Set Apart for God (Book Review)
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Recently, I did a book review on a christian literature and i'll love share it with you.
Book Title: SET APART FOR GOD: The Beautiful Secrets of Holiness
Author: Derek Prince
Genre: Religious/ Christian Life/ Spiritual Growth
Keywords: Holiness, Sanctification
About The Author: Derek Prince was born in India of British Parents in 1915. He was educated as a scholar of Greek and Latin at Eton College and King’s College in England. As a student, he was a philosopher. Derek Prince began to study the Bible as a philosophical work. However, he was converted through a powerful encounter with Jesus Christ and was baptized in the Holy Spirit a few days later. Out of this encounter, he came to two (2) conclusions: first, that Jesus Christ is alive; second, that the Bible is a true, relevant up-to-date book. These conclusions altered the whole course of his life, which he then devoted to studying and teaching the Bible as the Word of God. Until his death in 2003, Derek Prince persisted in the ministry God had called him to. His main gift of explaining the Bible and its teaching in a clear and simple way has helped build a foundation of faith in millions of lives. He formed the Derek Prince Ministries which continues to reach out to believers in over 140 countries
Book Review: The author introduced the book by pointing out that the topic of holiness has been neglected among many groups of God’s people.
In fact, the word holiness seems to disappear from the Christian vocabulary. The result of this neglect is disastrous to God’s people because, holiness is the essence of what God is and what we are to be as is written in 1 Peter 1:15-16, “As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is within, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
The author further explained that God is holy, but not because He has a set of rules that He follows. Following a set of rules will not make you holy. He expatiated on the nature of God’s holiness – God is glorious in holiness and there is none holy like God. Holiness has to do with partaking of the divine nature through Christ by entering into a relationship with the God who loves us, discovering what He has called us to do, and fulfilling that call upon our lives. He went on to say that God’s holiness cannot be defined or explained; it can only be revealed.
Thus he defines holiness as, “the unique aspect of God’s nature that is without parallel anywhere else in the universe.” This means that there is nothing on the human plane, outside of God and the people of God, which has any claim to the title ‘holy’. Therefore, in order to understand holiness, you have to know God because without God, there is no holiness. He also wrote that one of the greatest missing pieces in our understanding of holiness is the practice of fasting in connection with the loss of intercession.
The author emphasized that the expectation of Christ’s return is the greatest motivation for pursuing and maintaining personal holiness in our lives. Therefore, we have been challenged in 2 Corinthians 7: 1 to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. This sanctification applies in every area of life-spirit, soul and body. When Jesus comes He is coming for a complete personality. One way God has provided for us to achieve holiness is through submission to His discipline. The end purpose of this discipline (chastening and correction) is that we may be partakers of God’s holiness and thus escape the world’s corruption. He pointed out that the Christian life is not a static condition in which you get into salvation and simply sit there. The Christian life is a life of growth and multiplication.
Although it is seemingly impossible to achieve holiness, God has made provision for our holiness and that provision comes in seven aspects: Jesus Christ, the cross, the Holy Spirit, the blood of Jesus, the Word of God, our faith and our works. The author pointed out that this provision comes through the progressive acknowledging of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit administers sanctification and that this sanctification is progressive and not instantaneous. The process of making us holy is completed through the continual sanctifying and cleansing operation of the Word of God. The Bible tells us that we are sanctified by faith in God and thus our faith must express itself in positive actions (works). He also pointed out that the blood of Jesus’ redeeming sacrifice and the water of the regular cleansing of the word of God have to go together. Without the blood, there is no life but without the word, there is no sanctification.
The author explains the process of sanctification. That God foreknew us, chose us, and predestined us. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by setting us apart and revealing Christ to us. Then we become conscious of God’s plan and make a decision to follow or reject him. From then on, our lives take a different course. The author calls this the Blood Line. When you cross over the blood line, you pass out of satan’s territory into God’s territory. In sanctification, Jesus is our perfect example and pattern. Having chosen Jesus, God sanctified Him and set Him apart for the task He (God) had appointed for Him. Because Jesus fulfilled the task, Jesus revealed the Father and glorified the Father. Thus, the ultimate purpose of sanctification is to reveal and glorify God.
The author made a very interesting point when he wrote that Holiness is Spiritual Beauty and that the adornment for holiness is in the hidden person (the heart) and is a gentle and quiet spirit. He wrote, “I would rather have the inner beauty of holiness than any kind of elegance, strength, or power.”
In the concluding chapter, the author refers to the words of Apostle Paul concerning spiritual discipline that we should not despise the body in as much as it is the vessel of our spirit and mind. We should keep it holy by not defiling it with unclean or excessive habits of any kind. He ended on the note that, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ knows what it is like to be human and He is always interceding for us.
