Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Read: Matthew 5:1-12

Context: 
1- The preceding chapter (Matthew 4), Jesus is tempted, begins His ministry, calls his first disciples, and begins having crowds gather as He travels the countryside of Galilee teaching and healing.
2- The historical context of a Jewish people eagerly awaiting the revelation of God's heavenly kingdom (which Jesus announces in Matthew 4:17).

What should we take from this?
Jesus' original hearers of this sermon would be eager to hear what the apparent Messiah would have to say about the nature of His kingdom, and kingdom living. We should be too.

Breaking down the first beatitude
I want to look at the first beatitude, found in Matthew 5:3, by sectioning off three phrases, and the looking at them in reverse order.

1) the kingdom of heaven
what is the kingdom of heaven? The Jews were anticipating a literal earthly reign by a king sitting on a physical throne in Jerusalem. That was a legitimate expectation given OT prophecy, but we see that this has yet to be fulfilled. Jesus here is announcing a reality that does not exclude the future fulfillment of that earthly kingdom, but that is qualitatively different from it. Jesus is establishing a spiritual kingdom here on earth where God not only reigns as king, but is enjoyed and delighted in as king (see John 4).

2) the poor in spirit
what does it mean to have a poverty of spirit? We can have all sorts of poverty, but this poverty is one which is the opposite of pride. One which understands our lowly state in comparison to a holy God and His holy law. We bring nothing to the table with God.

3) Blessed
The Greek word, makarios, can be translated as happy. But what is being spoken of is not a shifty, elusive, transitory, or subjective happiness. It is a happiness firmly rooted in the fact that a man whom God has brought low because of His sin, and who has received the gift of the kingdom which has been offered to those who humbly come to Christ, is indeed a blessed man. He is man who, regardless of whether or not he feels happy, is indeed in a happy state. 

So how should we respond?
We need to understand that brokenness over our sin, being brought low by our shortcomings, having a deep sorrow over sinfulness that allows us to receive the joy of repentance and forgiveness: this is a gift. We want to run from it, but we must understand that this kind of brokenness serves as an anchor  to provide us solidity when the waves of pride would pull us away from Christ.

Love Neighbor

Tying back to last time

Last week we discussed the Great Commandment in the Law, namely, that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind.

After looking at other texts that paralleled this one (Matthew 22:34-40), we came to understand that the emphasis was not on delineating particular ways in which we love God (heart, mind, soul, strength, might, etc), but rather to emphasize that we are to love God with all of our everything. 

That being said, to think about how we can practically love God, we divided our thoughts into three categories, thoughts, feelings, and actions.

What does loving God look like?

I think it is key to note that Jesus says the second commandment is like the first. Perhaps this means that we show our love of God through the love we way we love those who bear the image of God. 

Love of others is portrayed throughout Scripture as being of paramount importance. (see Leviticus 19:17-18; Matthew 7:12, Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:14, James 2:8). 

Love sums up everything that God commands of us. How can we love? We have to be in relationship with the God who is love. Apart from Him we can do nothing.

Loving our neighbor in thought, feeling, and action

How can we think more lovingly about our neighbors, those who are around us? How do we look at people? As annoyances, inconveniences, or those who intrude upon our peaceful lives? Or do we view persons as those created in the image of the almighty God? Do we look at others as those for whom Christ came and shed His precious blood?

When our thinking is aligned with God's word, and we are thinking about our neighbors lovingly, this should affect the way we feel about our neighbors. Do I harbor bitterness, anger, jealousy, or prideful spite? Or do I, in humility, consider others better than myself? Do I look upon others as inferior to me, or superior? Do I feel about them the way I would want to be felt about?

Finally, actions. Do I treat others the way I want to be treated? Am I kind? Do I help the needy, or am I more concerned about looking out for my own interests? Perhaps most importantly, do I pray for others?

