God said this to all Israelites:
Lev. 20:7 "'Consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the Lord your God.8 Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy. ... 26 You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.
What is the New Covenant reality of this Old Covenant principle? It is certainly not legalism, following a bunch of rules.
The Hebrew verb translated "consecrate" in verse 7 is וְהִ֨תְקַדִּשְׁתֶּ֔ם (wə·hiṯ·qad·diš·tem, H6942), and the adjective translated "holy" is קְדֹשִׁ֑ים (qə·ḏō·šîm or qadosh, H6918), both of which are related to קֹ֖דֶשׁ (qodesh, H6944), which means "apartness" or "sacredness".
I think God wants us to be devoted to Him, willfully choosing Him over the things of the flesh and the world. I think it is fundamentally an attitude of the heart that affects our behavior. I think it is related to "in it but not of it", like Jesus prayed (John 17:16) and Paul instructed (Romans 12:2). And we realize that Jesus is our Great High Priest whose sacrifice has atoned for our sin and initiated a progressive sanctification process:
Heb. 10:14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Heavenly Father, I love you, and I want to be completely set apart for you. I want to be with you in such a way that wherever I go, it is because you are going. Lord Jesus, you have made me perfect, and you are making me holy. I want to live in that eternal reality that I am forever righteous because of your sacrifice, and I want to joyfully proceed in the progressive process of becoming more "set apart" with you and for you. Holy Spirit, please help me live as a spiritual man today, not a carnal man. I want to keep in step with you and listen to you; please produce your fruit in me today. I love you, and I pray in the name of Jesus Christ.
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