COMMENT
Last week, we examined what I titled “Death of the Law.” As in today’s Devotional, I relied on John MacArthur’s book, Before the Face of God, and the Baptist Catechism for the foundation of the post.
Today, the sources remain the same, as the devotional is another of MaArthur’s from the same book. Here, instead of fending off those who would disregard God’s Law, we look at using it to grow in Holiness. This process is known as Sanctification.
COMMENTARIES, DEFINITIONS, ETC.
Holiness. As a divine attribute, this quality signifies the purity and majesty of God, both in his triune essence and in his actions toward creation. The holiness of any part of creation, therefore, is entirely dependent on its unique relation to the holy God. By *grace and through *justification by faith, the church and individual believers are both declared holy through *union with Christ and grow in holiness by *grace as a gift of the Holy Spirit (see *sanctification). All who are set apart by God’s *election are gathered through God’s *effectual calling to accomplish his will and are referred to as *saints, meaning holy ones (see *priesthood of all believers). As holy, God’s people are both set apart from the world and set apart to love God and serve others.
Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 59.
Holiness
Holiness refers primarily to the quality of God, denoting his transcendent apartness from the rest of creation, his uniqueness, and his total purity. When the term is applied to people, things, or places that have been touched by the presence of God or dedicated to God, it connotes the idea of being set apart for God and thus belonging to the realm of the divine, which is morally and ceremonially pure.
Concept Summary
In Hebrew, the concept of holiness is most often expressed with the verb קָדַשׁ (qādaš, “to make holy”) or related words, including the noun קֹדֶשׁ (qōdeš, “holiness”) and the adjective קָדוֹשׁ (qādôš, “holy”). The noun qōdeš and the adjective qādôš are used to describe God as holy. The same Hebrew root is also used in verb phrases describing the act of consecration (Exod 19:23) and demonstrating one’s holiness (Lev 10:3, Ezek 28:25). The Septuagint uses ἅγιος (hagios, “holy”) and related words to translate almost all instances of the qādaš family of words. These are also the most common Greek words for holiness in the NT; for example, hagios occurs in Mark 1:24; ἁγιάζω (hagiazō, “to make holy”) occurs in Matt 6:9; and ἁγιωσύνη (hagiōsynē, “holiness”) occurs in 1 Thess 3:13.
Theological Overview
The biblical concept of “holiness” is grounded in the idea of being set apart and transcendently distinctive. When the Bible claims that God is holy, it means primarily that he is radically distinctive in sphere, in character, and in requirements. He is high above human beings (1 Sam 2:2) and distinctive from all other deities (Exod 15:11; Pss 86:8–10; 99:2–3). As a quality or attribute of God, the term also carries the sense of “morally good” and “ethically pure.” Thus, the holiness of God entails that God’s character is totally good and entirely without evil (Hab 1:13). The triple repetition of “holy (קָדוֹשׁ, qādôš)” in Isaiah 6:3 expresses that God’s holiness is superlative and embrace the entirety of his divine nature. The term qādôš can be applied to persons, things, places, or times that are touched by or devoted to God. Since God is holy, whatever comes into contact with God or his presence is immediately holy and thus belongs to the realm of the sacred. In Exodus 3:5, God’s presence makes the ground on which Moses stands holy (קֹדֶשׁ, qōdeš).
The NT concept of holiness is partially informed by the overlap with the OT concept of being set apart and sacred. The Septuagint primarily renders the concept of distinctiveness and being devoted or belonging to God with the family of Greek words that includes ἅγιος (hagios, “holy”). Other words such as ὅσιος (hosios, “devout”) are also employed to convey the nuances of holiness. The concept is contrasted with the ideas of being common, profane, impure and defiled.
In both the OT and NT, holiness is presented as a calling and a command to the people of God. Holiness itself or the desire for holiness is often presented as the prime characteristic and standard of behavior for worshippers (Lev 11:44–45) and Christians, patterned after the reality of God’s innate holiness (Lev 19:2; 1 Pet 1:16). In the NT, Christians are addressed by the term “the holy ones” or “the saints” (hagios; Phil 1:1, Eph 1:1, Heb 3:1), indicating that they are a group of people called by God and set apart for divine purposes.
Hon-Lee Kwok, “Holiness,” in Lexham Theological Wordbook, ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).
Devotional
In-Depth STUDY
I am convinced that believers grow in holiness as we expand our knowledge of God’s Holiness. One of the best studies of God’s Holiness I have found is A.W. Pink’s brief writing on the subject:
The Holiness of God by A. W. Pink
The following deals with the Holiness of God, the Sinfulness of man, and how man is sanctified.
Topical Bible: God’s Holiness and Human Sinfulness
Topical Bible: The Role of Sanctification
John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion Book II Chapter 7
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