Tuesday, January 03, 2006
The Doctrine of God - Holiness of God
"Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19:2)
The Hebrew word translated "holiness" comes from a root meaning "to separate or cut off". The primary meaning of holiness implies God's positive quality of self-affirming purity; the secondary meaning implies separation, particularly separation from sin. The holiness of God means He is absolutely pure and absolutely separate from (and above) all His creatures, and also separate from sin and evil.
Illustration: Because God is holy, all sin is offensive to Him. For this reason He had to break fellowship with His own Son when Jesus became our sin-bearer (Matt. 27:46). Only through the identification of Christ with our sin as our sacrifice can we be reconciled to God.
Application: When the Scripture mention the holiness of God, they also stress the personal holiness of His people.
The Hebrew word translated "holiness" comes from a root meaning "to separate or cut off". The primary meaning of holiness implies God's positive quality of self-affirming purity; the secondary meaning implies separation, particularly separation from sin. The holiness of God means He is absolutely pure and absolutely separate from (and above) all His creatures, and also separate from sin and evil.
Illustration: Because God is holy, all sin is offensive to Him. For this reason He had to break fellowship with His own Son when Jesus became our sin-bearer (Matt. 27:46). Only through the identification of Christ with our sin as our sacrifice can we be reconciled to God.
Application: When the Scripture mention the holiness of God, they also stress the personal holiness of His people.