Kedoshim, from the Hebrew קְדֹשִׁים, is a word in plural form found in the Bible several times with respect to persons, their way of life and their interaction with the world around them. The persons being addressed are those who are seeking to enter into a relationship with Elohim (Hebrew for God) based on His revelation of Himself as found of the pages of the Holy Scriptures.
Kedoshim is rooted in the word קָדַשׁ, Kadash, which means the act of setting apart, separating or consecrating something, someone or self. For example, if there is a group of people who have decided that they are going to jump over the edge of a cliff for the fun of it and I choose not to participate in their endeavor, I am setting myself apart, being separate from them in that matter. Or, if my friends and I go through In-N-Out drive through and get burgers, and I choose to save one of them for my wife at home, I am separating, setting apart or consecrating that one for her. When I set myself or an item apart for a separate purpose, direction or intended end, I am making myself or it "Kodesh", קֹדֶשׁ, the singular form of Kedoshim.
In the Biblical context, Kedoshim, then, means "set-apart ones", "separated ones" or "consecrated ones". In fact, this word is so packed with special meaning that it is generally, but not always, translated as "being holy", or Whole-ly set apart for a special purpose, call or life.
"But", you now ask, "what are we setting ourselves apart unto?"
Ahhh… Great question! If you are interested in finding the answer, I humbly invite you to keep reading...
We are called to be Kodesh, קֹדֶשׁ, Set Apart… unto what, exactly?
The call to be set apart is given to everyone. Anyone who wants to enter into a relationship with Elohim/God, the God of the Bible, can do so, if they so desire. Everyone is welcome to ‘come and drink freely of the waters of life.’ (Revelation 22:17). To respond to this call we must receive His designed path of ‘set-apartness’.
What is this path?
The path that brings us into agreement with Elohim/God is His revealed, written guidance. This manual we have come to know as the Word of God, the Bible. Originally, and to the present day, it is properly called the Torah, Hebrew תּוֹרָה, which simply means teachings or instructions, contained and outlined from Genesis to Revelation. It is this path which reveals a walk of life that, if we Whole-ly choose to walk in it, will set us apart unto the teachings of Elohim/God.
This Way contains clear language that any child can understand, because it is written as, 1) instructions for choices, actions and behaviors that bring blessings; and 2) instructions for choices, actions and behaviors that keep us from harm. Elohim/God, as Creator and Designer gives us, His created beings, His set of teachings so we can enjoy life to the fullest potential He has planned for us! All contained in His clearly written teachings.
Choosing to walk in His Torah is choosing to be set apart unto His plan for us. That is how we set ourselves apart unto a life-walk of promised blessing. That is how we become Kedoshim and individually become קֹדֶשׁ, Kodesh.
This is the secret of what the Torah/Bible calls being Set Apart; being Whole-ly for Elohim/God. Holy to Elohim.
Set Apart = Whole-Hearted to Elohim/God = Whole-ly = Holy
How difficult is it to live a life Set Apart?
How difficult is it to live a life Set Apart?
The secret of the Set-Apart or Holy life is that Elohim as God, Creator and Designer knows how we are coded; how our software (spiritual part of us) responds to His unique written commands (His Torah/instructions) so that our hardware (physical bodies) can fully enjoy the world (i.e. run optimally in bigger hardware with lots of apps!).
For this reason, I like to state the basic principle of the Set-Apart Life as: “as we commit our will, thoughts and emotions to walk in His Revealed Will (Torah/Bible), Yehowáh as Elohim/God empowers us in the inner person to carry out His Torah perfectly via His own Spirit.” In other words, you can think of it as the Master, Creator and Designer injecting His Divine Source Code (Set-Apart or Holy Spirit) into our spirit-person when He sees that we are desiring to engage and carry out His Will for our lives.
The Spirit of Elohim/God is called the Holy Spirit, not only because Elohim/God is Holy and His Spirit is Holy, but also because when His Spirit comes into our spirit-souls He comes to Set Us Apart for Yehowáh. When we do our part, He exponentially multiplies our efforts by working from inside of us.
Consider some passages found in His Torah/Teaching:
[I am inserting brackets and other formatting to make the understanding of the writing easier; you can open your own Bible and read along]
"Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, You shall be holy [Set Apart]: for I the LORD [Yehowáh] your God [Elohim] am holy." - Leviticus 19:2 NKJV
How can we comply with this? Ah! By His help…
"'Consecrate yourselves [set yourselves apart] therefore, and be holy [kedoshim, set-apart ones], for I am the LORD [Yehowáh] your [Elohim] God. 'And you shall keep My statutes [My Torah/Teachings], and perform them: I am the LORD [Yehowáh] who sanctifies you [sets you apart]." - Leviticus 20:7-8 NKJV
There you have it: when we set ourselves apart by walking in obedience to His instructions, He empowers us by setting us apart through His Spirit of Set-Apart-ness (Holy Spirit).
Other places in the Bible/Torah testify to this calling-and-empowering to a set-apart, holy life:
"but as He who called you is holy [set apart], you also be holy [set apart, consecrated] in all your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."" - 1 Peter 1:15-16 NKJV
"Now he [your or me] who keeps His commandments [His Torah teachings] abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." - 1 John 3:24 NKJV
"By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit." - 1 John 4:13 NKJV
Now the question is: How can you tell whether you are Kodesh, Set Apart?
Are You Kodesh, קֹדֶשׁ, Set Apart?
Elohim/God sets us apart by His instructions/Torah as a way of life. This means that He outlines and defines for us every aspect of our lives He designated as the path to follow. Explicitly, He states Who Elohim/God IS, to remember the days and appointed times that are special to Him, how to interact with others, how to speak to each other, and so on. Yes, the Torah/Bible is actually that specific, and this world would be a better place if we started to remember to walk in it.
To determine whether we are Kedoshim; whether you are Kodesh, truly set apart, let us examine the answer to these questions:
1. Who is your God?
The Elohim of the Bible declares that He is the only God and that His Name is יְהֹוָה, Yehowáh (See Exodus 3:13-15 and Exodus 20:1-6). The Bible/Torah teaches that anything we love, have an excessive desire for, anything we cherish more than Elohim, that person or thing is in direct competition with Him—thus becoming a god to us. Hmmmm… Can a car be a god? A girl/boyfriend? Job, titles, money, position, spouse, child, work?
2. In your daily activities, do you identify more with ‘the world culture’ or with ‘Elohim culture’?
Elohim/God Culture = walking in His Teaching/Torah. Are you striving to look like, talk like, act like and be identified with the things of the popular culture? Do you think that, based on what you see on the media, the world culture is friendly or adversarial toward Elohim/God and His standards? Consider these words: "… Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." - James 4:4 NKJV Ouch!
3. What is important to Elohim/God: are those things important to you?
In His Torah/Bible, Yehowáh explains those things that are important to Him and which, at the same time, are meant to bring us blessings. These include, for example, observing His set‐apart days. If you are not already doing so, it is very important in your life‐walk with your Elohim/God to find the importance of observing His weekly Day of Rest, שַׁבָּת, Shabbat or Sabbath. Other set-apart days to be followed include Passover, Pentecost or Fest of Weeks, along with the Feast of Tabernacles.
These are a few of the foundational matters that help us determine how closely we are to being Whole-ly set-apart to a walk with Elohim/God in our lives. Living in obedience to these instructions/Torah is what the Bible calls being a Holy people, a set-apart nation.
The next important topic is, then, the Person and work of Yeshua/Jesus in our lives.
