Theology Proper: Divine Attributes and Personal Discipleship 1

Introduction: “Be Holy, for I am Holy” (1 Peter 1:15-16)

The holiness of God is the attribute that stands out and encompasses all other attributes. Where there is love, there is a holy love. Where there is wrath, there is a holy wrath. The holiness of God is distinct and inseparable from His Divine Persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all Holy, Holy, Holy. This Triune God is calling out to His image bearers, to be holy as He is holy.

When God created mankind, this holiness was to be communicated to these created beings, and it was to be communicated through these image bearers of God. Every man, woman, and child is an image bearer whose likeness is to be like God, but due to the Fall of humanity, this image is broken and is not sought after naturally. Every person on the planet needs to know their identity and direction for living. But the youth and young adults need to hear this today: You are made in God's image, and for God's glory. You were made to be holy. Therefore, be holy, for the Lord your God is holy.

Questions naturally arise from the hearer of the Word who desires to be a doer of the Word. What is holiness? Where does holiness come from? How can I attain this holiness that I am to pursue? These are all good questions that we must answer.

This may be the first time hearing this, but you are made by God and for God. You are made to be an image bearer of God and to reflect the glory of God wherever you are. This begins to answer some big questions that you are having. God is where you find your identity. God is where you find meaning and purpose. God is where you find direction for life and living. So, every person must look to God, know God, and experience God in order to be living life in the right way.

God is holy. God is ἅγιος and you are called to be ἅγιος. What does this mean? God is set apart and sacred, and you are of God, called out to be reserved for God and God’s service. Now, no one is like God as He truly is the only One that the Bible speaks of as being “Holy, Holy, Holy” (Isaiah 6). God alone is Creator and everything else is creation. This is the great distinction. Though we are called to reflect God, to imitate God in Who He is, He alone is Creator. He alone is separated from all of creation as the “Self-Existent” One. The Scriptures demonstrate God’s holiness in two unique ways.

The first is his distinctness from his creation (Isa 6:3; Ps 99:9). God is Creator; this is an essential aspect of the worship that he deserves (Hos 11:9). Yet, the Bible continually pictures his holy presence as manifesting within and even dwelling among his people. The second way the Bible demonstrates God’s holiness is by describing his pure and incorruptible presence, a presence he chooses to manifest in and to his chosen people. From the Old Testament saints to the New Testament saints, God desires for His people to know Him through His revelation and to respond to Him accordingly. God desires for His people to be holy and to represent His Name, or Who He is, wherever they are.

God’s holiness is more than just being separate; His holiness is also transcendent. Dr. R.C. Sproul is very helpful on this topic. “The word transcendence means literally “to climb across.” It is defined as “exceeding usual limits.” To transcend is to rise above something, to go above and beyond a certain limit.” God is higher than the world. The world has no power over Him. He is a cut above everything else. So, when we think about mankind being like this, humanity is looking to the Source of Life and is reflecting that which does not come from this world. It also means for every youth to be a cut above the ways of this world, to not allow the world to have power over you.

What do we mean when we speak of the world in this way? The world that the Bible speaks about is more that just the elements, geography, land, and seas. The Bible speaks of the world as that system that is ruled by Satan himself. It is a realm and rule that is Satanic. This is the system that fuels sin, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. It is the system that is anti-God or anti-Christ. It is a system that reflects the will, ways, and desires of Satan and not God. Mankind is to be separated from this world, from this system, from the enslavement to it, and to be separated to and for God.

How is this made possible? God must first call you out of it (Genesis 12:1; John 6:44; John 12:32. God must get involved. God must reveal Himself to us, to see Him for Who He is, to open our eyes, our mind, and our hearts to Him (Acts 26:18; Ephesians 1:18). It is then, and only then that we see our need for a Savior, and with the Gospel message believed, the Holy Spirit comes into that life. The Holy Spirit makes a holy life possible.

How does the Holy Spirit accomplish this? The Holy Spirit sanctifies those who are born again (John 3; Romans 15:16; 2 Corinthians 4:6). I believe that this has a least two parts to it. Initially, the Holy Spirit separates the Children of God to God, so that they are now “in Christ.” They belong to God now. They are called out of this world to be God’s unique people. In this new position and condition, the Child of God has now the righteousness of Christ imputed to them and God sees their sin no more. This is the first step, without which no one will see or experience holiness growing in their lives. The Holy Spirit gives the believer holy desires, holy thoughts, and a holy will that will compete with sinful nature within each person. Now, progress can be made in progressive sanctification (Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 2:20).

The Child of God is set apart and can now grow in the likeness of Christ. It is He Who is now working within the believer to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). Now, through the holy gifts of the Scriptures, prayer, and personal discipleship, the Child of God makes progress through the renewing of the mind (Romans 12:2). This is where transformation will come. This is how the Child of God will be transformed into the image of Christ and not be conformed to the pattern of this evil world system.

