God’s Presence: Touched by Holiness
We were designed to live dwelling in the presence of God, but we can only enter God’s presence if we are touched by the holiness of God.
Holiness means to be holy or set apart. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, holy means “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.” Therefore, holiness is to be set apart as perfectly good, right, pure, and sinless. Holiness is who God is!
The holiness of God: the Law
I recently bought a new Bible, and guess what book I turned to first? Leviticus. My friends are reading through the Bible in chronological order, and they are in the book of Leviticus. We have had discussions about what is so important about Leviticus and, honestly, how boring all the laws and rituals about cleansing and purification are. The interesting piece of information is that all those laws and rituals describe the holiness of God and how we need to remain dwelling in the presence of God.
As soon as I took my Bible out of the box, I turned to Leviticus Chapter 17 so that I could start reading about God’s requirements for holy living. I counted the phrase “I am the Lord” six times in Chapter 18 alone. I noted another popular phrase in Leviticus, which is “for I the Lord your God am holy.”
“Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’” ~ Leviticus 19:2
In Leanne Payne’s book The Healing Presence, she describes the loneliness of man. She cites that even before Adam and Eve sinned, God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone…” (Genesis 2:18). People were not designed to be alone, but to enjoy the presence of God and others.
When Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, they walked and talked with God and remained in his holy presence. After Adam and Eve’s sin, they knew their unholiness because they hid their nakedness (Genesis 3). From the time of the fall of Adam and Eve until the arrival of Jesus, one had to make himself holy by following the laws and rituals in Leviticus to be able to be in the presence of the Holy God.
Touched by the Holiness of God: Jesus
“I and the Father are one.” ~ John 10:30 NIV
“Our Redeemer—the Lord Almighty is his name—is the Holy One of Israel.” ~ Isaiah 47:4 NIV
“What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” ~ Mark 1:24 NIV
Take a few minutes to look at Mark 1. Mark 1 starts verse 1 with, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” In the middle of the chapter, Jesus encounters a man with an unclean spirit, a demon. The demon even recognizes in verse 24 that Jesus is the “Holy One of God.”
Rather than the man with the unclean spirit going through rituals to become clean and holy, Jesus casts out the unclean spirit to bring healing to the man. This is the pattern of Jesus’ ministry: to remove the sin and uncleanliness that had set us apart after Adam and Eve’s fall.
Jesus, the Holy One of God, brings the holiness of God to people through healing and wholeness throughout the gospels in the New Testament. Rather than the men following laws and rituals to become clean and holy, Jesus brings healing and cleansing to the unholy. For example, Jesus cleanses a leper in Mark 1:40-42.
In Mark 2, Jesus heals the paralyzed man. Jesus also says to the paralyzed man in Mark 2:5 NIV, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” Time and time again, Jesus heals sickness and casts out demons. He often tells the people to stop sinning and to pursue God’s holiness.
Jesus solves the problem of sin and separation through more than atonement of sin. When the presence of Jesus comes, his presence is so holy and powerful that it lights up the shadows and exposes darkness. We can have healing and cleansing when touched by holiness from Jesus.
Touched by the Holiness of God: Holy Spirit
We know that God, the Father, operates with Jesus, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as the Trinity. Matthew 28:19 NIV refers to “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” ~ Galatians 5:18 NIV
In Acts 1, Jesus promises the gift and power of the Holy Spirit, who arrives at Pentecost in Acts 2.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea.” ~ Acts 1:8 NIV
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV
“…these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” ~ 1 Corinthians 2:10 NIV
We were created to remain dwelling in the presence of God, but sin set us apart from our Holy God. John 3:16-17 says that God loved us enough to save our eternal relationship with Him through the death and resurrection of Jesus, his Son. When we think that everything is done, God sends his Spirit to dwell within us to cultivate our relationship with Him.
What does it mean to live in the presence of God?
What does it mean to live in the presence of God? Since there is nothing we can do to set ourselves apart as holy to come into God’s presence, we must accept Jesus as our Savior and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus, working through the Holy Spirit, can transform our hearts into suitable dwelling places for God. Once we allow the Holy Spirit to light up the darkness in our lives, we experience freedom and intimacy in our relationship with God. Then, we can live and remain dwelling in the presence of God.
The Holy Spirit advocates on our behalf and continues the work of healing and cleansing of the unholiness in our lives. Start your 30-day Faith Journey today and ask Jesus to send his Holy Spirit so that you may be touched by holiness. Then, expect the Holy Spirit to come to light up every area of your life which needs to be touched by Jesus so that you may spend time in the holiness of God.
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