Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Perfecting Holiness (Ephesians 4:17-32)

"Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Eph. 4:24).

What impact should the holiness of God have on our daily lives? To answer this question, we need to have a better understanding of the meaning of holiness. Many people think of holiness only in terms of moral purity or righteousness. While this is part of the meaning of holiness, the primary meaning is separation, as we learned in 2 Corinthians 6. When Israel was called a holy nation, it was set apart from other nations. This did not mean every person was morally pure, but they were set apart or separated from the ungodly people around them.

God is holy in that He is different from anything else. He is infinite and transcendent, and we cannot think of Him in terms of creatureliness. This would be unglorifying to Him. God is not bound by space and time like we are. He is not made of flesh like we are, but He is spirit—transcendent and omnipresent.

When something is declared to be sacred or holy, it does not take on these characteristics of God, but is considered holy because it has the touch of God upon it. The objects in the temple were considered holy because they were set apart by God. Likewise, the ark of the covenant was not some magical object but was deemed holy because God had declared it to be so and set it apart as the symbol of His presence.

Our response to God’s holiness should be one of fear: “perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1). Just as the foreign nations feared the ark of the covenant because it meant the power of God, so must we fear God because He is holy. When we fear the Lord, we show Him reverence and worship Him in humility.

We are to reflect this reverence for God in every aspect of our lives. He is set apart from everything that is unclean. He is pure and righteous. As His people, we are called to bear witness to the righteousness of God by reflecting His character in our lives. We do this by obeying His laws and exhibiting the fruits of His Spirit. Sinfulness is contrary to God’s holiness and the more we put sin to death the more we are conformed to His holiness. Being like God is being unlike the world. This can cause the world to ridicule us, but better to be ruled by the fear of God than the fear of man.

What does it mean to put on the new self? (see Gal. 5:16–26 and Eph. 4:17–32). How are we to be imitators of Christ? (see Eph. 5). In light of these passages, what are some “deeds of darkness” that you need to stop doing? Make a list of those sins that you particularly struggle with and commit them to prayer every day.