Blessed Holiness

God’s glory is so great that “he dwells in unapproachable light” (1 Tim 6:16). The tabernacle and temple were designed to reinforce the holy unapproachableness of God. The temple’s beautiful walls, curtains, and vessels of ritual purity were constant reminders of the danger associated with God’s presence (Ex 26:31–33; Heb 9:2–10). God said, “man shall not see me and live” (Ex 33:20). The Scriptures record the dread and disbelief of individuals who were granted a glimpse of God’s glory (Gen 32:30; Jdg 6:22, 23; 13:22; Isa. 6:5;).

So, why is it a fearful thing to be in God’s presence? Why is God’s nature such that we mere humans are in danger of his presence? To understand the peril of exposure to God’s presence, we must consider what it means for God to be God.

This lesson will investigate how the God of Heaven has described his nature in Scripture.

God’s Perfect Holiness

God’s holiness is not simply moral purity but his “otherness”—his being entirely distinct from creation. To be “holy” (קָדַשׁ) is “to be sacred.”This sacredness arises as one understands holiness as that which is separate or cut off. God is the ultimate separate. God is distinct from all else. There is none like him (Is. 46:9). Therefore, God is “the wholly other one.” Holiness, in all its uses, refers to God or those things especially related to God. “The holiness of God speaks to God’s existence as completely separate from his creation and, at the same time, to his pure and utterly incorruptible nature.”[4]

The Scriptures use the word “holy” to describe

1) God himself,

2) the work of God, and

3) the people, places, and things especially associated with God by his grace.

Bavinck succinctly summarized holiness as “God’s transcendent and glorious otherness (his deity) as well as his relation to the world”

To be anything other than the Creator God is to be not holy. Holiness as a description of being different is a consequence of holiness as a summary description of God’s ontology. God is “the ideal manifestation, indeed the source, of holiness.”[9] God’s name or essence is holy (Lev. 20:3). He is “holy, holy, holy” (Is. 6:3).

When God’s holiness (either his nature or created things which share in his holiness) is infringed upon, the desecration or corruption must be recognized, and the distinction made between the holy and profane must be recognized (Lev. 7:19-21). To profane—to treat as common—even the holy things of God was to profane God’s holiness (Lev. 22:2). Numbers 18:32 warns “you shall not profane the holy things of the people of Israel, lest you die.”

When the holy God does manifest his presence in creation, the creation is in danger. God’s holiness is such that creatures cannot withstand his presence without God’s gracious covering. The men of Beth-Shemesh said,“Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?” (1 Sam. 6:20). Isaiah 8:13 says, “But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” As Bavinck said, “By nature God and his creatures are dissociated, estranged, distinguished from, and opposed to, each other. By itself the entire world is חֹל, profane, not in communion with God, and unfit for his service, and even that which is pure is as such not yet holy.”[10]

Aseity: God’s Maximal Life

At the beginning of any study of God, it seems right to affirm that God is. Hebrews 11:6 tells us “Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists.” The God who is named himself YHWH or “I AM” (Ex 3:14–15; 33:19). This is the word often translated as “the LORD” in the Hebrew Scriptures and “ἐγὼ εἰμί” in the LXX (the Greek translation of the OT) and New Testament.

Jesus seems to have claimed this name for himself. Especially in the Gospel of John, Jesus identified himself as the “I AM.” In John 8:58 Jesus said, “Before Abraham was, I am” (ἐγὼ εἰμί). As Jesus claimed to be the “I AM” even before Abraham was born, he implied his timeless existence. This, of course, is not true of his human nature, but it is true of the divine nature. God is before any becoming began. In other words, God is timeless. Even before time and without any becoming God is. God’s self-existence is referred to as divine aseity.

The doctrine of divine aseity is sometimes explained primarily through its negative aspect: God's fundamental independence from all things. However, it seems this understanding fails to capture the doctrine's full theological richness. Aseity should be appreciated both for what it says God is not and how the doctrine positively points to the necessity of divine plenitude and pure actuality which make it possible for God to be the unmoved Mover. Aseity, then, focuses first on the truth that God is maximally alive.

God’s maximal life or plenitude is affirmed in Scripture when God is described as the One who has life in himself (Jn 5:26), the only true “good” (Mk 10:18), “the Fountain of life” (Ps 36:9), the One beyond corruption “ἀφθάρτῳ” (1 Tim 1:17; 6:16), and the One who is “blessed” in his own life (1 Tim 6:14).

Petrus van Mastricht defined God’s blessedness as “the absence of all evil and imperfection, for he is the light in which there is no darkness (1 John 1:5), as well as the perfect enjoyment of his own self, from which there is said to be fullness of joys with his face (Ps. 16:11).”[17] This blessed and maximal life of eternal plenitude is essential to divine aseity because without it, God would, by necessity, be moved by something other than God to be God, to create, sustain, and save.

