Tag: holiness

  • Sanctification – saints washed in Christ’s Holiness

    Sanctification occurs only 5-10 times in the New Testament, while “sanctify” occurs 70 times in 65 verses in the KJV throughout the Bible.

    Doesn’t sanctification require someone or something to be ‘sanctified?’

    What is sanctification?

    How is it different since Christ Jesus?


    Sanctification in the Old Testament

    congregation of the Hebrews at Mount Horeb

    Moses on Sinai

    Exodus 19 NKJV excerpt

    And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain..

    ‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant,

    … ‘And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’

    Exodus 19:3-6 except NKJV

    So Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes.

    קָדַשׁ qâdash,

    to be (causatively, make, pronounce or observe as) clean (ceremonially or morally):—appoint, bid, consecrate, dedicate, defile, hallow, (be, keep) holy(-er, place), keep, prepare, proclaim, purify, sanctify(-ied one, self),

    https://davidfowlerpreacher.com/2014/06/08/pictures-of-the-holy-spirit/
    Exodus 21:5-7

    “Also let the priests who come near to Yahweh set H6942 themselves apart H6942 as H6942 holy H6942, lest Yahweh break out against them.”

    And Moses said to Yahweh, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for You [testified to] warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds about the mountain, and set H6942 it apart H6942 as H6942 holy H6942.’”

    Exodus 19:22-23 LSB – noting H6942 meaning Sanctify or Hallow

    שְׁמֹות (Exodus) 19 :: Masoretic Text

    19:23 וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־יְהוָה לֹא־יוּכַל הָעָם לַעֲלֹת אֶל־הַר סִינָי כִּי־אַתָּה הַעֵדֹתָה בָּנוּ לֵאמֹר הַגְבֵּל אֶת־הָהָר וְקִדַּשְׁתּוֹ׃

    Does this washing for holiness before God bring any sanctifying fear over you before facing the LORD your Maker?


    An Old Testament Word

    You may recognize the same word in a couple of important places in the Bible.

    Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified H6942 it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created in making it.

    Genesis 2:3 LSB

    זָכוֹר אֶת־יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשׁוֹ׃

    “Remember the sabbath day, to keep H6942 it holy H6942.

    Exodus 20:8 WLC, LSB

    Pray then like this:
    Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

    Matthew 6:9 RSV

    Sanctification then prepares unholy sinners to face the Most Holy.


    Sanctification in the New Testament

    verb - From ἅγιος (G40) adjective (most holy thing, a saint) 
    - From hagos adjective (an awful thing) [cf ἁγνός (G53) adjective, properly, clean, i.e. (figuratively) innocent, modest, perfect:—chaste, clean, pure.
    • to render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or hallow
    • to separate from profane things and dedicate to God
    • to purify
      • to cleanse externally
      • to purify by expiation: free from the guilt of sin
      • to purify internally by renewing of the soul

    The Apostle Paul, in referring to a long list of sins of the Corinthians writes:

    And such were some of you; but you were washed,

    but you were sanctified G37,

    but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

    1 Corinthians 6:11 LSB


    a most holy thing, a saint ?


    Are YOU a HOLY Saint of JESUS Christ, therefore sanctified to Him in your mortal AND eternal life?


    Sanctified saints

    “For their sake I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.

    Gospel of John 17:20 LSB


    In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

    For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

    Hebrews 2:10-11 BSB


    Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

    John 17:17 CSB – Jesus’ prayer for disciples


    Sanctification of children learning to walk in Christ

    To the saints in Galatia:

    Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.

    But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

    Paul’s letter (epistle) to the Galatians 4:8-9 ESV


    To the saint sitting with you in church:

    In conclusion, the best way to examine some of the jargon of Scripture like anointed, consecrated, sanctified, justified and holiness is in prayerful time in the Bible itself.

    How better to explain sanctification (or any ‘Christian’ jargon) to a new child of the faith with whom you worship than with Biblical text?


    READ any of the links provided in the Scriptures above. 

    OR For more on the topic of Sanctification you may search it here on TalkofJESUS.com OR simply read the earlier post below with my closing thought.

    Sanctification – a refining of our holiness in Christ

    For this is the will of God, your sanctification.. For God did not call us to impurity,

    but in sanctification. 

