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What’s in a Name?
Part III:
“Holy” is: “I AM”
Rodger Hamilton
October 6th, 2013
Today’s message is the 3rd in a series in which we are examining the
various Names of our God, who has revealed himself to us as, “I AM”.
As we have seen, the Names of God are descriptors of his divine Nature each one of God’s Names is a Revelation of the perfect Integrity of the
Lord, with whom there is no variation between Being and Doing:
“Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Leviticus 19:1 reveals another of God’s “I AM” Names, and offers us an
invitation to participate with the Lord in his divine Nature:
“The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say
to them: ‘Be Holy, because I, the Lord your God, am Holy.’ ”
This is the Scripture which Peter refers to in 1Peter 1:15-16:
“But just as he who called you is Holy, so be Holy in all you do: for it is
written: ‘Be Holy, because I, the Lord your God, am Holy. ’ ”
“I AM: HOLY,” says the Lord.
And because God is Holy, his Children are called to be Holy, too.
Holiness is a characteristic of God which we are called to emulate:
“Like Father, like son” (and daughter!)
In my last sermon, I spoke about how religious jargon can obscure truth.
However, at the same time, when we pause to consider what words really
mean, then semantics have the potential to reveal important realities
about God and about ourselves.
We hear the word, “Holy,” so often in our songs and in our sermons that
sometimes, from sheer familiarity, the deeper significance gets lost in the
repetition: “Holy, Holy, Holy…”
And yet, “Holiness” is key to our calling, and so it is worth looking closer
at what this concept truly means, because there is so much we can learn
about whom God says, “I AM”, and also about whom God says we are!
As Proverbs 9:10 says,
“…knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
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So… What does “Holy” mean?
To be honest, when I first began to investigate the topic of Holiness, I just
assumed that the word “Holy” was a synonym for the word “Righteous.”
But just to be sure, I looked up “Holy” in the Oxford English Dictionary,
the ultimate reference for “wordies.”
So… Imagine my shock when I discovered that neither definition of
“Holy” had anything at all to do with Righteousness!
The first definition given was, “Worthy of absolute devotion.”
The second was, “Having a divine quality.”
Now, if you ask me, saying, “God has a divine quality,” is like defining
water as “wet.”
Well, yeah…! Hel-lo-o???
Now, I may not be a linguist or an etymologist, but I have a nagging
suspicion that either:
1) The writers don’t have any idea what the word “Holy” really means;
Or:
2) They aren’t brave enough to define the Truth about Holiness!
So, I was feeling rather discouraged, but then I remembered an old,
neglected tome on my bookshelf:
“Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words.”
And what I discovered there, as the writers offered an exposition on the
meaning of the various Greek words for “Holy”, was eye-opening:
Yes, “Holiness” is Righteousness - but it is so very, very much More!!!
The ancient Greek language is much more nuanced than the English is.
And the several Greek words for our word, “Holy”, reveal many different
facets of “Holiness” as it relates to God and to us – each brilliant in and
of itself - but taken together, a dazzling Jewel, illuminating both the Holy
Nature of God, which we are called to reflect, and the Way in which God
is fulfilling his Calling in us!
The root word in Greek for “Holy” is “HAGNOS”, which is the basis for a
variety of nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs that describe both the
nature and the function of Holiness.
Underlying each of them are foundational elements of Holiness, such as:
righteousness, spiritual purity, moral excellence, unimpeachable conduct,
perfection of character, reverence and integrity.
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Over-arching these fundamental characteristics of Holiness is an aspect
of “apart-ness”:
As to God:
In Holiness he dwells in unapproachable Light; beside him there is no
other!
He alone bears the Name that is above all names – whether in heaven, on
earth or under the earth…
As to the believer:
In Holiness we are “set apart”; “sanctified”; “consecrated”; “called out”;
“separated from sin” and “separated to God”: “Saints”…
As to how God works within us:
The Holy One is proactively hallowing us through definite, complete and
divine initiative...
And somewhere betwixt and between all these underlying and overarching attributes of “Holiness” lies the arena of interaction and
participation between “I AM” and his “called-out ones”, in which the Holy
One who calls us to Holiness is working to accomplish his purposes.
But, even with all these specifics at hand, I still found myself groping for
adequate descriptors to explain Something which is beyond human
ability to comprehend!
