Download God Revealed Himself As Holy, Oct 14 2012

The Revelation of God
Lesson 7
Lesson Text—Leviticus 10:17
Leviticus 10:17
Wherefore have ye not eaten the sin
offering in the holy place, seeing it is
most holy, and God hath given it you
to bear the iniquity of the
congregation, to make atonement for
them before the LORD?
Lesson Text—Leviticus 11:44-45
Leviticus 11:44-45
44 For I am the LORD your God: ye
shall therefore sanctify yourselves,
and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:
neither shall ye defile yourselves with
any manner of creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth.
Lesson Text—Leviticus 11:44-45
45
For I am the LORD that bringeth you
up out of the land of Egypt, to be your
God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I
am holy.
Lesson Text—1 Peter 1:15-16
I Peter 1:15-16
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.
Focus Verse—Leviticus 11:45
Leviticus 11:45
For I am the LORD that bringeth
you up out of the land of Egypt, to
be your God: ye shall therefore be
holy, for I am holy.
Focus Thought
God stands as distinct, yet He
calls willing individuals into
relationship with Him. From these
believers, God demands holiness
and He grants His holiness to
them.
I.
Culture Connection
Holiness
God Is His
Distinct
What does “holy” mean? Only God
can define what holiness is, because
He is the originator of it. He is the only
One who can produce it. God is holy
and His virtues set the parameters of
what holiness is. God is the epitome
of holiness. Without God there is no
such thing!
Over the centuries, humankind has
had
various
misconceptions
of what
I.
God
Is
Distinct
holiness is. Some have determined
that to be holy one has to be isolated
from society and live a monastic life of
solitude. Some have slept on cold
stone floors and were scourged daily
by their monks. Anthony is the most
famous of the Egyptian desert fathers
who often lived in caves in the fourth
century.
A little later in history, Simon
Stylitus sat on a pole for thirty-nine
years.
His food had to be hoisted up to him.
Vermin
would
fall off his body and be
I.
God
Is
Distinct
caught by the people below who came
out to share in his holiness. Even
today some consider the use of
modern appliances, power machines,
and technological devices to be
worldly—and therefore unholy.
The Scriptures command us to be
holy (I Peter 1:15). We are fallen
people, which make this a daunting
command. To be holy is to be like
God.
The only way we can achieve this
command
have God impart His
I. God is
IstoDistinct
holiness to us, which we receive
through obedience to the Scriptures
and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Holiness is not a self-generated virtue.
Our greatest acts of devotion and
sacrifice are not enough to qualify as
holy. Without God and His holiness,
we can only produce selfrighteousness. Only God is truly holy!
Contemplating the Topic
I.God
God
Distinct
toldIsHis
people, “Be holy, for I
am holy.” The only way the Israelites
could enter into relationship with a
holy God was that they be holy. His
holiness is the reason all believers are
commanded and should desire to be
holy. It is also the reason we cannot
judge the “level” of holiness we think
we have reached by measuring
against what we used to be or against
the holiness of others, but only
against His holiness.
Thus it is imperative that every
I. Godstudy
Is Distinct
Christian
carefully the holiness
of God, for without an understanding
of what He has revealed about His
holiness, we cannot begin to
understand even the basics of His selfrevelation, and therefore cannot
discern the standard by which to
gauge ourselves. All who love God
should seek to know His holiness and
to allow it to work in their lives.
Comparing the highest level of
I. Godever
Is Distinct
holiness
achieved by a human
being to God’s holiness would be like
comparing a penlight’s feeble beam to
the sun’s magnificent brilliance. The
sunrays would swallow up the
penlight’s beam. But the contrast in
that analogy does not go far enough.
The imperfection found in a human is
more like a black hole in space
devouring every glimmer of light that
comes near.
If God’s holiness is illustrated by the
I. Godstar
Is Distinct
brightest
in the universe, then by
comparison, our light, no matter how
bright, only brings darkness to the
universe. And if “the light that is in
thee be darkness, how great is that
darkness!” (Matthew 6:23).
Sometimes we cope with this
shortcoming by laying aside our gauge
of God’s perfect holiness and taking
up the measuring rod of other people’s
imperfections.
However, instead of increasing our
stature, this measuring rod strips off
I.
God
Is
Distinct
our facade and reveals to both God
and others our stunted stature. No
matter how favorable we thought our
comparison with others, we were not
holy at all.