    Consequently, he who sets this aside is not setting aside man

    but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

    1 Thessalonians 4:3a, (3b-6 short list of our impurity) 7-8 LSB

    ~A.D. 51 – Paul writes to encourage the Thessalonian Church

    A look back from 2025 CE to an earlier look at Sanctification

    Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel


  • Paul’s unfinished encouragement of the Thessalonians

    Paul’s unfinished encouragement of the Thessalonians

    Previously on Paul’s Second Mission

    Start new Second Missionary Journey of Paul in Acts 15 and 16 as the Apostle must journey by land to Lystra and Derbe
    Start New Second Missionary Journey

    The apostles sailed to Macedonia, Greece and Achaia

    google earth of Aegean Sea coast between Troas and Macedonia

    Second major stop

    Thessalonica [Θεσσαλονίκη] next destination of Paul, Silas and Timothy when they depart from Philippi on the 2nd missionary journey of Paul.
    Thessalonica

    THESSILONICA where they proclaim the Gospel to the Jews for THREE WEEKS.

    AND NOW, in ~ A.D. 50 Paul writes back to the Thessalonians

    THREE WEEKS?

    Hardly enough time to establish a firm foundation of faith in NEW BELIEVERS!

    ~A.D. 51 – Paul writes to encourage the Thessalonian Church

    Certainly Paul and other apostles must have wondered how the Thessalonians had fared since opponents of the Gospel of Jesus Christ had forced them to exit to Berea, 100 miles away, and cities further south in Greece and Achaia.

    Mentioned among these new believers were Jason (Acts 17:5), Gaius (Acts 19:29), Aristarchus (Acts 20:4), and Secundus (Acts 20:4). Source

    .. and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith..

    .. But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always remember us kindly, longing to see us just as we also long to see you..

    Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians 3:2,6 LSB

    Paul’s First letter to the Thessalonians 1:

    We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father..

    The Apostle’s introductory points of encouragement

    For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit

    1 Thessalonians 2:3 LSB
    • [You are] brothers beloved by God
    • your election [by God]
    • our gospel [came] to you in power and in the Holy Spirit
    • You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 
    • You also became imitators of us and of the Lord [JESUS]

    Even though these apostles had not remained in this city of some 200,000 Macedonians, comparable to a Common Era U.S. city of Columbus Ohio, to endure further persecution by the Judaizers, Paul and some of the other apostles would have known from their previous persecutions the afflictions of these new Thessalonian believers.

    • You [Thessalonians] have had much affliction [YET] with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
    sailing from Macedonia through the Aegean Sea to Achia, home of ancient Athens and a larger city of Corinth

    .. you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

    For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth..

    First Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians 1:7b-8a Legacy Standard Bible

    .. just as you know how we were exhorting G3870 and encouraging and bearing witness to each one of you as a father would his own children..

    1 Thessalonians 2:11 LSB
    Do you get the picture of evangelism by way of example of our Christ-like love in the community of our local church?
    

    19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting? Is it not even you, before our Lord Jesus at His coming?

    20 For you are our glory and joy.

    Roman ACHAIA (as we studied in ACTS) includes Athens of ancient Greece as an intellectual center

    AND CORINTH, its capital and largest city of ~100,000 (including its rural areas).

    It is from Corinth that Paul writes back to the Thessalonians in ~ A.D. 51

    Practical Christianity for NEW Christians in Thessalonica

    we ask and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us as to how you ought to [conduct yourselves] walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you excel still more.

    * Specific Ways to excel still more in holiness, hope and love.
    * source

    2 For you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

    PAUL’s HELPFUL LIST:


    • abstain from [porneia] sexual immorality
    • know how to possess his own [*]vessel in sanctification and honor
      • not in lustful passion
    * (literally or figuratively [specially, a wife as contributing to the usefulness of the husband]):—goods, sail, stuff, vessel. 

    Paul’s extensive metaphor mentioning ‘lustful passion’ and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter‘ pointedly establishes the standard of a monogamous marriage to a faithful wife by the Thessalonian brothers and without any adultery or coveting another man’s ‘vessel.’

    Sanctification

    Sanctification is the theological term describing a refining of our holiness in Christ.

    For God did not call us to impurity, but in sanctification. 

    Consequently, he who sets this aside is not setting aside man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

    1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 LSB

    God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. – 1 Thessalonians 4:7 New Living Translation

    IS YOUR CALL TO CHRIST NOW SANCTIFIED IN HOLINESS?

    Now concerning love of the brothers

    Now as to the love of the brothers and sisters..’ reads the NASB20:

    φιλαδελφία

    1 Thessalonians 4:9

    This LOVE is NOT erotic ‘love’ with which the world is enamored and against which Paul has already cautioned, but rather a familial love of a biological brother, i.e. philadelphia.


    How many christians, knowing better, have transgressed that line of love?
    
