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HOLY

What Does the Word Holy Mean?

"Holy" comes from the Greek hagios, which conveys the idea of something being set apart from other things. The Bible applies the word to various persons and objects.

  • God stands utterly apart from sinful man; thus, he is absolutely holy (Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8), as is Christ (Hebrews 7:26) and the Holy Spirit.
  • Certain objects may be deemed holy by virtue of their use in the divine scheme of things, e.g., the "holy place" within the tabernacle (Exodus 26:33).
  • Christians are considered holy (1 Peter 1:15; 2:9) because they have been set apart from the sinful world by their obedience to the gospel (Ephesians 5:26 — "sanctified" is the verbal form, hagiazo). "Saints" (hagios) are holy only in a relative sense.

See also SAINTS, SANCTIFIED.

Adapted from the book "Bible Words and Theological Terms Made Easy" by Wayne Jackson

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