Holiness to the Lord

You can either watch the exhortation below or read it in full by scrolling past the video:

We’re going to address a topic that was requested in our ecclesial suggestion box, and I want to thank whoever suggested this subject because I have personally learned a lot of important things from this. The subject is holiness: what it means, how we understand it, and importantly, how we exhibit it. There were some sobering lessons in this, and I hope that considering these things will have a similar impact on you as it did on me.

What does “holy” mean?

What does “holy” or “holiness” mean? Holiness can be difficult for us to define in our own words, and I believe this is partly because of the broad, inaccurate way that the word is used by the world. If something is called “holy”, many believe that it is almost magical – that it possesses powers or gives power to those who possess it. In support of this, people think of when the ark of the covenant was in the house of Obededom and he was blessed (2 Samuel 6:12), but they forget about the times when it was a curse in the hands of the Philistines (1 Samuel 5:7). But in each of these cases, the blessing or curse was not in the physical materials of the ark, it was God’s doing. Nevertheless, this point is often missed and trust is placed on the holy item, not the One who declared it holy.

Israel of old fell into this thinking. When fighting the Philistines, they fetched the ark of God so it would deliver the Philistines into their hands. But Israel utterly defeated, and this is how the Philistines acquired the ark in the first place (1 Samuel 4:3-4, 11). The concept of its holiness and purpose was grossly misunderstood, and we need to ensure that we don’t fall into the same mistake.

The word “holy” appears 611 times in the Bible, and “holiness” occurs 43 times. Holiness is the quality of being holy, so these are the same word.

“Holy” in the Old Testament is typically qôdesh (Strong’s H6944) which means “a sacred place or thing; rarely abstractly sanctity: - consecrated (thing), dedicated (thing), hallowed (thing)”. “Sacred” is another word we need to define, but “a dedicated thing” hits the nail on the head. Something that is holy has been dedicated by God for a specific purpose. 

This word qôdesh comes from qâdash (Strong’s H6942) which means “to be (causatively make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally): - appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow”. So this means to pronounce as clean, to dedicate, appoint, or hallow. (The Greek counterparts of these words are hagios and hosios). As we will see, the concept of “justification” is tied into this as it relates to man.

“Holiness” is certainly not a magical quality. It is not even a physical quality. Holiness has to do with how God views something and the purpose He has for it. This point is worth reiterating: holiness has to do with how God views something and the purpose He has for it. This is a legal or ceremonial state, and PURPOSE is at the core of this concept. The Hebrew word qâdash (usually translated “holy”) is often translated “sanctify”. God is separating something to perform a specific purpose in His plan.

When God sanctifies something (usually designating it “holy”), He is declaring it separate from the rest. If we replace the word holy with “set apart”, this helps us see the intended meaning more clearly in most cases. Take for example the sabbath day:

Exodus 20:8-11 – Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.  (9)  Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:  (10)  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:  (11)  For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

There are seven days in a week. Most of those were for work, but one was set apart from the rest and had a special purpose. The sabbath was for reflection and meditation on God’s Word, and it says the God “hallowed it”. Hallowed is the same exact word for holy - qâdash. To “hallow” means “to make holy”, so God made the sabbath holy. So holiness is a concrete concept – not a vague, mystical thing.

While anyone can separate something for a desired purpose, holiness is something that only comes from and is declared by God, not us. Man cannot make something holy, but he can defile a holy thing.

As we’ll see, the entire plan and purpose of God with the earth can be summed up in this one word “holiness”.

What are holy things?

The best way to understand the word is through example. The first occurrence of “holy” is in

Exodus 3:4-5 – And when the LORD saw that he (Moses) 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: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

Mount Sinai was holy ground, and Moses had to take his shoes off because of it. What does that mean? This ground was special on account of the fact that God was appearing to Moses here, and He would later bring Israel back to this mountain to receive a Divine law and reveal the terribleness of His presence to them (Exodus 3:12). Such an event had never occurred in history up until that time. We also believe that the judgment will take place at Mount Sinai for a number of reasons, so this location is “set apart” by God and is therefore “holy”.