PRAISE THE LORD
Recently, I did a book review on a christian literature and i'll love share it with you.
Book Title: SET APART FOR GOD: The Beautiful Secrets of Holiness
Author: Derek Prince
Genre: Religious/ Christian Life/ Spiritual Growth
Keywords: Holiness, Sanctification
About The Author: Derek Prince was born in India of British Parents in 1915. He was educated as a scholar of Greek and Latin at Eton College and King’s College in England. As a student, he was a philosopher. Derek Prince began to study the Bible as a philosophical work. However, he was converted through a powerful encounter with Jesus Christ and was baptized in the Holy Spirit a few days later. Out of this encounter, he came to two (2) conclusions: first, that Jesus Christ is alive; second, that the Bible is a true, relevant up-to-date book. These conclusions altered the whole course of his life, which he then devoted to studying and teaching the Bible as the Word of God. Until his death in 2003, Derek Prince persisted in the ministry God had called him to. His main gift of explaining the Bible and its teaching in a clear and simple way has helped build a foundation of faith in millions of lives. He formed the Derek Prince Ministries which continues to reach out to believers in over 140 countries
Book Review: The author introduced the book by pointing out that the topic of holiness has been neglected among many groups of God’s people.
The author further explained that God is holy, but not because He has a set of rules that He follows. Following a set of rules will not make you holy. He expatiated on the nature of God’s holiness – God is glorious in holiness and there is none holy like God. Holiness has to do with partaking of the divine nature through Christ by entering into a relationship with the God who loves us, discovering what He has called us to do, and fulfilling that call upon our lives. He went on to say that God’s holiness cannot be defined or explained; it can only be revealed.
Thus he defines holiness as, “the unique aspect of God’s nature that is without parallel anywhere else in the universe.” This means that there is nothing on the human plane, outside of God and the people of God, which has any claim to the title ‘holy’. Therefore, in order to understand holiness, you have to know God because without God, there is no holiness. He also wrote that one of the greatest missing pieces in our understanding of holiness is the practice of fasting in connection with the loss of intercession.
The author emphasized that the expectation of Christ’s return is the greatest motivation for pursuing and maintaining personal holiness in our lives. Therefore, we have been challenged in 2 Corinthians 7: 1 to cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. This sanctification applies in every area of life-spirit, soul and body. When Jesus comes He is coming for a complete personality. One way God has provided for us to achieve holiness is through submission to His discipline. The end purpose of this discipline (chastening and correction) is that we may be partakers of God’s holiness and thus escape the world’s corruption. He pointed out that the Christian life is not a static condition in which you get into salvation and simply sit there. The Christian life is a life of growth and multiplication.
Although it is seemingly impossible to achieve holiness, God has made provision for our holiness and that provision comes in seven aspects: Jesus Christ, the cross, the Holy Spirit, the blood of Jesus, the Word of God, our faith and our works. The author pointed out that this provision comes through the progressive acknowledging of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit administers sanctification and that this sanctification is progressive and not instantaneous. The process of making us holy is completed through the continual sanctifying and cleansing operation of the Word of God. The Bible tells us that we are sanctified by faith in God and thus our faith must express itself in positive actions (works). He also pointed out that the blood of Jesus’ redeeming sacrifice and the water of the regular cleansing of the word of God have to go together. Without the blood, there is no life but without the word, there is no sanctification.
The author explains the process of sanctification. That God foreknew us, chose us, and predestined us. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us by setting us apart and revealing Christ to us. Then we become conscious of God’s plan and make a decision to follow or reject him. From then on, our lives take a different course. The author calls this the Blood Line. When you cross over the blood line, you pass out of satan’s territory into God’s territory. In sanctification, Jesus is our perfect example and pattern. Having chosen Jesus, God sanctified Him and set Him apart for the task He (God) had appointed for Him. Because Jesus fulfilled the task, Jesus revealed the Father and glorified the Father. Thus, the ultimate purpose of sanctification is to reveal and glorify God.
The author made a very interesting point when he wrote that Holiness is Spiritual Beauty and that the adornment for holiness is in the hidden person (the heart) and is a gentle and quiet spirit. He wrote, “I would rather have the inner beauty of holiness than any kind of elegance, strength, or power.”
In the concluding chapter, the author refers to the words of Apostle Paul concerning spiritual discipline that we should not despise the body in as much as it is the vessel of our spirit and mind. We should keep it holy by not defiling it with unclean or excessive habits of any kind. He ended on the note that, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ knows what it is like to be human and He is always interceding for us.
PRAISE THE LORD
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