By Festus Ndukwe
Why is the call for holiness? Why the command, “be ye holy; for I am holy?” 1Pet.1:16. The holy God does not seek to dwell in space or a vacuum. The holy God seeks to dwell in man, not just any man but a holy man. The holy God cannot dwell in an unholy man. The holy God dwells only in a holy vessel.
The holy God is very rich and full of all goodness. He seeks a holy man through whom He can flow through to save, deliver and sanctify other men. For the sake of the disciples Jesus sanctified himself. “And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth,” John 17:19. Also for the sake of mankind we also sanctify ourselves.
God first of all is not looking for your gift, talent, goodness, and riches. When Christ ascended He gave gifts to all men including sinners. Gifts are generally given. Gifts are outside of you. A gifted and talented man that does not possess a holy vessel or sanctified through the process of discipleship is dangerous. He can cause commotion in homes, in the market place, in government, and in the church.
It is God’s intention that every person, however gifted, must pass through the process of discipleship or else God will not use him.
It is we that look at educated, intelligent, skilled, talented, oratorial and rich people and make them pastors and church leaders. God does not do that. God will first of all want such men to pass through His hands, the process of discipleship through which He makes His men. God wants to pass such vessels through a refining process where He removes the things that corrupt them which include his human self.
A holy God cannot mix with human self, even as an iron cannot mix with sand. Two cannot walk together except they agree. God has an agent that cleans out the human self to make way for Him, a holy God, to dwell and flow through. God uses the agent of the cross, God’s fire of sanctification. It is the fire of the cross, the fire of trials that burns out the corroding substance of self. It is fire of several dealings that does that. It is this fire that produces character, James 1:3.
People wonder why it takes too long for God to qualify a man as an instrument for use. It is because of this.