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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 (CWR)  I am the Lord your God and you must be holy 
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   

SUBSCRIBER COMMENTARY

The Holy Spirit will not live in an unholy vessel.; therefore we 
must allow Jesus to come in clean us up so the Holy Spirit will feel 
welcome. If you go in a room at night, it is dark until you turn on the 
light. It is filled with darkness. But you don't empty it of its 
darkness. You fill it with light. You don't have to empty your heart of 
sin God will do that when He forgives & gives you the light. But you 
have to walk in the light He gives you so that the Holy Spirit will 
enter and stay. When a cup is empty, it is full of emptiness then when 
you pour water in the cup you have rid the cup of its emptiness, by 
filling it with water. Not by emptying it of its emptiness. But if you 
have black coffee in your cup. and then add pure clear water. It 
makes the water dirty. you must empty out the black before you can 
fill it with clear pure water. The way I see it the Holy Spirit comes 
in after you are saved and Jesus cleans you up and makes you pure. 
He sorta cleans house for the company,--(God's Holy Spirit.) the 
comforter. He is very sensitive. The Holy Spirit does like a clean house 
and is very particular about that. We must be dedicated to serving 
God in every aspect of our lives - total devotion to Him! .Not 
dabbling in sin or worldly pleasures. .....That's my understanding of 
it.....Janie  SNUBBYJR@aol.com