弗一4　就如祂在创立世界以前，在基督里拣选了我们，使我们在爱里，在祂面前，成为圣别、没有瑕疵。

　　帖前五23　且愿和平的神，亲自全然圣别你们，又愿你们的灵、与魂、与身子得蒙保守，在我们主耶稣基督来临的时候，得以完全，无可指摘。
　　神拣选我们，是要使我们成为圣别。“圣别”一辞，已被今天基督教的教训破坏了。……圣经里“圣别”一辞，不该按我们天然的观念来领会。许多人以为圣别就是无罪。根据这个观念，若有人不犯罪，他就是圣别的。这种想法完全错误。圣别既非无罪，也非完全。圣别的意思不仅是成圣，分别归神，也是与一切凡俗的不同、有别。只有神与一切不同，与一切有别。因此，祂是圣别的，圣别是祂的性情。
　　神使我们成为圣别的方法，乃是将祂自己这圣别者分赐到我们里面，使我们全人被祂圣别的性情充满并浸透。对我们这些神所拣选的人，成为圣别就是有分于神的性情（彼后一4），并使我们全人被神自己所充满。这与仅仅无罪的完全，或无罪的纯洁不同。这使我们全人在神的性情和特性上圣别，像神自己一样（以弗所书生命读经，二九至三〇页）。

　　Eph. 1:4 Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love.

　　1 Thes. 5:23 And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

　　God chose us that we should be holy. The words holy and holiness have been spoiled by today's Christian teachings....In the Bible the word holy should not be understood according to our natural concept. Many think that holiness is sinlessness. According to this concept, someone is holy if he does not sin. This thought is absolutely mistaken. Holiness is neither sinlessness nor perfection. Holy not only means sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common. Only God is different, distinct, from all things. Hence, He is holy; holiness is His nature.

　　The way God makes us holy is to impart Himself, the Holy One, into us so that our whole being may be permeated and saturated with His holy nature. For us, God's chosen ones, to be holy is to partake of His divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and to have our whole being permeated with God Himself. This is different from mere sinless perfection or sinless purity. This makes our being holy like God Himself in His nature and in His character. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 24)

　　成为圣别，就是从一切神之外的事物分别出来。圣别的意思也是与一切不是神的事物不同、有别。因此，我们不该是凡俗的，而该有所不同。宇宙中唯有神是圣别的；祂与其他一切事物不同，且有分别。所以，成为圣别的意思是与神成为一。无罪或完全并不等于圣别。我们要成为圣别，就需要与神成为一，因为只有神是圣别的（利十一44，撒上二2）。……凡与神有关的一切地方、东西、事情和人物，都是圣别的，因为凡属于神、为着神的，都是圣别的（利二十26，民十六5，尼八9，出三十37）。
　　不仅如此，神的灵临到我们时，乃是圣灵（路一35，太一20，二八19，参罗一4）。这就是旧约里没有用到“圣灵”一辞的原因（在诗篇五十一篇十一节和以赛亚六十三章十节、十一节里，和合本译为“圣灵”的辞，应当译为“圣别的灵”）。这辞头一次是用在主耶稣将要成孕在马利亚里面的时候（路一35）。这表征圣别是将神带给人，也将人带给神。进一步说，这辞的意思也是将神带到人里面，并将人带进神里面。当神进到我们里面时，我们就是圣别的；当我们进到神里面时，我们更是圣别的；但是当我们与神调和时，我们是最圣别的。因此，我们因着有神在我们里面，就成为圣别的；借着在神里面，我们更是圣别的；借着被神调和、泡透并浸透，我们就是最圣别的。
　　以弗所书称信徒为圣徒（一1）。每一位信主耶稣的人，都是圣徒。……当我们接触神时，我们是圣别的，因为那时我们被祂所浸透。但是当我们一离开神，我们就不圣别了。我再说一次，圣别不是完全或无罪，乃是与神成为一。当我们被神浸透且泡透时，我们就是最圣别的。……在原文里，新约多次用到“那灵，那圣”（the Spirit, the holy）这种说法（帖前四8，来三7）。……我信原文用这种说法的原因，乃在于新约里所强调的不仅是那灵，也是圣别。那灵就是圣别；所以圣灵有时称为那灵，那圣。哪里有那灵，哪里就有圣别。……今天，那灵不仅在我们里面；祂正在使自己与我们成为一，并使我们与祂成为一。林前六章十七节说，“但与主联合的，便是与主成为一灵。”所以，实际上圣别的意思乃是被神浸透，使一个凡俗的人完全被那灵所浸透（以弗所书生命读经，三〇、三二至三四页）。
　　参读：以弗所书生命读经，第三篇；那灵同我们的灵，第二篇。

　　To be holy is to be separated from everything other than God. It also means to be different, distinct, from all that is not God. Thus, we should not be common but different. In the universe God alone is holy. He is different from everything else and is distinct. Therefore, to be holy means to be one with God. To be sinless or perfect is not the same as being holy. To be holy we need to be one with God because only God is holy (Lev. 11:44; 1 Sam. 2:2).

　　Any place, any thing, any matter, and any person that is related to God is holy, for whatever is both of God and for God is holy (Lev. 20:26; Num. 16:5; Neh. 8:9; Exo. 30:37).

　　Furthermore, when the Spirit of God reaches us, He is holy (Luke 1:35; Matt. 1:20; 28:19; see Rom. 1:4). This is the reason that the term Holy Spirit is not used in the Old Testament. (The occurrences of this term in Psalm 51:11 and Isaiah 63:10 and 11 should be rendered "the spirit of holiness.") This term was first used when the Lord Jesus was about to be conceived in Mary (Luke 1:35). This signifies that holiness brings God to man and man to God. To go further, it also means to bring God into man and man into God. When God gets into us, we are holy. When we get into God, we are more holy. But when we are mingled with God, we are most holy. Thus, we become holy by having God in us, we become more holy by being in God, and we become the holiest by being mingled, soaked, and saturated with God.

　　The book of Ephesians calls the believers saints (1:1). Everyone who has believed in the Lord Jesus is a saint....When we are in touch with God, we are holy, for then we are under His saturation. But when we are away from God, we are not holy. I repeat, to be holy is not to be perfect or sinless; it is to be one with God. When we are saturated and soaked with God, we shall be the holiest.

　　In the Greek text of the New Testament many times the expression the Spirit, the holy is used (1 Thes. 4:8; Heb. 3:7)....I believe that the reason for this is that in the New Testament the emphasis is not only on the Spirit, but also on holiness. The Spirit is holiness. Therefore, the Holy Spirit is sometimes called the Spirit, the holy. Where the Spirit is, there holiness is also.

　　Today, the Spirit is not only in us; He is making Himself one with us and us one with Him. First Corinthians 6:17 says, "He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit." Therefore, holiness actually means to be saturated with God, to cause a common person to be fully saturated with the Spirit. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 24-28)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 3; CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, "The Spirit with Our Spirit," ch. 2