THE HOLINESS OF GOD POSTED 8-10-20 [4 PAGES];

[Rev. Dr. Martha A. Lewis]

"THE HOLINESS OF GOD" by Rev. Martha A. Lewis, DNH and Co-Authored with husband Rev. Dr. Jerry D. Lewis, Esquire; published on 8-8-20 with Jesus First Ministry Facebook  [4 PAGES]; Published with AOCI on 8-10-20

Text: Hebrews 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

The Bible says that we humans are made in the image of God. We are three-part beings, consisting of body, soul (which includes the mind, the will and emotions) and spirit. God is a Trinity--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Since we are made in God‟s image, then it stands to reason that God intended for us to be like him. Before Adam sinned in the garden, he was holy (set apart/separate) and distinct from all of God‟s other creations. However, when he sinned, he fell from God‟s grace and we have been falling ever since.
When the last Adam, Jesus Christ, (First Corinthians 15:45, KJV) died on the cross, he triumphed over Satan and sin and restored us to our rightful place of dominion and holiness. Now we have everything it takes to be holy vessels as God intended us to be.
The process begins with us accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. When that happens, we become new creations in Christ when we believe the Gospel of Salvation given to Apostle Paul for all people to be saved after the resurrection of Christ, according to First Corinthians 15:1-4 and Romans 10:9. Thereafter you are born again and have a new spirit according to Second Corinthians 5:17 which says:
Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (KJV)
However, this is only the beginning of the process, since we still have our souls and our bodies (flesh) to deal with. The answer to this problem lies in our studying the Word of God. The Apostle James said in James 1:21:
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. (KJV)
It is only by studying the Word of God to such a degree that it becomes a part of your being that your soul is saved. Sometimes when we say a person‟s soul is saved, we are talking about his entire being. However, the soul of man is a distinct part of his being and must be dealt with after the spirit has been recreated. The spirit of a saved person is immediately made holy, but the process of bringing the soul and body in line (called sanctification) takes a little longer.
That‟s why a person can be saved one day and fall prey to the same old temptations the next day. At the moment of birth, he is a new creature in Christ and he needs to feed on the Word. Peter says in First Peter 2:2:

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As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. (KJV)
If you do not feed on the Word on a daily basis, like a newborn baby, you will be undernourished and eventually you will die. Perhaps the death will not be physical (but it can be), but it will be a spiritual death, and no one will be able to tell the Christian apart from an unbeliever. The Bible calls these types of Christians “carnal” in First Corinthians 3:1-3:
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, [even] as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able [to bear it], neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas [there is] among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? (KJV)
These persons are missing God‟s best in life. God desires for us to be holy vessels, fit for his service. Consider Peter‟s words in First Peter 2:9-11:
But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past [were] not a people, but [are] now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech [you] as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. (KJV)
This war with the soul and the flesh is a desperate thing, but God gives us the answer in Romans 12:1-2:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (KJV)
Paul sums up the sanctification process in these verses. In order for us to get control of our bodies so that we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh, we must renew our minds. By renewing our minds by the Word of God, we are able to kill the flesh and control the soul (mind, will and emotions), and give God first place in our lives.

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The soul of man is the doorway to the spirit. This is why Satan so often attacks us in our minds, our will and our emotions. If he can take control of those areas, then eventually he can control our bodies. For the unsaved person, that means Satan can prevent them from receiving the Word of God, and block their salvation. Jesus explains this in Matthew 13:19:
When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. (KJV)
Satan confuses the minds, wills and emotions of persons so that they cannot understand the Word, and, therefore, cannot receive its benefit. To prevent this from happening, we must follow the advise of Romans 13:14:
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to [fulfill] the lusts [thereof]. (KJV)
Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh (John 1:14). When we engraft the Word in our hearts, we put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Only then do we have the power to live holy lives and walk in the Spirit so that we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Galatians 5:24-25 states:
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (KJV)
God said in Leviticus 11:44:
For I [am] the LORD your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I [am] holy. (KJV)
Jesus was echoing God‟s words when he said in Matthew 5:48:
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. (KJV)
In the flesh that is impossible, but if we put on the Lord Jesus Christ and walk in the Spirit, we can be perfect as God is perfect. That doesn‟t mean that we won‟t sin, but it does mean that the Blood of Jesus will cleanse us from all unrighteousness and God will not remember our sins. First John 1:7-9 says:

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But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (KJV)
Hebrews 8:12 tells us:
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (KJV)
He who called us is holy, and we ought to be holy in all manner of living (First Peter 1:15).
There is a scene John tells us about in Revelations 4:8-9 where four beasts or creatures do not rest day and night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come” (KJV).
If these creatures who were not made in God‟s image acknowledge the holiness of God, ought not we who are made in his image acknowledge his holiness by living holy lives as he has commanded?

PRAYER
Pray with us. Say, “Father, I now recognize that you are a holy God, and I am not worthy to be in your presence. Father, forgive me for my sins. Wash me in the Blood of Jesus. Lord, make me fit to worship and serve you. Lord, I am nothing before you. You are high and lifted up. You are marvelous. You are holy, holy, holy. Help me crucify my flesh Lord, so that your Holy Spirit can dwell with me as my constant companion. Help me Lord to measure up to the stature of the Lord Jesus Christ. Help me Lord to forsake carnality and live in the Spirit. I promise to serve you in holiness Lord if you will help me become the person you want me to be. In Jesus‟ name I pray. Amen.”
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