Holy

God is Holy
Holy means pure, unmixed, or set apart. When speaking of God it refers to His purity, that there is no evil found in Him. It also means God is set apart, not in the physical sense but that He is special & unique, there is no one like Him. God is special, wonderful and to be highly favored. Sometimes holy refers to God's trustworthiness, that He is unmixed with falsehood & deceit. God's "holy name" refers to the pure goodness and trustworthiness of His character. In these meanings we can see how calling God "holy" is a form of praise.

“Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?" (Exodus 15:11)

God Called Things Holy
Many times holy means special to God, something He holds dear or as important. In the old covenant there were many inanimate objects, animals, gatherings, and places that were holy (set apart, special, purified for use). What God considers special is important because He is wise and kind. God set apart certain things and practices as holy in the old covenant because they are symbols of the holy man Jesus the Messiah, His beloved Son.

Jesus is Holy
Holy and Messiah (Christ) are actually similar terms. The Father, David, Peter, Paul, John, & even demons called Jesus "The Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24, Acts 2:27, 1 John 2:20). Messiah literally means "The Anointed One" which is "The Chosen One." He is The Chosen King, The Chosen Priest, The Chosen Spokesman, The Chosen Mediator between God and mankind. Jesus is special & unique. Jesus the Messiah is, in regards to living beings, the "Holy of Holies," "The Most Holy Being."

The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is The Unique Spirit of God, The Pure Spirit of God. Jesus is the only begotten Son of God but He is also the first born among many children, God has many sons and daughters. Likewise The Holy Spirit is the Unique Spirit of God even though all of God's children have holy spirits themselves. We are united with God and one with Him yet, like a married couple, He is still uniquely God and we are still uniquely us.

Saints are The Holy People of God

God calls His children "saints" which simply means "holy people." 2 Thessalonians 1:10 tells us that "God's holy people" are all those who have trusted Him. We are holy and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12) & He calls us His holy temple (1 Corinthians 3:17). We are God's spiritual children, born by His spirit when we trust Jesus. Our spirit is born holy. We are "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:24).

God Alone is Holy?
Revelation 15:4 says, "God alone is holy" but the bible calls other people holy, including all of God's children. How is this possible? One simple word, "in." God's people are "in God" they are "in Christ." Colossians 3:3 says we are "hidden with Christ in God." Jesus' prayer recorded in John 17 came true, we are "one in the Father and the Son," "He is in us and we are in Him." Christ is a body, Jesus is the head of that body, those who trust Him are the rest of that body. Just as my hand is me and a part of me so too are we parts of the body of Christ and we are Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12). We are "one body and one Spirit" with God (Ephesians 4:4).

The Holy Bible
The scriptures are called holy in Romans 1:2. This indicates that they are special, unique, and pure.

God's Holiness and Anger
So many people speak of God's holiness as if it were His reason for offense, anger, and wrath. I've even heard people contrast His holiness with His love! God is love. His holiness is not separate from His love. Holy does not mean 'quick to anger' or 'easily offended' as so many teach.

God is not an immature religious nut who considers himself so "pure" that He gets angry at the sight of something just because He doesn't like it. God is love. Scripture defines love as selfless (1 Corinthians 13:5). God is not irrationally bias towards things. He has reasons. He sees and knows if there is something ultimately harmful in something. He opposes things that will drive people away from Him or make them feel farther from Him than they are. God's holiness does not get offended but His compassion burns to protect those He loves like any good father's would.

Offend means "to cause anger in." While there are times where God gets angry and severe in scripture nowhere does scripture say "God was offended" or that God's holiness was offended. Scripture never uses the word "offended" to describe God at all. It only says that we are the ones who get offended at Him! (See Matthew 13:57 & Mark 6:3) Jesus said, "Blessed is he who does not take offense at Me” (Matthew 11:6, Luke 7:23).

God seeks to protect His holy name (reputation of His purely good character) because anything said against His good character would cause people to not trust Him. Those who don't trust Him cannot experience His love or be aware of His goodness. He seeks to protect His name for our sake. He is "jealous for His holy name" (Ezekiel 39:25) because He is the only true God. Knowing Him is the best thing for everyone. Serving fake gods or living without Him is of no benefit and is in fact the worst thing for anyone.

God, as love, does not take into account wrongs suffered (1 Corinthians 13:5). God does not count sins against anyone (2 Corinthians 5:19). One amazing thing about God's love is that He seeks to save the abused and the abusers. He protects His friends and loves His enemies into friendships. Paul is a perfect example of this. He went from being a murderer of God's people to a lover and helper of God's people. God said in Hosea 11:9, perhaps foreshadowing Jesus who said He did not come to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:17),  "I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath."

"Jesus came in the flesh to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26). Jesus put sin away for everyone. He does not count sins against anyone in this life in order to make relationship with Himself fully available to everyone. Those who trust Jesus have their sin taken away permanently and God will never be angry at them (Isaiah 54:9-10). God will never have anger or wrath towards His children. Those who reject Jesus have God's wrath "stored up for them" & their sins are taken back out at judgment. "Blessed are the people whom the Lord will by no means charge with sin" (Romans 4:8), those people are His children, His holy children.

God is so holy that He passes His holiness onto His children. He takes those who were ordinary & filthy and makes them pure & perfect forever (Hebrews 10:14).


Scriptures Showing the Various Meanings of Holy

• Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy (special/pure) ground” (Exodus 3:5).
  • God's manifested presence is what makes the ground holy.
• Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (pure, specially set apart). (Exodus 20:8)
• “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘ Holy (specially set apart) to the Lord.’ (Exodus 28:36)
• The Lord spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.’” (Leviticus 10:3)
  • God is special, wonderful and to be highly favored.
• “You shall not profane (pollute) My holy (pure) name, but I will be sanctified (spoken of as pure) among the sons of Israel; I am the Lord who sanctifies you (sets you apart and purifies) (Leviticus 22:32)
• Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “ Because you have not trusted Me, to treat Me as holy (special/pure/trustworthy- unmixed with falsehood & deceit) in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” (Numbers 20:11-12)
• For you are a holy (special/set apart) people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 7:6)
• There is no one holy (unique) like the Lord (1 Samuel 2:2)
• For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name (trustworthy character). (Psalm 33:21)