Now we will move into applying this to our lives. We know that we are made in the image of God and for the glory of God. We know that God is holy and that we are called to be holy in a way that is attainable by the Holy Spirit. Mankind has a Source to look to, a Bible to look through, a God to speak to, and a Holy Spirit living in and through you. So, lets move on to our responsibilities.

Read the Word, pray the Word, practice the Word, and obey the Spirit of God. The Word reveals the will, ways, and character of God. Prayer draws us into the presence of God. Practicing the Word and obeying the Spirit then grows us up into mature Christians. The Word reveals God/Christ and everything in us that is not like Him. This draws us into prayer, confession, repentance and faith. God then works through prayer to change our lives. The Word and the Spirit will bring a holy conviction into our lives as we walk with Him, which will lead us to make changes in our lives.

What kind of changes might the Word of God and the Holy Spirit lead us to make? They will lead us to make holy changes. They will lead us to cut off some things. They will lead us to remove influences, distractions, images, sounds, and anything else that may be an avenue for evil (Psalm 101:3). Jesus taught that His followers must “cut off and pluck out” that which leads us to sin (Matthew 5:29-30). If there is anything that is leading the Child of God away from holiness, that thing must be removed from our lives. Jesus, the Son of God, and image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15) taught a radical amputation model for Christians to practice. It is radical, but it is clear: Be set apart from unholiness. Be holy. Be a cut above this world’s system and do not reflect it. Stand out as God’s Child.

Let’s go back to 1 Peter 1:14 and examine where all of this is leading the Child of God. In verse 15 we shall see that to be holy is to judge impartially. God is not partial, for He shows no favoritism (Romans 2:11). So, now Children of God, show no partiality or favoritism (James 2). The Christian’s perception of self and others comes from God. Value, worth, and dignity comes from God. When the eye is good and healthy, the whole body is filled with light and we respond accordingly (Matthew 6:22). What will that good light look like? Verse 22 states that the Child of God will show a holy love towards one another. For the next few chapters we see how this holy love operates in different contexts.

First we see holy love in general. The holy love of God puts away all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. To operate with malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander is to commit evil towards the other person. Holy love puts these things away to show off God. Holy love is a cut about the world’s love that only loves when they are loved, and to treat others as less than God’s image bearers. Verse 11 continues this on as the author mentions the passions of the flesh. Holy love guards relationships with God and with others. The Child of God does not commit adultery, develop porn addictions and distort the marriage bed. The Child of God does not go after another person’s wife, wallet, or possessions because they are sacred. No, we honor, respect, and love one another God’s way.

Christians even show a holy love towards the government, and or governing institutions that God has established for good. The Children of God show holy honor, and respect, as they submit to the governing authorities. The Christian is to show this holy love to everyone, and this love shows honor even to those rulers who we do not always agree with. This moves on down to verse 18 and into those human institutions of work.

Servants and masters, workers and bosses are to show respect and honor. They must be gentle to the good and the unjust. This is a cut above the world’s system. This holiness is not of this world, but it is of God. God is holy and Christians are looking to the image of the invisible God, Jesus, to imitate God’s holiness.

Jesus is the example and aim for every believer. Verse 22 states that even though Christ was sinless, He was reviled, suffered, threatened, and He was killed. But He Himself did not revile, He did not threaten, and He asked the Father to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing (Luke 23:34). This is the holy nature of Christ, our Master.

This carries on into the home. Wives, just as Christ submitted Himself to the Father, be subject to your own husbands. Show off God’s holiness, God’s holy love to your husband, so that even if they are not Christian, they may be won over by your conduct. A holy life, representing God’s holy love, changes other people’s lives when they see the holy conduct. Likewise when the husband seeks to understand them, to listen to them, to show honor and respect to their wives, God works in the woman’s life as well. When husbands see their wives as equals before God, with different roles, and they treat one another as such, God is glorified and their prayers are not hindered. Ephesians 6 says it like this: “Wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her.” This is what holy lives and holy love will look like in the home. This will transform a family into a God-glorifying family, and this family will experience the blessings of God (Deuteronomy 6; Deuteronomy 11:26-28).

Every man, woman, and child is an image bearer whose likeness is to be like God, but due to the Fall of humanity, this image is broken and is not sought naturally. Every person on the planet needs to know their identity and direction for living. But the youth and young adults need to hear this today: You were made in God's image, and for God's glory. You were made to be holy. Therefore, be holy, for the Lord your God is holy.

Without Christ, you cannot begin to be or become holy. We become holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:10). Through Christ, we will know God, and knowing God is having eternal life (John 17:3). Through this Source of Life, progress in holiness can be attained as the Christian looks to Christ and strives towards holiness (Hebrews 12:14).

This is who you are and this is what you are called to. You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

God is holy. God has made you holy. God is making you holy. Be holy, for this is the will of our God.