    And as if to further warn believers concerning our sanctification in the loves of Christ Jesus, Paul adds:

    “.. for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another..”


    This most personal, godly LOVE is agapaō.

    ἀγαπᾶν ἀλλήλους

    agapaō allēlōn

    you yourselves are taught by GOD [theodidaktos] to Love one another.

    of persons

    to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly

    of things

    to be well pleased, to be contented at or with a thing

    —each other, mutual, one another, (the other), (them-

    • make it your ambition to lead a quiet life
    • attend to your own business
    • work with your hands
    • walk [peripateō – lit. ‘behave‘] properly toward outsiders
      • have need of nothing

    DEATH & LIFE

    The Apostle Paul closes his first letter to the Thessalonians with a contemporary issue of the A.D. 50’s an ETERNAL and timeless warning also applicable in these last days of the Common Era of the 2020’s.

    TWO TIMELINES

    • ~A.D. 30 – JESUS Christ crucified by a Roman Governor [Pilate]
    • A.D. 50’s – Paul, an Apostle of the risen CHRIST writes to the Thessalonians as ALL still live under ROMAN rule.
    • A.D. 70 (Twenty years after Paul’s letter) – ROME besieges Jerusalem, drives out the Judeans and destroys the Temple of the Herod’s.

    A COMMON ERA CAUTION

    911 attack plane flying into a second world trade center tower
    • 9/11/2001 C.E.
      • ~ twenty years ago
    collage of worldly leaders - ACTS 2:40 "Be saved from this perverse generation.
    • 2021 of the Common Era
      • TODAY’s contemporary challenges to Christians
    • 2044 of the Common Era
      • Twenty years from TODAY? ? ?
    Without stepping into an apocalyptic mire of last days, let's briefly glance at Paul's exhortation for Christians living for an eternal God.

    Therefore comfort one another with these words.

    • Do not grieve for those in Christ who have died.

    IF WE BELIEVE..

    • Jesus died and rose again
      • (John tells us that those are still living among the 500+ men who witnessed Christ’s resurrection just 20 years earlier.)
    • God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep [died] in Jesus.
    • .. the Lord Himself will descend from heaven..
      • and the dead in Christ will rise first.
      • [Those] who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them [believers who have died] in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air..
        • NOW, in these last days of the Common Era, this would now include these Thessalonians along with other saints to whom the Apostle wrote.
    • and so we shall always be with the Lord.

    Therefore comfort one another with these words.

    ..  the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly..

    Thessalonians 5:2b-3a LSB

    4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief..

    Paul then reminds us once more of our obedient sanctification in Christ.

    .. let us be awake and sober.

    For God has not appointed us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.

    Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians 5:9-10 ~ A.D. 51

    Comment on Scripture + Share the Gospel

    Letters from the Apostle Paul — To be continued… God-willing…
  • Doctrine – GOD IS HOLY

    Doctrine – GOD IS HOLY

    God is HOLY! & man is not

    Maybe a Saint or Pope? Perhaps an angel? How about a Priest or holy man dedicating their life to God? And what about holy men and women of other faiths? WHO CAN BE HOLY?

    What do you mean by ‘that’ word?

    Doctrine is defined as, “that which is taught.

    No question about someone’s preaching or teaching is more important than, “What do you mean by that?”

    So as I begin this series addressing various doctrines, please allow me to address what I mean by three terms in this first doctrine: God, Is and Holy. (What do I mean when I preface my teaching on the Bible by saying, ‘God is holy?’)

    In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..

    בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֵ֥ת הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃

    and the Spirit of God moved above the face of the waters Genesis 1:26 picture of sun over clouds

    God, as used in the beginning of the books of Moses is literally,

    אֱלֹהִים

    ‘ĕlōhîm.

    * NOTE - definitions linked to secure authoritative sources
    ĕlōhîm is plural *

    (WE might want to remember that about GOD.)

    • gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God
    • also (plural intensive – singular meaning) i.e. the true God

    We cannot exhaust all of the words used for ‘God’ here as we speak of doctrine, but we must look at one additional (and somewhat ambiguous) synonym, ‘Lord.’

    LORD יְהֹוָה

    וַיִּיצֶר֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהִ֜ים אֶת־הָֽאָדָ֗ם עָפָר֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה וַיִּפַּ֥ח בְּאַפָּ֖יו נִשְׁמַ֣ת חַיִּ֑ים וַֽיְהִ֥י הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְנֶ֥פֶשׁ חַיָּֽה׃

    And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

    Genesis 2:7 WLC, KJV

    Yᵊhōvâ! G-d’s NAME, so holy that man should not even say it!

