Published on June 29th, 2009 | Articles, eBooks, Technology, Worship
Article adapted from “Gospel 101″
The Nature of Holiness
While in prayer, I asked the Holy Spirit to teach me more about holiness and godliness, and the difference between the two. Within an hour, the Holy Spirit said,
“Godliness is to Character what Holiness is to Nature” ~The Holy Spirit
That’s powerful! The Holy Spirit taught me that before we were born again our nature was in sharp contrast to God. Our natural spirit was corrupt and evil. But God provided a way for deliverance from this evil condition.
Look in Ephesians.
Ephesians 2:1-3 – New King James Version
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
The word nature simply means the way that something is without any outside changes or adaptations—it’s natural.
According to the Bible, by nature we were the children of wrath, meaning that our spirit man was so corrupt, so evil that it could not live in the presence of a Holy God.
God’s Word goes on to tell us that before we were born again, the very wrath of God was against us. Wrath means, anger, rage, and fury.
But for those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ, God has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation through His precious Son.
1 Thessalonians 5:9 – New King James Version
For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
John the Baptist, a prophet and forerunner of Jesus, spoke prophetically about the coming Messiah when he said,
Matthew 3:10-12 – The New Testament in Modern English (J.B. Phillips)
The axe already lies at the root of the tree, and the tree that fails to produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. It is true that I baptize you with water as a sign of your repentance, but the one who follows me is far stronger than I am – indeed I am not fit to carry his shoes.
He will baptize you with the fire of the Holy Spirit. He comes all ready to separate the wheat from the chaff and very thoroughly will he clear his threshing – floor – the wheat he will collect into the granary and the chaff he will burn with a fire that can never be put out.
In Mathew 3:10 it says, “The axe already lies at the root of the tree”. In the Bible, trees can represent people. John was speaking prophetically to the religious leaders of his day about repentance and turning back to God with a true heart.
He further stated that Jesus would separate the “wheat” from the “chaff”, meaning those who would not repent and accept Jesus as their savior would be like the “chaff” and thrown into the fire.
This phrase “The ax is laid unto the root of the trees” has another powerful meaning.
Once we accepted Jesus as our savior, Jesus laid the ax to the evil root in our nature removing it from our lives. However, He didn’t just stop there. Jesus also gave us “a new nature” in Christ! Let’s look at this in II Corinthians.
II Corinthians 5:17 – Amplified Bible
Therefore if any person is [engrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold the fresh and new has come!
The Bible is very clear that once we are born again, God removes our old nature and creates within us a new one; a nature of holiness. The Apostle Peter tells us that we have the joy and privilege of partaking of God’s divine nature.
II Pet 1:3-4 – New King James Version
As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Peter tells us that we have escaped the corruption of our old, evil nature and have received the very nature of God.
How?
Through being grafted into Jesus Christ, who is the true Vine.
When you heard the truth about Jesus and received the knowledge of the promise that He died for you, you had to make a clear choice; to either accept or reject him. When you accepted Jesus as your savior, He laid the ax to the evil root of your nature and removed it from your life. God then grafted you into His “divine nature” and you experienced what the Bible calls being “born again.” It’s just that simple!
Eph 4:24 – Amplified Bible
And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.
Original Blueprint
It was God’s original plan from the foundation of this world to have sons and daughters who were created in His image and after his likeness.
Look in Genesis.
Gen 1:26 – New King James Version
Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image [holiness], according to Our likeness [godliness]; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Emphasis Mine)
Remember what the Holy Spirit said?
“Godliness is to Character what Holiness is to Nature” ~The Holy Spirit
Article adapted from “Gospel 101″
About the Author
Charles Hamilton is the founder of cWorshipMusic.com, dedicated to providing worship music and biblical teachings. He is co-author of Gospel 101 and has released four music CD’s: Walk As Children Of Light (1991), The Jesus Project – Worship (2001), Songs Of The Bride – Higher Deeper (2003), and Transparent (2007). Charles and his wife, Suzanne, live in Salem, Virginia, and have six children.