Simple Infinity: God’s Undivided Being

Foundational among the historic doctrines of Christian theology is that is infinite and that God is not composed of a body, parts, or passions. God is infinite in his nature. “His greatness is unsearchable” (Ps 145:3). God is infinite in his relation to time (Ps 90;2; 1 Tim 1:17). God is also infinite in relation to space (1 Kgs 8:27; Jer 23:23–24; Acts 17:24; Eph 1:23). There cannot be multiple infinities as there would not be physical or metaphysical space for such a thing.

God’s infinity leads us to recognize his simplicity. Instead of being composed, all that is in God is God. Since God is uncaused the source of all things, God must be all things rather than have all things. God’s attributes are not separate or distinct from his essence. God does not “have” love. “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8).

Since God is eternally and is uncaused, there can be nothing more fundamental than God and God cannot be composed of physical or metaphysical parts. God is the “immeasurable and unbounded ocean of being.”

God is not just“unified” in his essence or triunity; God is one in the divine essence and in his triune life. God wanted his people to know, “The Lord our God, the LORD is one” (Deut 6:4).

Immutability: God’s Unchanging Perfection

Since God is self-existent, infinite, and maximally alive, God cannot be other than God is. God’s unchanging perfection is called divine immutability. God is unchanging in his nature and will. God, then, is the bedrock of stability for faith. In this way, God is completely different from his creation.

The unchangeableness of God is an aspect of divine perfection taught throughout Scripture. James 1:17 describes God as the one “with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Unlike the stars who follow their regular paths across the sky, the Father of Lights does not change.

Since there is no shadow of turning with God, we must also consider his perfect knowledge. The Bible says God’s knowledge is infinite (Ps 147:5). God “knows all things” (1 Jn 3:20). In Isaiah 46:10 God said he is the One “declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.” The Psalmist said, “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations” (Ps 33:11). In his divine nature, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8).

God’s knowledge is unchanging and from himself (a se) rather than dependent upon some other cause or source. Paul explained all things are “from him and through him and to him” (Rom 11:36). God’s omniscience is grounded in his perfect self-knowledge, knowledge of what he will do, and knowledge of what his creation will do. As Paul said, God “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Eph 1:11).

Unlike human understanding, which relies on observation, reasoning, and external sources, God’s knowledge originates entirely within himself. By knowing himself perfectly, God knows every aspect of his works, from the vastness of the cosmos to the smallest details of human lives (Ps 147:4–5; Matt 10:29–30). His timeless nature ensures that his knowledge is immediate and exhaustive. He perceives all things, past, present, and future, in a single, unified act (Isa 46:9–10).

God, therefore, cannot literally change his mind. Although Scripture often describes God anthropomorphically as changing his mind, God does not actually change his mind because his knowledge of the past present, and the future is perfect. In 1 Samuel 15 an anthropomorphic description of God “changing his mind” or “regretting” is given (1 Sam 15:10) and then followed by the affirmation that “the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret” (1 Sam 15:29). Similarly, Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.” In both instances, God’s perfect unchanging mind is contrasted with the human mind which is constantly given to change.

God’s unchanging mind is a source of comfort to his feeble people. It is because does not change his mind about us that fickle Christians can have confidence in their relationship with God. In Malachi 3:6 God said, “I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” God’s eternal blessedness overflows into our lives as his plan and promise to bless his people remain steadfast.

God’s Majesty Dwelling Among Us

Awe and dread are consistent responses to encounters with God’s glory, such as at Sinai, where the mountain trembled (Ex 19:16–19), and in Isaiah’s vision of the heavenly throne (Isa 6:1–5). This fear is not merely terror but a recognition of God’s overwhelming greatness, which humbles and transforms the human heart. In Christ, however, this fear is tempered by grace, as he reveals the Father in a manner humanity can bear (John 1:14; Col 2:9). Through Christ, the mediator, believers are granted access to the Father, transforming fear into trust (1 Tim 2:5; Heb 4:16).

Reflecting on God’s incommunicable attributes corrects the tendency to reduce his majesty. His boundless perfection inspires awe, while his grace invites intimacy, forming the proper foundation for worship. God’s unapproachable light, once terrifying, now draws us in through Christ. Christians should be shocked to be in God’s presence and live, but Christians are safe in God’s blessedness through Christ. The preacher of Hebrews said:

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Heb 4:14–16).

The marvel of the gospel is that Christians are made safe in God’s holy presence through Christ. This is not safety from God but safety in God. The awe and dread that marked encounters with divine glory are not abolished but fulfilled in the reverence, trust, and love that Christ makes possible. The holy fire that consumed the mountain at Sinai now dwells within the hearts of believers through the Spirit. Christians approach the throne of grace with confidence. God's majesty is undiminished and enjoyed by Christians who are “in Christ” the beloved Son. The God who once seemed untouchable now graciously calls his people into his holy presence. This is the wonder of Christian worship: that the infinite God, in all his glory, receives sinners as children through the Son.