06/03/2018
Must we be Holy to come into God’s presence? This has been a point which has kept so many Christians marginalized in their faith. Such thinking makes Jesus into a halfway house, or an intermediary between ourselves and God, but He is much more than that... He is our key to the Holy of Holies, the one who opens the door and ushers us into the presence of God, and more.
“Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
Hebrews 10:19-22 KJV
We don’t have to be Holy in order to come into the presence of God, we are made holy by sacrificing everything we do to Him, and when we dwell within His presence by the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. You see, Jesus is our key through His atonement that unlocks the inner chamber and allows us free access to God Himself. We can only come into the presence of God because Jesus has washed us clean of sin, and made us pure. Then once in His presence we move even closer, we become Holy because He is Holy.
“There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.”
1 Samuel 2:2 KJV
Our ability to be made Holy is only realized when we take on the attributes of God by abiding in Him, because only God is Holy. This is made clear in the mystery of a single passage of scripture as Jesus speaks...
“Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."”
John 14:19-21 ESV
Those words thrill me, and are key to our relationship with God... “In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” We are not merely in the presence of God, we are deeper than that, because He has brought us into Himself through Jesus. If you are striving to be holy before you approach God then you are facing a dilemma, so open your eyes.
I was reading Andrew Murray as he described holiness in a slightly different way. Here is what he wrote in summation...
“Do you see what holiness is and how it is to be found? It is not something formed in you. It is not something put on you from without. Holiness is the presence of God resting on you. Holiness comes as you consciously abide in that presence, doing all as a sacrifice to Him.” - Andrew Murray
So holiness is not a rank that is bestowed upon us like the title of general or colonel, and it isn’t some inner state of peace that we can reach for ourselves like some guru believes can be attained through transcendental meditation; no, it is a shared sense of God’s own being that we come to know when we are in Him... how else could we be set aside for Him?
If you are waiting, or working, to become Holy so that you can come into the presence of God then you are missing out on the greatest blessing and treasure of Jesus Christ. He isn’t washing you clean to make you Holy, He is washing us clean so that you can enter into Him, and thus into God Himself. In this way God’s holiness is realized in us. Holiness is not something we earn for ourselves, but rather what God allows us to share of Himself through our being in Christ.
“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:16 KJV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus Christ, and the redemption from sin He provides me, but even more Father, thank you for making allowance that I can be in Him, and He in you. You have joined me with yourself through Jesus, and in this way I am able to know you, and become holy, which I was unable to do otherwise. Your love exceeds all understanding, as you not only draw me to you, or allow me to enter your presence, but bring me to abide within you. Help me Holy Father to experience more of you as I open my eyes and see through those of Jesus, and by the instruction of the Holy Spirit. Remove the glass through which I now see darkly, and allow me to see clearly. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God, who sent His Son to bring me home... to return me to Himself... to remove the scales from my eyes, for without holiness I cannot see you, and seeing you Father is my greatest desire.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:”
Hebrews 12:14 KJV
Rich Forbes