Absolute Holiness, the Basic Law of the Temple

 When we say that something is "absolute," we mean that it is completely and totally one way or the other. It can be absolutely terrible, or it can be absolutely wonderful. Either way, it means we have the extreme of being completely terrible or completely wonderful. It is hard to get anything to the level of being absolute, but it is possible. It is especially possible when it comes to the things of the Lord, because the Lord calls us to absolute holiness.

God gave Ezekiel a vision of the Temple that will be built for the Millennium, the 1,000 year reign of Christ on the earth at the end of time. He got a tour and was told all of the measurements. Then, he was told the basic law of the Temple. (Ezekiel 43:12) "And this is the basic law of the Temple: absolute holiness. The entire top of the mountain where the Temple is built is holy. Yes, this is the basic law of the Temple." I believe there is a message for you and for me, as believers, in this basic law.

The Bible is very clear. In the New Covenant we do not have a building that is a Temple where God resides, and where we go to worship. Yes, we have church buildings, but the church is people, and we congregate at the building for worship and training. Now, our body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 6:19) Now, we belong to God, and He resides in us in the Person of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the basic law of the Temple applies to each of us that we are to be absolutely holy.

Being holy is to be set apart to God. It is to be set apart from the things of this world. It means we will be different in what we do and say. God intends for us to be absolutely holy so others can see the difference and come to know Jesus. We need to be holy in how we dress by not wearing anything that would bring shame to God's name. We need to be holy in our actions, so that we always do the right thing, and we never do the wrong thing. We need to be holy in our speech, so no corrupt communication comes out of our mouth. Most of all, our heart must be totally set on the Lord and not the things of this world. This is God's basic law for us: absolute holiness. He will give the power and wisdom to do this, if we make that our standard for our life. We won't be perfect, but we can get closer and closer to it.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Ezekiel 44-46.