Leviticus 11:44 – For I am the Lord your God; so consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm or crawls on the ground.
Joshua 24:19 – Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord [if you serve any other gods], for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]. He will not forgive your transgression [of His law] or your sins.
1 Samuel 2:2 – There is no one holy like the Lord, There is no one besides You, there is no Rock like our God.
Isaiah 6:3 – And one called out to another, saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is filled with His glory.”
Revelation 4:8 – And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never stop saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy [is the] Lord God, THE Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], Who was and who is and who is to come [the unchanging, eternal God].”
The Greek word, “hagios”, is used 235 times in the New Testament. The word is used in reference to many different things in the Bible. The word is an adjective, a word that describes a characteristic of a person, place or thing.
The word “hagios” is used in the Bible to describe things. The ground is described as being “hagios”. Faith is called “hagios”. Women have been described as “hagios”. Conversation and conduct are sometimes called “hagios”. A city, a place, a covenant, a commandment, and the scriptures have all been called “hagios” in the Bible.
God himself is described as “hagios”. The one thing that is referred to as “hagios”, far more times than anything else in the Bible is the Spirit of God.
Do you have any idea what the English word for “hagios” is? The word is ‘holy’. God is holy, and the Spirit of God is holy! But what does the word really mean? The fundamental meaning of the word “hagios”, is ‘different and unlike the rest’. So when the Bible says that God is holy, it means that God is different from all else. And the Holy Spirit of God, is a Spirit that is different from all other spirits. There is none like it. It is unique, and it is separate and it is exclusive.
When the word holy is used to describe something other than God or His Spirit, it means that the thing being described is different from the world, and that it is “like God” in some way.
It is easier to think about God being holy and set apart than to think our ourselves as holy. But what about you and me? We are also called to be holy.
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.”
1 Peter 1:15 & 16
When I read this verse and think that I am to be holy because God is holy, I get overwhelmed because I know that I will fail. But, we might misunderstand what this scripture is saying. God is not saying that we need to be as holy as He is (that is impossible). He told us to be holy BECAUSE He is holy.
Holiness means absolute purity of our walk before God. Every thought we think, every thing we do. Thankfully, God, the Holy One, sent His Son Jesus for us so that we have any chance to live a Holy life here on earth. We have to acknowledge our sin and accept the forgiveness He has offered. Then God shares His own holiness with us in the person of His Son. He washes away every sinful stain, then actually allows Jesus Christ to become our holiness.
It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
1 Corinthians 1:30
In the Christian life, this is the process that we continue to live through. We learn more about God’s holiness and consequently we learn more about our own sinfulness. Then we acknowledge the sin, enjoy God’s forgiveness and give Him more control in our life. We grow a little more in His holy likeness.
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
2 Corinthians 7:1
As we grow in His image we become more and more set apart unto Him. The more we get to know God as the Holy One, the more joy we bring to living.