Other examples include the vessels of the tabernacle like the altar and the lampstand. These were to be made holy. God says

Exodus 30:29 – And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy…

This verse is helpful because it shows how God makes something holy. Something is set apart by God’s decree, and they are therefore holy. It’s a divine pronouncement.

There are countless holy things in the Bible. There were holy days – the sabbath and some of the feast days (Exodus 20:8). There were holy places in the sense of Sinai, and then there were the holy and the most holy places in the tabernacle (Leviticus 24:9). The most holy was the most sacred – the most set apart place. The High Priest could only enter that once a year because it represented God’s dwelling place (Hebrews 9:24). The nation of Israel is holy (Exodus 19:6). The law of Moses was holy (Romans 7:12).

All of the Word of God is holy, which is why the book we hold is called “The Holy Bible”. “Bible” is the Greek bíblos, transliterated “Bible”. It simply means “the book”. It’s not just the book, it’s the holy book or “the sacred writings”, and it’s therefore called “the holy scriptures” (Romans 1:2, 2 Timothy 3:15). God Himself is holy as are His angels (Leviticus 11:44, Matthew 25:31). The list goes on.

The Lesson Behind Holiness

Why are things holy? If it doesn’t refer to a physical thing, then why have this concept? Holy things are especially important to God, not because He has his “favorite” things, but because of the purpose He has with them in relation to His dealings with man. We need to absorb this component – that this is defining and explaining certain aspects of God’s relationship to man.

When we really think about this concept, we see how far its reach and application is, and we perceive why God created this concept. The concept of holiness creates a framework for man to live and work around so he can live in accordance with God’s pleasure. It creates parameters of right and wrong and distinguishes between things which are meaningful and those which are meaningless. Ultimately, it shows how we are to view things from God’s perspective. What God deems holy is typically not deemed so by man, but by God declaring certain things holy, He is teaching man that these are the important things in life. They are so important that God separates them from the rest so man’s attention is drawn to them.

We see this regulatory aspect in Ezekiel 22 where Israel is condemned for not distinguishing between the holy and the unholy (profane).

Ezekiel 22:26 – Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

“Profane” is the opposite of “holy”. Profane (H2455) is chôl and means “exposed, common”. Something profane is common, but something holy has been separated from the common. To esteem something “common” that God has declared “holy” is a grave mistake because it shows that we have different values and the two are therefore opposed. What’s worse is that to use a holy thing in a way that’s contrary to God’s purpose for it “profanes” it. What’s worse is that it ultimately shows that God Himself is not esteemed among us, and He therefore says, “I am profaned (made common) among them (Israel)”. If we seek unity with God and want to walk humbly with Him, we must be on the same page and value the same things. As Christ says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:34).

The question we need to always ask is, “Why has God declared this thing holy? What role has it been set apart to play in God’s plan?” This is where the lesson for us comes in, and since most of the “holy” things we read about are declared in the law of Moses, this helps us see the teaching, school-master aspect of the law. Upon hearing the law, the thoughtful Israelite would ponder the holy things to understand why they were holy, and in doing so, the great lessons would be understood.

For example, when God says that Israel is a holy nation, why is the nation holy? The natural man thinks that this is because God has favorites or because the Israelites are simply better than others. They place value on the natural thing and its physical qualities, but this misses the purpose. God has stated in clear terms,

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 – The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:  (8)  But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Love is a component, but His ultimate reason is because of the oath God made with their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These promises to the father’s form the basis for salvation of the race – eternal inheritance in the land of promise. God has chosen to take a nation out of the nations of the world and create a spiritual family within them. This family is not based on the natural lineage, but on faith and covenant relationship, which is why Paul says, “they are not all Israel, which are of Israel” (Romans 9:6). God is going to establish a renewed Kingdom of Israel on this earth, and it will expand and encompass the entire planet in renewed life and splendor. It is God’s purpose and use with the nation that makes it holy, not its intrinsic value or natural qualities.