“For we dare not make ourselves of
the number, or compare ourselves with
some that commend themselves: but
they measuring themselves by
themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not
wise” (II Corinthians 10:12).
Our measuring rod is no less than
I. God
Is Himself;
Distinct
Jesus
Christ
and beside Him
every one of us stands shamefully
short. “For all have sinned, and come
short of the glory of God” (Romans
3:23). But thanks be to God, “we have
access by faith into this grace wherein
we stand, and rejoice in hope of the
glory of God” (Romans 5:2).
Searching the Scriptures
I. GodGod
Is Distinct
Is Distinct
In the Old Testament, the word holy
is translated from the Hebrew word
qodesh meaning “separate or apart”
(Theological Wordbook of the Old
Testament). Numbers 16:38 illustrates
the biblical meaning of qodesh: “The
censers of these sinners against their
own souls, let them make them broad
plates for a covering of the altar:
for they offered them before the Lord,
I. God they
Is Distinct
therefore
are hallowed: and they
shall be a sign unto the children of
Israel” (Numbers 16:38).
The Greek word for holy is hagios.
Hagios derives from an older Greek
word hagos, which means “an object
of awe,” in either a positive sense of
adoration or a negative sense of
repulsion. The verb form, meaning “to
recoil from,” is never used in the
Bible.
There is some debate as to the actual
I. GodofIshagios,
Distinct
meaning
but most scholars
accept the general sense of
“separated” (Theological Dictionary of
the New Testament). It is clear that for
the writers of the New Testament
hagios had much the same meaning
as qodesh, since it was the word
chosen to translate qodesh in the
Greek Old Testament.
Qodesh is the opposite of qol. Qol
means “common or ordinary.”
In Ezekiel 22:26, God protested that
“her priests have violated my law, and
I.
God
Is
Distinct
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.” Although the
word profane can carry the meaning
of degrading, vulgar, or contemptible,
in this verse it simply means to treat
something that is special as if it were
ordinary.
Qol is related to a word that refers to
drilling or digging a hole. Thus,
I.
God
Is
Distinct
qodesh is a positive presence of
something, and qol is a negative
absence of something (Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament).
In modern usage holy calls to mind
positive moral qualities, but that is not
the essence of its meaning. Instead,
holiness is more to be understood in
terms of position or relationship with
the divine.
Transparency 1
Anything set apart for use by or
worship of God is holy. This explains
I.
God
Is
Distinct
the usage of qodesh in Genesis 38:21
for female harlots and in II Kings 23:7
for male temple prostitutes (literally
“holy women” and “holy men”). These
people, in the eyes of pagan religions,
had been set apart for service to their
gods.
In the same manner, objects and
places could become holy because
they were set apart for use by or
worship of God. Holiness could even
be contagious.
Leviticus 6:27 tells us that anyone
who
touched
a sacrificial animal was
I. God
Is Distinct
made holy and must be ritually
cleansed. What’s more, it was
possible to become holy accidentally.
Leviticus 6:27 says that if the blood of
a sacrifice spilled on a garment, the
garment became holy and had to be
washed in a holy place to redeem it
back for personal use.
Throughout the Bible we find
numerous examples of holy people
who were morally impure.
They were holy because they held an
office or function that separated them
I.
God
Is
Distinct
from the ordinary secular world. For
example, “because he was high priest
that year,” Caiaphas was used by God
to prophesy at the same meeting in
which he plotted the death of Jesus
(John 11:51, New English Translation).
Samson, a Nazarite separated for
service to God, consorted with
harlots, one of which brought about
his downfall. Eli, a high priest who
was derelict in his duties, prophesied
to Hannah she would have a son.
Solomon, the anointed king whose
heart
was drawn
away from God, built
I. God
Is Distinct
a magnificent Temple and dedicated it
to God.
This helps to explain one of the
most important elements of the
holiness of God. Obviously, God is
not holy because He is set apart for
service to Himself or to the worship of
Himself. God is not narcissistic. He is
holy because in His being He is
absolutely separate from all other
things.
God is a wholly unique being. He is
the only one who is being. All others
I.
God
Is
Distinct
have being. All living things except
God were created by Him and derive
their being from Him. In the same way,
God is the only one who is holy. All
other beings can obtain holiness only
from relationship with Him. When we
say God is holy we are referencing
God’s uniqueness and His supreme
otherness.
This is not to say that God is not
immanent in creation.
