You can all prophesy one by one… —1 Cor. 12:31

2018 ST Message Seven

Crystallization-Study of Leviticus (2)

Message Seven

Chosen To Be Holy With A Holy Living

To Express The Holy God And Become The Holy City

Reading the verses in each day.

Reading the main points in the outlines.

Pray-reading the verses:

Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,—Eph.1:4

And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.—1Thes.5:23

Word of Appetizer

God chose us that we should be holy. What’s the meaning of “to be holy”?

The word holy should not be understood according to our natural concept. Many think that holiness is sinlessness. According to this concept, someone is holy if he does not sin. This thought is absolutely mistaken. Holiness is neither sinlessness nor perfection. Holy not only means sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common. Only God is different, distinct, from all things. Hence, He is holy; holiness is His nature.The way God makes us holy is to impart Himself, the Holy One, into us so that our whole being may be permeated and saturated with His holy nature.

Spiritual Burden

We need to live a holy life, a life that befits our priesthood, We can be such persons only by contacting the perfect Christ, enjoying Him and experiencing Him day by day. He will make us complete, perfect, and properly balanced. Then we shall have all the qualifications required for us to serve as priests in the New Testament age.

The Revelation of the Truth

We were chosen in Christ to be holy in eternity past; we are being sanctified, saturated with Christ as “the Spirit, the Holy,” to be holy in this age; and we will be consummated to be the holy city in the next age and for eternity future.

Leviticus 18—20 is on the holy living of God’s holy people and corresponds to Ephesians 4:17—5:14, which charges the holy people of God to put off the old man and put on the new man, living a life that is holy, as God is holy, for His expression:

The Revelation of the Truth

The Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love. First, God loved us; then this divine love inspires us to love Him in return. In such a condition and atmosphere of love, we are saturated with God to be holy and without blemish, just as He is.

The Experience of Life

Being holy because God is holy signifies walking according to God’s holiness, living a holy life. After being saved, the believers should not be conformed to the living and conduct of the worldly people. The believers should put on the new man.

God’s holy people have fellowship, communion, mutual enjoyment, in peace. The believers’ enjoyment of Christ as the peace offering should be kept fresh.

We need to live a holy life, a life that befits our priesthood, We can be such persons only by contacting the perfect Christ, enjoying Him and experiencing Him day by day.

Using Key Verses to Have a Bird’s-Eye View over the Whole Outline

Key Verses (1)

Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,—Eph.1:4

That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word, That He might present the church to Himself glorious, not having spot

or wrinkle or any such things, but that she would be holy and without blemish.—5:26-27

And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.—Rev.21:2

We were chosen in Christ to be holy in eternity past; we are being sanctified, saturated with Christ as “the Spirit, the Holy,” to be holy in this age; and we will be consummated to be the holy city in the next age and for eternity future.

  • Holy means not only sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common; only God is different, distinct, from all things; hence, He is holy, and holiness is His nature.
  • The Father chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love. The church, after being thoroughly washed by the water in the word, will be sanctified in such a way as to be saturated and beautified with Christ organically so that she may be His glorious church, His holy bride.
  • To be holy is first to be separated to God; second, to be taken over by God; third, to be possessed by God; and fourth, to be saturated with God and one with God.
  • Eventually, the issue of this is the New Jerusalem, a holy entity belonging to God, possessed by God, saturated with God, and one with God.

Key Verses (2)

Being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;—Eph.4:18

If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him as the reality is in Jesus,—21

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.—30

That you put off, as regards your former manner of life, the old man, which is being corrupted according to the lusts of the deceit, That you put off, as regards your former manner of life, the old man, which is being corrupted according to the lusts of the deceit, And put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality.—22-24

Leviticus 18—20 is on the holy living of God’s holy people and corresponds to Ephesians 4:17—5:14.

