God is holy. This seems self-explanatory, but in my mind it becomes a little more difficult to understand as I analyze the meaning of the word holy.
The man-on-the-street definition of holy is probably most often expressed in terms of doing pious things. Someone is holy who reads their Bible a lot, and prays a lot, and goes to church a lot, etc. Or else “holy” is defined in terms of avoidance. Someone is holy who doesn’t drink or smoke or tell dirty jokes.
In opposition to these popular definitions, our pastoral staff has emphasized that holy means set apart. We ARE holy because we belong to God. The fact of our holy-ness is established by our Savior, not by us or our actions.
This concept is helpful, but I begin to see it is incomplete. I Peter 1:16 tells us it is written, “Be holy, because I am holy.” This makes no sense as a command if my above definition is comprehensive. Maybe, “You are holy,” but not “Be holy.”
Be holy implies that there is something we do that qualifies us a holy. I think it would be an over-simplification to return to the idea that holy equals pious. I think holy has two levels of meaning, when it comes to us who belong to God. There is the holy-as-set-apart aspect which I still believe is true. But there is also a living aspect. I would say it is living differently because of Who we belong to.
In the Old Testament, living differently included not planting two kings of crops in the same field, and not wearing blended fabrics. These prohibitions reinforced the idea of separation, that Israel was not to mix with those who worshiped other gods. Separation was part and parcel of holiness in the OT. God remained apart from humanity, and Israel remained apart from other nations.
But in the New Testament, the emphasis is no longer on separation. It is on incarnation. God meats us. :) God meets us in our flesh. Then we meet others in theirs. Holiness is not about pulling away from the muck and mire of sin, but about diving into it, being unchanged by it, and shining through it.
To say we are holy, then, is to say we belong to God, and He wants us to reflect Him to those who don't. We do this by being different, not just keeping a list of dos and don'ts. Our responsibility is to draw close to Him so we can better reflect Him.
Son in this sense we define ourselves as holy in relation to god--belonging to Him or reflecting Him. But how do we define God's holiness? I've usually defined it thus: He is OTHER. But I'm struggling with the limitations of this definition.
God isn't just Other--He's also like us, or rather we are like Him. We are made in His image. We are made to be like Him in many ways. But God does say His ways and thoughts are higher than ours. So He is both like us and different from us.
And a platypus is different from us. But that doesn't make it holy. Satan is different from us. He's certainly not holy.
I think when we describe God as holy, we are talking about the beautiful, wonderful ways in which He is different, higher, greater. He is wise, just, pure, good, loving, patient, the list goes on and on, each one a trait we may share, and aspire to improve in, but which God exhibits with perfection. Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!
Glory!
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