God's Illustrations of Holiness

Rick:

In continuing our discussion on holiness, let me remind you that God needed to show His people what true holiness is.  As is often the case, what God intended for mankind had been taken and twisted by man.  The Canaanites had taken the word holy and had given it a totally different meaning than the meaning that God intended.

In studying the Old Testament Law, we find that there are some constant definitions that God gives to the meaning of holiness as He tries to redefine the word/concept in the minds of the children of Israel.

Here are the 5 basic components of holiness as outlined in the OT Law:
1.  To be holy means to have the presence of God (Exodus 3:5).
2.  To be holy means to be dedicated for the use of God/ to be at God's disposal (I Corinthians 6:19-20).
3.  To be holy means to be separated from the common/ordinary (Leviticus 10:10).  (The opposite of "holy" is "common", not "unholy".)
4.  To be holy means to be separated from everything that would defile.  God expects purity (I Thessalonians 4:3).
5.  To be holy means to obey the word of God (Leviticus 20:7-8).

Let us use the tabernacle as an illustration to help us better understand these concepts.  There were, within the tabernacle, several vessels, utensils, and pieces of furniture that were considered to be holy.  What made these things holy?

The vessels, utensils, and furniture were holy because they had been deliberately dedicated to God's use.  This dedication involved a separation from ordinary vessels. 

As the priests entered the tabernacle to use these vessels in worship, they were required to wash their hands.  They were to make sure that they were not defiling the house of God and the instruments contained within the house of God.

The most important aspect in these instruments being classified as holy is that they were in the presence of a holy God.  And they were used in the worship of a holy God.

The priests themselves were considered holy because they were men (ordinary) that had been set apart for the use of God (holy).  They were the representation of the presence of God to the other men.  The priests were to remain pure.  This means that they were to refrain from involving themselves in activities that would defile them.  In order to properly discharge their responsibilities, they also had to remain obedient to the word of God.

I hope that you are gaining a better understanding of the meaning of holiness, sanctification, and entire sanctification.

We will continue this discussion at another time.  There is much more that we can discuss on this subject.