Few things in life can be deemed pure. Maybe we think of purebred animals whose bloodlines have never mingled with any other breed. Or, perhaps, we think of a research lab or an operating room where much effort is placed in keeping everything sterile and uncontaminated. And, of course, we hope for drinking water that has been purified, made free of anything other than, well, water.
Yet, nothing on earth can compare to the pureness of God. He never needs cleansing; it’s impossible for Him to be contaminated. He is and always will be wholly pure. And so it is that thinking of God’s purity helps us comprehend His holiness.
However, before we march onward with unpacking God’s perfect purity, we’d be much aided in our quest for more fully discerning Scriptural holiness by doing a little digging into the word ‘holy’ as it is used and understood in its original biblical languages. By doing so, we’ll glean clarity behind the cultural connotations of ‘holy’ as well as a broader understanding of the word’s multiple uses and meanings. And in the process, we’ll come a little closer to knowing our God, who is pure holiness.
Word Nerd Alert
Never fear – this is no grammar lesson though we will be talking about parts of speech.
Don’t panic – there’s no quiz at the end, but we will come away, at the very least, with a greater appreciation for the breadth and depth of ‘holy’ in the Jewish culture.
So, let’s get a little word-nerdy!
So far, in my own hunt for all the ‘holies’ in Scripture, I’ve found three Hebrew words in the Old Testament and five Greek words in the New Testament – all translated ‘holy’ in English. And as I highlighted and underlined my way through the Bible, I was amused and awed to discover that in both languages, the word ‘holy’ is used three different ways – as noun, verb, and adjective.
Before your eyes glaze over, wait! Think about the wonder of this. One word can be used as a thing, an action, and a description. The same word – all three ways. In both languages.
Let’s get our bearings. There are only a handful of English words that can do such word-acrobatics. Yet we use them so automatically we aren’t even aware that words such as ‘light’ and ‘back’ function as three different parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective). See for yourself:
Light –
- Noun, the thing, the light in your kitchen
- Verb, the action, light the candle
- Adjective, the description, a light load
Back –
- Noun, the thing, scratch my back
- Verb, the action, back the car out
- Adjective, the description, the back door
To realize that ‘holy’ can be used just like these words helps us understand its versatility as well as its depths. It also helps us comprehend that our English word ‘holy’ falls waaaay short of such theatrics and meaning. Consider our English word ‘love’ and how easily we lose the punch it packs in its original languages. We English-speakers are left to guess which ‘love’ the Bible means each time we read the word ‘love’. Which is it – brotherly love, romantic love, Godlike agape love?
In fact, we don’t even have English equivalents to these varying ‘loves’.
To make matters worse, we American English-speakers so overuse the word ‘love’ that we are over-saturated – thus, numb to its God-given purposes.
Something similar happens with ‘holy’. We have one word for it – and its definition is rather intangible, resulting in us having a not-so-clear understanding of it. Plus, we overuse it. Holy guacamole, anyone?
Hence, our little word-nerd adventure today. It aids greatly to our comprehending this key attribute of God if we recognize the layers of meaning our one-word ‘holy’ is given in Scripture. Here’s a very brief and simplified overview of what I’ve found.
In Hebrew and Greek, ‘holy’ can be a…
- Noun, the actual thing that God is – holy. (In English we’d call it ‘holiness’).
- Verb, the action, the act of making something holy, (like our word, ‘sanctify’).
- Adjective, the description of a holy place or person or object, (such as, ‘sacred’).
As we move through this series, we’ll unpack each one of these in more detail because doing so helps us see God in a clearer light – as well as His world, His Word, and His beloved (that’s us!). We’ll work to define ‘holy’ by looking at holiness from all of the perspectives that the three languages (Hebrew, Greek, English) offer us. I suppose I’m asking you to take a step of faith with me because I know that the vast majority of you assume you’ll die of boredom in these weird grammar-like lessons.
However, I’m going to say, “trust me!” Because I believe that you will have similar experiences as I did when I mined the Word for all the ‘holies’ across several days. Awe of God swept over me as connections came to light. Holy Spirit wonder flooded every part of my being to the point that I’d wake up each morning hearing more about ‘holy’ in my heart from God. The work was tedious, but the effect was nothing short of holy. I’ll skip the tedious with you, my friends. And I’m praying for the holy awe of God to descend upon us in our explorations.
Holy is… Pure
One particular Old Testament passage not only has all three Hebrew words for ‘holy’ in it but illustrates one essence of what it means to be holy: Pure.
“‘Priests must not shave their heads or shave off the edges of their beards or cut their bodies. They must be holy to their God and must not profane the name of their God. Because they present the food offerings to the Lord, the food of their God, they are to be HOLY.
“‘They must not marry women defiled by prostitution or divorced from their husbands, because priests are holy to their God. Regard them as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy—I who make you holy.”
Leviticus 21:5-8 NIV
That’s a lot of holies! So, rather than getting into the nitty-gritty of how God wanted the priests to live, let’s focus on the three Hebrew words for ‘holy’ packed into this single passage – ‘qadosh’, an adjective in italics; ‘qodesh’, a NOUN IN ALL CAPS; and ‘qadash’, a verb underlined.
Instead of being overwhelmed by all the parts of speech, let’s recognize that God was teaching a novel concept to His people – holiness in the form of ritual purity.1 Priests had to live more holy and pure lives because they served God directly.