So, I was somewhat comforted to read this definition of Holiness from the
theologian G. B. Stevens, quoted in the Hastings’ Bible Dictionary:
“It is evident that ‘HAGIOS’ (an adjective describing the ‘HAGIOI’ –
“saints,” “sanctified holy ones”) … expresses something more and higher
than sacred, outwardly associated with God… something more than
worthy, honorable; something more than pure, free from defilement…
‘HAGIOS’ is more comprehensive… it is characteristically ‘God-likeness.’ ”
Maybe we could say it like this: “Holy” is: “I AM”!
So, the question becomes: “Given that the Holy One has called us to
Holiness, how do we go about being Holy?”
A detailed discussion would involve a lifetime of sermons, but for our
present purposes, we can discover a springboard for action within that
arena of interaction and participation I spoke of.
So, let’s dive in…
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To begin with, at its core, Holiness for the believer is “HAGIASMOS”,
which translates as “sanctification; separation to God.”
This is a noun which is related to “HAGIOS”, an adjective meaning,
“separated from sin; set apart unto God,” describing the “HAGIOI”, or,
“the called-out ones; the sanctified; consecrated; saints.”
Vine offers an enlightening commentary on this “set-apart-ness”:
“Sanctification is the state predetermined by God for believers, into
which he calls them, and in which they begin their Christian course and
so pursue it. Hence, they are called ‘saints.’
“This sainthood is not an attainment, it is a state into which God in grace
calls men; yet believers are called to sanctify themselves consistently
with their calling.”
Many of us have come out of a religious tradition in which “sainthood” is
the elevation and adulation conferred upon men by men in recognition of
the achievement of some extraordinary spiritual credential.
This is plainly a human tradition which is at odds with Scripture, which
liberally applies the term “saint” to all believers.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:7,
“To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints…”
Elsewhere, he addresses the “saints” in Achaia, Ephesus and Philippi.
To the church in Corinth, he writes,
“…to those sanctified (i.e. “saints”) in Christ Jesus and called to be Holy,
together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ…” (1Corinthians 1:2)
1Peter 1:1-2 states the truth of our saintliness beautifully:
“To God’s elect, strangers in the world… who have been chosen according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of
the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ…”
So…
The next time a brother or sister says to you, “Well, I ain’t no saint, and
either ain’t you,” you can help them along in their walk with a gentle
reminder of these truths from the Scriptures!
We are called-out, set apart and separated unto God – “saints”!
We are “strangers in the world,” foreigners and aliens, soldiers who avoid
entanglement in civilian affairs, because we want to please our
Commanding Officer. (2Timothy 2:4)
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A great example of sanctification is the movie, “The Blues Brothers.”
Two brothers, Jake and Elwood Blues, set out to raise funds to rescue
from financial ruin the orphanage they were raised in.
So they hatch a plan to reunite their old band, whose members have all
settled down into regular day jobs, and hit the road doing concerts.
And when asked by their (understandably) wary band-mates why they
should drop everything for some wild, hair-brained scheme, Elwood
answers, in his droll, matter-of-fact way, “We’re on a mission from God.”
As if that settled everything…
And it did!
The Blues Brothers set aside everything and risked it all, because they
were convinced that they were called: set-apart for God’s purposes unlikely saints, but sanctified, nonetheless - not because of who they
were, but because of Who called them!
And this illustrates an intriguing aspect of sanctification:
God’s call to Holiness is unique for each one of us!
The nuns who ran that orphanage could never have accomplished what
God (allegedly) did through Jake and Elwood, simply because they
weren’t Jake and Elwood!
They were equipped with a completely different set of gifts and skills, set
apart for an entirely different mission: caring for orphans!
It’s all part of God’s design for Holiness!
We are each chosen and called by God for God’s purposes, which, in a
universal sense, involves our corporate participation in the divine Nature.
As to matters of spiritual purity, God’s standards are absolute; when it
comes to true Holiness, there is no such thing as “moral relativism”!
Holiness, as pertains to sanctification, on the other hand, is in some
ways a one-on-one proposition.
It does not exclusively, or even primarily pertain to personal ministry, of
course, nor is it based on our works – again, as Peter said, we are,
“chosen… through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit for obedience…”
(1Peter 1:2)
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However, we each have unique gifts through which we participate with
God as we live out our “set-apart-ness” on a day-to-day basis.
