Leviticus 11:44a - Be Holy: For I Am Holy.

Lev.11:44a: Be Holy; For I Am Holy.

Lev 11:44a (KJV)  For I am the LORD your God: ye shall therefore
sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy; for I am holy:


Lev 11:44a (NIV)  I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves
and be holy, because I am holy.


Lev 11:44a (NCV)  I am the LORD your God. Keep yourselves holy
for me because I am holy.


?Be holy for I am holy? is repeated in various forms nine times
in the Book of Leviticus (11:44; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 21:8, 15; 22:9,
16, 32) and it is quoted in 1 Peter 1:15?16 as applying to the NT
Christian today. If we are God?s people, and He is a holy God, then it?s
logical that we live holy lives. . . . If we are a redeemed people, then
we ought to live holy lives to please the God who set us free.
[Wiersbe?s Expository Outlines]


When related to people, holy means "being separated to God and
from all that is unclean." When applied to God, it means not only
that He is separate from all that is evil but also that He is
completely pure and distinct from all other beings. [Ryrie SB]


What does it mean to be holy?  It doesn't mean just to have a
pious attitude toward God.  The Hebrew word literally means "to be set
apart," both unto God and from sin. . . .God calls us to a life of
holiness, a life that clearly reflects God's standards.  [Life Recovery
SB]


God wanted his people to be holy, just like himself.  His desire
hasn't changed.  God wants us to be holy too.  Holiness means to be
wholly devoted to God and to be wholly set aside for God [Life
Application SB]


We must be made partakers of the divine nature. We must be saved
from our sins-- from the corruption that is in the world, and be made
holy within and righteous without, or never see God. For this very
purpose Jesus Christ lived, died, and revived, that he might purify us
unto himself; that through faith in his blood our sins might be
blotted out, and our souls restored to the image of God.-- Reader, art
thou hungering and thirsting after righteousness? Then blessed art
thou, for thou shalt be filled. (Adam Clarke Commentary)


Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself,
make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth. John 17:17 (EAV)


Sanctify means "to set apart for God and His holy purposes". The
means of sanctification is God's Word. [Ryrie SB]


A follower of Christ becomes sanctified (set apart for sacred
use, cleansed, and made holy) through believing and obeying the Word
of God. He or she has already accepted forgiveness through Christ?s
sacrificial death. But daily application of God?s Word has a purifying
effect on our minds and hearts. [Life Application SB]


Christ has promised the gift of the Holy Spirit to His church,
and the promise belongs to us as much as to the first disciples. But
like every other promise, it is given on conditions. There are many
who believe and profess to claim the Lord's promise; they talk about
Christ and about the Holy Spirit, yet receive no benefit. They do not
surrender the soul to be guided and controlled by the divine agencies. We
cannot use the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is to use us. Through the Spirit
God works in His people "to will and to do of His good pleasure."
Phil. 2:13. But many will not submit to this. They want to manage
themselves. This is why they do not receive the heavenly gift. Only to those
who wait humbly upon God, who watch for His guidance and grace, is
the Spirit given. The power of God awaits their demand and
reception. This promised blessing, claimed by faith, brings all other
blessings in its train. It is given according to the riches of the grace
of Christ, and He is ready to supply every soul according to the
capacity to receive.  DA671,2