Believe in Jesus

South Lake Youth Ministries 

Small Group and Youth Group Curriculum

Believe In Jesus

Introduction: 

Welcome to the Absolute Curriculum. Before we get rolling, let's look backward and forward. If you were with us last year, you might recall the rough order of what we covered. We began with a lesson on the Absolute importance of God's word, the moved into the doctrine of God. We discussed the Trinitarian Being of God, that God is three persons, each of these Persons (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit) is fully God, and there is one God. One Being, three persons. Three persons, one essence. From there we moved into God's actions as Creator, specifically His creation of mankind. Man was created imageo dei, in the image of God, and thus has incredible value, as well as many of the attributes of God, although in finite form. Human beings can think, love, feel, make choices. From there we examined the fallen nature of man, that we chose to direct our worship, love, and admiration away from God and towards lesser things. We chose to worship and serve the created (usually ourselves) rather than the Creator. But God didn't leave it there, did He? No, immediately He promises a coming Redeemer, and eventually sends into history His Son, The Word. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, comes into human history, takes on human flesh, lives a perfect life, dies an atoning death for our sins, and rises from the grave victorious over sin, death, the grave. He drank the full cup of God's wrath and rose from the dead that we may too walk in newness of life. In the last couple of sessions we looked at some practical responses in terms of prayer, Bible reading, and being part of the local church. 

As we begin a new year of curriculum, I want to begin with a similar focus as what we built to last year: the centrality of Jesus. The fact that you must believe in Him to be saved. Moving forward from here, we'll look next week at what it means to hope in God, then we'll spend two weeks looking at the two greatest commandments: to love God, and to love our neighbor. From there we will launch into examinations of the Ten Commandments, and Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5, commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. We will also look at a couple of other topics, but those will consume the bulk of our time together this school year. 

Let's begin. The first thing I want to do is look at three verses in the opening chapter of John's Gospel.  

"He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."  John 1:11-13 

The "He" in these verses is Jesus, which if you look at verses 1-5 and 14-18 becomes very clear. In looking at 11-13, especially verse 12, I want to ask four questions: 

• Who hasn't received Him? 

First we need to see the contrast between verses 11 and 12. Who did not receive Jesus? Answer: His own. Who are Jesus "own"? The Jewish people. Jesus came as the Son of David promised in 2 Samuel 7, the true King of Israel. But His own people did not receive Him. Some did, His original disciples were of course entirely Jewish. But most did not. In John chapter 5 Jesus chastises the Pharisees for searching the Scriptures and believing that this would bring them life--this chastisement was not because the Scriptures don't bring life, but rather because the way they bring life is by pointing to Jesus (John 5:39, 2 Timothy 3:15). But they refused to acknowledge this, and they did not receive their own Messiah. 

• Then who has received Him? 

So if the Jews did not receive Him, the same Jews who were given the Old Testament Scriptures, the Law, the prophets, and all of the promises contained therein, what hope has anyone else? Much hope indeed. Because to all who did receive Him He gave the right to become children of God. All who received, regardless of previous creed, color, ethnicity, background, gender, any of it. Any who receive are saved. 

• What does it mean to receive Jesus? 

 So, the question becomes, what does it mean to receive Jesus? Do I pray a prayer, sign a decision card, "ask Jesus into my heart", do some religious ritual, join a particular church? No. The answer to the question, "what does it mean to receive Jesus?" is quite simple: believe. Believe that Jesus Christ is who says He is, that He did what He said He did, and that He will do what He promises He will do. He is the One sent from the Father (John 20:21), He came to die for our sins (Mark 8:31, Romans 3:24-25), and He will give eternal life to all who believe in Him (John 3:16-18, Hebrews 11:6), and He is coming back one day to receive His people to Himself (John 14:1-4, Revelation 22:7,12). To trust in Christ is to believe all that He is and all that He has said. It is, quite simply, to trust Him. 

• What have those who believe been given? 

So then, what has been given to those who believe, and thus receive, Jesus? The right to become children of God. What does this mean? What is the significance of being a child of God? Well, one could go on for hours on his topic, but I want to look quickly at three things.  

First, it means we are no longer God's enemies, but rather His children. We were created to be God's children. God man in His own image, He made man to reflect His glory to all of creation, to other people, and back toward God Himself in worship. But we rejected God's kind and loving rule, His loving Fatherhood. We became sinners, and insodoing, we became God's enemies (Romans 5:10). But when we receive Christ and His payment for our sins, we are no longer God's enemies, we are now His children. What an incredible change of status in the eyes of God! We have been freely brought back into the family, not because of our good works, but because of Christ. 