  • In Ephesians 4:17-32 there are three significant verses that show the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity as the base for living a holy life for the church life:
  • The life of God, the reality in Jesus, and the sealing of the Holy Spirit are the three sources of the divine dispensing for our holy living to express the holy God:
  • The Israelites’ not living in the manner of the Egyptians (Lev. 18:3), among whom they once lived, signifies that the believers should put off, as regards their former old way of living, the old man (Eph. 4:22).
  • The Israelites’ not living in the manner of the Canaanites (Lev. 18:3), to whose land they were to be brought, signifies that, after being saved, the believers should not be conformed to the living and conduct of the worldly people (Rom. 12:2).
  • The Israelites’ living a holy life according to God’s holiness (Lev. 18:4—20:27) signifies that the believers should put on the new man, which was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the reality.

Key Verses (3)

Because the land has become defiled, I visited its iniquity upon it, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.—Lev.18:25

Speak to all the assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them, You shall be holy, for I, Jehovah your God, am holy.—19:2

And when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Jehovah, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the next day, but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire. But if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an abomination; it will not be accepted.—5-7

You shall keep My statutes. You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall a garment made of two kinds of material come upon you.—19

The holy people of God to put off the old man and put on the new man, living a life that is holy, as God is holy, for His expression:

  • “Because the land has become defiled, I visited its iniquity upon it, and the land vomited out its inhabitants”. The all-inclusive Christ as our dwelling place and everything we need for our enjoyment will vomit us out of Himself and not allow us to enjoy Him any longer (cf. Rev. 3:16) if we are not proper in relation to Him.
  • Being holy because God is holy (Lev. 19:2; 20:7, 26) signifies walking according to God’s holiness, living a holy life (1 Pet. 1:15; 2 Pet. 3:11).
  • Leviticus 19:5 and 6 mention the peace offering, indicating that in the holy living of God’s holy people, as portrayed in chapters 18—20, it is important that God’s holy people have fellowship, communion, mutual enjoyment, in peace: The believers’ enjoyment of Christ as the peace offering should be kept fresh.
  • “You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall a garment made of two kinds of material come upon you”. The fact that no mixture was allowed means that God wants everything to be according to its kind, without any kind of mixture.

 Prophesying Topics—Twelve Topics per Week

D1

T1 God is holy; holiness is His nature. (1Thes.5:23)

(Please explain that holy means not only sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common.)

T2 To be holy is to partake of God’s divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and to have our whole being permeated with God Himself.(2Peter1:4)

(Please explain that the way that He makes us holy.)

D2

T1 the process that we are chosen to be holy.(Eph.1:4)

(Please explain that first, we are separated unto God; second, we are saturated with God; eventually we become one with God.)

T2 The holiness revealed in the Bible is absolutely different from that found in today’s teachings concerning self-correction and improvement of behavior.(Rom.6:19;22)

(Please explain that outward correction means nothing. [What] matters is that we are saturated with God.)

D3

T1 the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity in the believers’ living(Eph.4:17-32)

(Please explain by the experience that merely to have wonderful and exciting conferences is not enough. There is the need to take care of our living in a proper way.)

T2 The divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity is the base for our daily living.(Eph.4:18;21;30)

(Please explain that in Ephesians 4:17-32 there are three significant verses that show the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity. )

D4

T1 God’s people were not to live according to the Egyptians, nor according to the Canaanites.(Lev.18:3)

(Please explain that by reading Ephesians 4:17—5:14, we are helped to understand Leviticus 18—20, and by reading this section in Leviticus we are helped to understand this portion of Ephesians. )

T2 the old manner of the God’s people(Lev.18:4-20:27;Eph.4:24)

(Please explain that to put off the living of the Egyptians and the Canaanites was to put off the old man, and to live a life according to God’s holiness was to put on the new man.)

D5

T1 .  The good land vomited out its inhabitants.(Lev.18:25;Rev.3:16)

(Please explain that the significance of that the good land vomiting out the defiled and unholy people.)

T2“When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to Jehovah, you shall sacrifice it so that you may be accepted” (Lev.19:5-6).

(Please explain that the significance of that “It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the next day, but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire”)

D6

T1 The fact that no mixture was allowed indicates that God wants everything to be after its kind (Gen. 1:11,  21,  Lev.19:19)

(Please explain that the significance of that in Leviticus 19 three illustrations of mixture are given. )

T2 all the qualifications required for us to serve as priests in the New Testament age.(1Peter2:5;9)

(Please explain that how can we exercise to live a holy life, a life that required for us to serve as priests in the New Testament age.)