False religious systems often envision
a god who is transcendent—lying
I.
God
Is
Distinct
beyond our range of perception and
only remotely and mystically
connected to the universe—or too
immanent, simply another ordinary
part of the universe. Instead, God is
transcendent in His being and
immanent in His doing.
In Habakkuk 1:13, the prophet
pondered how God could look on as
the Babylonians perverted justice, for
he said of God, “Thou art of purer eyes
than to behold evil, and canst not
look on iniquity.”
Yet Proverbs 15:3 states, “The eyes of
the Lord are in every place, beholding
I.
God
Is
Distinct
the evil and the good.” The writer
knew God watched the deeds of good
and bad people alike because He
would someday judge them all.
Therefore, these verses do not
contradict each other any more than
God’s transcendence contradicts His
immanence.
The word holy is associated with
moral purity because a vital part of
God’s otherness is His absolute,
incorruptible virtue.
Infinite goodness is interwoven
I. God Isinto
Distinct
inextricably
God’s being. As
illustrated in the relationship between
qodesh and qol, God’s purity is not
simply the negative absence of
defilement, sin, or iniquity, but it is a
positive perfection of character. One
cannot take on the holiness of God by
only putting aside sin and evil; rather,
he must allow God both to remove his
immorality and fill him with positive
goodness.
Thus, while God’s holiness
signifies His absolute uniqueness,
I.
God
Is
Distinct
otherness, or transcendence, an
important part of that holiness is His
absolute purity, beneficence, and
love. Intrinsic to these characteristics
are also absolute justice, judgment,
and abhorrence of evil. God’s
vengeful wrath is just as much a part
of His perfection as His gracious
forgiveness. In fact, damnation is
much more obviously a manifestation
of God’s holiness than is grace.
We
explain how a holy
I. could
God never
Is Distinct
God could offer love, grace, and
forgiveness to sinners if it were not
for the Cross.
Transparency 2
The application of
His blood makes us
holy, and we partake
of His divine nature
(II Peter 1:4).
God Grants Holiness
II. God
Grants
Holiness
God does
not simply
forgive our
sins and overlook our trespasses.
Rather, as a result of His sacrifice on
Golgotha, He grants us His holiness:
“Of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of
God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption” (I Corinthians 1:30). Upon
our obedience to His plan of salvation,
He places us immediately into a
relationship with Him, which
transforms us into a holy people.
We are no longer qol, common and
ordinary,
separate and
I. Godbut
Is qodesh,
Distinct
set apart.
Sealing this relationship, God
makes His dwelling place in us when
we receive the Holy Ghost, so that we
become “partakers of the divine
nature” (II Peter 1:3-4). And “having
escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust” He calls us both
to God’s “glory” (doxa, exalted state)
and His “virtue” (arete, moral
excellence).
God’s intimate sharing of Himself
empowers us to act out our positional
I.
God
Is
Distinct
holiness through practical holiness.
We then “make every effort to add to
[our] faith excellence, to excellence,
knowledge; to knowledge, selfcontrol; to self-control, perseverance;
to perseverance, godliness; to
godliness, brotherly affection; to
brotherly affection, unselfish love” (II
Peter 1:5-7, The NET Bible). We can
begin to live apart from the world
while still in the world because He is
“apart” and yet “in.”
Holiness is therefore a gift of God
and not an act of will. Having been
I.
God
Is
Distinct
granted holiness, we apply our will
and efforts to becoming conformable
to His image (Romans 8:29). (See also
Romans 12:2; Philippians 3:10.) Yet, in
that effort we must recognize we will
always fail until the final redemption
of our bodies (Romans 8:23;
Ephesians 1:7, 14; 4:30). Living a holy
life is no more than progressively
becoming in ourselves what we have
already become spiritually in Him.
However, attempting to live a holy life,
I. matter
God how
Is Distinct
no
successful the attempt,
in no way makes us holy. We are holy
or not holy based on our relationship
with Him, which itself is based solely
upon the unearned gift of grace
(Ephesians 2:8).
God Demands Holiness
III. God
Holiness
As aDemands
practical matter,
God’s
holiness separates us unto Him, but it
also separates us from the world.
Quoting Isaiah 52:11 and Ezekiel
20:34, Paul commanded New
Testament believers to “come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith
the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing; and I will receive you” (II
Corinthians 6:17).
