What Does it Mean to be “Set Apart” in the Bible?
Estimated reading time: 16 minutes
Introduction
What Does Set Apart Mean in the Bible?
In today’s world, the term “set apart” generally comes with a negative context. To be set apart could mean you have been left out, not chosen, or disbanded. Yet while the world thinks that being set apart means “set aside” in a finished or discontinued kind of way, the Biblical view actually portrays quite the opposite. Instead of being demoted or suspended from use, you are actually raised up on a higher level in order to be used for divine kingdom purposes. The word “holy” in the Bible actually means “set apart.” For this was God’s way of choosing and grafting in those He would sanctify to be more like Himself. 1 Peter 1:15-16 says, “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.'”
Our God is all holy, and He not only calls but also enables us to be holy as well. While the word “holy” most certainly means, “set apart,” the Bible shows that it also means many other things that go right along with being set apart. Holy can mean sacred, divine, spiritually pure, worthy of respect, and inspiring fear. This obviously would be an awe inspired fear rather than a scared type of fear. And each of these descriptions pair well with being set apart for God’s purposes that are much higher than our own. Because God is holy in every way, His ways are higher and His thoughts loftier then those of the world. He is set apart, far apart from the traditions of our culture. And it is His presence that carries His holiness, and we can see this throughout scripture.
Where Do We See God’s Holiness?
In the Old Testament, Moses was commanded to remove his sandals near the burning bush because the place where he was standing was holy ground. (Exodus 3:5) Uzzah was struck down for touching the ark which had become a holy place carrying the Lord’s presence. (1 Chronicles 13:10) Joshua faced the commander of the Lord’s army who told him as well to remove his sandals. For he was standing on holy ground. (Joshua 5:15) The holiness of the presence of the Lord was demanding of respect and complete purity. That is why Christ had to become a living sacrifice and make a way for God the Father to not only be reunited with His children, but to also allow them to share in His holiness.
He imparted His righteousness and freed us from our bondage to sin. He then extended to us a grace that enabled us to walk in holiness which only comes from Him. This way of life is upside down and completely backward from the way of the world. We will look very different from those around us. And will begin to walk more often in the spiritual realm rather than just the natural realm. Yet being holy is not just a way of living but rather an identity we respond to. He called us higher by calling us “HIS.” And when we are His, we walk in His holiness. Being set apart by an all Holy God is a confirmation that our purpose is not over. It has only just begun. We have not been set aside as trash. We have been set apart as treasure.
Reasons We Struggle to Live “Set Apart”
If this new identity we’ve been given is truly more remarkable than we can imagine, then why is it so hard to embrace God’s holiness and live in it? Well, the obvious answer would be that we have a sinful nature that likes to convince us it’s still alive. And it battles against the purity that comes with being holy. And yes…that is absolutely true. Our sinful nature was crucified with Christ. But it takes constant combat to resist the temptations that would make us believe our flesh is still our identity.
Our old man would rather stay in darkness rather than walk in His marvelous light. The sinful nature could never achieve holiness. That is why the Son of God sacrificed His body in order to make us the body of Christ. Yet, even though the Bible declares we have been made new creations, our “old man” wants to convince us we cannot live set apart in His holiness, and we might as well stop trying. So we know this is a struggle, but what are some specific reasons why our flesh will always reject holiness.
1) We long to fit in.
To be set apart, we will look different and do different things than others around us. The enemy wants us to think that means we are being “left out.” But the Lord wants us to know that we have been included in a much much greater and higher circle. God’s Word says in John 17:14 that we are no longer of this world even as Christ is not of this world. And the apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:20 that we are now citizens of heaven. While this gift is beyond comparable, because we cannot see or know what exactly the kingdom of heaven is like, we still are tempted to build our own kingdom here on earth. Everyone else is trying to elevate themselves; so why can’t we do the same? We don’t want to be known as a peculiar people to a popular crowd.
It seems more tangible and exhilarating to hear the praise and savor the attention of our fellow peers. If we only knew just how small this type of inclusion actually is compared to knowing that the God of the universe called us His own. We are the people of God. Yet our flesh convinces us that we must work and strive to fit in with the crowd in order to get anywhere in life. But the Lord, our King and great High Priest, has torn the veil and invited us into the Holy of Holies where the intoxication of His presence outweighs any earthly experience we could ever have. When we have tasted the goodness of the glory of God, we will recognize just how mediocre or even minute the enticing or alluring things of this world could ever be.Â
2) We struggle to walk in the spiritual realm.
