Holiness: The Journey Begins, Pt. 2

Holiness. A set-apartness. A separateness. But where to begin when researching such a vast topic. Well, let's start at the very beginning, the book of Genesis. Is there anything that can be observed about the nature of God and His holiness? Interestingly, the first mention of the word "holy" in Scripture is found in the book of Exodus, but is there something in Genesis to be learned about God's holiness without even using the word? Now, I am admittedly not a Hebrew scholar; however, I hope to communicate some of my learning.

If you're reading this blog, I'm going to assume that you believe God is holy and eternal. God also created man – with free will, no less. So, what occurred in between God's decision to create man and His creation manifest. This isn't a trick question. Remember yesterday that I said that separateness connotes that we have been divided or removed from something else? Well, where is the first place that we see separation in Scripture? In the beginning, and to be more exact, the very beginning, in Genesis 1.

· Vs. 4, "God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness."

· Vs. 7, "Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters that were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven."

· Vs. 9, "Then God said, 'Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear;" and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth."

Do you see it? The eternal, infallible God, in desiring to create us in His image first created as Rabbi Fohrman states, "a place for us;" a place of time, space, and matter where we could exist outside God.[1] He called out the world first, so He could then call us out in His likeness. We could not have total free will independent from God without Him first having designed a space in which we could actively cling to or reject Him. There had to, from the beginning, be a place in which we could be called out. Is it possible that holiness is somehow related to inviting God back into the time, space, and matter that He cut out for us, just as He invites us back into a relationship with Him through Christ?

You see, holiness is a trait developed, not something you are born with or even become automatically at salvation. The church is a holy nation. The church is set apart for Christ, and yet we are constantly to be washed by the water of His Word, that we might become holy. Yes, God commands us to be holy because He is holy, yet it is not something that we are forced into. Like God chooses to be holy, we likewise decide to reflect His character. And it is God consistently making a place for us, not only in the world that He made to sustain us, but in all the ways in which we measure time, space, and matter. If you're not convinced yet, I pray you will be. God has a place for you in His heart. You've been there from the beginning. It is how Christ has done this that we will be exploring in the coming week.

Let's Pray:

Father, thank You for preparing a place for us. That You would so desire to have a relationship with us that You would separate out Earth so we could freely choose You is beyond my comprehension and understanding. You must have really wanted us to create the laws by which our universe is governed. Lord, I want to be a person that invites You back into what You made for me. I want You to be the sun around which my universe revolves. Thank You that You haven't left me to figure it out on my own, but that Your Holy Spirit is transforming me and making me holy as You are holy. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

[1] Immanuel Shalev, How to Live a Holy Life for God...In Space and Time | Aleph Beta, Accessed 4/30/2021.