The Way of Holiness

(This is chapter 8 of the book Way of Sonship: Anointed to Overcome)

Within ancient Hebrew culture, something “holy” was simply anything that was set apart, separate, special, different, or extraordinary. Originally it had nothing to do with anything conceptually or ceremonially clean. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Paul says (KJV) “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness, and what communion has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ [God-filled anointed ones] with Belial [demon-filled empty ones]? or what part has he that believes with an infidel? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God has said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate [holy], says the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty”. Jesus came as the servant of Yehovah, Yehovah’s Anointed One or Christ. Jesus came as the Son of Abraham and the Son of David, both of whom had previously received the same anointing. In Hebrew, the word Christ is “Mashiyach” which means to smear with fragrant oil. The oil was symbolic of the life-changing, heart-changing and behaviour or name-changing grace or blessing of God’s fatherhood and overcoming anointing of King David lost by Adam, promised by God to Abraham, David and of course Jesus as their heir. It was given by God to Jesus as Abraham’s heir at his baptism in the river Jordan and then poured out upon the true Israel or Princes of God, Jesus’ corporate body, on the Day of Pentecost. This was after Jesus, the Chosen One, had been glorified on to the throne of his father David. As the “Mashiyach” or Anointed One, Jesus became a type or foundation stone of Zion, the City or corporate Son of God, the firstborn of many brothers.

In His great mercy, God is sovereignly calling his chosen (the “eklektos” in Greek, the elect that God chose beforehand for glory) people (the “ecclesia” or called out ones) out of the Babylon or world of self-slavery into a set-apart or holy personal relationship with Jesus that changes people’s nature or heart from being the disobedient and rebellious sons of Belial to becoming the image of the invisible God by them being filled with Yehovah God, just like Yeshua. The sons of disobedience are the losers and the loners, liars, thieves, people-pleasers, misfits, meddlers and busybodies, bigots, backbiters and bully-boys, retards and rejects, pussy-footers and pity-party animals, deceivers, weaklings, traitors, layabouts, spongers and scumbags, scoundrels, selfish nest-featherers, drop-outs, hooligans, cowards, gamblers, scare-mongers, under-achievers, the promiscuous, basket-cases, fools gold-diggers and fortune hunters, attention-seekers, the vengeful, the embittered, users, pickpockets, wasters, fakes, winos, empty-headed dreamers with delusions of grandeur, control freaks, courtesans, paramours, addicts, somebody’s fool born only yesterday and has-beens that never actually were. Within ancient Hebrew culture a name was an expression of someone’s character, behaviour, or lifestyle which came from the breath of their lives. These are the “names” (or inspired way of behaving or the corporate identity) of the orphan-hearted type-cast sons and daughters of Belial or inhabitants of Babylon, founded at the Fall. These are the people that God loves and God himself became the man Jesus of Nazareth to reap in his body and personality the wicked things and bad behaviour that they had sown into their lives. Behaviour in life will become an inheritance in resurrection. This was to change their serpent-inspired life’s breath, character, behaviour, or name, to become the Sons of God and have an eternal inheritance of hearts eternally filled with the life’s breath or Holy Spirit God’s fatherhood just like Him.

It says in Isaiah 35:7-10 (KJV) “And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up there, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Having been unwittingly and unknowingly enslaved by the father of lies, in the pride of their puffed up hearts, many of the “as god” inhabitants of Babylon (or the world) would be duty bound into dying to be seen as heroes, to save the pretence of their dignity and the pride of their hearts. Jesus came to set people free from this vice-like grip of these egocentric lies. Jesus did what fallen humanity absolutely could not do. Jesus humbled himself to death; both to his physical death but also their death to the pride of their fallen self-exalting hearts. Jesus did not die the death of a hero but that of a villain. He died as a type or inhabitant of Babylon, the corporate representative of the sons of Belial, a blasphemer, imposter, and deceiver, considered by casual onlookers and passers-by as scum worthy of death. As their own saviour, people naturally attempt to save the pride of lives by shirking responsibility, living in denial or the avoidance of anything menial, shameful, or beneath them. Jesus invites people to change types or identities. Jesus’ amazing grace inspires them to repent from their sins and to seek the heart of God day and night until they know without a shadow of a doubt that they are forgiven. They die to the pride of their lives and follow Jesus on the highway of holiness. The redeemed and ransomed of Yehovah no longer touch unclean things because by the election of grace they are no longer slaves to the lust of their eyes, the lust of their flesh or the pride of their lives. Instead as Sons of God they are “set apart” or “out of Satan’s reach” by the love of God’s fatherhood. They are holy or “different” or “special”. It says in 1 Peter 3:8-12 (KJV) “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil”.