The Bible depicts being set apart as a picture of God placing us in another realm of living. Yes, we still have bodies and will live in the physical realm until we die. But we also have souls and spirits. And by faith, we can live in the spiritual realm by His Spirit in us. If we have been granted His righteousness, then we have been set apart in order to be “a part” of a greater realm and a greater kingdom. Because the physical realm feels literally tangible, it is difficult to imagine that there could be another realm that is even more real and even more valuable. When the one true God sets us apart, He also give us the faith and the ability to embrace the spiritual realm even though it is not clearly visible or remotely evident.
Part of what God does through sanctification is to develop our spiritual senses that are comparable to our physical senses. John 10:27a says, “My sheep listen to my voice.” Ephesians 1:18a says, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.” Acts 17:27 says, “that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.” 2 Corinthians 2:15 says, “For we are to God that pleasing aroma of Christ.” And Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” We have been gifted spiritual senses just like God the Father has. And He is longing for us to use them as we encounter Him in the spiritual realm.
3) We Don’t Believe our Position in Christ
Because of Shame
This is a very important reason, and it comes from two different angles. Sometimes, we obsess so much in shame over our mistakes, that we refuse to embrace His holiness because we cannot ever see ourselves the way God does. We identify ourselves by our sin alone, and ignore the possibility of ever becoming anything else. We walk away from the mercy and grace that paved the way for righteousness and holy living. And we keep wondering down the lonely path of shame and low self esteem.
In utter defeat, we keep giving up on transformation and keep giving into temptations. We might think that it is because a lifestyle of holiness is too hard to abide by. But in reality we have rejected the grace He gives that enables us to live in His holy presence because we couldn’t believe He would ever label us as sanctified. We let our failures define us, and we sink further in shame.
Because of Striving
The other reason is that we actually think we can achieve holiness on our own. And we strive strenuously to climb this ladder. Our good works will not only fail every time. But they actually push away what God did for us and imply that we don’t need Him. This is rather a slap in the face to our Savior and Lord. And the world will constantly condone our good efforts. When they do this, then we fall back into the enticement of fitting in. And we strive even harder on our own to be “holy.”
This pursuit will lead us further and further away from being set apart for a specific purpose by God alone. It will lead us back into the arms of the world who is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. And we will be consumed with gaining our own identity by our worthless efforts. We will end in despair when the Lord is simply waiting for us to come home like the prodigal, to admit our failures, and to accept the extravagance of His love even though we don’t deserve it.Â
Why is it of utmost importance to embrace God’s Holiness?
1) It is our response to His gift!
We must recognize that when we choose to either feed our flesh to the fullest or strive in vain to be self holy, we are deliberately rejecting the most precious gift of righteousness that He is holding our for us. We may think it “noble” to refuse to accept something we will never deserve. Yet it is actually a refusal of everything He desperately longs to give us simply because He is that good! He doesn’t give because we’re good enough to receive. He gives because He’s good enough to share.Â
The name of the Lord Jesus Christ embodies Someone who is rich in mercy, abounding in love, and made up of an all-consuming holiness. He cannot be true to Himself if He does not extravagantly overflow of Himself onto others. It is an extremely great privilege of His to WASTE the unlimited depths of His love. And we just happen to be the recipients He wishes to overwhelm! Yes, there is a holy lifestyle that will result from the gift of Himself that will look very different from the world. But it is simply the essence of the gift itself that liberates this lifestyle. It is not demanding of work to earn it, it is demanding of willingness to embrace it. That’s it. Reach out and take His salvation, His eternal life, and His robe of righteousness, and be transformed into His likeness.
2) It is our new identity in Christ!
Grace Extended
Jesus did not just come down, die on the cross, and let His blood wash away our sins so that we could be “cleaned up.” He also died and rose again in order to give us a new identity which speaks “life” instead of “death.” Life before Jesus was characterized by an identity in deep bondage to sin with a destination of death and hell. We do not just run to the Father so that he can brush us off and wipe us clean. We run into His arms so that he can graft us in, make us new creations, call us by a new name, and grant us citizenship in a kingdom not of this world.
God called the people of Israel as His very own chosen race. Deuteronomy 14:2 says, “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” Yet because of Jesus, the gentiles too have now been given a chance to be grafted into His royal family. In the New Testament, 1 Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” If we truly recognized the beauty of this identity in Him, then we would jump at the chance to embrace the grace that enables his holiness to be lived out in our lives.
