Last Sunday morning I spoke to you about the Holiness of God. I focused on the holiness of God the Father. This morning I would like to focus our thoughts on the holiness of the Son – Jesus Christ.
The holiness of the Father is expressed in Exodus 3:5 where Moses is told: “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
The holiness of the Son is expressed in Hebrews 10:22: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.”
The holiness of the Father and the holiness of the Son is contrasted by the “Take off your shoes…” in Exodus and Jesus saying “Let me wash your feet.”
“The holiness of God is expressed in the law and in the prophets; in the judgments of God; in the history of His people; in His redemptive plan; and in the glories of Heaven; but nowhere else is it seen so clearly and so beautifully as in the Person of His Son.”
Through Jesus Christ we are able to come near to God. He is our Mediator. Because of Jesus Christ we find in Hebrews 10:19-22 that we are able to have “boldness to enter the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh;…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:19-22)
Christ is the mediator required in order to communicate the holiness of God to humanity. John 1:18 says of God, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared Him.”
This morning I want to try to speak to you about the Holiness of God the Son – Jesus Christ. In the New Testament Jesus is specifically described as holy nine times and the idea of His holiness is constant throughout the New Testament. In Hebrews 2:11 we are told that Christ is the One “who sanctifies” His brethren. He sanctifies His brethren by His sacrifice (10:10) in which He enters the Holy of Holies with His won blood and opens the way for those who follow Him (Hebrews 10:14-22) He who sanctifies other must himself by holy and Jesus Christ was holy.
Let us look at Jesus Christ and how His holiness applies to us.
I. Jesus’ Life – The Perfect Example of Holiness for Us.
In Jesus Christ all of the elements of the Father’s holiness are found: majesty, perfection, love, and separation from sin.
Hebrews 7:26 tells us, “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.” In Jesus Christ we find all of the qualities of divine holiness, but they are part of the Person of our Great High Priest (Jesus) whose duty was to go before the Presence of God and come to man and to mediate between the two of us. He is Immanuel “God with us” and because of this holiness draws nigh to us.
It’s important for us to understand that Jesus lived His life with the same resources we have for holy living. He never used His deity to help Him live a holy life. He never performed a miracle to overcome temptation. When He was being tempted by the Devil, the Devil continually tried to get Jesus to use a miracle in the time of temptation yet Jesus refused. Why? If Jesus would have used a miracle for Himself He would not be our example for when we are tempted.
How did Jesus remain holy?
• By the Word of God.
• By a life of prayer.
• By the fullness of the Spirit.
What is my point? The point is this: when we read of Jesus’ life we read of a life which is a perfect example for us. He lived a holy life and we too can live a holy life.
He showed us the same life of faith which we must live. The faith of Christ was shown by the fact that He never acted in self interest. His perfect knowledge was submitted to the guidance from His Father. His individual will was submitted voluntarily to the perfect will of the Father. If we want to live a holy life we must follow His example. Whenever we deny our own self-will to do the will of the Father we are bearing the cross of Jesus. God’s will must be first in our life. In this Jesus was our perfect example.
Jesus’ life was the perfect example of holiness for us.
Secondly notice…
II. Jesus’ Death – Makes Holiness possible for us.
If Jesus had even once yielded to temptation, answered with an angry or impulsive word, or shown a carnal spirit He could not have been our Deliverer. However, He was able to say at the end of His life here on earth, “The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me.” (John 14:30)
Romans 6:10, “For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.” When Jesus Christ died He dealt with the issue once and for all and He settled it. He met sin where all of mankind faces sin and He faced the strongest of temptations and yet He remained without sin. He died unto sin! “His was an encounter with sin – inner sin, outer sin, modern sin, ancient sin, enticing sin, sin in its beginnings, horrid sin in its finish, sin of the mind, of the body, of the soul, sin at the judgment bar – all of sin…for me, for all mankind.”
Because Jesus met the issue of sin and settled it with His death, we can be freed from sin and be made holy.
III. Jesus’ Resurrection – Enabling Grace for us to live Holy.
The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 6:10, “In that he liveth, he liveth unto God.” Because Jesus completely met the demands of sin, the resurrection life of Jesus is totally related to God and not to sin. Sin no longer has any claim on Him. Paul tells us that we are to be identified with Christ’s death and he also insists that we are identified with His resurrection victory. With Christ’s resurrection He gained a victory over sin, which He shares with us. We can live a holy life and it is a resurrected Christ which enables us to.