Second, being God's child means we are part of His family, His body, the Church. In Galatians 6:10, the apostle Paul refers to the household of faith. In places like Ephesians 4:1-6 and Philippians 2:1-4 the apostle discusses the love, kindness, and unity that ought to happen among those who call themselves Christians. While of course we don't do this perfectly, and often do not do it well, when we walk in obedience to Christ together there is a type of love and support and community that is not present anywhere else in the world, even in our own blood family. 

Third, to be God's child means to be a fellow heir with Christ. Many of us are familiar with Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." But do you know what comes next? Verse 29 says this, "For those whom He foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." You and I, if we believe in Christ, have been made co-heirs with Christ, His very brothers and sisters! Children of the most high God, with dignity beyond measure, and a weight of glory beyond all comparison being prepared for us (2 Corinthians 4:17). This is what it means to be God's child. But it only belongs to those who receive Jesus, and the only ones who receive Jesus are those who believe. We must believe.  

  

Absolute #19 Prayer

Absolute #17 Members of One Body

Members of One Body

Absolute Curriculum 

Year 1, Lesson 17

Introduction

In our last session we discussed the fact that as believers in Jesus Christ we must not only believe in Him for our salvation, but we must also work daily to put to death the sin in our lives. But how do we do that? In the final three lessons this year, I want to walk through three basic steps we must take toward becoming more like Jesus, three things every single one of you can and should do. First, become a part of the Body of Christ. Then next week we will look at reading the Bible for yourself, and finally we will look at prayer.

Members of One Body

To use the phrase become a part of the Body of Christ may have been a bit misleading. What I mean by that is that all who believe in Jesus Christ are by definition brought into the body, or family of God.

John 1:12

All who believe in Jesus Christ are called children of God. We have been adopted by Him, loved by Him, saved by Him.

Ephesians 4:4-6

Throughout the scriptures there is this emphasis on unity between all believers in Jesus Christ. Why? because we share One Lord and One Salvation. There is a spiritual unity that exists between every individual who is in Christ. But what does that look like on a practical level? So what if I have an abstract spiritual unity with people all the globe and history; how does this affect my life currently?

Well, the Scriptures are clear that we are not saved to be “islands” as it were. We were called to be a part of the local body of Christ, His Church.

Hebrews 10:24-25

How does the Body shape us?

So what is the practical effect of becoming part of the church locally? The first part we can see right there in Hebrews 10:24, being around other believers gives us the opportunity to stir them up to love and good deeds, and puts us in a position where we to can be encouraged and pushed toward living a life that honors God. But there are several other ways that the Church can draw us closer to Christ, and help us in our fight to become more and more like Him.

First of all, baptism. Baptism is one of the two ordinances established by the Lord Jesus before He left earth, which the church is to administer to those who become believers in Him. Matthew 28:18-20, Romans 6
Baptism publicly identifies us with the Triune God by showing that we have become one with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection to new life. Indeed, this should be one of the first things that we do upon believing in Christ is to be publicly identified with Him in baptism. And as we see in the Great Commission at the end of Matthew, as well as throughout church history, baptism is something administered by the church.

Second, communion or, as it is also known, The Lord’s Supper. Jesus, in Luke 22 and other passages, commands His disciples to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, the bread and the wine (or the crackers and juice as we often take it), in remembrance of Him. We are to join with other believers in commemorating the death of Jesus for us, and by doing so with other Christians, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that we proclaim the Lord’s death (and its saving effect) until He comes.

Third, preaching. The preached word is one of the main reasons we are to be in church Sunday after Sunday. There are other places that we can and should receive teaching. Obviously, right now you’re in youth group. There are also Bible studies you can join, you can read the Bible yourself, maybe your parents or grandparents teach you about God and the Bible. Those are all great things. But do you remember 2 Timothy 3:16-17 where Paul tells Timothy all of the uses of God’s word, how powerful it is? What is his next statement in chapter four? Preach the word! Timothy (and all pastors) are to preach the word, because in hearing the word preached, you and I are changed. God corrects us, rebukes us, trains us, encourages us, equips us: these things are what happens when you consistently sit under the preaching of the word of God with an attitude of humility and a desire to hear from God. Bible studies are cool. Youth group is good. Listening to sermons online is helpful (I do that a lot). But none of these is as important or valuable as sitting under the consistent preaching of God’s Holy Word by your local pastor.