And because this aspect of our sanctification is unique to each of us
individually, my calling will, by definition, look different from yours perhaps radically so!
For example, in Acts13:2, “…the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me
Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ ”
Saul, (by this time known as “Paul”) identified himself in Romans1:1 as
uniquely called:
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and set apart for
the gospel of God…”
Rob Carter occasionally mentions his own unique calling to be a church
planter, and the sacrifice of career opportunities he has chosen to make
reflects his separation to God.
Like the Blues Brothers, Rob Carter is “on a mission”!
But I think we can all agree that’s where the similarity ends!
Rob’s sanctification is unique, and as a result, Rob is uniquely Holy!
Likewise, your personal “set-apart-ness” will not look the same as Rob’s,
because God’s mission for you is unique - different, but no less vital to
the Kingdom!
Aspects of Holiness of such as spiritual purity and moral excellence, on
the other hand, are neither relative nor existential.
God’s standard for Holiness is absolute, and it is lofty, because the
measure is himself: “Be Holy, because I AM Holy.”
God is restoring in us the image of God from which Adam fell; he is
procreating his glory in us as children of the Most High.
And so, God is calling us to be participants with him in his Holiness!
2Peter 1:3-4 tells us:
“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness
through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and
goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious
promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine
nature…”
Paul writes in 2Corinthians 7:1, “Since we have these promises, dear
friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body
and spirit, perfecting Holiness out of reverence for God.”
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John also writes, in 1John 3:2-3:
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not
yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in
him purifies himself, just as he is pure.”
God himself is our Standard, the Measure of Perfection to which we are
to aspire!
Please, understand…
God is not calling us to qualify ourselves in his sight, but rather, he is
inviting us to participate with him in his perfect Holiness - not our own!
And, to that end, he has provided everything we need for godliness
through his “very great and precious promises”!
Jesus himself told his followers:
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
(Matthew 5:48)
Now, I can just hear the gears turning in your brains, trying to reconcile
Jesus’ words with what we all know to be true...
“Nobody’s prefect!”
The problem with this sort of thinking is that when we minimize sin in
order to justify the ways in which we fall short, or when we try to shift
the onus onto someone else, as Adam did to Eve, then the forward
momentum of our growth grinds to a halt; we get mired down and
apathetic and lose the zeal which Romans 12:11 says we are to cultivate.
If, on the other hand, we confess our sin, 1John 1:9 promises, “…he is
faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness.” (That is, God will perfect [verb] Holiness in us!)
Paul, in Philippians 3:2, demonstrates how to deal with our falling-short
of God’s call to perfection:
“Not that I have already attained all this, or have been made perfect, but I
press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
This is that participation with the purposes of God which I am stressing:
Sanctification for the believer is a progressive relationship in which we
“press on” in partnership with God in an on-going process of growth, as
we intentionally pursue God’s purposes for us!
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But wait –there’s more!!!
There is a further dynamic at work, as well – an eternal spiritual reality
which has the potential to transform our vision of the journey we’re on…
That’s because there is a “now/not yet” aspect to “time/eternity” in which
we have already been made perfect in the eyes of him who sees the end
from the beginning!
Hebrews 10:14 teaches,
“…by one sacrifice he has made perfect (‘HAGIOSUNE’) forever those who
are being made (‘HAGIOSO’) Holy (‘HAGIASMOS’)”.
“…by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made
Holy…”
“Has made” / “being made”: “Perfect” / “Holy”: “Now” / “not yet”…
This passage contains the key to our Hope, which is certain.
Because it is God at work in us who, in the course of time, is
accomplishing that which is already an eternal reality!
“… for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good
purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)
Even though we are participants with God, it is ultimately God’s initiative
which accomplishes his goals for us - it is the Heavenly Father himself
who pro-actively procreates his divine Nature within his Children.
God says in Leviticus 20:7,
“Consecrate (“set-apart”) yourselves and be Holy,”
(Our work)
Because:
“I AM: The Lord who makes you Holy.’ ”
(His work!)
This is GOOD NEWS!!!
Because we can be “…confident in this: that he who began a good work
in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 1:6)
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The other night, I was lying awake, pondering my invitation to Holiness.
