The Holiness of God

Introduction to Series

If there is one thing that can change a person’s life more than anything, it is the knowledge of God. Who is God? What is He like? How can we know Him? What makes Him happy? Can we draw near to Him? When a person begins to ask such questions, the quest for true life begins. To know God is to know joy. To know joy is to know God. The two go hand in hand. It is no coincidence that God created man in His own likeness, placed them in the garden - in His own presence - where they could spend their life growing in the knowledge of, and experience of their God. This is the end to which God created man - to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever!

This term, we want to uphold the God of all glory before your eyes. We want to confront the very character of God as His Holy Scriptures reveal Him, and expose some of the manifold wonders that make God the God of glory. We want to take time to look at the many ways that God stands as the supreme object of our worship, worthy of our whole lives to be given in devotion to Him.

But before we begin to look at what makes God who He is, it must be noted that God’s attributes don’t work independently from one another. God’s nature is One, and His attributes are as consistent as anything could be. Therefore, a lot of these attributes will be seen to overlap with one another. For example, God’s mercy does not operate independently from His love. For it is in God’s love that He displays His loving-mercy to the world. Or take His justice, which doesn’t operate independently from His patience, nor faithfulness independently from any one of His perfections. What we are doing here is simply shining the light of God’s holy character through the glass prism, as it were, to expose the rainbow of His many perfections which work together to produce the glorious, unified, holy, almighty God who is everything that the human soul yearns for.

I can hear the cry of Paul, however, continually ringing in my ears, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” (Rom 11:33) It would be folly to say that our heart behind this series is to exhaust the knowledge of God - for that would be impossible. But we might, with the help of God’s Spirit, come to understand and see, as through a thick fog, just a glimpse of what makes our God the Holy God that He is!

Holiness of God

Tonight, we are going to be looking at the holiness of God. It is fitting that we begin here, because, if God is the whole light which shines through the glass prism, and the rainbow of perfections are the individual attributes of God, then the glass prism is the attribute of Holiness where all of His perfections meet, and flow out of. That is to say, holiness is what defines the way every other element of God’s character operates. It is an “attribute of attributes”; a gas which infuses the operation of all that God is and does.

The Meaning

But first, what is holiness? Often we think of holiness as being God’s purity, freedom from sin, superiority, or His radiant glory. These are all wonderful parts of the holiness of God and should not be minimized. But they are not what the word “holy” primarily means.

If you were to track back about 3,500 years into the camp of Israel, as they wandered through the wilderness, you might come to see what is meant by holiness. As you approached the Israelite community, you would first pass by a group of sick, dying, or criminal people who were dwelling outside of the camp. These were the unclean ones who had no dwelling in the camp of God’s holy people. As you progress further into the camp, you would notice that the twelve tribes of Israel were each plotted around the edge of the camp, living on the inside of the perimeter. These are the twelve-tribes of God’s holy nation. Moving toward the centre of the camp, you would then meet a group of priests known as the Levites; a tribe set apart for the work of the tabernacle of God. Their whole calling was to be a people set apart to the ministering to the tabernacle and to God. Moving toward the tabernacle, there was the courtyard, then, inside the tabernacle was the holy place, where only the priest could go, after undergoing a complete purification process. Behind the curtain that could be seen in the ‘holy place’ was a dark room called the “most holy place.” And this was where the presence of God resided. It was the place that was the most “set apart” from the rest of the world. It was where the glory of God was set apart from everything else that is unholy.

This illustration provides us with two helpful understandings of what holiness is. First, it is this characteristic of being set apart, or distinctive, or completely unique. And second, it recognizes that - and hear this - holiness is something that is by nature connected to the very presence of God Himself.

The Example

An example of this might be taken from the third chapter of Exodus. In this chapter, the narrative of Moses moves eastward, into the wilderness of Midian, where Moses was shepherd over his father-in-law’s sheep. He had taken the sheep to the edge of the wilderness when he came to Horeb, called the “mountain of God”. It’s here that Moses sees a flame of fire in the midst of a bush, and yet the bush is not being burned. He turns aside to see what this peculiar sight might mean. But, when the Lord saw that he turned aside, he cried out, “Moses, Moses!” Moses replied, “Here I am.” And the Lord responded, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

What made the ground holy on which Moses was standing? It was that he had come to be in the very presence of God! Jonathan Edwards wrote; “He that sees the beauty of holiness... sees the greatest and most important thing in the world... Unless this is seen, nothing is seen that is worth the seeing.” And here was Moses, standing on holy ground. He got just a glimpse of God’s beautiful holiness, and spoke with the holy God who would deliver His holy nation, from the hand of an unholy people. Holiness is the attribute of God that says He is both incomparable in glory to any other, and holiness is only found in God’s presence alone.

The Significance

The holiness of God is key to any understanding of our God at all, because it touches every aspect of who He is, and all that He does. What this means is that God’s attribute of love, for instance, isn’t just the love we experience in greater measure. It means that God’s love comes in a wholly different form. It is not only greater in quantity, but greater in quality. God’s love isn’t the same to every other form of love, but is a love that is “different to, separate from, and other than” any kind of love that we can ever find to compare. And this is the same for all of His attributes; patience, wisdom, power, wrath, etc. The love of God is the most pure form of love that could ever be. The wrath of God is the most holy form of wrath that has ever been. And this all falls under the fact that God is holy!

There is an account in the book of Isaiah which speaks of a great image of a mysterious, heavenly creature with six wings. Two are given to cover its eyes, because God’s great holiness restrains them from being able to even looking upon God. Two wings covered its feet, and two helped it to fly. One of the creatures cries out, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3) Of all the attributes and perfections of God expressed in all of the Scriptures, no other attribute receives this three-fold repetition of “holy, holy, holy.” Not God’s might, His love, His mercy, His wrath. But God’s holiness is expressed in this unique triplet here, and in the book of Revelation! Clearly God wants to be known as holy. Clearly there is great significance to God’s holiness that must be understood!

The Response

At least three responses seem immediately obvious when looking at the holiness of God. They are; (1) God’s holiness demands our praise, (2) demands our fear, and, (3) demands our holiness.

First, the attribute of God’s holiness demands our praise. If you’re struggling to find time to pray, or motivation to get on your knees before God, then the knowledge of God’s holiness ought to make you crumble before Him in praise and worship. Think about it! When every sinful fibre in our body is met with the perfections of God’s supreme glory - a glory that every part of our body cries out for - then to what else will we give our affections? God is on a level that is shared by none! In His light alone is the fulness of life experienced, and nowhere else!

Second, the holiness of God demands our fear. I had a friend recently who pointed to the sky and said, “Thanks big man G. Thanks ol’ mate G”, as though God were his equal (even subordinate!). Let me make this clear: God is not your buddy, your bucko, or pal! Rather, He is the One around whom the mysterious heavenly creatures fly around, covering their eyes, and crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” (Is. 6:3)

Finally, God’s holiness demands our holiness. In the book of Leviticus, God tells the people of Israel, “be holy, for I [the LORD] am holy.” (Lev. 11:44) We are called, as those who have God’s Holy Spirit within us, to live in such a way. This means we look completely different from the rest of the world. This means that we don’t hang out in the same places that the world does; we don’t drink the same drinks, listen to the same music, or partake in the same things. We are called to be a holy people, growing more and more like Jesus Christ, in response to our holy God.