Finally, encouragement. We hit on this a little already, but I want to look at another verse here

Colossians 3:16

None of these things are possible outside the regular gathering together with the local church. There is so much more to say about the church and its benefits, and what the church should look like, but obviously this introduction is very much aimed at showing how the church helps us toward growing in Christlikeness. I’ll cap it off with an analogical statement for you:

Sanctification is a team sport.

Absolute #16 Sanctification

Introduction:
Last session we discussed justification, the act whereby God declares us just and righteous. This comes to us by the grace of God, through faith alone. We Bring nothing to the table.

Sanctification: 
Romans 8:28-30

In that list of four things in Romans 8:30 we see four acts of God in the salvation process; predestination, calling, justification, and glorification. However, those who have in the past been justified, but have not yet been glorified, live in the process of another aspect of salvation: sanctification.

Whereas those four acts in Romans 8:30 are unilateral or sovereign acts of God, sanctification involves work and effort on our part. Wayne Grudem defines sanctification this way,

"Sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more free from sin and like Christ in our actual lives."

Romans 6:12-14

Let not sin reign. Sin is no longer our task-master, because God, in saving us, has freed us from our bondage to sin.

James 2:17-18

We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone. We are saved by faith apart from works, but the faith that saves is not without works. (See also Ephesians 2:8-10)

Philippians 2:12-13

God is the one working in us--and this does not excuse us from action, it motivates our action!

Does this matter:

1 Thessalonians 4:1-3

This is the will of God for all who believe.

Absolute #15 Justification

Absolute #14 Atonement

Absolute #13 Son of God, Son of Man

Son of God, Son of Man

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 13

Introduction:

A couple of sessions ago we discussed the nature of sin, that man is stuck in it, and that this comes to us both by birth and by choice. We then spent our last session examining but a very few of the Old Testament promises concerning the coming salvation, the coming Redeemer that God would send unto His people.

What I would like to do today is primarily to read a number of passages which show us the way in which Jesus entered into our world and identified Himself with us. Or stated another way, I want to discuss the amazing reality that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14) as one of us. One of the main things I want us to notice as we walk through these passages is the dual realities of Jesus divine nature and His human nature. Jesus is truly God and truly man. The fact that He is truly God makes the way in which He became a man and lived as a man all the more remarkable.

The Birth of Christ:

Predicted: Luke 1:26-38

Human: Coming to a young mother, most likely 12-16 years old

Divine: verses 31-33 Jesus very name (Jesus=Joshua=Yeshua) means “Yahweh saves” of “The Lord saves”, indicating His mission. Further, though his mother is human, this birth is of divine origin (v 35).

Song: Luke 1:46-55

Human: Again, we see the humble nature of Mary. She is not someone of royal descent or nobility, rather, she is a woman of lowliness. God's choosing her to mother Christ was not based of earthly logic.

Divine: Mary celebrates the salvation which God is bringing to His people through this child who is to be born.

Birth: Luke 2:4-20

Human: Jesus was laid in a manger, his birth was announced first of all to shepherds (the lowest of the low) and witnessed by them rather than high class or “reliable” people. There was not even room for Mary and Joseph in the inn!

Divine: The birth of Christ was announced first of all by a choir of angels; “angels from the realms of glory” as it were.

