“And the captain of the Lord’s host said unto Joshua, ‘Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy.'” Joshua 5:15
What does the word, “holy,” mean? Literally, it refers to something, or someone, that is set apart. But yet, the matter of being “apart” goes further than we think. For example, the Creator is set apart from that which is of this creation. The only affinity that exists between the two entities is that which God chooses to exist in the expression of His nature, and the manifestation of His glory. Even so, all the glory still belongs to Him who is the beginning and the ending of every revelation of God through the creation.
There is another distinction concerning being set apart. God is set apart in his nature, or character, from all that is of sin, Satan, and this world system. There is no affinity, with regard to their nature or essence. God is totally other than all of these matters. As a result of the eternal separateness that God is and has from all of these things, we see that He alone can affect change, especially with regard to sinful man. To do this He must deal with sin, which is like a soiled, filthy garment, covering man. But that is not all. He must deal with the very nature of man, not by changing the old nature, but by replacing it with a new one. When Jesus said that “flesh and blood” cannot inherit the kingdom of God, He is speaking of that which is of the old nature, all things pertaining to everything associated with the “old” life, as opposed to His new life given. HIs perfect righteousness is offered by Christ to the person who has no righteousness. If man is to be saved, he must receive from God that which is holy, a holy forgiveness and cleassing in the blood of Christ, but also, the receiving of the Holy Spirit, by which he is to live. The perfect expression of this power unto life, and goodness from God, is given to man, so that he can be accepted by this Holy, separate God, first in heaven, when any sinner repents of his sins, and is saved. The second great expression of this new gift of life is seen in the life of the believer It is the Holy Spirit of God increasingly revealed in him. How then is the saved sinner to live in light of the holiness of God, which never changes, regardless of all that occurs on this earth? The answer is two-fold. The believer must see the context in which he is called to live, and then, live by faith in the context of God’s strength.
What do we mean by “context,” and how important is it? When Moses was called by God in the wilderness, near mount Horeb, God revealed Himself to Moses in a burning bush which was not consumed. But even before God spoke to him of being the “God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” God told him: ‘Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.'” (Ex. 3:5) This is basically the same thing God told Joshua to do about forty years later when the people of Israel were beginning the conquest of Canaan. Why did God do this? It is because HE IS HOLY as God, Lord, King, Savior, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer in life. He is NOT Man, but God, and yet in Christ we see the perfect God and perfect man. This truth is essential to know and respect profoundly, for in one’s walk with God, even in the spiritual warfare to which we have been called, we must know and submit to God’s ways as opposed to those of men. God does not bless sinful mans sinful ways. His way is the way of holiness, separateness, the unique and total deriving of all from Christ’s holy life by faith.
Dear Father, Make us thoroughly holy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.