In Romans 7 (a very misunderstood chapter) Paul wrote about his earlier unregenerate life when he struggled with inward sin. He said, “If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” (Romans 7:17) However, after Paul met Jesus he said, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet no I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) He had described His condition as “Not I, but sin…” but after he got the victory he said, “Not I, but Christ…” He had been transformed by a resurrected Christ!
Jesus Christ was the revelation of God. In Him the Father was unveiled. Through Jesus the Father’s hatred of sin, His holiness, His spotless purity, and His justice are seen. Jesus came into the world to reveal the Father and to do the will of the Father. He came to save lost man from sin and the sin nature. He came to bring man back into fellowship with God. The Resurrection was the final stone in the everlasting foundation upon which this work was built.
When Jesus Christ takes the place where sin once resided, He cleanses our hearts! He lives within as the supreme Lord of life! He gives us victory over sin! Because He lives we can live!!
Finally notice…
IV. Jesus’ Ascension – Provides His Presence and Intercession.
We often think about how nice it would have been to have walked and talked with Jesus while He was here on earth. I have heard some say that if Jesus was here in the flesh than they could be a Christian. However may I suggest to you that we have a great advantage because Jesus ascended to heaven?
We find in John 16:7 Jesus told His disciples, “…I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” One the day of Pentecost He fulfilled His promise to send the Holy Spirit and next Sunday I will talk to you about the Holy Spirit. But because of the Holy Spirit we have God’s very Presence with us always.
Another advantage of Jesus’ ascension to heaven is the fact that He is interceding on our behalf before the Father. Remember, Jesus is our advocate. In Hebrews 7:25 we find that “…He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
From His exalted position in the throne, Christ pleads for us as our Advocate. When our will is surrendered to God and when we have received His Holy Spirit by faith, we no longer have to live in fear of falling into sin. Yes, it is still possible, but we can have a deep confidence in the faithfulness of our great Advocate who represents us before the Father. He represents us before the throne! We can have wonderful assurance! We have wonderful resources! We have wonderful help in our time of need! In the Book of Jude we find that He “is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”
Conclusion:
I was reading this week in the little devotional book “This Day with the Master” by Dennis Kinlaw and I read the devotional for April 27th. I would like to share this with you this morning. In Ephesians 5:1-2 we are told to “be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love.”
“One day as I was reading through the book of Ephesians, I found myself laughing aloud when I came across Ephesians 5:1, “Be imitators of God.” How can someone like me imitate God? Many of His attributes immediately came into my mind. First of all, He is the omnipotent One. A few in history have tried to be all-powerful, but they have ended up as fools. Second, He is the omniscient One. He knows all things. But when I am in the process of finding an answer to a question, I discover that I have tem more questions, and so my experience is one of exploding ignorance, not knowledge. The more I know, the more I have to learn. Third, He is the omnipresent One. But I am confined to one moment in time and one point in space. How can I imitate Him?
I looked again at the passage: “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” (Ephesians 5:2) My laughter faded when I realized that God wants us to imitate His lifestyle, not His attributes. What Paul was telling the church to imitate was the life of love that issues in self-sacrifice modeled in the Lord Jesus.
Suddenly I found myself confronted not with divine attributes in abstraction, but with the very Cross of Christ. Then I realized that Paul was asking us to imitate the God we see on Calvary, the God who cares more for someone else than He does for Himself. Paul says that the self-sacrificing love pleased the very nostrils of God.
But how can I get out of my self –interest, which seems to contaminate every thing I do and touch? Paul gives us the key. It lies not in us but in the very love that sent Christ to Calvary. Paul believed that God can put His own love in us, if we want it and seek it.
If we let His Spirit fill us, we will find that His love comes with His presence. Then we can live as He lived because He will be living through us.” (end of Kinlaw quote)
Church, I hope this morning that you have caught a little glimpse into the holiness of Jesus Christ God’s Son and I hope and pray you will see how He has made it possible for you to be holy. In John 17 which we read to begin this message, Jesus and His disciples had just eaten the Last Supper and Jesus concludes this meal with what we call His “High Priestly Prayer.” It is a prayer for Himself (v. 1-5) and for His disciples (v. 6-19) and for all believers (v. 20-26). I believe that it is one of the most majestic and beautiful passages of Scripture in the entire Bible. It takes us right to the heart of Christ’s parting concern for the work He had come to do and the people who would carry that work on. Read verses 13-26. Christ’s concern was for our sanctification. He wants us to be made holy in love like Him. We can be partakers in His holiness. How about you? Are you a partaker in Christ’s holiness? You can bee today.
