Partakers of God’s Holiness

 October 11, 2022

“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? …we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.”—Hebrews 12:7, 9-10 

Daily Light on the Daily Path is a devotional book consisting entirely of Scripture without comment. It was compiled by Jonathan Bagster for family devotions and first published in 1875. It has been continually in print since then. This morning’s reading came in part from Hebrews 12, with just a snippet from the above text that caught my attention this morning. The words that jumped out at me were the final phrase quoted: “that we may be partakers of his holiness.”

The author of Hebrews notes that the difficulties and challenges we face are not as often assume, obstacles to our faith, but are instead the very means to growing our faith and strengthening our character. But there is more; God wants us to be partakers of his holiness. In other words, He wants to impart to us his own character. 

The Scriptures are replete with references to the holiness of God. From Moses removing his sandals because he is on holy ground, to the High Priest only entering the Divine Presence once a year on the Day of Atonement, to Isaiah’s vision of the Seraphim shouting, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD God of Hosts,” and exclaiming, “Woe is me; I am done for, for I have unclean lips…and have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!” In the New Testament, Peter exclaims, “Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!” And in the Revelation, “every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”” —Revelation 5:13 

The author of Hebrews is clear about the matter: God’s intent is to make us holy with his very own holiness. This is not some dry, sour church lady attitude that sucks all the joy out of life, but is rather the very purpose for which we were made. God’s holiness is a glorious thing, so wonderful that those who have experienced even just a portion of it are driven to their knees by the energy released by his glory. If they were to experience it fully, it would annihilate them as surely as matter is vaporized in atomic fission. 

God doesn’t desire our annihilation. Instead, he wants us to experience something far beyond mere human joy—his holiness. And for that to happen, we must be chastened, ie, God introduces us to fiery trials so that whatever might hinder or prevent our experiencing his Presence might be burned away. 

Oh my soul, keep your eyes upon Jesus Christ, and shrink not from his hand of correction, that you might experience the fullness of his glorious presence through his Holy Spirit!