HE IS WHOLLY HOLY

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise Your great and awesome name — He is holy.

The King is mighty, He loves justice — You have established equity; in Jacob You have done what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy.

Moses and Aaron were among His priests, Samuel was among those who called on His name; they called on the Lord and He answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His statutes and the decrees He gave them. Lord our God, You answered them; You were to Israel a forgiving God, though You punished their misdeeds. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.

Psalm 99

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Look up the word “holy” in the dictionary and you will find the following definitions:

1. Exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.

2. Divine which means to be of, relating to, or proceeding directly from God or a god.

3. Devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity.

4. Having a divine quality.

5. Venerated as or as if sacred.

Now, if you’re interested in the origins of words, you would look deeper at the word “holy” and find that it is a Middle English word derived from the Old English word hālig which is similar to the Old English word hāl which means whole (yes, holy and whole are connected). Consider these definitions of the word “whole” and I will further associate them with the concept of holiness as it applies to God:

1. Constituting the total sum or undiminished entirety.

When we look at God, we find that He is holy in His entirety. There is no part of Him that is not holy and further, His divine nature will never be diminished.

2. Constituting an undivided unit. (God’s holiness is unbroken. It remains whole and wholesome, living forever for all eternity.)

There is no division with God. No division of His power. No division of His authority. And certainly no division of His holiness. It will forever remain unbroken, whole and wholesome, present for all eternity.

3. Very great in quantity, extent, or scope.

There is no limit to the extent of God’s holiness. It has no boundaries and is as omnipresent as He is.

4. Having all its proper parts or components.

In God we find the only source of complete holiness.

Yes, God is holy – and He is so in whole. The 99th Psalm proclaims this truth. Look at this passage:

The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; He sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; He is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise Your great and awesome name — He is holy.

The King is mighty, He loves justice — You have established equity; in Jacob You have done what is just and right. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool; He is holy.

Moses and Aaron were among His priests, Samuel was among those who called on His name; they called on the Lord and He answered them. He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud; they kept His statutes and the decrees He gave them. Lord our God, You answered them; You were to Israel a forgiving God, though You punished their misdeeds. Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.

Yes, He, the Lord Almighty, is holy and the psalm underscores the many ways where we find His holiness revealed.

It is revealed in His power and might.

It is revealed in His justice and equity and righteousness.

It is revealed as we enter into relationship with Him.

It is revealed in His forgiveness.

and it is revealed in His discipline.

In fact, when we look at God, we see the embodiment of holiness for He is the perfect embodiment of everything righteous and good. He is wholly holy and there is no one like Him.

So how are we to respond in the midst of the Holy One, God our Father?

Look back to the psalm. For we are to revere and respect Him. We are to exalt Him. And we are to praise and worship Him for only He is worthy of our worship and praise. No other warrants our glory and honor.

Yes, God is wholly holy and there is one more thing we need to remember before we close this devotion:

God expects us to strive to be holy as He is.

He told us as much in the following:

Leviticus 11:44 – “I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy.” (He would repeat this in four other places in this book alone).

1 Peter 1:15 – 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.”

There’s no doubt that the expectation is for us to try to embody holiness in our own lives.

So how do we do that?

As Christians, it comes through living like Christ.

As we daily seek the will and way of our Savior, He will lead us on the narrow path of righteousness and one of the fruits we’ll bear when we do that is holiness. We will be set apart from those who are living for the world and be seen as different because of the holiness constantly growing and taking root within us.

Friends, God is completely – wholly – holy and when we strive to be more and more like His Son, then we too will be living as He commanded, living a holy existence as He did and is still doing today.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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