God’s Holy Plan

The concept of holiness is all throughout Scripture, and it is in stark contrast to what many churches of today teach. Instead of a God that judges and discerns, many teach a God that loves everyone the same just as they are and that they must simply “accept Jesus” in their heart. But God’s plan is a plan of holiness – of separating, dedicating, and declaring. Peter quickly sums up the entire premise of God’s plan in

Acts 15:14 – Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name.

All of the components of holiness are included here. God visited the Gentiles (the common/profane) to take out of them (sanctify/make holy) a people for His name (the purpose). Really think on this verse. God’s plan is based on separation, and this is done on account of Abraham and the nation of people He would create through him. Separating is what God does all throughout the Bible. The first thing God did after He created the heaven and earth was to divide:

Genesis 1:4 – And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

He separated light from darkness. This is seen is so many places. When God wanted to create the nation of Israel, what did He do? He separated them and brought them out of Egypt. All of these things are shadows and lessons of God’s overall plan – to take out of the race of Adam a group of individuals that He has called to Himself to serve Him in spirit and truth, and these will ultimately rule the earth in righteousness alongside His son. Those who do come out from the world and are sanctified will inherit the earth:

Acts 20:32 – And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.

God’s call to the race of man is therefore founded on separating those who will serve Him and those who will not. It’s given in Revelation in these terms:

Revelation 18:4 – And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Holiness and Man

This is where it gets interesting and the lessons hit home. Are we holy? Not merely as a collective group of believers, but as individuals? Holiness is a term that we might hesitate to apply to ourselves, but hopefully we see that the answer is yes (or should be). God has called us to come out of the world and be a partaker in His plan. We are therefore holy.

Leviticus 20:7 – Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.

Being holy is very closely related to our title as “saints”. In Scriptural terms, a “saint” is one that is sanctified or “set apart” in Christ:

1 Corinthians 1:2 – Unto the ecclesia of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints… ("to be" was added by the translators and is not in the Greek texts)

Saints are holy to the Lord because we’ve been separated from the world for God’s purpose, and this is accomplished through the putting on of the name of Christ:

Ephesians 1:3-4 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:  (4)  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

We see the relationship of God’s choosing, holiness, and justification all tied together here. Another related passage is

1 Peter 2:9 – But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar (acquired, purchased) people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

How beautifully all of these things are tied together!

How Does Man Become Holy?

Holiness is not something we are born with – man is born in a profane/common state that the Scriptures call being “in Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:22). Those in this state are described as “Gentiles in the flesh” and “aliens from the commonwealth of Israel” (Ephesians 2:11-13). We are Gentiles, and as we saw earlier, God visited the Gentiles long ago to take out of them a people for His name. But we are born in a Gentile state.

There is a process man goes through to be made holy and sanctified, and this process is based on the grounds of God’s selection and decree. Holiness with man involves justification with God. When we read about holiness, we often see the callback to this prior state we were in before God separated us to Himself. For example, the verse following 1 Peter 2:9 says

1 Peter 2:10 – Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

In time past, we were not a people to Him, but we were declared His people. We were made “the people of God”. Before we did not have mercy, now we’ve obtained mercy. Before, we were common, now we are holy. But how do we become holy and separated for God? This separating process is what we really need to look at though, and the method is most easily seen when we look at the vessels of the tabernacle (the altar for example):

Exodus 29:35-37 – And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.  (36)  And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.  (37)  Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

The vessels of the tabernacle were first cleansed. They were made from the earth which had been cursed because of man’s sin, and so they needed “atonement”. Then, they were anointed with oil as is more clearly shown in

Exodus 40:9-11 – And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels thereof: and it shall be holy.  (10)  And thou shalt anoint the altar of the burnt offering, and all his vessels, and sanctify the altar: and it shall be an altar most holy.  (11)  And thou shalt anoint the laver and his foot, and sanctify it.

