Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Let’s look into being classified as holy by God.

Today’s scripture, Colossians 1:19-22 (NLT) says…
[19] For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, [20] and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. [21] This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. [22] Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

Consider…
A Google search provided the Hebrew word for “holy” is kodesh. It comes from the root word “Kadash”. This root word, in simpler terms, means to be set apart for a specific purpose.

I like that because in today’s verse 21 the Apostle Paul says we were enemies of God, SEPARATED FROM Him. However, in verse 22 when God reconciled us to Himself, He called us Holy, which means we’re SEPARATED FOR Him.

Thus, I would like to devote today to exploring God’s Holy classification of us.

The first thing the Holy Spirit showed me is that God classifies us as holy because He considers us His temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (NLT) says…
[16] Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? [17] God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Three chapters later, God reiterates we are the temple where the Holy Spirit resides. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT) says…
[19] Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, [20] for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

This makes me think of cars that have the signs that say baby on board. The purpose of the sign is to notify other drivers that a baby is inside the vehicle. Similarly, God wants us to show signs of the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

These signs are the Fruit of the Spirit, listed in Galatians 5:22-23 (NLT). The verses say…
[22] But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing, since God has classified us as holy, we need to display the signs that His Spirit is living in us.

The next thing the Holy Spirit showed me is that God classifying us as holy means He expects us to be like Him. 1 Peter 1:14-16 (NLT) explains…
[14] So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. [15] But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. [16] For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Verse 16 made me wonder what God meant by be Holy like Him. Is it just being set apart like He is from all other gods, or is there more?

In my earlier Google search for Holy, I saw where Merriam-Webster defines Holy as exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.

Well I know that we’re not to be exalted like God. But maybe He’s telling us to be set apart and perfect in goodness and righteousness like Him.

This aligns with Hebrews 10:12-14 (NLT) which says…
[12] But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. [13] There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. [14] For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy.

The Holy Spirit is telling us that we are made perfect and being made holy by Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 2:11 (NLT) reiterates that when it says…
[11] So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.

Jesus making us holy and calling us siblings, makes me think of Romans 8:29-30 (NLT), which says…
[29] For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. [30] And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

The Holy Spirit is emphasizing the fact, that when God tells us to be holy like Him, He expects us to be like our big brother Jesus! And that we can do by living out Romans 12:1 (NLT) which tells us…
[1] And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Think about the fact that Jesus gave his body as a living and holy sacrifice for us. So if we want to be holy like Him, we need to live in accordance with 1 John 3:16 (NLT), which says…
[16] We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

Jesus’ example shows us being holy means living selfless rather than selfish.

The last thing the Holy Spirit is showing us about being classified as holy is that it means we are God’s trophies. He guided me to 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT) to support His point. It says…
[9] But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

The thought of showing others how God called us out of darkness into His wonderful light, makes me think of Jesus’ exhortation in Matthew 5:16 (NLT), when He said…
[16] In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.

Being Holy means doing the good deeds God planned for us. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) explains…
[10] For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

I believe that’s because we perform the good deeds that the Psalms 96:3 (NLT) praises God for. It declared…
[3] Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does.

The Holy Spirit is saying that being holy should show the goodness of God to others, inspiring them to taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8).

In summary, being classified as holy by God means…

• Others need to see signs that the Holy Spirit is living in us
• We need to be living sacrifices for others like Jesus
• Doing good things for others that inspire them to try God for themselves

God says you’re holy, so live accordingly.

Today’s Song is…
I Wanna Be Holy

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)