Made Holy

Hebrews 10:1,5-6,8-11 - For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near… Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure…When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.


1 Corinthians 1:2-3 - To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Application:

· Am I submissively obedient to the will of God?
· I have been made holy. I have been set apart from evil and dedicated to God’s service. Am I reflecting His holiness?
· The sacrifices prescribed by the law prefigured Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Holy Spirit

2 Corinthians 6:4-10 - Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.


1 Corinthians 2:4 - My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

Romans 12:9 - Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

2 Corinthians 4:7 - But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Romans 13:12 - The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Ephesians 6:10,12,14-15 - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power…For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms…Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

Application:

· Unless the Holy Spirit works in my heart, the wisdom and eloquence of a preacher are ineffective
· Do I hate evil?
· God triumphs amid human weakness, embodying the principle of Christ’s crucifixion
· Have I put aside the deeds of darkness? Have I put on the armor of light?
· Do I try to stand on my own against super-human powers? Or, do I rely upon the strength of the Lord’s own might?
· Do I lash out against human opponents as though they were the real enemy? Do I assume the battle is fought with merely human resources?
· Am I withstanding the enemy? Am I giving in to fear?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Every Pot In Jerusalem...Holy

Zechariah 14:17-21 - If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The LORD will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. On that day HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the LORD’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar. Every pot in Jerusalem and Judah will be holy to the LORD Almighty, and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD Almighty.


Exodus 19:5-6 - Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

Romans 14:6-7 - Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone.

1 Corinthians 10:31 - So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Nehemiah 8:10 - Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Joel 3:17 - “Then you will know that I, the LORD your God, dwell in Zion, my holy hill. Jerusalem will be holy; never again will foreigners invade her.

Isaiah 35:8 - And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.

Application:

· God’s original purpose for Israel will be realized
· Do I persevere in faithfulness?
· Even common things become holy when they are used for God’s service
· Do I honor the Lord and give thanks to Him?
· Do I live to please myself or do I live to please the Lord?
· Every aspect of my life has the potential to honor God
· Do I rejoice in God and delight in His presence?
· Where God is present all is purified and even ordinary deeds become acts of holy worship
· Only the redeemed can use the Way of Holiness

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Holy Land

Zechariah 2:12-13 - The LORD will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land and will again choose Jerusalem. Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.”


Exodus 3:5 - “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

Exodus 14:14 - The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Application:

· Does the Lord dwell with me? Have I come to worship the Lord? Am I one of His chosen?
· Have I been declared holy? Am I consecrated to the Lord’s service? Am I separated from the commonplace?
· Do I recognize that even though I am armed for battle, all victories are won by God alone?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Spiritual House

1 Peter 2:4-5 - As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Exodus 19:5-6 - Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."

Isaiah 61:6 - And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.

Philippians 4:18 - I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.

1 Corinthians 3:16 - Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Conclusions:

• Believers derive their life from Christ, who is the original living Stone to whom they have come, the life-giving Spirit
• The holy priesthood is the whole body of believers
• As priests, believers are to (1) reflect the holiness of God and that of their high priest, (2) offer spiritual sacrifices, (3) intercede for man before God and (4) represent God before man
• Believers are living stones that make up a spiritual temple in which, as a holy priesthood, they offer up spiritual sacrifices
• Israel was to be the people who acknowledged God as their King and, like priests, was to be wholly consecrated to His service
• God’s people, both individually and collectively, are to be set apart to do His will
• Ministers are priests
• The sacrifice is acceptable and pleasing to God because of Christ’s work for us and God’s work in us
• God’s temple is God’s church
• Paul does not mean in 1 Corinthians 3:16 that each of his readers is a temple of the Holy Spirit
• He says you yourselves (plural) are God’s temple (singular)
• Paul eventually speaks of each Christian as a temple of the Holy Spirit
• Jesus is the way to God
• Jesus is not one way among many, but the way

Application:

• Do you reflect God, offer sacrifices, intercede for man and represent God?
• Are you set apart to do His will?
• Are you a priest of the Lord?
• Are your sacrifices acceptable and pleasing to God?
• Are you a temple of the Holy Spirit?
• Do you see Jesus as the only way?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Be Holy, Because I Am Holy

1 Peter 1:15-16 - But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Isaiah 35:8 - And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 - For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.

Leviticus 11:44 - I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground.

Habakkuk 1:13 - Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. Why then do you tolerate the treacherous? Why are you silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?

Conclusions:

• A highway is a road built up to make travel easier
• The Way of Holiness is the way set apart for those who are holy; only the redeemed could use it
• In ancient times, certain roads between temples were open only to those who were ceremonially pure
• Another reason for chastity is God’s call to holiness
• To be holy is to be set apart—set apart from sin and impurity, and set apart to God
• The complete moral perfection of God whose eyes are too pure to look on evil with favor, should move His people to strive for moral purity
• 1 Peter is a letter of practical earnestness, filled with exhortations and encouragements
• Holiness is the key theme of Leviticus, ringing like a refrain in various forms throughout the book
• The word holy appears more often in Leviticus than in any other book of the Bible
• Israel was to be totally consecrated to God
• Israel’s holiness was to be expressed in every aspect of her life, to the extent that all of life had a certain ceremonial quality
• Because of who God is and what He has done, His people must dedicate themselves fully to Him
• Habakkuk 1:13 is a classic statement of the problem of evil within the context of Israel’s faith: Why does evil appear to flourish unchecked by a just and holy God?
• The treacherous and the wicked are the Babylonians in Habakkuk 1:13
• Those more righteous is Judah in Habakkuk 1:13

Application:

• Are you redeemed?
• Are you chaste?
• Are you set apart from sin and impurity?
• Are you dedicated fully to God?
• Are you wicked or righteous?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Holy Trinity

1 Thessalonians 5:25-28 - Brothers, pray for us. Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

2 Corinthians 13:14 - May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Conclusions:

• The benediction in 2 Corinthians 13:14 is Trinitarian in form and has ever since been a part of Christian worship tradition
• The mystery of the Holy Trinity is known to be true not through rational or philosophical explanation but through Christian experience, whereby the believer knows firsthand the grace, the love, and the fellowship that freely flow to him from the three Persons of the one Lord God

Application:

• Do you know the grace, love and fellowship that flows freely from the Holy Trinity?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Holy

1 Thessalonians 3:13-4:1 - May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.

2 Peter 3:14 - So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

1 Corinthians 1:2-3 - To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:4-6 - that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you.

Conclusions:

• Believers have peace with God as a result of being justified by faith, but they may displease Him by failing to live as He desires and thus not receive His commendation and His reward when He returns
• The Old Testament counterpart to church of God is the expression assembly of the Lord
• Sanctified means set apart for the Lord
• Sanctified can also mean made holy, which is done by (1) being declared holy through faith in Christ’s atoning death on the cross, and (2) being made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians
• In spite of the fact that Paul found much in the Corinthian Christians to criticize, he still called them sanctified—not because of their conduct, but because of their relationship to Christ
• The Christian is to be different from the heathen

Application:

• Do you fail to live as He desires?
• Are you being made holy by the work of the Holy Spirit in your life?
• Are you different from the heather?

All Scripture verses taken from the NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible