The holiness of man in the Orthodox ascetic tradition. What is holiness
Holiness(gr. άγιότης, lat. sanctitas), one of the fundamental concepts of Christian teaching. Its main meaning is the participation of man in God, his deification in his transformation under the influence of the grace of God. In the transfigured man, his nature undamaged by sin, his union with God as a “child of God” is restored.
The basis of this restoration is the Incarnation, Christ's perception of human nature. Since human nature was deified in Christ, this opened the way to God and for all mankind: Christians, following Christ, share in his Divinity by grace and become saints.
In the First Conciliar Epistle of the Apostle Peter, he, addressing Christians, says: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people taken as inheritance... Once not a people, but now the people of God; who once did not receive mercy, but now they have received mercy” (1 Pet. 2:9-10). Entry into holiness is accomplished through Christ: “But, following the example of the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your deeds; for it is written: be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:15-16).
This understanding of Christians as the people of God is based on the words of Christ himself, spoken by Him to His disciples: “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20); Christ “given to those who received Him, to those who believe in His name, the power to become children of God” (John 1:12). With this very understanding of holiness in mind, the apostle Paul addresses Christian communities as to assemblies of saints: “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints” (Rom. 1:7); “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi” (Philippians 1:1); “the saints who are in Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1); “the church of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints throughout Achaia” (2 Corinthians 1:1).
The understanding of the Christian community as a community of friends of God, a “holy people” was most fully expressed in the liturgical life of the ancient church, since it was the Eucharist that was the center and basis of this life, the basis of worship and the basis of doctrine.
This moment of the Eucharistic service contains a certain theological concept of holiness. The Eucharist is the union of believers (faithful) with God, the realization of the Kingdom of God in historical being, moving towards this Kingdom. During communion, the eternity of the transfigured existence of the Kingdom of Heaven, re-existence, is really present in temporal existence, in the earthly life of the church community. The believers stand before God together with the heavenly powers and mysteriously represent the cherubim (“Whose cherubim secretly form...”). Communion requires purification from sin (it is from here that the later connection of the sacrament of repentance with communion takes place), which is given by the grace of the Eucharistic divine service. The entry of believers into eternity, into re-existence, prepared by their purification, forms their holiness. Holiness, therefore, is belonging to eternal life, participation in the Divine, anticipation in this being of the coming everlasting being.
From the same understanding proceeded the ancient church in veneration as holy individuals. As saints, those are revered whose participation in God was revealed to the church as a reliable fact, whose salvation (i.e. entry into the Kingdom of Heaven) was revealed even now, before the Last Judgment. These persons originally included the apostles, about whose chosenness for eternal life Christ himself said (John 17, 21-24). They also included the Old Testament prophets and patriarchs, whose holiness was testified to by Holy Scripture. This was also the view of the martyrs, since, according to the ideas of the ancient church, the feat accomplished by the martyrs immediately opened the Kingdom of Heaven before them. The gift of wonderworking, which the deceased saint received, testified to participation in God. The canonization of saints, which developed over time into a completely formal procedure, constitutes, in its essence, a church certificate of the saint's participation in God.
Thus, a saint is every time a manifestation of salvation, God's mercy to people, grace sent by God to his people. In the Acts of the Martyrdom of Perpetua, Filicitates and others who suffered with them (Passio Perpetuae et Felicitatis cum sociis), who suffered torment in Carthage in 202 or 203, it is told how Felicity shortly before the execution, already in prison, was resolved from pregnancy. The birth was so difficult that the soldiers guarding her asked: “If you are suffering so much now, then what will happen to you when you are given to the beasts?” Felicity answered: “Now I suffer because I suffer for myself, and then I will suffer for another [i.e. Christ], and this other will be in me and will suffer for me.” The feat performed by the saints is thus considered not so much as the achievement of the saint himself, but as an act of the grace of God, as a manifestation of Divine Providence. The Decree of Gelasius (Decretum Gelasianum), a Latin ecclesiastical canonical monument from the beginning of the century, affirms the need for a public reading of acts of martyrdom, in which “the victory of the martyrs and their amazing confession shine through the many different tortures they endured. For what believer can doubt that their sufferings exceeded the measure of a man and that they were able to endure them not thanks to their own strength, but thanks to the grace and help of God? So, the saints are a visual revelation of God's providence for man. The variety of deeds that lead to holiness testifies to the diversity of providence: each saint, with his own special life, demonstrates his path to holiness and acts as an example of this path.
The saint opens the way to God and in this capacity acts as an intercessor for people before God, as a kind of mediator between God and people. The development of the veneration of saints is superimposed here on a powerful layer of religious and socio-cultural ideas of Late Antique society (as well as later on partly similar ideas of other peoples undergoing Christianization). The saint, in his function of protector and intercessor, performs the same mission that in the pagan worldview was attributed to demons (or other mythological creatures) that protect a person or his entire family and play the role of an intermediary between a person and higher powers. Accordingly, the cult of saints met the expectation of patronage and protection, which was firmly rooted in the socio-cultural structure of late antique society, prayers were addressed to the saints in the same cases when they had previously made sacrifices to the gods and asked for help from the heroes. It was this transfer of functions that eventually determined the consolidation of various spheres of influence for individual saints, which is so characteristic of both the Western and Eastern Middle Ages and is usually attributed to the so-called. "popular" religiosity.
From the very beginning, however, in the Christian understanding of holiness, certain moments stand out that are fundamentally alien to pagan cults. The holiness of man is correlated with the humanity of God the Word, with following the path paved by the suffering and death of Christ on the cross. Therefore, all early Christian authors insist that the martyrs became partakers of God precisely because of their quite human sufferings and martyrdom. Closeness to God, combined with humanity, provides the saints with the opportunity to be mediators between God and people. On the contrary, pagan beliefs are characterized by the idea of an impassable line that separates higher powers from everything that preserves human nature, in particular, and from deified heroes.
At the same time, pagan beliefs attributed mediation between higher powers and man, primarily to mediating spirits (geniuses, demons, or - in other systems - other "lower" spirits). In Christianity, the analogue of these beliefs is the idea of guardian angels. The invocation of saints as mediators indicated a fundamental revision of such ideas about the world-building. Along with the angels, people became intermediaries, who, thanks to their feat, became partakers of the Divine. The intercession of the saint and closeness to him (which, due to the veneration of the relics, was expressed in quite concrete and tangible forms) brought the believer into closeness to God and created religious experiences practically unknown to paganism. Bl. Augustine directly contrasts the path to God through the holy martyrs, who are not gods, but received the grace of God by their virtuous life and death, pagan appeal to demons, who can be good and evil - the false spiritualism of paganism is opposed here by the anthropologism of Christianity, based on faith in incarnation of God the Word.
The doctrine of the intercession of saints is based on the idea of a single Church of the living and the dead, which constitutes the Body of Christ. Physical death does not cut off the believer from the church community, and therefore, prayers for the departed have been established in the church since ancient times. These prayers, according to church teaching, are beneficial for the departed and contribute to their salvation.
As St. John Chrysostom, “offerings for the dead are not in vain, prayers are not in vain, alms are not in vain: the Holy Spirit established all this, desiring that we receive benefit through each other.” In the same way, the saints, having been born through their dormition to eternal life, continue to abide in the church community and can act as prayer books for it and for individual believers who turn to them for intercession.
Thus, the doctrine of holiness contains the overcoming of the confrontation between the material and the spiritual, the created and the uncreated, i.e. the main oppositions, which in pre-Christian ideas acted as absolute boundaries separating the divine and the human, the mortal and the immortal. Saints, turning out to be “friends of God” and intercessors for people before God, unite in this action with angels, i.e. ethereal, immaterial forces; thus, the opposition of the material (material, bodily) and the spiritual is overcome, and materiality ceases to be an obstacle to union with the Divine. At the same time, the saints are those created beings who are attached to God, i.e. uncreated principle, and thereby unite created humanity with the uncreated Deity. These elements of the doctrine of holiness are formed into a coherent theological system, fully formulated in
Used materials
- V.M. Zhivov, Holiness. Concise Dictionary of Hagiographic Terms
“On the city of God”, VIII, 27
Holiness- the fundamental concept of Christian teaching. Holy (Greek set apart for God, consecrated to God).In the Orthodox teaching, holiness is compared with the concepts of the supernatural, transcendent, mysterious, hidden beginning, has a special moral, ritual and ontological status. The concept of "holy" refers to the true God or to a person marked by God's grace. Holiness is a quality inherent in God Himself or bestowed by Him. Holiness is a property distinguished, separated from everything else, going beyond the ordinary, everyday world. It is something special, purified, sanctified, consecrated to God. Holiness is a property of the existence of the Holy Trinity. The Persons of the Holy Trinity are in constant perfect love.
The holiness of God is manifested in the world as Divine power, majesty, truth, justice, judgment and mercy. The holiness of God appears in the world as light and beauty, as goodness, grace, that is, a gracious, blessing power that gives life. The holiness of God is revealed to people as goodness and love.
The real embodiment of holiness in the world are shrines and saints. Shrines are special objects, words and books, images and sounds, places, deeds or moments in time. Shrines are full of meaning, the highest values. People who live for God and in whom (or on whom) God dwells are called saints.
Basic the meaning of the phenomenon of holiness consists in man's participation in God, his deification, in his transformation under the influence of God's grace. In the transfigured man, his nature undamaged by sin, his union with God, is restored. The basis of this connection is the Incarnation, the voluntary acceptance of human nature by Jesus Christ. Christ - God assumed human nature, this opened the way to God and for all mankind: Christians, following Christ, share in his Divinity by grace and become saints.
A holy person is separated, estranged from evil, shunned by sin, pure, chosen by God. A saint is one who has become a partaker of Divine grace and sanctification. Saints are people endowed by God for their faith and good deeds with a special quality of holiness and the ability to work miracles. Saints are participants, partakers of the holiness of God, contemplators of Divine beauty and its spokesmen. They embody spiritual beauty in their spiritual experience.
The holiness of God appears through Divine love. God gives His love to people. It is the cause of the creation of the world and man, the basis and condition of human existence and the highest goal of its existence. Human love is a reflection of Divine love and a response to it. The love of God abides in the saints. And whoever loves God, he acquires holiness. “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16).
Holiness is inseparable from the Church, since the Church, being the mystical Body of Christ, is the Way, the Truth and the Life. The Church is the path that all the saints walked, and the truth in which they live.
As saints, those are revered whose participation in God was revealed to the Church as a reliable fact, whose salvation (that is, entry into the Kingdom of Heaven) was revealed even now, before the Last Judgment. These persons originally included the apostles, about whose chosenness for eternal life Christ himself spoke (John 17:21-24). They included the Old Testament prophets and patriarchs, as well as martyrs. The gift of miracle-working testified to participation in God.
The canonization of saints is, in essence, a church certificate of the saint's participation in God. The grounds for church canonization were and still are: the life and exploits of the saint, miracles and, in some cases, the incorruption of his relics.
The ideal of holiness is the highest absolute value for the Russian Orthodox people, it is the spiritual dominant of Russian culture. Russian spirituality is part of the tradition of veneration of saints canonized by the Church. Chapter 10 Living in Holiness: What Most Christians Don't Know About HOLINESS! Book Messianic Church Restored!
June 18, 2010
Dr. Robert Heidler
“Be holy before me, for I am holy the Lord.” Leviticus 20:26
The next fundamental truth we would like to point out is holiness.
God gave the Jewish people a great revelation about holiness. And it is precisely this that is fundamental in their definition as a people! The Jews were originally ordained by God to be a HOLY people (Ex. 19:6)!
In Leviticus 20:26, God commands the Jewish people: "Be HOLY before Me, for I am holy, LORD." Most Jews, even today, have a fairly clear idea of what it means to be a saint.
Misunderstanding of holiness
Surprisingly, most Christians have no idea what holiness is. We read about Holiness, talk about it and sing about it, but few take the time to study what it is.
Over the years, Christians have developed many strange ideas about holiness. One common notion of holiness is "to be different from the world." Back in the 40s and 50s, Christians who wanted to be saints tried to look different. They walked around in clothes and hairstyles that were out of fashion a long time ago, and they thought that this made them saints!
Some Christians thought they should sound different! In the 1960s, it was unheard of to have a guitar in a church. The guitar was considered a "worldly" instrument, as it was often played by unbelievers! To be HOLY meant to worship accompanied by an organ or a piano.
Some thought that holiness meant avoiding the activities of this world. Christians have made a list of "worldly" activities to avoid. "Don't smoke, don't drink, don't swear, don't chew gum, and don't associate with those who do!" Often they also added: “Do not watch movies, do not roller skate, do not wear makeup and do not play cards!” The main idea was that if you avoid the activities of this world, then this makes you a HOLY!
Fortunately, the idea that being different makes you a saint is out of fashion. Christians today are more inclined to think that holiness means "to be good." They think that if they lead a righteous and highly moral lifestyle, they will achieve holiness. But this is also not an accurate definition.
A decent life, although very important, does not make you a saint. Stop and think about what God calls "holy." God called a fireproof bush "holy". This did not mean that this bush had sinned less than other bushes! God called Sinai His "holy" mountain. But Mount Sinai did not become a holy mountain because it was more moral than other mountains!
Holiness is not about how moral or good you are! The essence of holiness lies in a completely different dimension.
What is holiness?
A few years ago, John Dixon, our worship minister at the Glory of Zion Community, made an interesting statement. He said, “The opposite of the holy is not sinful or evil. The opposite of the holy is the ordinary or the ordinary.”
This statement surprised me. Like many Christians, I have used the word "holiness" as a synonym for the word "righteousness." To live a "holy life," I assumed, was to lead a good, moral life, avoiding sin as much as possible.
When I heard John's statement, I decided to study the word "holiness" myself to understand its meaning. I was surprised by what I found!
I discovered that in my 45 years of Christian life, attending church every Sunday, graduating from one of the best theological seminaries, I never learned what holiness is!
I studied the Greek and Hebrew words for "holiness" in the original Bible, looked at how they are still used in the Bible, and found that John was absolutely right! Holiness does not mean "sinless". Holiness means "separate from the ordinary" or "elevation above the norm." The best definition of the word "saint" is the word "special"! To treat something as sacred is to treat it as special!
We see this in the early chapters of Genesis. The first time God called something HOLY was in Genesis 2. This happened when God blessed the seventh day and defined it as "HOLY".
Calling the seventh day “holy” did not mean that days one through six were worldly, bad, or sinful! The first six days were good days. God said they were quite good. But they were not saints. They were just ordinary days. God separated the seventh day from the rest and said, "This day is SPECIAL."
In Leviticus 10, God gives Aaron instructions about the ministry in the tabernacle. He told Aaron to be especially careful to distinguish "sacred from unsacred". God was saying, "Don't treat the HOLY as ordinary!"
If Aaron had brought his clothes into the tabernacle, washed them in the laver there, and hung them to dry on the ark of the covenant, he would have defiled the sanctity of the tabernacle! He would treat very sacred things as ordinary!
To be holy means to be "separated from the ordinary." If something is "holy", it means that it is intended for certain purposes and deserves special treatment. To treat something as HOLY is to treat it with HONOR.
When Linda and I got married, we had two sets of china plates: our "dress set" and our "everyday set." We really enjoyed our everyday plates. They were painted in gold and orange and had large flowers painted on them, a style that was very popular in the 70s. We used these plates every day. But we dealt with them normally. Sometimes we dined from these plates right on the floor in the living room in front of the TV. We didn't always carefully put them in the sink. Because of how we handled them, they ended up looking worn out, the edges chipped off here and there and we had to throw them away and buy new everyday plates!
Our "ceremonial set" of porcelain plates was beautiful and very elegant. It was reserved for special occasions. When we used it, we treated it very carefully and always put it in a hotel locker. And these plates are still as beautiful as when we first got them.
Our everyday plates were very pretty, but they were REGULAR. Our "front set" of plates was SPECIAL. If I were to take a plate from our "dress set" and place it on the floor for our dog to eat from, my wife would be very upset, and quite rightly so! After all, I, in this case, did not treat this plate with the HONOR that it deserved!
The essence of living in holiness is not to be good or different, it is to do HONOR! It is to treat the SPECIAL in a special way!
The Importance of Holiness
In Deuteronomy 23:14, God gives a warning: “For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and deliver your enemies into your hands, wherefore your camp must be holy, lest He see anything shameful in you and turn away.” from you."
Holiness is very important to God. If we don't walk in holiness, His presence will depart from us!