Once these things were cleansed, the anointing oil was poured on them and they were “sanctified” and declared “holy”. This is how it was done under the law, but if we are to be made holy, we have to go through a similar process. We don’t have to have literal bloodshed and oil poured on us – those elements of the law were symbolic. The blood was symbolic of the blood of Christ (the blood of the everlasting covenant), and the oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. We come into contact with both the blood of Christ and the Holy Spirit in baptism.

We’ve mentioned this is many other talks, but Romans 6:1-11 explains that baptism is our death, burial, and resurrection in Christ. We are cleansed by his blood and constituted new creatures in God’s eyes, and we are made heirs of the promises by becoming part of the seed of Abraham (Galatians 3:26-29). This is what immersion into the waters of baptism does, but it is the Holy Spirit which effects this change, otherwise we’re merely getting wet. The Spirit (the anti-typical oil) is what works upon us and constitutes us a “new creature” in God’s eyes:

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 – Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.  (17)  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

We are the same physical creature, but we are under a new constitution in God’s eyes. God declares us a new creature – a holy creature. We have changed direction (repentance) and have taken on a new purpose given to us by God. Before, we would serve ourselves. Now that we’ve been sanctified, we’ve been made holy to God and must serve Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23).

That baptism accomplishes all of these things is clearly explained for us by Paul, and here we see again the distinction between the profane (which we were taken from) and the holy:

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 – Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  (10)  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  (11)  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

The vessels of the tabernacle were washed, sanctified, and justified by the oil and blood. Likewise, we are washed, sanctified, and justified by the Spirit through symbolically dying and being raised in Christ. Our baptisms therefore play the role of the blood and the oil which made the vessels of the tabernacle holy to God. Think of what a wondrous gesture of grace this is! God is giving us this special standing before Him, and all we have to do is believe His word and obey it. 

While we do have to keep God’s commandments, this is something that we are consciously and gratefully choosing to do. There is therefore responsibility on our end to uphold the covenant we have made with God. Our terms of this covenant can be summed up by “being and acting holy” – or separated for God’s purpose.

How to Manifest Holiness

Now to the real question that was submitted: If we are made holy to God in baptism, how do we manifest holiness? How do we act holy?

I think we are right in saying that keeping the commandments of Christ as listed in the back of our Statement of Faith is perhaps the most concise answer, but if possible, I want to try and dig for an answer that’s a little deeper than “keep the commandments”. The issue most of us face is not necessarily knowing the commandments of Christ, it’s the mindset and spirit in which we do them.

Our designation as “holy to God” should dictate everything we do, and to see how, it’s helpful to look again at the holy elements of the tabernacle.

Every element of the tabernacle was holy and had a specific role that it was to play in God’s service. Let’s look at the laver for example. It was holy (Exodus 40:11), and it was to be used for washing the priests with water:

Exodus 30:18-21 – Thou shalt also make a laver of brass, and his foot also of brass, to wash withal: and thou shalt put it between the tabernacle of the congregation and the altar, and thou shalt put water therein.  (19)  For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat:  (20)  When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the LORD:  (21)  So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.

The laver was critical. If the priests did not wash properly, they could not perform their atoning work and would be killed, and this would leave the rest of the nation without people to atone for them. The laver was therefore holy to God because it cleansed the priests and allowed them to atone for themselves and the nation. It had a clear role to play in God’s service.

But could the priests use the laver for anything else? It had water in it – could they throw vegetables in it afterwards and make soup? Of course not – this would be defiling it. Not that it would have any physical problem with the brass it was made of, but because it is using something that God has separated for a specific purpose in a way that is common or profane. It’s not using it how God said to use it.

This gets right down to us. When we come into covenant, we are God’s. We are purchased with the blood of His son and are separated from the world FOR HIM. This does not mean we are perfect, it means that we have a function to perform. We must act in accordance with the purpose we were called to, and that purpose is the glorification of His name and living for His kingdom that will be established on the earth. If we become holy but don’t act according to the Gospel call, then we are defiled.

