Holiness as Wholeness in Afro- Pentecostal Tradition: A Theological Perspective

Using the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) as the exemplar, I explore the theological rationale that undergirds the COGIC priority of holiness as a prescription for human wholeness. By wholeness, I mean human flourishing of the total person. For the COGIC, "Salvation is a deliverance from dangers and enemies." Through the democratization of what was historically reserved for spiritual heroes, namely the designation of "saint," common people of little means were immediately uplifted. They grabbed ahold of this moniker, which redefined them and identified their new place of spiritual residence in Zion. By faith, they expected to experience a modicum of the blessing of Abraham, right now. Such personal and social uplift includes peace, provision, power, healing, deliverance, and victory over their natural and spiritual challenges and foes while in exile. As an exilic people, they created a way of being "in the world, but not of it." This created a holy space where they were not despised outcasts, but "a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people" (1 Pet 2:9, KJV). By inhabiting this space, their lowly status was washed away in the blood.