    LORD (all CAPS – above all man and creature, the heavens and the earth).

    • Jehovah = “the existing One”
      • i.e. יַהְוֶה proper name, of deity Yahweh, the proper name of the God of Israel —
      • The pronunciation Jehovah was unknown until A.D. 1520

    What Commandment is foremost?

    Gospel of Mark 12:

    28 One of the Torah-teachers came up and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He [the Messiah Jesus] had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”

    ‘Sh’ma Yisra’el, Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad [Hear, O Isra’el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one], and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’

    Mark 12:28-29 from NASB & CJB

    Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘.. The Lord is our God, the Lord is one..’


    Holy, Holy, Holy

    I remember from early days of my childhood growing up ‘in church’ hearing a cappella worship and the ethereal lyrics of ‘Holy, Holy, Holy.’ The ‘otherness‘ feeling of these moments of worship transported my soul to a higher undefinable place. It was worship I would not come to understand until until I received the Holy Spirit many years later in this mortal life.

    Although we cannot even approach the heights and depths of the doctrine of Trinity in this brief look at holiness, I offer you, beloved fellow believer, this one insight:

    You may have heard of the Trinity before, but it will not impact your faith until you receive the Holy Spirit.

    Roger@talkofJesus.com

    Holiness defined

    Like the word ‘God,’ the word and concept of HOLY also has many meanings which fall short of full description by mortal man.

    When the Apostles recognized Jesus as God they confessed,

    “And we have already believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”

    John 6:69 NASB20

    The Greek word for ‘Holy‘ used by the Apostle Peter is: ἅγιος

    • hágios, hag’-ee-os; from ἅγος hágos (an awful thing) (compare G53, G2282); sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated):—(most) holy (one, thing), saint.

    Awe becomes a most humbling reaction to the Holy presence of Almighty God!

    We witness mortals experiencing this holiness in Moses and many others. Take the reaction of the prophet Isaiah for instance:

    Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

    Isaiah 6:5 KJV

    And what had Isaiah seen that evoked such awe? Enter the scene which preceded where Isaiah has a vision of a place other than earth:

    וְקָרָא זֶה אֶל־זֶה וְאָמַר קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ קָדוֹשׁ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת מְלֹא כָל־הָאָרֶץ כְּבוֹדֽוֹ׃

    And one cried unto another, and said,
    Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts:
    the whole earth is full of his glory.

    Yeshaiya (Isaiah) 6:3

    The Hebrew word for holy is: קָדוֹשׁ

    • of God, as separate, apart, and so sacred, holy:
      • a. exalted on theophanic throne Isaiah 6:3 (3 times in verse), Psalm 22:4 heavenly throne Isaiah 57:15; etc.

    Man is NOT God

    לֹא אִישׁ אֵל וִֽיכַזֵּב וּבֶן־אָדָם וְיִתְנֶחָם הַהוּא אָמַר וְלֹא יַעֲשֶׂה וְדִבֶּר וְלֹא יְקִימֶֽנָּה׃

    “God is not a man, that He would lie,
    Nor a son of man, that He would change His mind;
    Has He said, and will He not do it?
    Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good.

    Bamidbar (Numbers) 23:19

    And most impactful to mortal man:

    GOD IS.

    The Lord God was and is and will be!

    God IS eternal and man is NOT. Men and women born of dust will return to dust — our flesh and bones by the spirit abandoned.


    Shall the spirit of the created not behold in AWE the HOLINESS of the eternal LORD God?


    God is Other!

    He IS not one of us. And by our separation of sin we cannot be one of ‘ĕlōhîm, EXCEPT by grace.

    Holiness is other than moral perfection

    To paraphrase the 20th c. theologian Rudolf Otto in ‘The Idea of the Holy,’

    HOLY IS NOT “the consummation of moral goodness.”

    Then Otto observes, “But this common usage of the term [holy] is inaccurate. Otto suggest the word numinous.

    [source for further study: https://www.britannica.com/topic/sacred#ref538785
    Streng, F. J.. "Sacred." Encyclopedia Britannica, February 12, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/sacred.]

    (a mysterious, majestic presence inspiring dread and fascination)

    This HOLINESS of the Almighty LORD God has little to do with moral goodness. God is a Holy eternal being other than any moral or immoral mortal being.

    With gratitude to God and R.C. Sproul, I recommend any of the teaching series or books mentioned & linked. Roger 

    God IS a tremendous mystery!

