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The Holiness of God Challenges Our
Conduct
Lev 19:1-2 (KJV)
And the LORD spake unto
Moses, saying,
{2}
Speak unto all the congregation of the children of
Israel,
and say unto
them,
Ye shall be
holy:
for I the LORD your God
am holy.
1 Pet 2:9-10 (KJV)
But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood,
an holy nation, a
peculiar people{God's own possession};
that ye should show forth
the praises of Him
who hath called you
out of darkness into his marvellous light:
The HOLINESS OF
GOD
The Holiness of God is a
characteristic unique to God's nature which becomes the goal for human moral
character. The understanding of what it means to be "holy" is important for an
understanding of God, of worship, and of the people of God in the Bible.
Holiness has four distinct meanings.
First is "to be set apart." This
applies to places where God is present, like the Temple and the tabernacle, and
to things and persons related to those holy places or to God Himself. For
example, Moses at the Burning bush:
Exo 3:4-6 (KJV)
And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see,
God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and
said, Moses, Moses.
And he said, Here am I.
{5} And he said, Draw not nigh hither{Heb=do
not approach here}:
put off thy shoes from off thy feet,
for the place whereon thou standest is holy
ground.
{6} Moreover he said, I am the God of
thy father,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob.
And Moses hid his face;
for he was afraid to look upon God.
Next, it means to be "perfect,
transcendent, or spiritually pure, evoking adoration and reverence." This
applies primarily to God, but secondarily to believers or godly
people.
1 Pet 1:15-16 (KJV)
But as he which hath called you is holy,
so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation{Grk=behavior};
{16} Because it is written, Be ye holy;
for I am holy.
Next, it means something or someone
who evokes "veneration or awe, being frightening beyond belief." This is clearly
the application to God and is the primary meaning of "holy."
Rev 4:8-11 (KJV)
And the four beasts had each of them six wings about
him;
and they were full of eyes within:
and they rest not day and night, saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and
is, and is to come.
{9} And when those beasts give glory and honour
and thanks to him that sat on the throne,
who liveth for ever and ever,
{10} The four and twenty elders fall down
before him that sat on the throne,
and worship him that liveth for ever and
ever,
and cast their crowns before the throne,
saying,
{11} Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory
and honour and power:
for thou hast created all things,
and for thy pleasure they are and were
created.
It is continued in the last
definition, "filled with superhuman and potentially fatal power." This speaks of
God, but also of places or things or persons which have been set apart by God's
presence. A saint is a holy person. To be sanctified is to be made
holy.
Exo 19:18-23
(KJV)
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke,
because the LORD descended upon it in fire:
and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a
furnace,
and the whole mount quaked greatly.
{19} And when the voice of the trumpet sounded
long,
and waxed louder and louder,
Moses spake, and God answered him by a
voice.
{20} And the LORD came down upon mount
Sinai, on the top of the mount:
and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the
mount;
and Moses went up.
{21} And the LORD said unto Moses,
Go down, charge the people,
lest they break through unto the LORD to
gaze{Heb=stare},
and many of them perish.
{22} And let the priests also, which come near
to the LORD,
sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon
them.
{23} And Moses said unto the LORD,
The people cannot come up to mount Sinai:
for thou chargedst us, saying,
Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it.
{24} And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down,
and thou shalt come up, thou, and Aaron with thee:
but let not the priests and the people break through
to come up unto the LORD,
lest he break forth upon them.....
Exo 20:18-20 (KJV)
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the
lightnings,
and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain
smoking:
and when the people saw it, they removed,
and stood afar off.
{19} And they said unto Moses, Speak thou
with us, and we will hear:
but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
{20} And Moses said unto the people,
Fear not: for God is come to prove you,
and that his fear may be before your
faces,
that ye sin not.
God is holy. In the Bible, fire is the symbol of holy power.
Jealousy, wrath, remoteness, cleanliness, glory, and majesty are related to it.
He is unsearchable, incomprehensible, incomparable, great, wonderful, and
exalted. His name is Holy.
It is a unique and inscrutible characteristic of God that He is both Holy and set apart and yet humble and willing to have a relationship with us, all at the same time. This is most confusing to those who have not studied the Bible enough or focussed on the attributes of God. We seem to have the tendency to focus on either His Holiness or His Humbleness, while ignoring the other. Or on His Wrath or on His Mercy, while finding it difficult to integrate both characteristics at the same time. But God is all these things and more, all at the same time. We need to pray for wisdom to understand all this. Perhaps this is why Jesus made a point of this statement: Mat 11:28-29
(KJV)
Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you
rest.
{29} Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your
souls.
And this one also:
John
14:9(KJV)
.... he that hath seen me
hath seen the Father;
And also when God says:
Isa 1:18
(KJV)
Come now, and let us reason
together, saith the LORD:
though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool.
The Holiness of God coexists with His nature as a
personal God who desires to have a personal relationship with
man. Holiness tends toward separation and uniqueness. Personhood
determines relations and close communion. Holiness inspires awe and fear.
Personhood inspires love and the wish to be near. Both are in the Bible as
necessary ways to think of and experience God. Both are necessary if one is to
avoid shallow, one-sided thinking about God. Neither holiness nor personhood
alone can do justice to the Biblical revelation of Who God is. Both taken
together help us more accurtely understand and experience God. As Jesus
says in Revelation:
Rev 3:18-22
(KJV)
I counsel thee to buy of me
gold tried in the fire,
that thou mayest be rich;
and white raiment, that thou
mayest be clothed,
and that the shame of
thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with
eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
{19} As many as I love, I
rebuke and chasten:
be zealous therefore, and
repent.
{20} Behold, I stand at the
door, and knock:
if any man hear my voice, and open
the door,
I will come in to him, and will
sup with him, and he with me.
{21} To him that overcometh
will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame,
and am set down with my Father in
his throne.
{22} He that hath an ear,
let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches.
God Bless you as you meditate on these
things.
In Christ...brother bob...<><
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