For the Old Testament Jew, the
covenant
many commands
I. Godincluded
Is Distinct
related to daily living. For example, the
Law required the Jews to wear a fringe
at the bottom of their garments
(Numbers 15:38), refrain from trimming
their beards (Leviticus 19:27), not wear
clothing of mixed cloth (Leviticus
19:19), never eat a young goat that had
been boiled in its mother’s milk
(Exodus 23:19), and to circumcise their
male offspring (Leviticus 12:3).
Over the years, rabbis developed a
ponderous
setDistinct
of traditions that
I.
God
Is
resulted in negating or expanding
these commands into mindless
formalities. Nevertheless, the primary
symbolism of these commands
demonstrated the separation God
requires of His people. New Testament
believers today see these commands
as demonstrations of the guilt of
humanity, our powerlessness against
sin, and our need for a Savior.
I Peter 1:15-16 tells us, “But be holy
in every detail of your lives, as he,
I.
God
Is
Distinct
whose servants you are, is holy;
Because it has been said in the
Writings, You are to be holy, for I am
holy” (Bible in Basic English). God
fulfills this command in His people by
gifting us with His holiness, dwelling
within us as the Holy Spirit, and
progressively changing us to love
those things He loves and hate those
things He hates. As part of God’s
beneficence, He honors and preserves
individual moral freewill.
Thus, we can choose to cooperate
with the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
I.
God
Is
Distinct
or we can resist the work of the Spirit.
(See Acts 7:51; Ephesians 4:30.)
God bases His acceptance of us not
on our works, but on His work.
However, we can demonstrate our
rejection of Him through evil works,
bad attitudes, and lack of good works.
“Having therefore these promises,
dearly beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God” (II Corinthians 7:1).
We cannot expect God to cleanse us
I. God
Is toDistinct
when
we fail
take due diligence in
guarding our lives from evil. Filthiness
of the flesh occurs when we fail to
yield control of our animalistic
impulses or need for physical
gratification. “But put ye on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and make not provision
for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof”
(Romans 13:14).
Filthiness of the spirit occurs when
we fail to yield control of our inward
I.
God
Is
Distinct
life, motives, attitudes, and need for
emotional and intellectual
gratification. God made all of these
needs and desires part of His design
for humanity, but our sin nature has
perverted them. Cleansing ourselves
from the foulness that has infested our
humanity requires active surrender to
the holiness of God.
Romans 6:13
“Neither yield ye your members as
instruments of unrighteousness
unto sin: but yield yourselves unto
God, as those that are alive from
the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness unto
God” (Romans 6:13).
“Love not the world, neither the
John
thingsIthat
are2:15-17
in the world. If any
man love the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. For all that is
in the world, the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the
pride of life, is not of the Father,
but is of the world. And the world
passeth away, and the lust thereof:
but he that doeth the will of God
abideth for ever”
(I John 2:15-17).
God Rewards Holiness
IV. God
Holiness
GodRewards
has prepared
a great reward
for His chosen people. He has set us
apart to be recipients of unimaginable
glory. “But as it is written, Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have
entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for
them that love him” (I Corinthians 2:9).
But God does not hold in reserve the
rewards of living a holy, sanctified life
until we reach Heaven. He created
humans to live unto God and each
other (Matthew 22:37-40).
Transparency 3
While sin is a disease that kills right
relationships with God, others, and
I.
God
Is
Distinct
creation, holiness in living is a healing
balm that helps to repair the damage
of sin and restore us to a meaningful
life.
The Scriptures demonstrate that the
major determiner God uses to judge
something as good or evil is its ability
to bless or damage human beings.
God called the creation good because
it was precisely designed to provide a
perfect home for humans (Genesis
1:31).
Likewise, He desires for humanity an
I. God
Is Distinct
ideal
environment
filled with perfect
fellowship with Him and one another.
That is both the essence and the
blessing of holy living.
Many people see holy living
through the lens of a parent-child
relationship. God lays down the rules
to keep order and protect His children
from harm. God, however, sees the
holiness of His people through a
husband-wife relationship.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave
I.
God
Is
Distinct
himself for it; that he might sanctify
and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word, that he might
present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy
and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:2527).
A perfect marital relationship is only
a shadow of the relationship God
desires and will ultimately have with
the church.
As a loving husband, God seeks to
maximize the potential of His bride. He
I.
God
Is
Distinct
rejoices to see her grow personally,
spiritually, socially, and emotionally as
she becomes more confident in His
love and yielding to His Spirit. This is
holiness.
