What is Holiness? Part 3

David W Palmer

(1 Peter 1:16 NKJV) … it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

Holiness is what the Holy Spirit does.

We have seen the fruit and attributes of holiness. Next, we look at what holiness does. This can be seen in the works and actions of God’s Spirit of Holiness; The Holy Spirit is holy, therefore, every thing he does is a holy action. So what does he do?

He gives power to be a witness

(Acts 1:8 NKJV) “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

He is the anointing for ministry

(Luke 4:18–19 NKJV) “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to [the] blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; {19} To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”

He convicts the world of sin

(John 16:8 NKJV) “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.”

He reveals truth

(John 16:13a NKJV) “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own [authority], but whatever He hears He will speak.”

He shows the future

(John 16:13b NKJV) “... and He will tell you things to come.”

He Glorifies Jesus

(John 16:14 NKJV) “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

He reminds us of what Jesus said

(John 14:26 NKJV) “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”

He manifests the gifts of the Spirit

(1 Corinthians 12:7–11 DKJV) “But to each one is given the manifestation (showing forth) of the Spirit to our profit. {8} For through the Spirit is given to one a word of wisdom; and to another a word of knowledge, according to the same Spirit; (9) and to another faith by the same Spirit; and to another the gifts of healings by the same Spirit; (10) and to another workings of miracles, to another prophecy; and to another discerning of spirits; and to another [different] kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues. (11) But the one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing separately to each one as He desires.”

Holiness is what holiness does. For example, we could ask, “What is childishness”? Or “child-like-ness?” To answer this, we wouldn’t need to intellectualise or surmise. We could simply watch a child for a while; they reveal it by what they do. In a similar way, Holy Spirit reveals what holiness is by what he does.

From the above list, we can easily see what the Holy Spirit does. We can infer from this that a holy person is always a witness for Jesus, empowered to supply life-giving ministry to others. They speak the truth in love, show the future with life-giving words, and bring glory to Jesus in everything they do. Holy people do not talk about themselves, but remind us of what Jesus said; they are a ready conduit for the Holy Spirit’s gifts and manifestations, and they overflow with loving encouragement and patient faith—always expecting the best of others.

The wonderful Holy Spirit will do all these things through us if we walk in the spirit, have our minds set on the spirit, love Him, and nurture relationship with Him.

So, what have we seen so far that holiness is?

The fruit of the Holy Spirit

Who the Holy Spirit is

What the Holy Spirit does

Today, I encourage you to stay absolutely overflowing with the Holy Spirit: praise, worship, confess God’s word, pray and speak in tongues, love others, do the word. I exhort you to obey the Holy Spirit, glorify Jesus, remind others of what Jesus said, and be open for the Spirit of holiness to operate through you—manifesting his gifts, showing the future, revealing the truth, and operating in supernatural love.

You can easily be the holy person God wants you to be; you have his Spirit of holiness in you, ready to operate through you. Get to know him; walk in softness and obedience with him, and allow him to come into full manifestation through you. His gift of speaking in other tongues is a magnificent and divine key for this. Operate in this gift; yielding your tongue to him is like a rudder—the steering mechanism for your life. Releasing the control of your tongue to the Holy Spirit is setting you in the direction of being holy just as God is holy:

(1 Peter 1:16 NKJV) … it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

But remember, you cannot tame your own tongue; you need a power stronger than your own will-power to do that—Holy Spirit power:

(James 3:2–4, 7–8 NLT) Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. {3} We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. {4} And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. ... {7} People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, {8} but no one (no man) can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. (Parenthesis mine)