Holiness Of God

I begin this thread to start a discussion of the Holiness of God.

It would be great to have quotes, scripture, and insight on the Holiness of God.

Title the thread better and you may get more attention. Call it "The Holiness of God -- Discussion".

God is holy. What is holiness? It is not defined anywhere in the Bible. However one Scripture tells us it is given so that we may "distinguish between the holy and the profane". There are profane things, common or defiled or corrupting. So the holy, God, is undefined and uncommon. He is not ordinary, he is other. He is the opposite of corrupting, thus sanctifying. God is utterly undefiled and "dwells in unapproachable light". The Psalmist said "there is no wickedness in him" and John likewise says "in him there is no darkness at all". This is the holiness of God.

In the year that King Uzziah died…

Uzziah's story is in 2 Chronicles 26. He was among the handful of good kings among the many wretched kings we read about in the history of Israel. He was second only to David in his accomplishments on the battlefield. He did what was right, but toward the end he became proud and ended his life like a Shakespearean tragic hero. In his pride, he presumed the role of a priest, and at that instant God struck him with leprosy. His 52 year reign ended in shame and disgrace.

…I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up…

But Israel's throne was not vacant. The Lord was seated there.

There are two uses of Lord in your Bible.

Lord without all caps is some form of adonai. This is the most exalted title given to God in the Old Testament, representing absolute sovereignty.

LORD, in all caps, is Yahweh. This is the sacred, ineffable name of God.

Lord is God’s exalted title, and LORD is his name.

The title, Lord, that is reserved for God in the Old Testament, is given to Christ in the New Testament. So when Jesus is said to have the name above every name, it is not "Jesus" Paul is talking about—it is curios, adonai.

…and the train of his robe filled the temple…

The train of a ruler’s robe is a measure of his status. He is judged by the stuff and substance of his clothing. God’s robe comes over the edge of his throne and down into the sanctuary and fills the temple where he is seated.

Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings…

God's creatures are suitable for their environment. Birds have wings and light bone structures, because the air is their habitat. Fish have gills, scales, and tails for underwater. And Seraphim have an anatomy that is functional for their natural habitat—the presence of God.

The Seraphim’s required anatomical apparatuses:

…with two he covered his face…

Moses once asked the Lord to let him see his face. But God said he didn’t understand what he was asking for. God let him have a momentary glance at his back, but did not let him see his face. He would have died.

The problem is not with the eye—it's with the soul. In the beatitudes, who sees God?—the pure in heart.

Creatures created to live before the face of God, must be designed to endure it.

…with two he covered his feet…

Feet are symbols of creatureliness. Moses was told by the voice in the burning bush to take off his shoes for the ground was holy. What made it holy? Not Moses. It was God in his presence. Moses’s feet represented that he was of dust. Even the feet of angels represent that they are creatures.

…and with two he flew…

…And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

The message of the seraphim is to proclaim God’s glory—his weightiness—his substance—his majesty. It is this glory that provokes the angels to sing holy.

Why 3 times holy?

Similarly to our bold, italic, and underline, a Hebrew emphasis was repetition. Paul writes twice in Galations 1:8-9 that those preaching a contrary gospel should be accursed. And Jesus never uses desultory language, so it is meaningful that he prefaces his words with amen, amen—or truly, truly. He is saying, in effect, “Now hear this. This is of sobering importance!”

So the angels are not content with, “Holy!” And they are not even content with the emphasis of, “Holy! Holy!” They must say it three times—“Holy! Holy! Holy!” They take it to the third degree—the superlative degree. No other attribute of God is praised like this. Not love or mercy or justice or sovereignty. Just Holy.

…And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke…

If God's holiness doesn't turn you on, you don't have any switches. Even the dumb structures of wood and stone have the good sense to shake in God's presence.

