Holiness : Getting The Definition Right

We have been looking at holiness for some time now on Exegesis. In our last post, we had a look at bridging the gap between ‘’You are holy’’ and ‘’ You must be holy’.

One thing we have not done is to really define what ‘’holiness’’ is. Or do we just presume to know what it is ! .

I am not referring to what we think it is or what tradition tells us it is. My question is , how does God himself define holiness? .

Does it matter what I understand as holiness?

Now you are wondering, does it really matter if you are unable to articulate in clear terms what holiness is?

Well, how can one be in a football game to score a goal with no defined goal post in view?. You can imagine the frustration of trying to score in a different goal post other than the one recognised by the referee. This is the exact scenario when you did not share the same perspective of holiness with the lord. With the wrong goal post, your labour is useless and your claim to victory is pointless? Did you get that?

To make matters worse, men and religion are ready to define it for you and keep you captive. So many words in the scripture in our modern day have lost their original or foundational meaning. This then explains why there are some personal struggles in walking with the lord and living as overcomers.

The Apostle John wrote his first epistle majorly to put true meanings to words that have lost their connotations just few decades after the death of Jesus. Words such as ‘’walking in the light’’ , ‘’abiding in him’’ , ‘’having eternal life’’, and so on were top of the list of his mission of setting meanings right.

If you randomly open a German dictionary, there are some defined words that have the letters ‘’ns’’ in parenthesis in front of them. This is to signify that the ‘’national socialism party ( nazi) ‘’ gave new meaning to those words. Well, Adolf Hitler established that one way to manipulate a generation was to change the root meaning of words.

Well, let us think ! . Sad to say , ‘’think’’ is the ‘’word’’ some church folks don’t have in their vocabulary. Remember the Apostle Paul told Festus in Acts 26:25, that the words he was speaking were the words of truth and reason.

Is holiness simply defined as avoiding sin?

What really is holiness? Is it to avoid sin ! ? I must admit there are many verses from the old testament (when the law was given to Moses) that indicates avoiding sin is holiness.

Well, there are two issues with this. We are ministers of the new covenant (2 corinthians 3:6) and we must view these scriptures in that light. We would blog about this in the future as you stay tuned. The second issue is how do we then define something by simply restricting its definition to the avoidance of what messes it up? . My knowledge of what messes it up still does not guarantee that I know what is.

For example, If I pour a red paint on a white wall. The white wall becomes a different colour and it is messed up. Do we then define ‘’whiteness’’ as the absence of a ‘’red colour’’. You bet not !

God is holy !, right?. You and I know there is no sin to avoid in heaven or do you have scriptures to prove otherwise? . Also, God declared the seventh day as ‘’sanctified’’ or ‘’holy’’ before man ever fell into sin ( Genesis 2:3) . The seventh day was declared holy before there was any sin to avoid. Please note that the root Hebrew word for ‘’sanctified’’ is also referred to as ‘’holy’’ . A quick check up on different translations for Genesis 2:3 would confirm this.

Moreso, scripture refers to holy ground, holy place, holy land, holy cup etc . How do all these things avoid sin so as to be called holy? Can you see the limitation in defining holiness from a negative sense?. Then what is holiness ! Let us go !

Let us to go back to the beginning before the law was given to Moses. Let us see what it was from the beginning when this word was used. :-

Genesis 2: 1-3 NIV ( New International Version)

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.

2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

Genesis 2: 1-3 TLB (The Living Bible)

1 Now at last the heavens and earth were successfully completed, with all that they contained. 2 So on the seventh day, having finished his task, God ceased from this work he had been doing, 3 and God blessed the seventh day anddeclared it holy, because it was the day when he ceased this work of creation.

Genesis 2:1-3 (Amplified Version)

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

3 And God blessed (spoke good of) the seventh day, set it apart as His own, and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all His work which He had created and done.

Genesis 2: 1-3 ( NKJV)

2 Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. 2 And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. 3 Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

Even without being a Hebrew scholar, you would notice that in verse 3 in the Amplified version the word ‘’set apart’’ and ‘’hallowed(holy) were used in conjuction. So, if you are reading the KJV version, you might notice that the word ‘’sanctified’’ is used in lieu of the word ‘’holy’’ . It is the same root word.

Our mission is to know why did God declare the seventh day holy? The answer is right there in verse 3. ‘’……….God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he ceased this work of creation.’’ See that word ‘’because’’ linking the word ‘’holy’’ with Gods completion of creation. It simply says God called the seventh day holy because it marked the day that God finished creation. So, in simple terms, the word ‘’holy’’ signified completion. There is no need for any addition. It is perfect and finished. There is nothing missing and everything is whole. You are holy because Christ has completed you and he is all you need. Believe this today and let his joy flow through you.

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