The Life of Christ:

Early life: Almost 30 years of obscurity, between the visit of the magi (when he was less than 2) and the beginning of of his ministry (at age 30) the only thing we hear about His life is a short scene Luke gives us from the temple in Luke 2:41-52. Even that passage, while pointing to the unusual nature, wisdom, and calling of Jesus (see especially verses 47 and 49), also point toward the ordinariness of His earthly life. “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.”¹

Baptism: Matthew 3:13-17

Jesus earthly ministry is initiated with his baptism by John in the Jordan river. Though John's baptism was a baptism of repentance and Jesus never sinned, what we see here is Jesus identifying himself with sinful humanity. Though He is unlike us, He is one of us. Here at the Jordan we also see the stark reality of Jesus unlikeness to us, His oneness with God. When He comes us from the water the heavens are opened (or as Mark says, ripped open) and the Holy Spirit descends upon Him like a dove, and the Father proclaims that “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Temptation: Hebrews 4:15

While we see longer sections regarding Jesus' temptation in the wilderness in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (called the synoptic Gospels because the cover a lot of the same material), there are many other places where Jesus is tempted. Indeed, because of His humanity it is true that throughout His entire life Jesus would have faced the same kind of temptations daily, even hourly that we do to sin. Yet, He did not sin.

Ministry:

Jesus spends his ministry teaching, healing, showing compassion toward and feeling empathy for the people He encountered. 

Death: 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:24

Of course the place where we see Jesus most radically identify with us is on the cross. He not only takes on our sin, but becomes our sin, that in Him we might die to sin, that in Him we might become God's righteousness.

Resurrection: 1 Corinthians 15:1-6, 12-19

In this passage we see that our eternal hope as believers is tied to that fact that not only can we be identified with Christ in His death, but that His resurrection is the guarantee that we ourselves might one day be resurrected.

1The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. All Scripture quoted, unless otherwise noted, will be from the ESV.

Absolute #12 Promises

Genesis 3:15

Genesis 12:1-3

2 Samuel 7:12-16

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Luke 3:1-5

Absolute # 6 The Attributes of God

Attributes of God, Part 1

Absolute Curriculum

Year 1, Lesson 6

Introduction

Over the next two sessions I want to wrap up our discussion of God by looking at some of His attributes, and segueing into our discussion of man. To some extent this may feel like a fire-hose dumping information on you at a pace that is impossible to keep up with. I'm okay with that. Here's why. God, by the very definition of being God, is beyond our full comprehension. If you will remember our discussion of the Scripture, we said that we cannot know God fully, but we can know Him truly. That's an important distinction. So no matter how little or much you walk away from today with, because our subject matter is the attributes of God, I think it will be of benefit.

So, what is an attribute? An attribute is simply a word that we use to describe some action or characteristic of God. Now, because God is an infinite and unlimited being, He has an infinite number of attributes. That is, there is no end to what we could say about God. But I want to restrict our looking to what the Bible has to say.

Theologians have often (though not always) grouped the attributes of God into two categories: communicable (that is, He shares these attributes with us) and incommunicable (that is, attributes that rightly describe Him alone). However, we should realize that, as one writer put it, “these categories are not hard and fast, and some of the choices as to which attributes to place within which category are debatable. The important thing to study is the attribute itself to learn not only what it reveals about God but also what implications that it has for one’s personal outlook and life.”¹ So as we break this into two sessions we aren't going to specifically follow the communicable/incommunicable distinction. I don't want us to worry too much about big words like communicable and incommunicable so much as we worry about learning who God is and what He is like. I have had to be somewhat selective in which attributes I have picked to looked at, but hopefully they will give you a taste for the immense power, beauty, and wisdom of this God whom we serve. In this session we are going to focus specifically on God's attributes to kind finish our discussion directly about the Persons and Being of God, and next week we will look at some of the attributes that we are made or told to model as His image bearers, as a way of introducing our next topic: Who is Man?

Independence

The first attribute I want to look at is the eternal independence of God. That He depends on no one to exist, because He and He alone has always been.

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”²

^“13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” ¹⁴ God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”” ³

^“Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”” ⁴

In the beginning God. I am who I am. Before Abraham was, I am. God predates creation, His point of reference for Himself is Himself, and Jesus makes clear that as God, He is the one who has always been. In Revelation 4:8 we read the following,

“And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!””

Why does this matter? Because as the only eternal being, we see that God is not only one who existed before creation, but He is not dependent upon any part of His creation. Acts 17:24-25 says the following,

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, ²⁵ nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.”

He is the one who gives it, He does not depend upon you or me. This is good news, for a God who needed us would be a small God indeed!

Sovereignty

The next attribute that I want to discuss it the sovereignty of God. That is the powerful, effective, controlling rule of God over all things. There is absolutely nothing that is outside the control of God. He does whatever He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants.

