the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Consecration
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary
or Consecration means setting apart people or things from the common affairs of life and dedicating them to God. In the religion of Old Testament Israel, these ‘set apart’ people or things were called ‘holy’, and the act of declaring, acknowledging or making them holy was called sanctification, consecration, or dedication (Exodus 13:2; Exodus 29:1; Exodus 29:27; Exodus 29:36). (For details of this basic meaning of consecration see HOLINESS; SANCTIFICATION.)
The idea of consecration is common also in the New Testament. Though the word itself is not always used, the meaning is consistent with that of the Old Testament. Priests and the sacrifices they offered were consecrated to God (Exodus 28:38; Exodus 28:40-41), and Jesus seems to have been referring to priestly service when he spoke of himself as being consecrated to God (John 17:19). He set himself apart to do his Father’s will, and this meant dying for sin (John 12:27; John 17:4). Being the believer’s great high priest, he offered himself as the perfect sacrifice (Hebrews 10:11-14; see PRIEST).
Jesus’ priestly work not only brings forgiveness to believers, but it also sets them apart for God (John 17:19). This involves more than the salvation of believers; it involves the practical offering of themselves to God as living sacrifices (Acts 20:24; Romans 12:1).
Although selected people may be consecrated in the particular sense of being set apart for certain tasks (Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15-16), all Christians should be consecrated in the sense of being fully devoted to God. Christ has bought them at the price of his blood and they belong to him. They are disciples of their Lord and servants of their Master, and their commitment to him must be total (Matthew 10:37-39; 1 Corinthians 7:23; 2 Corinthians 10:5; Colossians 3:23-24; see DISCIPLE; SERVANT).
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Fleming, Don. Entry for 'Consecration'. Bridgeway Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/bbd/c/consecration.html. 2004.
