Holy and Holiness

Study on Holy and Holiness by Sonia McDonald

“You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy”. (Leviticus 11.44)

“You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy”. (Leviticus 19:2)

“But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16)

What does the word holy mean?

In Hebrew the word for holy is qadosh. Strong’s H6918 meaning is: sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, or set apart. In the King James Bible the word holy appears 116 times.

In Greek the word for holy is hagious. Strong’s G40, meaning:  most holy thing, a saint. It appears 229 times in the King James Bible.

In both the Hebrew and Greek meanings we can see that holy is a word showing something separate or set apart for God.

How does holiness actually show itself in a person’s life?

For that answer we must look to Christ and the Father as pure examples of holiness.  The scriptures become our written guide and Christ’s life in the flesh was an example to us of what holiness looks like.  The Bible is our moral compass and provides us with a map to salvation and eternity.

When the Eternal chose Israel, He called them to be set apart from the other nations around them.  They were to be His children.  They were to be an example to the other nations around them, to be a light in the darkness.

He provided His commandments, statutes, and judgments to guide them.  He told them what food was clean to eat, and what food was not to be eaten, He gave them strict hygiene and health rules to follow, and rules to manage each aspect of their agricultural society.

All God’s rules were perfect and if kept by the Israelite society, they would have been exemplary and envied by the surrounding nations. God promised them awesome physical blessings in return for them being and remaining set apart or holy.  The promises God made to them were tied to obedience.  Physical blessings were promised them if they walked in His ways. (Deuteronomy 28 and Leviticus 26).

These physical laws were instituted to keep the Israelites set apart or holy. But Israel missed the mark and did not follow God.

New Covenant Believers

In the New Testament holiness is also emphasized, however, now when New Testament Believers who are in Covenant with Him (the called out, set apart ones) miss the mark, they are covered by Christ’s blood and The Father imputes Christ’s righteousness to them.  God the Father planned the sacrifice of His only begotten Son, Yeshua, to die for the sins of the world, enabling cleansing of the sins with His precious blood. The Author of Life had to die for our sins, so we could live.

As Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2, we are to crave pure spiritual milk, so we may grow in our salvation. Christ is building a spiritual house from living stones offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ.  We are expected to grow in our calling and mature in spiritual understanding.  Our spiritual growth is shown as we bear the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him Who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light”. (1 Peter 2:9)

Father God and Christ are the epitome of holiness. Their ways and thoughts are far beyond ours. Their ways are not like ours. We know The Eternal is one hundred percent righteous and hates evil. He is loving, merciful and faithful, no matter how hurtful His people are toward Him.  He is won’t tolerate un-repentance and rebellious sins against His Holy name.

God’s holiness is beyond our comprehension as this scripture points out:

 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways”, says the LORD. “For as the heaven are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 8-9)

GOD IS PERFECT AND SET APART IN HIS HOLINESS, therefore we must walk humbly before our awesome and merciful Father and Christ, relying on Christ’s shed blood and righteousness to cover us when we miss the mark of Their Holiness.

When we sin and are not walking in the path of righteousness we are told to repent and draw close to God with a sincere and humble heart. Time spent in prayer, studying His word and fasting are ways to draw close to God and align our thoughts and actions with Him. 

As set apart people, we are also given the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, guiding us in the right direction of holiness. We pray for more of His Holy Spirit to help us develop in holiness and to become more Christ-like in our daily lives.

“He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)