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” ⁵

“Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord, or what man shows him his counsel?...Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as the dust on the scales; behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust...All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.”⁶

God does whatever He pleases, the nations are all a drop in the bucket to him. But God's control isn't just over nations, but over persons as well, and even down to the birds of the air!

“The heart of man plans his way,

but the Lord establishes his steps.”⁷

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.”⁸

All things, all thing, are under God's control. Theologian JI Packer puts it this way,

“The assertion of God’s absolute sovereignty in creation, providence, and grace is basic to biblical belief and biblical praise. The vision of God on the throne—that is, ruling—recurs (1 Kings 22:19; Isa. 6:1; Ezek. 1:26; Dan. 7:9; Rev. 4:2; cf. Pss. 11:4; 45:6; 47:8–9; Heb. 12:2; Rev. 3:21); and we are constantly told in explicit terms that the Lord (Yahweh) reigns as king, exercising dominion over great and tiny things alike (Exod. 15:18; Pss. 47; 93; 96:10; 97; 99:1–5; 146:10; Prov. 16:33; 21:1; Isa. 24:23; 52:7; Dan. 4:34–35; 5:21–28; 6:26; Matt. 10:29–31). God’s dominion is total: he wills as he chooses and carries out all that he wills, and none can stay his hand or thwart his plans.”⁹

Holiness

The final attribute I want to discuss today is the holiness of God. Before we dive into this one though I want to plug a book to you, “The Holiness of God” by RC Sproul. It has been one of the most influential books in my own life, and he covers this aspect of God's character much better than I can here. End plug.

We see the holiness of God brought forward to us time and time again in Scripture. All three members of the Trinity are described as holy. God the Father is referred to as “a holy God”¹⁰, Jesus, God the Son, is referred to by Peter as the “holy one of God”¹¹, and of course God the Spirit is known as the “Holy Spirit.”¹²

But what does this word “holy” mean? The word carries with it the idea of separation, or different-ness. When God's people are referred to as holy in Scripture, the idea is often that they are ones who have been set apart or chosen by God for a distinct purpose, and are thus different from the world.¹³ We see a similar usage throughout the Old Testament, extending even to inanimate objects, such at the vessels in the temple. To be holy was, and is, to be set apart by God for His use. In applying this to God Himself, we begin to see the idea of transcendence, that God is over everthying and not constrained by anything outside of Himself, and of the distinction from all of His creation. So you might say that God is holy because He is not human, or angelic, or a dog, or a tree, or anything else. He is God. And yet if that's all we said about holiness we would be missing something very important.

There is also a very clear message about the holiness of God in Scripture: God's holiness means not only that He is other, that He is unlike us, but also that He is pure, righteous, perfect, unstained, and untainted by sin. For example, we read in Leviticus,

You shall not make yourselves detestable with any swarming thing that swarms, and you shall not defile yourselves with them, and become unclean through them. ⁴⁴ For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. ⁴⁵ For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁴

God holiness meant being untainted by any impure or unclean thing. And as a result of His holy character, He demands that His people live in a way that is holy as well. Of course it looks different today than it did then when God was telling them not to eat insects, but God is making a clear point. I am pure: you be pure.¹⁵

Conclusion:

So I want to wrap up today with I want to close with Paul's words to young pastor Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:17,

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

1 Ryrie, C. C. (1972). A survey of Bible doctrine. Chicago: Moody Press.

2 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). (Genesis 1:1). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society. All Scripture taken from the ESV, unless otherwise noted.

3 Exodus 3:13-14

4 John 8:58

5 Psalm 115:3

6 Isaiah 40:13,15

7 Proverbs 16:9

8 Matthew 10:29

9 Packer, J. I. (1993). Concise theology: a guide to historic Christian beliefs. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.

10 Joshua 24:19. See also, Ezekiel 39:7, Isaiah 41:14

11John 6:69. See also, Mark 1:24, Acts 3:14

12Acts 5:3. See also, Ephesians 4:30, John 20:22

13For example, 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

14 Leviticus 11:43-45

15See also, 1 Peter 1:15-16