Being and Becoming Holy, Part 1

“If the root is holy, the branches are too.”
Romans 11.16

“But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’”
1 Peter 1:15-16

What is the ultimate reality for Christians? How we perceive reality is determines how we respond to life and practice our beliefs. For instance, if we see our present circumstances, our existence here on earth, as our true reality, then our experiences, most likely, will determine our actions. If we are ill, we will despair. If we are under intense stress, we might cave. But, if our true reality is the realm of the Spirit, then we will be able to overcome any of our life situation’s because we are not rooted in time, but in eternity.

Paul made the following statements to the congregation in Corinth in his second letter to them. “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

We look not the things which are seen (our present situation), but to the things which are not seen (the spiritual realities of the Kingdom). “Seen” things are temporary; “unseen” things are eternal. Paul used the human body as a metaphor for human existence. Our “outer man,” the seeable human body, is decaying because all physical things are temporary; they are locked in time. Paul further stated, our “inner man,” our unseeable self, is being “made new” day by day. The spirit does not decay. Additionally, what we experience in this life, the “momentary lightness of our troubles” serves to produce in us a “surpassing, eternal fullness of glory without comparison.” Our present “reality” is temporary, and is intended to prepare us for a permanent reality. As difficult as our circumstance might be, relative to eternity, it is light and momentary; our difficulties all pass away.

Now, we face a paradox in our walk with the Lord. That contradiction is our “not yet, already” state of being. We are not yet living in eternity, but, we have eternal life. We are not yet without sin, but, all our sins are forgiven and taken away. We struggle with life, yet, we are “completely victorious through him who loved us.” We face a daily tension between the seen and the unseen. We are locked in time while at the same time living eternally by God’s grace.

This tension is played out in a number of contradictions. For instance, one spiritual realities by which we are characterized is holiness. As Paul said to the Romans, “if the root is holy, the branches are too.” We believers are the branches; Jesus is the root, who supports us and sustains both our lives in time and our lives in eternity. In the spiritual realm, the locus of our ultimate reality, we stand before God as sinless beings, “having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” This state of being is the result of the work of Christ, who gave himself up for the church “so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Ephesians 5:26-27) As Paul affirmed in a number of places in his letters, both the church and its members are holy. That is the truth about us; that is our ultimate reality.

In practice, though, churches often do not behave in holy ways church members do unholy things. So, are we holy or are we not? Do our unholy actions mean we are in fact not yet holy? Indeed, in our present circumstances, we are not yet fully holy; yet, in the realm of the Spirit, we are completely holy.

Our challenge as believers is to act in time as we are in eternity. If we are holy before God, which we are, we should live in this life in a holy manner. Ironically, even though in reality we are holy, in the present moment we are not yet holy. Why? We struggle daily with the temptation to sin. Sometimes we win the battle, other times we lose. If we realize our ultimate reality, we are holy before God, then we can confess, be forgiven and stand to fight again. If our ultimate reality is this life, we will sink into guilt, condemn ourselves as failures, and give in to what we in fact have the victory over.

What is your ultimate reality? Are you holy, or are you “just human,” and not capable of being holy in this life?