Listen closely, and allow the Holy Spirit to teach you, as I struggle to
explain something very profound the Lord revealed to me that night…
Without the initiative of God at work in me, left to my own devices and
relying on my own efforts, I would surely perish!
I would be marooned - mired in the misery of slavery to my sin nature!
As Romans 7 describes: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me
from this body of death?” (v.24)
(Read it when you make the time!)
There is only one Answer, only one Hope for us who wrestle with sin, if
we ever hope to succeed in taking hold of the Perfect Holiness for which
Christ Jesus took hold of us:
And that is to cease from the futility of relying on our own works, and
instead, “make every effort” to enter into the “Sabbath-rest” which God
has provided for us. (Hebrews 4:9-11)
Listen carefully:
God commanded the Law that set apart the Sabbath as Holy when he
gave the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments to Moses.
(Exodus 31:18)
Now, Galatians 3:24 teaches, “…the Law was put in charge (“given as a
schoolmaster”, KJV) to lead us to Christ.”
So, we have to consider the Law of the Sabbath in the context of 2
Corinthians 2:3, which teaches us, “… you are a letter from Christ…
written, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets
of stone, but on tablets of human hearts.”
Jesus said, “The flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to
you are Spirit and they are Life.” (John 6:63)
And he told the Pharisees, “The Sabbath was made for man.” (Mark 2:27)
The Old Testament Sabbath Law was given, not as a burden, but to be a
benefit - a “schoolmaster” to instruct us concerning Christ.
So, what is the benefit?
What can we learn about Christ and about ourselves from the Sabbath
Law?
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Listen:
Under the Law, anyone who was caught doing work on the Sabbath was
to be put to death! (Exodus 31:15)
Why?
Because the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23) just as Paul despaired
of his “body of death,” snared into sin-slavery by the futility of worksbased efforts at Holiness! (Romans 7)
The Law was given as a stern object-lesson of the consequence of going
our own way and ignoring God’s Way – the result is always, literally,
death!
Today, we are not under the Law; instead, we are under the grace of
Christ, WHO IS: “Our Righteousness”!
However, unless we turn to Christ and enter into God’s Sabbath-rest, we
remain under the sentence of death; we are trapped in the Romans 7:24
syndrome: “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this
body of death?”
The answer?
“Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (v.25)
Jesus IS: “Our Answer”!
The Sabbath Law was given to point us to Christ, in whom we rest from
our works and receive the provision for Holiness only he could achieve:
“…through one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those he is making
Holy…” (Hebrews 10:14)
The discussion comes full-circle when we hear the other piece of what
God said to Moses when he commanded our Sabbath-rest:
“Say to the Israelites, ‘You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign
between me and you for the generations to come…”
(a “schoolmaster” to lead us to Christ)
Why?
“…so that you may know that ‘I AM: The Lord, Who Makes You Holy.’ ”
(Exodus 31:13)
How cool is that??? Thank you, Lord!!!
We don’t have to kill ourselves trying to be Holy!
Why?
Because HE IS: “THE LORD WHO MAKES YOU HOLY”!
We don’t have to become joyless, self-righteous religious wretches!
Why?
Because HE IS: “Our Sabbath-Rest”!!!
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When we’re confronted with the command of the Holy One to “be Holy,”
we have no choice but to choose:
We can opt out and cower behind the cop-out that claims, “Nobody’s
perfect!”
We can take the task upon ourselves with grim determination, all the
while knowing in our heart-of-hearts that in the end we will surely be
crushed beneath the unbearable burden.
Or –
We can say “yes” to the invitation of Jesus, who holds out to us his Holy
Sabbath-rest:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
“Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?” David asked. “Who may stand in
his Holy place?”
“He who has clean hands and a pure heart…” (Psalm 24:3-4)
Does that describe you?
God has promised to forgive your sin and purify you from all
unrighteousness, to proclaim you Holy before all the angels of heaven, if
only you will come to him!
“He will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God his
Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him…” (Psalm 24:5-6)
“…whoever comes to me I will never drive away!” (Jesus, John 6:37)
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but
to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not
condemned…!” (John 3:17-18)
What more can be said?
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine, according to his power that is at work in us, to him be the glory
in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever
and ever! Amen.”
(Ephesians 3:20-21)
Amen! (“So there! May it be so!”)…
Through Christ: “The Lord, Who Makes Us Holy”!
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