Holiness is the key to living in God's presence and power! In His Word, God has designated some things as holy. He asked us to treat them in a special way. When we honor that which is holy, then we walk in holiness and have His presence in our midst! Holiness is the key to the supernatural life!
How Holiness Works
In His Word, God has designated some things as holy. Calling these things holy, He said: “Give special HONOR to these things. Don't treat them normally."
When God defined these things as HOLY, He combined them with the principles of the covenant. When we HONOR what God calls holy, we connect with these covenant principles, and this takes us into the supernatural dimension of life.
Let's look at some examples of things the Bible calls holy. In His Word, God calls these things, and many others, holy:
God's Word Tithing Other Christians
Apostles Prophets Spiritual leaders
Marriage His Name Places of Worship
Your Body Shabbat Israel
When we choose to HONOR these things (treating each of them as SPECIAL), it separates us from the ordinary. God's promise is that as we honor that which is holy, we enter into the blessings of the covenant and experience the supernatural dimension of life. Let's look at some examples.
Holy money.
Do you know that money can be sacred? Some money is sacred! In fact, God has designated a tithe (one tenth) of your income as sacred. Leviticus 27:30-32 tells us, "And every tithe belongs to the LORD: IT IS HOLY TO THE LORD."
This means that if you earn $10, one of those dollars—a tithe of your income—is sacred. And this applies to any form of income. If you are a farmer, one tenth of your harvest is sacred! If you raise cattle, one tenth of your cattle is sacred.
The third chapter of the prophet Malachi tells us about the reverence of the tithe as sacred. We honor it as holy when we “bring it into the storehouse…” The tithe was to be brought into the temple storehouses to provide for the needs of those who served in the temple.
God also connects tithing with covenant promises. He says, “If you treat tithe as holy, He will “open for you the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon you to the full” (Malachi 3:10-11).
So, if God has designated tithe as sacred, we have a choice: we can treat tithe as sacred (treat it especially), or we can choose not to treat it as sacred! We can treat it like the rest of our income.
The choice is ours. You won't go to hell for not paying tithing! But revering the tithe as sacred will separate you from the world in the area of your finances.
Honoring tithing will allow you to enter into covenant principles and open the door to supernatural provision.
Holy time.
God has designated one-seventh of your time as holy.
Genesis 2:3 tells us, "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it." In the Ten Commandments, God gives the following instruction: "Remember the seventh day and HOLY it" (Exodus 20:8-11).
Again, Sabbath observance is not a requirement for salvation! You can work seven days a week and still go to Heaven! And if you work seven
days a week, you can get to Heaven even faster. You, in the truest sense of the word, will earn yourself to death!
But honoring the Sabbath connects you to the principles of covenant blessings. God promised, “If you call the Sabbath a delight and honor it, you will have joy in the Lord, and I will raise you up to the heights of the earth and give you the inheritance of Jacob your father” (Isaiah 58:13-14).
Holy places.
The places where God manifests His presence are holy places. The fireproof bush was holy. Mount Sinai was holy. The tabernacle and the temple were holy. Places of worship are sacred. Honoring the holy places joins us to God's covenant blessings. From the book of the prophet Haggai we learn that the people of Judah neglected the work of the temple in order to build their own houses. As a result, God's provision was withheld from them. And they lived in poverty!
Another example is Solomon. He showed great respect for the temple of God, spending his own money to build it. As a result, he experienced abundance and abundance to the end of his days.
When we honor that which is holy, we enter into a blessing!
Holy people.
God has designated many groups of people as saints. Apostles and prophets are holy (Eph. 3:5). The Jewish people are a holy people. Your brothers and sisters in the Lord are saints. Your husband, wife, parents and children are holy to you.
The Bible gives us directions on how to honor each of these groups in an appropriate way. The Bible also gives us a promise: if you honor those whom God calls saints, you will receive God's blessing!
Studying the subject of holiness has brought me a new understanding of a scripture that has troubled me for a long time. This is the story of Elijah and the widow described in 1 Kings 17:13-15. This story took place during a famine in that land. God sends Elijah to the city of Zarephath and tells him that the widow will take care of him. Elijah comes to town and finds that the widow is preparing her last meal. Her resources are completely exhausted! There was only enough food to cook a small meal for themselves and their son, and after that they would starve!
In such a tragic situation, Elijah makes an incredible demand. He says to the widow: “Feed me first! And then you and your son will eat!” How could Elijah go to a starving woman and ask her to feed him before she had fed herself and her son?!
But Elijah understood the work of God. He knew that if the widow honored the prophet, she would discover the source of God's blessing. God promised: “Honor the prophet and you will receive the reward of the prophet!” (Matthew 10:41). Elijah was giving a woman the opportunity to enter the realm of miracles!
When a woman chose to honor God's prophet, God began miraculously to increase her resources. She and her son experienced supernatural provision in the midst of a famine!
Holiness illustration
I think the internet has provided us with a wonderful example of how holiness works! Suppose you open different pages on the Internet and come across the following entry:
When we honor what God calls holy, our lives are connected to the principles of the covenant, and as a result, great blessings are released to us.
Did you notice something familiar? If you saw a word on the Internet underlined like this, you would understand that the word "holy" is a reference to something. Such links are special highlighted text or words, usually underlined and highlighted in a different color. And such a link is, of course, special, not because it is underlined and highlighted in a different color, but because it leads to something that is not currently visible! You can click on other words on the page, but nothing will happen. But if you click on the link, A COMPLETELY NEW PAGE WILL OPEN FOR YOU!
This is an illustration of how holiness works. You can honor many things in your life:
A sports team A rock band An author of a book A movie star A hobby A brand of a computer
Or what God calls holy.
