BE Ye Holy
I could easily write ten single-spaced pages on “holy” or “holiness.” So, please consider this entry only an introduction to the subject. The title for this week’s writing, however, “Be ye holy,” many will recognize comes from 1 Peter 1:15 and 16. I use the old King James Bible here no only because it was from this version that I first memorized these words, but also because I believe that in some places in Scripture the 17th century vocabulary may be seen as more poetic
and therefore forceful. “Be ye holy” may be such a euphonic example:
KJV 1 Peter 1:15-16 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Peter is referencing an Old Testament verse from Leviticus 19:
ESV Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.
I hope to show in this abbreviated study the importance of Peter’s words for us today. In our post-modern and at the same time pagan culture, in which the profane and immoral are commonplace, God wants us to be holy. “In all manner of conversation” means our conduct, our behavior, really everything we say and do.
“Holy” in our English Bibles is found no less than 649 times from 581 verses (according to BibleWorks [not a typo] electronic Bible program; other sources may vary slightly). The reason I specify “English” is because the Hebrew and Greek words are often used more times but are not always translated by the word “holy.” They could, for example, be translated “sanctification” or “saint.” Whether found in the Old Testament or the New Testament, these three words come from the same root. The translations of that root depend on the context in which it is used.
“Holy” is an adjective. Adjectives describe. The main Hebrew adjective is קדֹוׁש (kah-dosh).
HALOT, the leading Hebrew lexicon, defines it, “holy, commanding respect, awesome, treated with respect, removed from profane usage; holy, singled out, consecrated for” (the italicized words should be seen as more central – TAR). That little last word, “for,” is noteworthy. People and things are not just holy or sanctified; they are sanctified for something.
You have to be careful making too much of root meanings of words. Sometimes they are accurate indicators of meaning; other times not. Context, more than lexical definitions or root information, determines ultimate meaning. In the case of “holy,” in my humble opinion,
consulting the root meaning is helpful. The root meaning of קדֹוׁש includes these descriptive ideas: a sacred place or thing, sanctify wholly. Note again the last word. In the Bible, a person or thing is either holy or not; there is no middle ground, no partial holiness. Sadly, this does not square with our human tendency to rationalize our own behavior.
The main Greek adjective “holy” is ἅγιος (ha-gee-os). BDAG, the foremost Greek lexicon, defines ἅγιος as “pert. to being dedicated or consecrated to the service of God.” In Bauer, Danker, Ardnt, and Gingrich’s discussion of ἅγιος, they explain that the word shades over into these adjectives, pure, perfect, and worthy of God.
ESV Romans 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
ESV 2 Peter 3:11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
It is my intention that by going over the basic meanings of both the Hebrew and Greek words, you will get a greater understanding and appreciation of what exactly the Bible means when it says believers are to “be holy.” It’s hard to be something when we don’t know what it is. What does it look like to be holy? Hopefully this study will help us to see.
The first time the English word “holy” appears in the Bible is in Exodus 3:5:
NAS Exodus 3:5 Then He said, “Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
Back to 1 Peter. Notice that v. 15 states that God Himself is holy, and in v. 16 it says that the reason we are to be holy is because God is holy. Let’s consider the fact of God’s holiness and then look more closely at what the word “holy” means in related doctrines of the Bible.
Yahweh (popularly accepted as the O.T. name for God) is emphatically holy:
NAS 1 Samuel 2:2 “There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides Thee, Nor is there any rock like our God.
Most scholars would agree that a triple repetition of a word or thought is the ultimate emphasis in Scripture.
NAS Isaiah 6:3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”
There is no question the Bible declares over and over that God is holy:
NAS Isaiah 43:14 Thus says the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “For your sake I have sent to Babylon, And will bring them all down as fugitives, Even the Chaldeans, into the ships in which they rejoice.
NAS Isaiah 45:11 Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker: “Ask Me about the things to come concerning My sons, And you shall commit to Me the work of My hands.
God’s name is holy:
NAS Leviticus 20:3 ‘I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name.
NAS 1 Chronicles 16:10 Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.