    Still borrowing from philosophy and the theology of R.C. Sproul, the reaction of the created (mankind) to the Creator (God) is Mysterium Tremendum.

    It is tremendous, but in a way that shakes you to your very core.

    R.C. Sproul – from The Holiness of God on Mysterium Tremendum

    This Latin expression from early church fathers describes God’s holiness as the “tremendous, tremor-inducing and awe-inspiring, mystery,” a reverence for the Lord rarely present in 21st century worship by the church.

    God is Other Plus

    Can man pursue Other?

    God IS other, but God is also more than Other. The LORD is above all His Creation plus in it as well. The Personal God of the Bible made Himself known to those He chose; that is, Moses, Elijah and the Prophets, David and others.

    Although we hallow God (and we must), our awe and fear of the LORD draws us to His love that conceived each of us in His image as body, mind and spirit.

    Again, returning to a description by Otto, who secular philosophers accuse of pursuing the irrational, it is better to say “supra-rational.”

    God is NOT other than rational just because man cannot understand a God so ‘other’ than mankind.

    Theologians seek to study “that rational aspect of that supreme Reality we call ‘God.”‘ Although the Holy trembles the hearts of men, the pursuit of God’s holiness draws us to the other supra-rational being who out of His own love pursues us.

    God defends HIS HOLINESS!

    Scripture records that God has met up with some brash men and responded. (So have we.) Some sought answers from the Lord while others offended God by bold disrespect or by profane ignorance of the Almighty.

    Secular ambivalence to God denies that which is holy, while cultural inclusion of that which is not holy diminishes the Divine Authority of He Who IS other and above all creation.

    GOD defends His holiness and His Holy Name.

    Roger@talkofJESUS.com

    The Lord’s defense of His holiness is sometimes subtle and gentle, yet at times severe and final in execution of His judgment.

    Scriptural Defense of God’s Holiness

    • “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” – Exodus 3:5
    • “You shall be holy people to Me, therefore.. – Exodus 22:31a

    ..the ground that was under them split open..

    So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.

    Numbers 16:31b,33 – Korah’s rebellion
    • Fire also came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense. – Numbers 16:35
    • .. Uzza put out his hand to hold the ark, because the oxen nearly overturned it. But the anger of the LORD burned against Uzza, so He struck him because he had put out his hand toward the ark; and he died there before God. – 1 Chronicles 13:9b-10

    Behold, the day of the LORD is coming,
    Cruel, with fury and burning anger,
    To make the land a desolation;
    And He will exterminate its sinners from it.

    Isaiah 13:

    a Gospel glance at Holiness

    From the Gospel of Luke:

    • .. and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from heaven: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased.” Luke 3:22

    In the synagogue [at Capernaum] there was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave us alone! What business do You have with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”

    But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. And amazement came upon them all.. – Luke 4

    A Rebuke of the Church

    As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

    First Letter of Peter to the church 1:14-16 ESV

    “Who is like You among the gods, LORD?
    Who is like You, majestic in holiness,
    Awesome in praises, working wonders

    Exodus 15:11

    Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God

    so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

    2 verses addressing holiness:
    2 Corinthians 7:1 + 1 Thessalonians 3:13

    a Revelation by Jesus Christ of Holiness to the church

    “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
    He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:

    I know your deeds..


    A plea of grace

    Are you, dear saint of God, looking to the holiness offered to sinners — undeserved holiness by grace from the Perfect Other Son and Sacrifice –Jesus Christ — Who was and IS and will be — judge of all living flesh and judge of each dead saint or sinner?

    He knows your deeds — your works for the Lord, as well as every impure act in thought, word and deed.

    Hear the cries of the souls of the saints beneath the Altar of Heaven:

    “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?”

    Revelation 6:10

    Are these not souls like ours crying out to the Lord God for Justice?

    How long, O Lord, can it yet be in these last days of this 21st century?

    Do you, my fellow saint, recall what follows in John’s apocalypse from Jesus Christ — what response to God’s holy refining of heaven and earth?

    And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood and the stars of the sky fell to the earth..

    The sky was split apart .. and every mountain and island was removed from its place..

    excerpt from the Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 6:12-14

    The LORD God: Father, Son and Spirit: are ONE and ALL are Perfectly HOLY

    Out from the throne came flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder…

    ..and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front and behind.

    ..day and night they do not cease to say,

    “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
    IS THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY,
    who was and who is and who is to come.”

    Revelation 4:8b NASB20

    Let those with ears hear what the Spirit says — GOD IS HOLY!

    Amen.

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