D. G. Peterson wrote, “Love and
holiness are two related aspects of the
Christian life. Holiness will be preeminently expressed in love and love
will be the essential means by which
holiness is maintained.
In effect, holiness abounds when love
I. God Is
Distinct
abounds.”
God
rewards holiness, but
holiness is also its own reward.
“Whereby are given unto us exceeding
great and precious promises: that by
these ye might be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through
lust” (II Peter 1:4).
Practical Holiness
V. “If
Practical
we walk inHoliness
the light, as he is in
the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I
John 1:7). Only the application of
Christ’s blood can make us holy
(Hebrews 13:12). God separates us
from the common or ordinary and sets
us apart for worship and service to
Himself. Although holiness is a work of
God’s grace, the believer is not just a
passive receptor.
Romans 6:19 tells us “as ye have
I.
God
Is
Distinct
yielded your members servants to
uncleanness and to iniquity unto
iniquity; even so now yield your
members servants to righteousness
unto holiness.” By His grace God
teaches us to live holy.
“For the grace of God that bringeth
Titus
2:11-14to all men,
salvation
hath appeared
teaching us that, denying ungodliness
and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
present world; looking for that blessed
hope, and the glorious appearing of the
great God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ; who gave himself for us, that he
might redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works” (Titus 2:11-14).
While the believer remains on earth,
he
never
will
come
to a dead end in
I.
God
Is
Distinct
the quest for personal holiness.
Likewise, only when the Lord catches
away His church will believers hear
the trumpet that signals the end of
striving for holiness.
Holiness is not only a solitary
pursuit. The disciplines that lead to
practical holiness are intimately
personal, but we work through these
disciplines as part of the community
of believers, not in isolation.
In his book Celebration of Discipline,
Richard
Foster
identifies twelve
I.
God
Is
Distinct
Christian disciplines historically
practiced by Christians who desire to
live holy. He identified the inward
disciplines as meditation, prayer,
fasting, and study, and the outward
disciplines as simplicity, solitude,
submission, and service. Equally as
important, he cited confession,
worship, guidance, and celebration as
corporate disciplines.
Practical holiness includes full
involvement
inDistinct
and cooperation with
I.
God
Is
the local assembly. Even the inner
disciplines of meditation and study are
influenced by and enhanced through
the preaching and teaching ministries
of the church. Prayer and fasting are
frequently intensified when
accomplished as part of the body. The
outward disciplines serve to bring
unity to the body, provide a silent
witness to the world, and help solidify
identity as members of Christ’s bride.
One cannot live a holy life in isolation
from
the body
of Christ. One cannot
I.
God
Is
Distinct
remain merely a spectator, withholding
active participation in the ministry of
the church and to the church. “And let
us consider one another to provoke
unto love and to good works”
(Hebrews 10:24).
“Follow peace with all men, and
holiness, without which no man shall
see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
Internalizing the Message
I.The
God
Is
Distinct
primary meaning of holy
(qodesh) is “separate or apart.” Its
antonym is “common or ordinary”
(qol). As related to people or objects,
holiness must be understood primarily
in terms of position in or relationship
with God. Anything or anyone set
apart for use by or worship of God is
holy. The essence of the holiness of
God is absolute uniqueness,
otherness, or transcendence.
However, an essential part of God’s
otherness
is His
absolute,
I.
God
Is
Distinct
incorruptible virtue and infinite
goodness.
God calls New Testament believers
to “put on the new man, which after
God is created in righteousness and
true holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).
Thus, those whom God makes holy
by the intimate pouring of His
holiness into their lives are called
upon to progressively express this
positional holiness with practical
holiness.
They work out practical holiness
I.
God
Is
Distinct
personally and also in community,
which has both a personal and a
corporate dimension. Those who hold
themselves aloof from the church or
think themselves better than the
worst of sinners have no
understanding of holiness.
God’s act of redeeming power sets
I. God apart
Is Distinct
believers
unto God, apart from
this sinful world, and apart for service
to God. This is the grace of God that
teaches us to deny ungodliness and
worldly lusts. We must give all
diligence to express the holiness of
God in every detail of our lives.
Psalm 97:10
“Ye that love the LORD, hate evil”
(Psalm 97:10).
Amos 5:15
“Hate the evil, and love the good,
and establish judgment in the
gate”
(Amos 5:15).