1Pet 1:14 As children of obedience, do not be fashioned according to the former lusts in your ignorance; 15 But according to the Holy One who called you, you yourselves also be holy in all your manner of life; 16 Because it is written, “You shall be holy because I am holy.”
[Part 2 of 3] According to 1:15, we should not merely be holy and live a holy life; we should become holy in all our manner of life. Others should be able to see a certain manner in our living, and this manner should be holy. This does not mean that we are holy occasionally or that we are holy in certain things. For instance, it is not that in the morning we are holy in one matter, and then later in the day we are no longer holy in that matter. No, we need habitually to have a holy life. This is what constitutes a holy manner of life. If we would have a holy manner of life, we need to be habitually holy in our constitution. This means that we need to become a certain kind of person, a person who is holy in constitution.
We may use fruit trees as an illustration of what we mean by a holy manner of life. An apple tree produces apples according to the apple tree manner of life. Likewise, an orange tree produces oranges according to its manner of life. The producing of apples by an apple tree and oranges by an orange tree is not accidental. On the contrary, it is altogether according to the manner of life characteristic of each tree. The same should be true of our becoming holy in our manner of life. Some Christians who emphasize a so-called holiness may sometimes act holy, but at other times they may be very worldly or fleshly. This indicates that they do not have a holy manner of life.
To have a holy manner of life is to have a life that is the expression of God. It is to have a living that is the expression of the holy nature of God. (To be continued tomorrow)
Prayer Confession Loving Father thank you for this word. I receive this life with humility, obedience and practice it to enjoy it daily so that it permeates and circulates me to produce fruits of the same manner of life worldwide through my expression of this very life of God in my day to day living in Jesus’ name, Amen.