When you honor most things, you don't get any benefit! But as you choose to honor that which is holy, new realms of blessings open up to you! The veneration of a saint separates us from the world and lifts us into supernatural realms where we enter into God's covenant blessings.
Source of true holiness
Where does holiness come from? Stop and think about the things that God calls holy. What made the fireproof bush holy? What made Mount Sinai holy? What made the Holy of Holies holy?
The answer is: the presence of God.
Now think about this: When you trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within you. God's presence is within you right now. This means that YOU are saints! You are HOLY.
You are holy right now. You are holy no matter what you do. Remember that holiness does not mean sinlessness!
Many Christians confuse holiness with righteousness. Righteousness means being PURE. It means you have removed the defilement of sin from your life. God wants us to live righteously.
But holiness is in another dimension. Holiness is that you are SPECIAL. Because you trust in Jesus, you are a saint even when you sin! In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes to the churches in Corinth to correct many of their mistakes. The problems of the Corinthian church included immorality, drunkenness (during the Lord's Supper!), strife, and more. In a letter regarding their sins, however, the first thing Paul writes about is a reminder to the Corinthians that they are HOLY (1 Corinthians 1:2)!
You ARE saints! God wants you to start living holy!
Earlier in this chapter, I used an example of our "ceremonial set" of porcelain plates. Our "front set" was special. However, after eating, our “dress set” does not look pretty at all! It still has leftover food on it! He is dirty. It needs to be washed. But still he is special! It's all the same - our "ceremonial set".
Our everyday plates are ordinary. We keep our daily plates clean, but they are still ordinary. This is the difference between holiness and righteousness.
Righteousness means to be pure. Holiness means to be special.
Our "dress set" of plates remains special, whether clean or dirty. Because our "dress set" is special, we treat it with care, even when it's dirty. We carefully wash these plates to restore them to their beauty.
You are God's "front set"! You are special to Him, even when you don't live to please Him.
The Jews of today are STILL God's HOLY PEOPLE, despite their unbelief!
Life in holiness
Living in holiness begins with knowing that God has made you holy:
You are a saint (Romans 1:7)
You are no longer just carnal (1 Cor. 3:3)
The Spirit of God dwells in you (Rom. 8:9)
You are partakers of God's nature (2 Peter 1:4)
Resurrection power dwells in you (Rom. 8:11)
You have a purpose and purpose (Jer. 29:11)
You have been given supernatural powers and you are called to live as a supernatural person! (1 Cor. 12)
As God's HOLY man or HOLY woman, you can begin to LIVE in the realm of holiness! You will learn to show RESPECT! You will learn to have a special regard for what God calls HOLY (including yourself)! As you HONOR that which is HOLY, you will enter into the supernatural favor and blessings reserved for God's holy people!
How to live in holiness?
The essence of holiness is to show reverence.
Reverence is a little-known concept among Christians. Some Christians love to gossip and criticize. They don't respect each other or the ministers. And then they wonder why God's blessing and power are not visible in their lives!
To live in holiness is to show honor where it is supposed to be done.
It means honoring your parents because God brought you into this world through them. It means honoring your spouse as your covenant partner. It means honoring those whom God has appointed as servants.
To live in holiness is to honor the name of God. This means treating Shabbat as a "separated" day. It means treating your body as a holy temple of the presence of God. It means honoring marriage and speaking about it worthily. It means treating other Christians with respect just because they also know Jesus!
It means showing respect to the Jews as God's chosen people.
If you live in HOLYNESS, giving honor where it is due, then God's PRESENCE will fill your life and His BLESSINGS will be poured out upon you!
STEPS TO RECOVERY!
Holiness has nothing to do with legalism, being different from other people, or just being good! The whole point of holiness is to show reverence.
The word reverence was not often used in our Christian vocabulary. But God wants us to start thinking about when and how to show respect!
First, we need to learn to honor God. He is the most Holy. We see one way of honoring God in the principle of firstfruits. We honor God by giving Him the first of our income. In the Old Testament, when harvest time came, the first sheaf of wheat that was cut in the field was taken to the temple as the "offering of the firstfruits." It was brought in addition to the tithe. The offering of firstfruits wasn't supposed to be big, but it was a special way of honoring God—offering to Him the first of what we get!
A few years ago, in our family, we began the practice of firstfruits. Every time we saw an increase in our income, we took the first of that extra income and offered it as the firstfruits offering to honor God. The results were just incredible. We noticed that God began to pour out a blessing on our finances when we gave Him special honor in this way!
We also honor God with our first time. At the beginning of each month, the Jews have a special celebration of the "New Moon" (new moon). People gathered at the beginning of the month for praise, prayer and celebration before the Lord. Thus, they honored God by choosing to dedicate the first part of the month to Him!
Our church has begun holding monthly "firstfruit gathering celebrations" to honor God at the beginning of each month. If your church doesn't do anything like this, why not host a "worship evening" in your home to celebrate and rejoice in God's goodness at the beginning of each month? When we choose to give God the first thing in our lives, we honor Him in holiness.
It is also very important to honor people and those things that God has designated as holy. Ask God to show you how to honor what is sacred in your life.
When we live in holiness, we can experience more and more of God's power and blessings!
(Holiness). Predominantly a religious term. Religion and holiness are always intertwined. Any religion is based on the numinous, on a terrifying mystery ("mysterium tremendum", R. Otto), on something supernaturally incomprehensible and formidable. All this is united in the concept of "holiness". Holiness in its many forms and manifestations is at the very core of faith and religious experience.
In VZ. The OT speaks of holiness primarily in relation to God, eg, "...Holy is the Lord..." (Ps99:9). Holiness has to do with the divine essence; it is not so much an attribute of God as the very basis of His being. "...Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! .." (Is 6:3) God is three times holy, there is no higher than this holiness, therefore, holiness is present in everything that is said about God.