Those who are inspired by the blessing and grace of God, to follow Jesus on the highway of holiness, out of the Babylon of Satan’s religion of slavery, to lies and the adoration of self-worship, are the “ecclesia” or “called-out ones” (originally deliberately mistranslated “church” by the religion of tradition). They are the ones who love life and see good days within their hearts. By the unmerited grace of supernatural revelation, they know that they are not the heroes that the once thought they were. They realise that anything good that comes from them, through them, or to them is actually ultimately from the unmerited blessing and grace of God and not because of themselves. They know in their hearts that life and death are in the power of the tongue and those that love it will one day eat its fruit. They do not sow or speak unkind or hateful arrogant words or actions. They know that behaviour in life will become inheritance in resurrection, and such words will one day yield a bitter fruit that will disqualify them from their prize. Instead they know that God is watching over His living word to ensure that the prize of His amazing grace is fulfilled. Having no life except his life and no hope except all that he is, was and ever will be, in this life they walk in holiness with Jesus into the realms of glory that no mortal man can ever touch. That is why Paul said in Colossians 3:1-6 (KJV) “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence [lusts of the eye], and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience”. Behaviour in life will become inheritance in resurrection. Those who do not behave like Jesus will not “appear” with him in glory because their lives are not an expression of the glorious and amazing grace of God. Those who live the life of God will inherit God indwelling their hearts forever. Those who live the fallen life of self-gratification and lust will inherit those things despite their trust in the appealing arguments of the natural religion of the traditions taught by men. Those who do not live in practical holiness and are not set apart by the breath or Holy Spirit of God’s fatherhood cannot see or become like Jesus. The life’s breath is in the blood, and those who become one in heart with Jesus through the power of sharing in his new covenant sinless blood, the fragrance of the anointing of the almighty living word of God is continually spoken by supernatural breath or personality of the actual presence of God into their hearts. As they walk with Jesus on the highway of holiness, the indwelling breath and love of God’s fatherhood (or Holy Spirit) progressively disinherits the false reality of the serpent’s words of lying breaths, the false promises of blessing, the curse of the idols of deceptive lies of darkness or demons, that were traded into their hearts through them being deceived into sinning.

At times, life can be very difficult, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 (KJV) “For we do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, of our tribulation that happened to us in Asia, that we were exceedingly burdened above our power, so that we despaired even of life; but we ourselves in ourselves the sentence of the death have had, that we may not be trusting on ourselves, but on God, who is raising the dead, who out of so great a death did deliver us, and does deliver, in whom we have hoped that even yet He will deliver.” However by despairing of themselves and embracing the sentence of death that was pronounced at Calvary upon the pride of their hearts they are redeemed by being sovereignly inspired to follow Jesus out through the narrow gates of the hellish living-death-trap of Babylon’s performance-orientated lies. Having died to all that they were, apart from Jesus, they follow him on the narrow path of the resurrection life of God’s fatherhood. They leave behind the religion of Babylon’s lying slavery to self-admiration to come round full circle to become an established part of the corporate son or dwelling place or vine or City of God, as it says in Hebrews 13:12 (KJV) “Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without [outside] the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without [outside] the camp, bearing his reproach [disgrace, shame]. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one [a city which is] to come”. They become established in the truth that it is their death that He died. It is His victory that they walk in and not their own, His victory, His life, His relationship with God as their Father. They know that apart from Jesus’ loving touch, the old man that was crucified comes alive again and when that happens, they can do nothing. That is why Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 5:13-16 (KJV) “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:6 “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”. For those that bear His image or reflection by walking with him on the highway of holiness are set apart (or holy or different) and bear his name or identity by behaving like him, the crown of the anointing of the actual, practical and real overcoming victory becomes their eternal inheritance within the City of God. The glorious light of the knowledge of the living word of God is enthroned and rocked by the breath of God’s life within their no-longer-darkened hearts forever. Corporately, they are the Son or Zion the City of David (beloved) where the word Son of God has been reunited or remarried to the breath or Holy Spirit of God’s fatherhood. Jesus said in Matthew 5:5 (KJV) “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”. Receiving the blessing of grace-humbled hearts they die in practice to the pride of their lives. They are grace-inspired to prove themselves worthy. The grace of this blessing sets them apart or holy from the world of the adoration of self-worship. Within Jesus, they overcome the world, and having overcome they are qualified to eternally inherit all things. This is the way of holiness.

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