of life.”
Philippians 2:9, 11 “For this very reason also God exalted Him to a superior position and kindly gave Him the name that is above every other name, and every tongue should openly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”
Galatians 6:8 “Because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit.”
Ephesians 5:18 “Keep getting filled with spirit.”
Dedication Is Followed by Water Baptism
Acts 10:47, 48 “Then Peter responded: ‘Can anyone forbid water so that these might not be baptized who have received the holy spirit even as we have?’ With that he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”
Acts 16:30-33 “And he brought them outside and said: ‘Sirs, what must I do to get saved?’ They said: ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will get saved, you and your household.’ And they spoke the word of Jehovah to him together with all those in his house. And he took them along in that hour of the night and bathed their stripes, and, one and all, he and his were baptized without delay.”
Prayerful, Sincere Dedication Is Accepted by Jehovah
Acts 10:3-5, 30, 31, 44 “Just about the ninth hour of the day he saw plainly in a vision an angel of God come in to him and say to him: ‘Cornelius!’ The man gazed at him and, becoming frightened, said: ‘What is it, Lord?’ He said to him: ‘Your prayers and gifts of mercy have ascended as a remembrance before God. So now send men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon who is surnamed Peter.’ Accordingly Cornelius said: ‘Four days ago counting from this hour I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, when, look! a man in bright raiment stood before me and said: “Cornelius, your prayer has been favorably heard and your gifts of mercy have been remembered before God.”‘ While Peter was yet speaking about these matters the holy spirit fell upon all those hearing the word.”
1 Samuel 1:9-28 “So Hannah rose up … And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto Jehovah, and wept sore. And she vowed a vow, and said, O Jehovah of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your handmaid, and remember me, and not forget Your handmaid, but will give unto Your handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto Jehovah all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head…. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and Jehovah remembered her; and it came to pass, when the time was come about, that Hannah conceived, and bare a son; and she called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of Jehovah.. .. For this child I prayed; and Jehovah has given me my petition which I asked of Him: therefore also I have granted him to Jehovah; as long as he lives he is granted to Jehovah.”
1 Kings 8:41-43 “Moreover concerning the foreigner, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come out of a far country for Thy name’s sake (for they shall hear of Thy great name, and of Thy mighty hand, and of Thine outstretched arm); when he shall come and pray toward this house; hear Thou in heaven thy dwelling- place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to Thee for; that all the peoples of the earth may know Thy Name, to fear Thee, as does Thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Thy Name.”
Examples of Dedication
Hebrews 10:5-7 “Hence when He comes into the world he says: ‘You did not desire sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for Me. You did not approve of whole burnt-offerings and sin offering.’ Then I said, ‘Look! I am come (in the roll of the book it is written about Me) to do Your will, O God.’ “
Hebrews 11:24, 25 “By faith Moses, when grown up, refused to be called the son of the daughter of Pharaoh, choosing to be ill- treated with the people of God rather than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin.”
See: Acts, chapters 2, 10; and Hebrews, chapter 11.
Dedication Must Be Faithfully Carried Out
Romans 1:31, 32 “Without understanding, false to agreements, having no natural affection, merciless. Although these know full well the righteous decree of God, that those practicing such things are deserving of death, they not only keep on doing them but also approve those practicing them.”
Ecclesiastes 5:2, 4-6 “Be not rash with your mouth and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God; for God is in heaven, and you upon earth: therefore let your words be few. When you vow a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools: pay that which you vow. Better is it that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Suffer not your mouth to cause your flesh to sin; neither say before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands?”
James 1:27; 2:17, 24 “The form of worship that is clean and undefined from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.” “Thus, too, faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself. You see that a man is to be declared righteous by works, and not by faith alone.”
Dedicated One Must Work with God’s Organization
Matthew 12:30 “He that is not on My side is against Me, and he that does not gather with Me scatters.”
Matthew 24:45-47 “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. Truly I say to you, He will appoint him over all his belongings.”
John 10:16 “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to My voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.”
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falls, and has not another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one be warm alone? And if a man prevail against him that is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”
Things, Possessions May Be Dedicated to God’s Service
Deuteronomy 20:5 “And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.”
Numbers 7:10, 11, 84, 88 “And the princes offered for the dedication of the altar in the day that it was anointed, even the princes offered their oblation before the altar. And Jehovah said unto Moses, They shall offer their oblation, each prince on his day, for the dedication of the altar. This was the dedication of the altar, in the day when it was anointed, by the princes of Israel: twelve silver platters, twelve silver bowls, twelve golden spoons; and all the oxen for the sacrifice of peace- offerings twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he-goats sixty, the he-lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed.”
2 Chronicles 7:9 “And on the eighth day .. . they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.”
Ezra 6:16 “And the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the children of the captivity, kept the dedication of this house of God with joy.”
Nehemiah 12:27 “And at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to Jerusalem, to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanksgivings, and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.”