First appearing in the OT (Ex 3:5), the word "holy" means "divine," "sacred." "Do not come near here, the Lord called to Moses from the burning bush, take off your shoes from off your feet; for the place on which you are standing is holy ground." God is impregnable and inaccessible in his holiness. Only after this meeting, Moses reveals the name of God (Yahweh), the One Who will send Israel a grace-filled deliverance from Egyptian slavery. The Lord is, first of all, a holy God. On Mount Sinai, after this deliverance and before the making of the covenant, God again reveals his holiness: "...the Lord descended upon her in fire...and the whole mountain quaked greatly" (Ex 19:18). The Israelites are not allowed to approach the mountain, "lest [He] smite them" (Ex. 19:24). In this vivid episode of biblical history, all of Israel, like Moses before, stands before God's holiness.
Holy God is a great and terrible God. He is "magnificent in holiness" (Ex 15:11), and His very being is awe-inspiring and awe-inspiring. Jacob, having seen God in a dream, wakes up with an exclamation: "How terrible is this place! This is nothing but the house of God, this is the gate of heaven" (Genesis 28:17). In the face of the majesty and holiness of God, we experience first of all reverence, awe, even horror. Thus, the psalmist proclaims: "Worship the Lord in the splendor of the sanctuary. Tremble before Him, all the earth!" (Ps 95:9). His mere presence compels us to worship Him, causing us to fear and tremble.
Holiness, moreover, means the separation, separateness, difference of God from His creation. Heb. the word qados ("holy") in its original meaning implies something separated or removed. The nature of God is completely different from the nature of the world and man: "... I am God, and not a man; among you is a Holy One ..." (Hos. 11:9). This separateness and difference points, first of all, to His very divine essence. The God of Israel (unlike many other religions) cannot be identified with anything created. In addition, this separateness means that God is completely uninvolved in everything ordinary and petty, impure or evil.
Therefore, holiness as applied to God indicates His absolute moral perfection. His holiness is the manifestation of absolute righteousness and purity. A holy God will show his holiness in righteousness (Isaiah 5:16). His eyes are too pure to look with indifference at evil deeds (Hab. 1:13). This moral or ethical aspect of divine holiness is gaining more and more importance in the OT testimony.
Everything related to God is just as holy. The expression "sacred assembly" found in the OT (Ex 12:16) gives us an example of this meaning. It refers to a gathering called by God to celebrate that He "passes over" Israel (Ex 12:13). The Sabbath established by the Lord is called "the holy Sabbath" (Ex. 16:23); the heavens above are "holy heavens" (Ps. 19:7); God sits on the "holy throne" (Ps. 46:9); Zion is the mountain of God, "the holy mountain" (Ps 2:6). The name of God is especially sacred and must not be taken in vain (Ex 20:7; Deut 5:11).
Accordingly, God's people, His chosen people, are also called holy: "...you are a holy people with the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you ... out of all the nations that are on the earth" (Deuteronomy 7:6). The people of Israel are separated from others, God separated them, and therefore they are holy, first of all, not because of any virtues, but because of their very separateness. But Israel is also called to holiness, called to be a sanctified people: "... I am the Lord your God: sanctify yourself and be holy, for I am holy ..." (Lev. 11:44). So "holiness" as applied to the people of God contains both the negative meaning of "separateness" and the positive meaning of "sanctification." Ultimately, the seal of holiness is the seal of the covenant between God and His people.
Everything connected with a religious cult (worship, offering, etc.) is also considered holy. There are holy days (besides holy Saturday), holy objects of worship, holy oil, consecrated fruits of the first harvest. The requirement of ritual cleansing and ritual purity is presented to everyone who takes part in cult activities, to priests who perform divine services, to the entire assembly. A condition of holiness (eg, in Lev 11:14) may even be the avoidance of unclean food. We see, therefore, that the OT emphasizes ritual holiness in particular.
However, one cannot fail to note the growing attention to the moral, or ethical, aspect of holiness. The main thing on the day of atonement should be the inner cleansing of a person: "... on this day they cleanse you ... from all your sins ... before the face of the Lord" (Lev. 16:30). And many other places in the OT speak of this need. For example, to the question: "... who will stand in His holy place?" the answer is given: "The one whose hands are innocent and whose heart is pure ..." (Ps 23:34). The holiness of God in the OT is more and more conceptualized in terms of morality; the same is true of the holiness of God's people.
In NZ. The NT confirms what was said about holiness above. It has a lot to say about God's grace and love, but the holiness of God still has a lot of emphasis. The God of love is called the Holy Father (Jn 1411), Jesus Christ the Holy of God (Mk 1:24; Jn 6:69), and the Spirit of God the Holy Spirit. The Gospel reveals the trinity of God, and therefore v.z. "holy is the Lord" gains even greater power here. The aspects of holiness noted above, sanctification, awe-inspiring majesty, separateness, and perfection, are also present in the NT testimony. God's people are also called to holiness: "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet 1:16).
However, the NT puts the ethical aspect of holiness at the forefront. Thus, the holiness of the people of God is no longer defined only as external holiness (or God's chosen people), expressing itself predominantly in ritual, but more and more as internal holiness, commanded by God to his people. The most important thing here is to recognize the testimony of Christ himself, the Holy One of God, Who, being also the Son of Man, lived his life in absolute holiness, righteousness and purity. "He committed no sin, neither was deceit in his mouth" (1 Pet 2:22). As a consequence of His redemptive sacrifice, those who believe in Him are not only proclaimed righteous, but actually partake of true righteousness and holiness: "...we are sanctified by the one offering of the body of Jesus Christ" (Heb 10:10).