NAS Matthew 6:9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
“Hallowed” is from the same Greek word as “Holy.” When we hallow God’s name we are setting it apart from all other names. Perhaps the best single definition of biblical holiness is separateness:
NAS Joshua 24:19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins.
NAS Leviticus 11:44 ‘For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy; for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth.
“Holy” is separate and distinguished from anything profane, anything sinful or ungodly:
ESV Leviticus 10:9 “Drink no wine or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the tent of meeting, lest you die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
The nation of Israel was holy, set apart from other nations:
NAS Exodus 19:6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
NAS Deuteronomy 7:6 “For you are a holy 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.
Note “chosen out.” As a commonplace analogy, when we go to the sore to buy something, we chose that something out of the other things. On a spiritual level when God saves us, He chooses us, and that choosing makes us separate, spiritually set apart from the world:
NAS John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you.
Note here another definitive characteristic of holy, i.e., we are not simply chosen, we are chosen for a purpose: “That you should go and bear fruit.” Similarly, O.T. priests were chosen and “set apart” for service to the Lord:
NAS 1 Chronicles 23:13 The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever.
Peter echoes this same thought and applies it to the church:
NAS 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
In great part, “holy” is being set apart for a godly purpose. Christians may be said to have been set apart to live obedient lives that glorify God.
The Tabernacle was holy:
NAS Exodus 29:30 “For seven days the one of his sons who is priest in his stead shall put them on when he enters the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place.
NAS Exodus 29:37 “For seven days you shall make atonement for the altar and consecrate it; then the altar shall be most holy, and whatever touches the altar shall be holy.
NAS Leviticus 10:12 Then Moses spoke to Aaron, and to his surviving sons, Eleazar and Ithamar, “Take the grain offering that is left over from the LORD’s offerings by fire and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is most holy.
The oil (Exodus 30:25), the showbread (1 Samuel 21:6), the censer (Numbers 16:37), the priests’ garments (Exodus 28:2, 36; Leviticus 16:4), and the priests’ portions (Numbers 18:8) used in the Tabernacle were holy. Certain feast days were holy
NAS Numbers 28:25 ‘And on the seventh day (of Passover) you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no laborious work.
The Temple was holy
NAS 1 Kings 8:6 (dedication of the Temple) Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim.
The Sabbath was holy:
NAS Exodus 20:11 “For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
Jerusalem was and is holy:
NAS Matthew 4:5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city; and he had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple,
The holy Temple as God’s physical house was in Jerusalem; therefore, the city would have to be holy:
NAS Obadiah 1:16 “Because just as you drank on My holy mountain, All the nations will drink continually. They will drink and swallow, And become as if they had never existed.
I closed with these relevant quotes, comments and Bible verses:
“Whether found in the Hebrew of the O.T. or the Greek of the N.T., three words arise from the same root, namely, holy, saint, and sanctify. No introduction of holiness will be complete, therefore, which does not include all passages where these three words appear. A thing may be holy because of its relation to God, e.g., holy place, the holy of holies. A thing may be holy because of actual association with Him or divine purpose – for instance, a holy nation, holy brethren.” – L.S. Chafer
“Holiness has two distinct meanings: (1) otherness (majesty), or being set apart; and (2) purity; pure and righteous actions. We are called to be holy – to reflect God’s righteousness and purity.”– R.C. Sproul
Drawing upon the word study presented in this entry and the verses supporting the points made, I would put it this way: There cannot be any mistaking that there are two main categories or dimensions of biblical holiness. The first realization is that God Himself is holy. He is other than His creation. He is entirely apart from sin and the sacrilegious. The second realization, connected to and resulting from the first is that – incredible as it first may sound – we who are genuine believers are holy and are to be holy in our present lives.
NAS 1 Corinthians 3:17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.
NAS Ephesians 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.…
NAS Ephesians 5:27 that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless.
NKJ Colossians 1:21-22 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight–
When we are surrendered to and controlled by the Holy Spirit, walking obediently to God’s will as found only in Scripture – again as unbelievable as it sounds, we can live holy, pure, unadulterated, uncontaminated, unpolluted, clean, untainted, wholesome lives that honor God. And that’s how we can obey the command from 1 Peter 1:15-16 to “Be ye holy.”
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