The vessels of the tabernacle pointed to Christ, but if we can think of ourselves as a vessel of the tabernacle or a tool of God, this helps us evaluate ourselves. It’s like the figure of the body that Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 12:12-2. There were many vessels which made up the tabernacle, and there are many members of Christ’s body. All are essential and have a purpose that contributes to the whole. The question for us is, what we using ourselves for? Are we dedicating ourselves to things that are for God’s purpose and plan (things which He sanctified us for), or are we using ourselves for profane/common things? Again, Paul makes this same correlation and shows the lesson for us:

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 – Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.  (19)  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  (20)  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Christ – The Definition of Holiness

As we transition into memorials, we can’t help but direct attention to the ultimate example of holiness as exemplified in man, and that was in Christ. There is no greater example of something dedicated to God, and if we ever wonder how to exemplify holiness, we need only remember his example in word, deed, and spirit. Our master was so completely dedicated to our Father’s will and the purpose God had for him that he is referred to as “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16). We read verses like

John 5:30 – I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

John 14:10 – Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

This is holiness to the Lord. Yet, even though Jesus was the only begotten Son of God, we see that it was necessary that he, just like all of the vessels of the tabernacle, went through the process of cleansing, dedicating, and anointing before he could do his Father’s work. We read about Christ’s baptism by John in

Acts 10:38 – How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

There is the symbolic death of himself in his baptism, and the Holy Spirit anointed him (the oil of the law). The Holy Spirit lighted upon him like a dove. It’s important too that it was only after Christ’s baptism that God publicly recognized him and his ministry began.

If we want to talk about God having a specific purpose for something, Christ was in God’s mind before He even created the earth (John 1). Christ is the golden thread throughout all of Scripture. The name “the Holy One of Israel” is sometimes applied to God, but it’s applied to Christ as well (Isaiah 12:6). This title is filled with meaning. Israel is a holy nation, and this man is the holy one of that nation. “Salvation is of the Jews” on account of the fact that it is to Abraham and his seed that the promises were made, so salvation is through that holy people (John 4:22). But it is not just through the holy nation, it is through the holy one of that holy nation – the Jew Jesus of Nazareth. Such is just one of the lessons in this holy title of Christ.

Yet even though that he sits on his Father’s right hand and a portion of his work has been fulfilled, we know that his role is to subdue all enemies under his feet, the last enemy to be destroyed being death itself. The purpose he has been “set apart” for has not yet been completed, and it will not be until the end of his 1,000 year reign on the earth. It is this reign that we are each called to as well, and those who are called and chosen “shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6).

Once we are in covenant, we have been justified and designated holy to God, but this is not the end result. Our duty now is to prepare ourselves and practice for this great role in the age to come. We who have taken on the name of Christ have been separated by God for this purpose. This is an immeasurable blessing and stance that God has allowed us to enter into. But whether we are counted worthy to inherit the kingdom is determined by us now. The sad tendency is that we often forget the purpose that we were separated and called for. Not that we forget it entirely, but it loses its potency and fervor. But we meet each week to remind ourselves of this blessed position we’ve been brought into. When Jesus returns, our opportunity to improve ceases:

Revelation 22:11 – He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.

Each Sunday, we meet to remember our Lord on a day which is to act as our sabbath. This is a day that we set aside to remember him and examine ourselves through the emblems of the bread and the wine (1 Corinthians 11:23-29). The world does not value this day – to them it is common. But we are commanded to keep this service by our Master, and we show even through our dress that this day is special. Through our continual partaking of these emblems, may we work to ensure that we are amongst those that are “holy still”. We’ll close with a passage that sums up the matter with an exhortation:

1 Peter 1:13-16 – Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  (14)  As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:  (15)  But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  (16)  Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

In the Hope of Israel,

Tanner Hawkins