Accordingly, holiness (hagiosyne) in the NT becomes the property of all believers. All believers are called "saints" (hagioi). Let us emphasize that the word "saints" refers not to those who have succeeded in holiness, but to believers in general, all true believers are sanctified in Christ. This is the main meaning of the famous statement: in Christ Jesus our righteousness, holiness and salvation (! Cor 1:30).
Holiness in the NT is an inner reality for all who belong to Christ.
Holiness is now seen as the transfiguration of the whole person. Yes, app. Paul writes, "And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you in all its fullness, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved without blemish in its entirety..." (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Being absolutely holy, God wants His people to achieve complete holiness. Consequently, holiness for the believer is not just an internal reality, but something in which one needs to improve: "... let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1).
Believers as saints of God are "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (1 Pet 2:9). The holy people here are no longer Israel, but the Church, holiness is no longer the individuality and consecration of the people, but an inner reality, thanks to the cut, its gradual transformation takes place. Christ's ultimate goal is "to present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but that she should be holy and blameless" (Eph 5:27).
In the history of the Church. In the history of the Church, holiness is viewed from different angles. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches distinguish further paths to holiness. (1) Ascetic. Removal from the world, when a person, for the sake of achieving holiness, leaves his secular occupations, renounces marriage and all worldly goods. This is the path for the few, above all, for the monks. Holiness is achieved through prayer, vigils, fasting, mortification of the flesh. (2) Mystical. Here we are not talking about moving away from the world, but rather about rising above it. This is a gradual path of entry to holiness through purification, revelation, contemplation. The last step is complete merging with God. The obstacle on the path to holiness is not so much a sin as human limitations: attachment to everything worldly and transient. (3) Through the sacraments. Holiness is communicated to us in the grace of the sacraments. Unlike the ascetic or mystical, this objective path is accessible to everyone and, although it does not lead to the heights of holiness, it does not require such efforts.
Classical Protestantism (16th century) represented a movement from an ascetic, mystical and sacramental vision of holiness to a more biblical view of it. Soon, however, different approaches arose. (1) Disciplinary. Emphasis on church discipline and following the commandments of Fear as the path of a righteous life; the cultivation of a deep and sometimes very strict attitude towards life, regarded as a sign of God-fearing and genuine holiness (for example, among Scottish Presbyterians and English Puritans). (2) Experienced, or practical. A reaction (in one form or another) against the frozen orthodoxy, formalism and external expressions of faith of church institutions, rituals, dogmas (in some cases even Holy Scripture). The main thing is spirituality. Holiness is an inner life, which must be cultivated (with some differences, Anabaptists, Quakers, Lutheran Pietists). (3) Perfectionist. Perfect holiness ("complete sanctification"), the achievement of cut is possible not through works, but through faith. In addition to the holiness originally given to us in faith and growth in holiness, we are called by God to complete holiness through the eradication of sin and the gift of perfect love (Wesley; later Holiness Movements).
From the foregoing brief summary of the various views on holiness (Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant) it becomes clear that a truly biblical and updated understanding of it is needed. Such an understanding of holiness could be one of the most important tasks of modern theology.
J. R. Williams
Bibliography: HERE, VI, 74350; O.R.
Jones, The Concept of Holiness; A. Koeberle, The Quest for Holiness; A. Murray, Holy in Christ; S. Neill, Christian Holiness; R. Otto, The Idea of the Holy; J.C. Ryle, Holiness; S. Taylor, Holy Living.
Great Definition
Incomplete definition ↓
Many of us ask: what is holiness. Where does the source of holiness come from? What is a holy man and how to achieve it? A saint is usually called a person who differs for the better from everyone around him, although we cannot always express what holiness is.
Holy translated into Russian from the Hebrew word "kadosh" means separated; this word can also be translated as the pure, chosen of God (Is. 4:3). In the exact meaning, only God is holy, who has nothing to do with sin and impurity. Thus, a saint is called that person who is separated from the world - in whom the world does not rule, his deeds, as the Lord says, are evil. As long as peace reigns in man, the light of holiness is inaccessible to him. The word "holy" has as its source God and all that belongs to God, is characterized by remoteness from the world and that which belongs to the world. Separation from the world means, first of all, separation from sin - the liberation of man from slavery to sin. “A saint is called one who is pure from evil and sin,” says St. Anthony the Great.
Holiness belongs to God alone. God is the only source of holiness, light and truth, love and mercy, truth and righteousness, goodness, grace - that is, the grace-filled gift of all that is good, sanctifying and enlivening everything in this world. Ap. Peter reminds us of God's command even to the people of the Old Testament time: “Following the example of the Holy One (God) who called you, be holy yourselves in all your deeds; For it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet. 1:15-16). “Sanctify yourself and be holy” (Lev. 11:44). Holiness is life in God, belonging to eternal life, participation in the Divine, anticipation in this being of the coming everlasting being; deification, sanctification by God's grace, restoration of human nature damaged and disunited in itself. "Holiness" and "deification" - these words are in a sense synonymous; this is evident if only from the fact that the basis of the holiness of the saints is the deification of the human nature of the Savior at the Incarnation. A person is not holy by himself, but by the holiness of God, sanctified by the grace given by the Holy Spirit and through participation in the life of the Son of God in the sacraments of the Church. Perfection is another synonym for holiness, which we see from the lines of Holy Scripture. The Savior in His Sermon on the Mount says: “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Although these expressions holiness, perfection are synonymous, however, St. Fathers can sometimes be found distinguishing between these concepts: such are the patristic expressions that many achieve holiness, and few achieve perfection.
