Word studies · Greek · Strong's G40
ἅγιος · hágios · appears 228 times in the New Testament
In one line: Set apart for God — pure, sacred, and distinct.
for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
1 Peter 1:16
Holy means set apart and consecrated for God — pure and distinct from what is common or sinful.
Hagios describes anything set apart for God's purposes and, morally, what is pure and blameless. Applied to God Himself it points to His utter uniqueness and moral perfection; applied to believers it describes both their status in Christ and their calling to live distinctively.
Hagios likely derives from a root conveying awe or reverence for what is set apart from ordinary use, related to the idea of something reserved exclusively for sacred purposes — a temple vessel, a priest, or ultimately God Himself.
In wider Greek religious usage, “holy” described ritual purity or dedication to a temple; the New Testament deepens this into ethical holiness as well, so being “set apart” for God is inseparable from a changed moral life, not just a change in status.
Hagios (G40) is the root of the word “saint” (hagioi, “holy ones”), used throughout the New Testament epistles as an ordinary term for all believers, not an elite few.
Holiness defines God's essential character — proclaimed “holy, holy, holy” in Isaiah's vision — and becomes the standard believers are called to reflect: “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Since you've been set apart by God, let that identity shape ordinary choices — what you watch, how you speak, how you treat others. Pick one area of life where holiness should show up more visibly this week.
sacred (physically, pure, morally blameless or religious, ceremonially, consecrated)
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged in marriage to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:18I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
Mark 1:8for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He shall never take wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb.
Luke 1:15I myself did not know Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is He who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
John 1:33until the day He was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles He had chosen.
Acts 1:2the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
Romans 1:2Press and hold holy in any chapter and this study opens on the verse you are reading, with the lexicons, every occurrence and the commentaries beside it. The Bible is free to read.
Scripture quoted from the Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Strong's definitions are public domain. Counts come from The Pillar's own tagged text.