Grace Received
Non-believers think that once you become a Christian, you have to abide by a certain strict set of rules that makes them look “holy,” or rather “holier than thou” to the world. But rather it is a genuine relationship with the One who identified us as “His” that changes our hearts, which in turn changes our behavior to do the will of God. We don’t get saved and then get to work climbing the ladder of holiness.
After salvation, we begin the process of sanctification which makes us more into the image of Christ as we embrace who we “already are” in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” A life of holiness is our response to an identity in righteousness. We don’t try to live holy in order to “be” righteous. We have been made “righteous;” thus we live holy lives. When we reject His holiness, we are not only rejecting the essence of His character. But we are rejecting the impartation of Himself on us.Â
3) It is our greatest witness
Some people assume they actually “need” to fit in so that they can minister to those around them. They think if they can gain their approval, then they can win them for Christ. Yet it’s not about gaining the approval of others. For then we are most likely ignoring the approval of our God. Rather, it is more about gaining the “trust” of others. And many times, this will come not when we fit in but rather when we stand out or even stand up for what we believe in. The Bible guarantees that we will have people turn against us or even mock us for embracing the “set apart” life. However, others will admire the assuredness that we carry and will trust in the confidence of our character when when world has betrayed them. It is not at all that we are perfect, and will never let them down.
However, when we reflect in holiness the love of the Father in a way that is upside down from the ways of this world, many will be confounded yet captivated. Because we were made to be a glimpse of His glory, then trying to fit in will get us nowhere. If we seek approval, applause, or awards from others, then we are allowing others to determine our value. But Isaiah 43:1 says, “I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” What greater value could there ever be than to be called one of His very own? When we know that God has valued us from the very beginning, and that he has stamped us with the seal of the Holy Spirit, then we can allow His light to shine brightly in our lives in unique and special ways.
Conclusion
Beloved and Beautiful
I hope this blog post helps you see the meaning “and” the magnificence of being set apart in Christ. Colossians 3:3 says, “For you have died, (meaning your flesh) and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Psalm 91:4a says, “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge.” And Matthew 11:30 says, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” The Lord wants you to know that being set apart is not setting you up for failure but rather true freedom that comes with letting go of the old and embracing the new. Yes, the Bible validates that He is holy. And YES He is calling you to be holy, set apart for Him. But the heavenly Father is also wanting you to know that He is taking you and wrapping you up with his mighty wings.
He is becoming your dwelling place and is hiding you in the secret place that is closest to His heart. He’s placing a gentle yoke and an easy burden on you which He shoulders with you by living through you. He is declaring from the rooftops that you, BELOVED have been meticulously crafted and delightfully chosen to be His forevermore. And because you’re His, He is on a journey to pursue the innermost places of your heart and to transform you from the inside out so that you become beautiful like Him in every way. He is setting you apart not because He’s done with you but because of His deep love and divine purpose that He has for you each and every day. Because of His forgiveness of sins and restoration of your soul, He longs now to orchestrate His masterful story in your life.
Belonging and Belief
He is wanting to “elevate” you to another realm of living with new levels of intimate relationship, new degrees of power, and new amounts of fruit bearing. And while these seem like impossible goals, they are simply the response or the after effects of being placed in right relationship with the Father and allowing Him to look at you and say, “That one is Mine.” There is something about belonging that doesn’t just make us feel all cozy under His wing. But it makes us bold and unique, set apart with a higher mission for a greater kingdom. Belonging gives us the belief that we can live holy because He is holy, and we are His.
God has made us a new creation. The old has passed away, and the new has come. So the old way of living is not only, wrong, but it’s not who we are anymore. If we accept the gift of Christ’s righteousness, but continue to live in sin, then we are not believing our new identity. What we believe will be the catalyst for the way we live. If we know that we are the righteousness of Christ, then we will live a holy life, a new life, an abundant life. God the Father set us apart by hiding us under His wing and making us one with Him. Will you accept your royal position, and welcome your higher calling? You have been set apart, for you have stolen the Father’s heart.
About the Author
Celeste Claborn
Hi! I’m Celeste! I am a mother, a wife, and a writer! I have the joy of raising 5 kids, one of which is my husband, John. When we’re not writing, we enjoy the great outdoors, traveling or playing outside with the neighbors. I hope you find joy in my writing, as well as impactful articles that lead you closer to freedom and adventure in Jesus.