Coming to the temple with our pain and sorrow, we pray before the icons and shrines so that the Lord would sanctify us at least a little, comfort us with a ray of His grace. We are drawn to a particle of this divine light, holiness, because in this world we are tired of vanity, hatred, anger, misunderstanding, everything that takes away our good disposition, joy. Look how in Russian there are such words as light, holiness, sanctification. We also admire people who radiate this light of kindness, love, mercy, compassion. We want to be with them, talk to them. No matter how hard the human heart is, such a person will still be able to see a good image in another person. And very often we say about someone: a holy life was a man. Why? For his kindness, modesty, help and respect for other people, for the quiet patience of sorrows. We try to be a little in the light of those people who through faith became saints, reverends, who tried to become like God in virtue. And this “likeness”, likeness to God, became with the prefix pre – excellent in virtue – reverend. We try to learn from the saints their feat of becoming like God. The famous words of St. Seraphim of Sarovsky: "Save yourself and thousands around you will be saved." An example of true holiness, the righteousness of one person comes to the faith of a thousand people. Sometimes we cannot set our lives on a righteous path, because there is often no person in front of us from whom we would take an example. We simply do not see the examples that are next to us, we do not notice them at all. Of course, not all people are righteous or holy. But if you look carefully, we will see that this or that person commits at least one deed worthy of respect and admiration. By bringing together such examples from each person, we will see a complete picture of holiness and righteousness.
In sermons, an example from the life of the holy fathers of the Egyptian desert is often recalled. The hermit fathers came to one great ascetic, bowed to the great abba, they sat down next to him, and, without asking anything, went into their wilderness. One brother asked the elder why he did not ask anything from the great abba for his spiritual teaching. The older brother replied that it was enough for him just to look at the great old man.
The Apostle Paul, addressing the Romans, writes: “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints…” (Rom. 1:7). To whom is he addressing? Paul addresses Christians as saints.
Why? He testifies of their calling by the Lord to the community of saints, that is, the community of those faithful to the Lord, who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. “You didn’t find Me, but I called you,” says the Lord in the Gospel. Saints, because they already belong to God, and therefore are in holy communion with God, are already a part of God. How to call what belongs to God - if not holy. Ap. Paul also refers to himself in Ephesians 3:8 as the least of all saints. He does not deceive himself and does not boast of such a high rank. But he testifies that he is a faithful servant of Christ. And his gospel, his apostolic work is not otherwise understood as a holy work in the service of the Lord. In the Apostolic Epistles, the word saints is often used when referring to the first Christians. Yes, app. Paul, one can come across the following expressions: “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints” (Rom. 1.7); “to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi” (Phil. 1:1); “the saints who are in Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 1:1); “the church of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints throughout Achaia” (II Cor. 1:1). App. Peter: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy people, people taken as inheritance. Once not a people, but now the people of God; who once did not receive mercy, but now they have received mercy” (I Peter 2:9-10). For app. Paul's holiness is both the beginning of the Christian life and its ultimate goal. In the epistle to the Ephesian Christians, the most important task of the pastors of the Church, St. Paul calls "the perfection of the saints" (Eph 4:12) - that is, growth in holiness.
The Old Testament does not say that the Jewish people were holy, but from the beginning God calls them “the chosen people” because the Jews from the beginning worshiped the true God, heard and listened to the voice of God, kept the commandments of God, carried and preserved the faith through the ages. And for this, the Lord defeated all their enemies, gave them the land of Israel. Because they were the people of God. And remember what the people who pleased God were called. They were called words that belong to the holiness of God. Righteous God. Abraham was righteous, because in the eyes of God he received a blessing for his virtuous life. And we see many such examples in the history of the Old Testament.
This calling of all Christians to the community of saints is reflected in the Divine Liturgy. After singing "Our Father" we hear how the priest before Communion in the altar proclaims: "Holy to the Holy." That is, the Holy Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Communion is given to holy people. Saints - faithful children of God. People who tried to fulfill the commandments of God and not only the commandments, but also good deeds. People who prepared and sanctified by fasting and prayer. And if they sinned in anything, they made up for the lack of purity of the soul with confession. And this liturgical witness that we will receive communion as saints is God's gift to us, in which our calling to the community of saints is revealed. By the grace of God, by our faith, by our fidelity and love for God, by the name that we are Christians, this holy gift was given to us as a pledge. Not for our exaltation over other people, not for our deception, but for joy in Christ. What is this joy? In the fact that when preparing for Communion, we try to spend the days in purity, attention to the fulfillment of the commandments, diligence in prayer, etc. And all this means in holiness. Just a few days. Remember how we prepared for Communion. All the time we were in spiritual attention and warned each other in the family that we should not talk about something, because it is not good, or participate in something, because it is sinful before Communion. And on other days, we already lose this feeling to us, it turns out that we can afford everything, including sinful things. Every day in churches we glorify the saints who used to be ordinary people, but during their lives they achieved holiness. The saints were those people for whom the daily feeling of sacredness, bringing oneself closer to God became necessary. And if there is no example of holiness near us, no spiritual support, let us turn more closely to the Gospel and the lives of the saints. And in this joy, participation in the shrine, the hope opens up to us that we can touch the shrine a little, stand next to the saints a little, carry away a particle of holiness in our hearts. Only now we can save it, depends on our life. Today we pray to all the saints that our participation in the society of the saints would be a joy not for a few hours, not for a few days, but for a lifetime.
The path to holiness or spiritual perfection is endless, but a person who has begun to correct himself spiritually according to the commandments of the Gospel has entered the first step towards holiness.