The tabernacle had two inner rooms, neither of which a common person could enter – but the priests could if they were ritually pure, which is different than sinless.1 It’s more like a type of ‘clean’ that keeps anyone subjected or exposed to anything impure – like disease or blood or a dead body – from entering God’s presence. Because in His holiness, God’s purity is too powerful for anyone less than ‘clean’ to survive His presence.1
This passage, then, packed with all its ‘holies’, outlined for the priests what it would take to keep them pure enough so that they could draw near to the presence of God, which dwelled in the most secluded room of the tabernacle – the Most Holy Place.
We must realize that this requirement of being ritually pure fell under the old covenant. In Christ, all our impurities are cleansed by His blood (1 John 1:7).
But because we haven’t lived in a world without Jesus, it’s much harder for us to relate to ‘ritual purity’. It’s difficult for us to understand how we lack such purity without Christ’s intervention. So, let’s consider how God, in His holiness, demonstrates Himself as ‘pure’ in Scripture.
One example is when Moses moves toward the burning bush. We see God’s holiness on fire like a white-hot flame, and God warns Moses not to come closer (Exodus 3:2-3,5). It’s too dangerous because it’s too pure for an impure person.1
Later, Moses is reminded that no human can stand before the full holiness of God and live to tell about it. Because when he asks to see God’s full glory – His pure essence – God has to hide Moses in a rock and cover him with His hand so that Moses doesn’t burn up in the presence of such powerful purity (Exodus 33:19-23).1
The purity of God literally shines. It’s why so often God is displayed in Scripture as fire. Or why His angels show up with an otherworldly brightness. It’s why Moses and Jesus both glowed after being in God’s presence (Exodus 34:29-35; Matthew 17:1-2). Some of that shining purity gets absorbed physically. In fact, we glow spiritually as we reflect the light of Christ, which is God’s glory in us, to the world around us (2 Corinthians 3:18).
God’s holiness has the quality of being pure – like a fire that not only glows brightly but burns away all impurities that come near it. And this is why the priests needed to be made holy, to become ritually pure. It’s also why Jesus is our means of being made pure and holy.
In fact, Jesus is our high priest – the One who “truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:26). Part of what makes human-Jesus so unique is His sinlessness (1 Peter 1:19). And it is that state of purity in Jesus that gives us a glimpse into the Father. God is without sin (Habakkuk 1:13). He is pure light; therefore, God can never be motivated nor influenced by evil or darkness (1 John 1:5). God is pure as pure can be. Such is the nature of ‘holy’. Such is our God.
Analogies, comparisons, metaphors – they’re all words that give us mental pictures to aid our perception of this most nebulous, important trait of God: holy. So we cling to Scripture that paints these pictures for us, aiding our ability to understand what ‘holy’ means in all its forms.
This kind of comprehension shapes the way we view God and respond to our circumstances. Rather than assuming God is uncaring, distant, or cruel, we allow our knowing of God’s holy nature to remind us that it’s not God tempting us to give up on our resolutions. It’s not God causing the darkness that consumes us. It’s not God desiring the atrocities in our world to happen. Because He is pure. Without sin and darkness. God is holy!
Holy is… Pure
Lord God Almighty, You are light! Everything about You is pure and holy. We confess how easily we impose on You the truth about our nature: sinful, shadowed, and all too easily led by our flesh. But that is not You! You are so ‘other’, so different from us in that way. Nothing in You can tempt or lie or be motivated by anything except your pure holiness. Forgive us, we pray for our short-sided view of You – and help us to see You more and more as You really are. We long to know You better and to trust You more fully, so we choose to receive the blood of Christ for our own cleansing. Lord Jesus, our High Priest, continue to shape us into your likeness by cleansing us from all our impurities with your own perfect holiness. Holy Spirit, continue to fill and empower us as we pursue our Holy Father. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
(inspired by 1 John 1:5,7,9; Habakkuk 1:13; 1 Peter 1:19; Hebrew 7:26; 2 Corinthians 3:18)
Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.
- 1 – The Bible Project has an incredible video that sets out to explain “What Makes God Holy.” I have recommended this video in the past, and I am sure I will reference it many times over the course of this year of exploring ‘holy’ — I certainly did today!
- So many songs on our Holy is… playlist have lyrics that paint these word pictures of ‘holy’ as a way of aiding our understanding AND our ability to enter the actual throne room of God — that Most Holy Place. Because worship is our best response to the holiness of God! Which is why I love one particular song so much. “As It Is in Heaven” by Hillsong gives us language for worshiping our holy God as if we were already in heaven. It’s beautiful and effective:
So I will sing like I will there
In the fearless light of glory
Where the darkness cannot find me
And Your face is all I see
I will sing like a man
With no sickness in my body
Like no prison walls can hold me
I will sing like I am free
I’ll sing holy holy
My heart cries holy
As it is in heaven
It is in me - Each Wednesday I upload a “Teacup” teaching video that carries on the topic here. You can find all the videos on my Facebook Author Page, Instagram, and YouTube.
- Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
- My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.
Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike.
- This first series of our new year invites us to give considerable thought to what ‘holy’ is. We will be challenged to bring to our level what is so lofty that we really won’t fully grasp it. And yet, we are called to know God and to know His holiness — to allow His holy-ness to shape a higher reverence for Him, to grow within us a humble respect for His utter majesty. So for these next few weeks, let’s do our best to notice when we see or hear or experience something of ‘holy’. Last week I pictured clouds with sun rays streaming out. This week I’m picturing the burning bush — holy, good, and a bit dangerous. Like fire. What else speaks to you about the purity of God’s holiness?
- We’re all called to share the truth about who Jesus is. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. May we use our whole selves to tell others about our holy God!!
Featured Photo by Marcio Chagas on Unsplash. “All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Sahand Babali on Unsplash.
^Denotes an affiliate link, with which this ministry earns a bit to help it keep going. 😉