Victorious living comes to full development as we are willing to follow Christ in obedience to God. Complete victory is made possible for us through the blood of the Lamb, through the testimony the Holy Spirit works in us, and through our willingness to love not our life to the point of death.

Initial salvation, receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior, makes it possible for us to start on our journey of sanctification.

Sanctification, the second area, is a school. It is the place in which we make the transition from the life of the sins of the flesh to the life of the Spirit.

Conquest, the third area, is the final result, the goal of the first two areas. In the realm of conquest we enjoy the fruitfulness and dominion promised to the heirs of the Kingdom of God.

The blood of Jesus leads the way toward conquest. The Holy Spirit testifies to us, in us, and through us, moving us along toward the "rest" of God—that area of perfect victory in Christ.

Final victory depends on our decision to allow God to slay our will. We must choose to deny our self. Death to our self-will is the deepest of the deaths we die. Death to our will leads to the fullness of resurrection glory.

In initial salvation we are assigned to the death of Christ on the cross and we share with Him in His resurrection.

In sanctification we die to the sins of the flesh and are raised into the life of the Holy Spirit.

In conquest, the third area, we die to our deepest level of self—the origin of our identity as a person. God has His own ways of getting at the center of our personality, often using suffering as a tool. If we allow the Lord to enter the source of our identity we will be raised into the fullness of fruitfulness and dominion in God the Father as one of His eternal servants (Philippians 2:5-9).

It is true of all living creatures, whether physical or spiritual, that they have wills of their own. Mules, men, and angels all have wills of their own.

In bringing us to the fullness of conquest, God does not weaken or destroy our will. God transforms our will until our will corresponds to His will. In Gethsemane, Jesus did not ask the Father to take away His will so He would be left as a person without a will. Instead, Christ consented to the doing of God's will rather than His own will. This is the third death the saint must die in the program of redemption.

It is difficult to die to the deepest levels of the will, even for the most devout Christian. We are thankful to be saved from wrath and to be accepted of the Father. We are glad to get rid of the sins of the flesh and the other bondages Satan places on us. These are the first two deaths.

The re-creation of our will, the death to what in many instances is lawful, is not easy to accept. However, death to our self-will leads to the highest realms of responsibility and service in God.

To be continued.