And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Isaiah was a man of integrity, yet one glimpse of God's holiness makes him come apart at the seams. As long as our gaze is fixed on the horizontal plane of this earth, we have no problem with ourselves. But if we lift our gaze to heaven and contemplate what God is, we will be broken. Security and smugness is annihilated. Holy men are reduced to trembling with one glimpse of God.

When Isaiah discovers who God is he pronounces an oracle of doom on himself—a curse. The first time he saw what God is was the first time he saw who he was. He saw that he had a dirty mouth and that his dirtiness was epidemic, pandemic.

…Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

God did not allow his servant to grovel. He acted in mercy. Hard mercy. He put a hot coal on his lips. You can hear the flesh sizzle and burn, the muffled scream of Isaiah. His guilt was taken away, atoned for. Never talk to Isaiah about cheap grace. There is something painful about free grace. The point was not to torment Isaiah, but to cleanse him. He cauterized the lips of his servant. And forgave his sin.

In the OT holiness is spoken of primarily in relation to God, e.g., "the Lord is holy!" (Ps. 99:9). Holiness refers to his essential nature; it is not so much an attribute of God as it is the very foundation of his being. "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts" (Isa. 6:3). Thrice holy, intensely holy is the Lord. Holiness, accordingly, is the background for all else declared about God.

Holiness speaks also about the majesty and awesomeness of God. He is majestic in holiness (Exod. 15:11), and the very being of God is such as to provoke awe and fear. Jacob at Bethel, in a dream beholding the exalted Lord, awakens to cry, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven" (Gen. 28:17). The primary response to God's majestic holiness is wonder, awe, even dread. So does the psalmist proclaim: "Worship the Lord in holy array; tremble before him, all the earth" (Ps. 96:9). His majestic presence calls for the response of worship and reverence. It also makes for awe and trembling.

The NT bears further witness to many of the aforementioned matters regarding holiness. In regard to God himself, for all that is said about his grace and love, there is no less emphasis on his holiness. The God of love is Holy Father (John 14:11), Jesus Christ is the Holy One of God (Mark 1:24; John 6:69), and the spirit of God is the Holy Spirit. Indeed, the OT declaration "Our God is holy," stands forth all the more markedly with the triune God fully disclosed in the NT. Likewise, such previously noted aspects of divine holiness as sacredness, majesty, awesomeness, separateness, and moral perfection are all to be found in the NT record. Also, God's people are called to holiness: "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (I Pet. 1:16).

It is the ethical dimension of holiness that the NT highlights. Holiness moves beyond any idea of a nation outwardly holy by virtue of divine election, and demonstrating such holiness through ritual and ceremony, to a people who are made inwardly holy. Basic to this is the witness of Jesus himself, the Holy One of God, who also as the Son of man lived out a life of complete holiness, righteousness, and purity. He "committed no sin; nor was any deceit found in his mouth" (I Pet. 2:22). As a result of his work of redemption, believers in him are declared righteous, but also enter into true righteousness and holiness: "We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ" (Heb. 10:10).

Holiness (hagiosyne) in the NT, accordingly, belongs to all believers. A common term for all believers is holy ones (hagioi), usually translated as "saints." "Saints," therefore, does not refer to persons preeminent in holiness, but to believers generally: all true believers are holy through Christ. This is the central meaning of such a statement as "in Christ Jesus" is "our righteousness, holiness, and redemption" (I Cor. 1:30). Holiness, in the NT, is an internal reality for all who belong to Christ.

In addition, holiness in the sense of transformation of the total person is now envisioned. So, e.g., does Paul write: "May the God of peace himself sanctify you [i.e., make you holy] entirely ...spirit and soul and body" (I Thess. 5:23). Since God is totally holy, his concern is that his people likewise become completely holy. Hence, holiness is not only an internal reality for the believer but also that which is to be perfected: "Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (II Cor. 7:1).

I like Exodus 33:18 When Moses plead with God to show him His Glory. And God is like I can't do that because if I did you would die that is quite Holy I would have to say.

Search for the book by R C Sproul The Holiness of God...