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Chapter 160

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THE CHARACTER OF JESUS:
Holiness

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Topic 10:   The Holiness of Jesus Christ.

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POINT 10:   Jesus Christ is Holy, absolutely Holy. He is "the Holy One."

      Acts 4:27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

      Acts 4:30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.

      Mark 1:24 What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!

      Luke 4:34 Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!

      Acts 3:14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.

      1 John 2:20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth.

   Note: In the Old Testament it is Jehovah God who is called "the Holy One." Jehovah is called "The Holy One of Israel" about thirty times in Isaiah.

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POINT 12:   What does Holy mean?

      Leviticus 11:43-45 [43] Do not defile yourselves by any of these creatures. Do not make yourselves unclean by means of them or be made unclean by them. [44] I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy. Do not make yourselves unclean by any creature that moves about on the ground. [45] I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

      Deuteronomy 23:14 For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you.

   Holy means free from defilement. To say that Christ is absolutely holy, is to say that He absolutely pure.

      Compare 1 John 3:3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he [God] is pure.

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POINT 14:   The Bible uses many terms to describe the absolute purity of Christ.

      Hebrews 7:26 Such a high priest meets our need - - one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

      Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!

      1 Peter 1:18-19 [18] For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, [19] but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

      1 John 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

      2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

      Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin.

      1 John 3:3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

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POINT 20:   The Bible multiplies expressions and figures to produce an adequate conception of the absolute holiness or moral purity of Christ. Nothing in nature with which to compare it except light.

      1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

      John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

   The dazzling white light that glorified the face and garments of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration was the outshining of the moral purity within.

      Matthew 17:2 There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.

      Luke 9:29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning.

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Topic 12:   How the Holiness of Jesus Christ manifested itself.

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POINT 10:   The Holiness of Jesus Christ manifested itself in a love of righteousness and hatred of iniquity.

      Hebrews 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

   It is not enough to love righteousness; iniquity must be hated as well. On the other hand it is not enough to hate iniquity; righteousness must be loved as well. There are those who profess to love righteousness, but they do not seem to hate iniquity. They are strong in applauding right, but not equally strong in denouncing evil. There are also those who profess to hate sin, but they do not seem to love righteousness. They are strong in denouncing evil, but not equally strong in applauding right. Jesus Christ's holiness was full-orbed as well as spotless; He loved righteousness and hated iniquity.

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POINT 20:   The Holiness of Jesus Christ manifested itself in deed and word; NEGATIVELY, in His never doing sin or speaking falsehood; POSITIVELY, in His always doing what was pleasing to God and always speaking the things which pleased God.

      1 Peter 2:22 He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

      John 8:29 The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.

      Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

      John 12:49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.

   The holiness of Jesus manifested itself not merely negatively in not doing nor speaking wrong, but also positively in speaking all that God desired, all that was right to do or speak. A full manifestation of holiness does not consist merely in doing nothing wrong, but in doing all that is right.

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POINT 30:   The Holiness of Jesus manifested itself in constant and never-failing victory over temptation. It was not merely the negative innocence that results from being shielded from contact with evil, but also the positive holiness that meets evil and overcomes it.

      Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin.

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POINT 40:   The Holiness of Jesus manifested itself in demanding absolute perfection in His disciples and refusing any compromise with evil.

      The entire Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5- 7, especially Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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POINT 50:   The Holiness of Jesus manifested itself in the stern and scathing rebuke of sinners.

      Matthew 23:13 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

      Matthew 16:23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

      John 4:17-18 [17] "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. [18] The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."

      Matthew 23:33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

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POINT 60:   The Holiness of Jesus manifested itself in His making the greatest sacrifice in His power -- saving others from the sin He hated and to the righteousness He loved.

      1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.

      1 Peter 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,

      2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

      Confer John 10:17-18 [17] The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life -- only to take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.

      Philippians 2:6-8 [6] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, [7] but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. [8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death -- even death on a cross!

      Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

   This was the crowning manifestation of His holiness. He so hated sin and loved righteousness that He was not only willing to die rather than sin Himself, but even to give up His Divine glory, and be made in fashion as a man, and die the death of a malefactor, and be rejected by man and separated from God, so that others might not sin. He was willing to make any sacrifice to do away with sin.

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POINT 70:   The Holiness of Jesus will manifest itself in the awful, irrevocable punishment of those who refuse to be separated from their sin.

      Matthew 25:31-32, 41 [31] When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. [32] All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. [41] Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels."

      2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 [7] and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. [8] He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. [9] They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power

   He died to separate men whom He loves from sin which He hates. If men refuse this separation, He leaves them to their self-chosen partnership and the doom which it involves. Men talk much of the holiness of God and love of Jesus, but Jesus is just as holy as God, and God is just as loving as Jesus. In this, as in all else, Jesus and the Father are one.

      John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

      Ephesians 2:4-5 [4] But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, [5] made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved.

      John 10:30 I and the Father are one.

   Let us remember that first of all our Savior is Holy. Until we have an adequate conception of His Holiness we can have no adequate conception of His love.

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Topic 14:   Witnesses to the Holiness of Jesus Christ

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POINT 12:   Peter witnessed to the Holiness of Christ.

      Acts 3:14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.

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POINT 14:   John witnessed to the Holiness of Christ.

      1 John 3:5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

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POINT 16:   Paul witnessed to the Holiness of Christ.

      2 Corinthians 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

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POINT 18:   The whole Apostolic Company in concert.

      Acts 4:27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

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POINT 22:   Ananias of Damascus witnessed to the Holiness of Christ.

      Acts 22:14 [14] Then he said: "The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth."

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POINT 24:   The Dying Thief witnessed to the Holiness of Christ.

      Luke 23:41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

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POINT 26:   The Roman Centurion witnessed to the Holiness of Christ.

      Luke 23:47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."

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POINT 28:   Pilate's Wife witnessed to the Holiness of Christ.

      Matthew 27:19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."

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POINT 32:   Pilate himself witnessed to the Holiness of Christ three times.

      John 18:38 "What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him."

      John 19:4, 6 [4] Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." [6] As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him."

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POINT 34:   Judas Iscariot witnessed to the Holiness of Christ.

      Matthew 27:3-4 [3] When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. [4] "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood." "What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your responsibility."

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POINT 36:   The Unclean Spirit witnessed to the Holiness of Christ.

      Mark 1:23-24 [23] Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, [24] "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are -- the Holy One of God!"

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POINT 38:   Jesus Himself was a witness to His own Holiness.

      John 8:46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don't you believe me?

      John 14:30-31 [30] I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, [31] but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. Come now; let us leave.

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POINT 42:   The Holy Spirit witnessed to the Holiness of Christ..

      John 16:8, 10 [8] When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: [10] in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;

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POINT 44:   God the Father witnessed to the Holiness of Christ..

      Hebrews 1:8-9 [8] But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. [9] You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy."

      Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

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