The God controlled person longs
to see only the will of God done in and through him
on earth. There can be no true holiness without
being obedient to the will of God. It is His will
that we be renewed in His own image by the His
Spirit and become lovers of His holiness.
The work of the Third Person of
the Trinity is to make God's holiness ours. The
Spirit of God is pre-eminently “the Holy Spirit.”
God is holy. Our Lord Jesus Christ was “holy,
harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made
higher than the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). The Holy
Spirit, being the Spirit of Christ, is the Spirit of
holiness. Without holiness, no man shall see God
(Heb. 12:14).
God is holy; His Son is holy;
the Holy Spirit is holy. God's holiness stands
apart, by itself, unique, unapproachable,
incomprehensible, and unobtainable to all of His
creatures. That is God’s
standard, and “in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John
1:5).
A. W. Tozer chose his words
carefully and accurately when he wrote: “God is holy
with an absolute holiness that knows no degrees, and
this He cannot impart to His creatures. But there is
a relative and contingent holiness which He shares
with angels and seraphim in heaven and with redeemed
men on earth as their preparation for heaven. This
holiness God does impart to His children. He shares
it with them by imputation, and by impartation, and
because He has made it available to them through the
blood of the Lamb, He requires it of them. . . ‘Be
ye holy, for I am holy. He did not say, ‘Be ye as
holy as I am holy,’ for that would be to demand of
us absolute holiness, something that belongs to God
alone” (Knowledge of the Holy, p. 113).
It is the work of the Holy
Spirit to set us apart to God. He works in us to set
us apart from sin and everything that is in
opposition to the will of God. But He also works to
set us apart to all that pleases God and conforms us
to the character of Christ.
The work of making us holy is
the work of the Spirit of holiness. God’s goal is
that we should become more like Christ every day. He
puts in our heart a hunger and thirst for the
righteousness of God.
God the Holy Spirit dwells
within the temple of the believer’s body (1 Cor.
3:16; 6:19; 2 Cor. 6:16). Since He dwells within the
believer that person is thereby clothed with the
presence and power of the Holy Spirit. His
indwelling presence empowers the Christian.
Moreover, Christ dwells within
men by His Holy Spirit. Christ is not a great
example; He is the living Lord. Christian faith does
not copy Christ; Christ is reproduced in the heart
of a disciple by the Holy Spirit.
All of the Christian's life is
made holy because the Holy Spirit transforms it. The
Holy Spirit does not work on us; He lives in us.
This is the supreme difference between the works of
the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Works denote
sweat and toil; fruit denotes life and growth. Works
belong to men; fruit comes from God. Holiness makes
our lives fruitful because a holy life abides in the
living Word and thereby full and free availability
is given to the Spirit of life. The presence of the
Holy Spirit makes our hearts clean, our minds pure,
our faculties to work at their full capacity, and
our lives thereby fruitful to the glory of God.
Selah!
Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006
Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author's written consent.
Unless otherwise noted "Scripture quotations taken from the NASB."
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE" © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible copyright ©1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://www.bible.org/. All rights reserved.
Wil is a graduate of William Carey University, B. A.; New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Th. M.; and Azusa Pacific University, M. A. He has pastored in Panama, Ecuador and the U. S, and served for over 20 years as missionary in Ecuador and Honduras. He had a daily expository Bible teaching ministry head in over 100 countries from 1972-2005. He continues to seek opportunities to be personally involved in world missions. Wil and his wife Ann have three grown daughters. He currently serves as a Baptist pastor and teaches seminary extension courses in Ecuador.
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