CONSECRATION
It Is God Who Consecrates
Matthew 3:13-17 “Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John in order to be baptized by him. But the latter tried to prevent Him, saying: ‘I am the one needing to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?’ In reply Jesus said to him: ‘Let it be, this time, for in that way it is suitable for us to carry out all that is righteous.’ Then he quit preventing Him. After being baptized Jesus immediately came up from the water; and, look! the heavens were opened up, and He saw descending like a dove God’s spirit coming upon Him. Look! also, there was a voice from the heavens that said: ‘This is My Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.’ “
Hebrews 5:4-6 “Also a man takes this honor, not of his own accord, but only when he is called by God, just as Aaron also was. So, too, the Christ did not glorify Himself by becoming a high priest, but was glorified by Him who spoke with reference to Him: ‘You are My Son; today I have become Your Father.’ Just as He says also in another place: ‘You are a priest forever after the likeness of Melchizedek.'”
Hebrews 7:28 “For the Law appoints men high priests having weakness, but the word of the sworn oath that came after the Law appoints a Son, who is perfected forever.”
Consecration Applies Only to Those Who Are Anointed as Priests of God—the 144,000
Exodus 29:9, 29 “And you shall gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and bind head-tires on them: and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute: and you shall consecrate Aaron and his sons. And the holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to be consecrated in them.”
Leviticus 8:22-24 “And he presented the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram. And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood thereof, and put it upon the tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot. And he brought Aaron’s sons; and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot: and Moses sprinkled the blood upon the altar round about.”
Hebrews 3:1 “Consequently, holy brothers, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest whom we confess—Jesus.”
Revelation 14:1, 3 “And 1 saw, and look! the Lamb standing upon the mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand having His name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. And they are singing as if a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the persons of advanced age; and no one was able to master that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been purchased from the earth.”
Revelation 5:9, 10 “And they sing a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slaughtered and with Your blood You bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will rule as kings over the earth.’ “
Consecrated Anointed Under-priests Are Brought into New-Covenant over Christ’s Sacrifice
Psalm 50:5 “Gather My saints together unto Me, those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.”
Consecrated Ones Are Spirit Begotten to a Heavenly Hope
1 Peter 1:3, 4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to His great mercy He gave us a new- birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for you.”
SANCTIFICATION
Spirit-begotten Ones Are Sanctified
1 Thessalonians 4:3 “For this is what God wills, the sanctifying of you, that you abstain from fornication.”
Hebrews 2:10, 11 “For it was fitting for the One for whose sake all things are and through whom all things are, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Chief Agent of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified all stem from one, and for this cause He is not ashamed to call them ‘brothers’.”
Both God and Dedicated Ones Have a Part in Sanctifying
Leviticus 20:7, 8 “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy; for I am Jehovah your God. And ye shall keep My statutes, and do them: I am Jehovah who sanctifies you.”
John 17:19 “And I am sanctifying Myself in their behalf, that they also may be sanctified by means of truth.”
1 Thessalonians 4:4 “Each one of you should know how to get possession of his own vessel in sanctification and honor.”
Faith in Christ Necessary
Acts 26:18 “To open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, in order for them to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by their faith in Me.”
God, Through Christ, Sanctifies by Means of the Truth and Holy Spirit
Ephesians 5:25-27 “Christ also loved the congregation and delivered up Himself for it, that He might sanctify it, cleansing it with the bath of water by means of the word, that He might present the congregation to Himself in its splendor, not having a spot or a wrinkle or any of such things, but that it should be holy and without blemish.”
John 17:17 “Sanctify them by means of the truth; Your Word is truth.”
Hebrews 10:22 “Let us approach with sincere hearts in the full assurance of faith, having had our hearts sprinkled from a wicked conscience and our bodies washed with clean water.”
1 Corinthians 6:11 “And yet that is what some of you were. But you have been washed clean, but you have been sanctified, but you have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God.”
Acts 20:32 “And now I commit you to God and to the word of His undeserved kindness, which word can build you up and give you the inheritance among all the sanctified ones.”
1 Thessalonians 5:23 “May the very God of peace sanctify you completely.”
Hebrews 13:12 “Hence Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
Such Are “Saints” or Holy Ones —God’s Holy Nation
1 Peter 1:15, 16 “But, in accord with the Holy One who called you, do you also become holy yourselves in all your conduct, because it is written: ‘You must be holy, because I am holy.’ “
Colossians 1:12 “Thanking the Father who rendered you suitable for your participation in the inheritance of the holy ones in the light.”
Ephesians 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through God’s will, to the holy ones who are also faithful ones in union with Christ Jesus.”
These Must Maintain Sanctification to Be Used by God and Receive Inheritance with Christ
Acts 20:32 “And now I commit you to God and to the word of His undeserved kindness, which word can build you up and give you the inheritance among all the sanctified ones.”
2 Timothy 2:20, 21 “Now in a large house there are vessels not only of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware, and some for an honorable purpose but others for a purpose lacking honor. If, therefore, anyone keeps clear of the latter ones, he will be a vessel for an honorable purpose, sanctified, useful to his owner, prepared for every good work.”
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