Isaiah 6:1-7 | Behold, the Holy and Perfect One

Sermon Series: Behold Our God

Last Week: Creator

Today: Behold, the Holy and Perfect One (attributes)

Ordination paper question:

Why is it necessary, or important, to have a working understanding of the nature and attributes of God?

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God.” A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy

Where can I see glimpse of God’s nature and attributes? A great place to start is Isaiah 6.

Read (Isaiah 6:1-7)

Historical context:

In the year that King Uzziah died

King Uzziah reigned in Judah for fifty-two years marked by great national stability and prosperity for the nation of Judah (2 Chr. 26)

By the end of Uzziah’s reign, however, clouds were gathering: Tiglath-Pileser III continued the expansion of the Assyrian Empire into world domination (Syria & Babylon).

In the year that King Uzziah died the nation of Judah finds itself in a national crisis

So many questions. What’s going to happen to our national security? What’s going to happen to the economy? What’s going to happen to our current freedoms? Is the next king going to lead us well? Are we going to be okay?

Transition: It is in this moment of national and personal crisis that Isaiah has a powerful experience: I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

What a powerful, terrifying, life-changing encounter!

There is only one attribute that is repeated 3x: Holy, Holy, Holy,

The Hebrew word for holy, Kadosh, is derived from an ancient word, which means “to cut” or “to separate.”

“The Scriptural idea of the holiness of God is twofold. In its original sense it denotes that He is absolutely distinct from all His creatures, and is exalted above them in infinite majesty…But the holiness of God also have a specifically ethical aspect in Scripture…” Louis Berkhof

Here’s how Jerry Bridges puts it:

“Holiness, when used of God, is a comprehensive term to denote all that God is in His transcendent majesty and infinite moral purity.” Jerry Bridges

This is the testimony of Scripture that seeks to exalt God above his creation.

Exodus 15:11 “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”

1 Samuel 2:2 “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

The phrase “Holy, holy, holy” is not just repetition; it is a Hebrew literary device designed to emphasize and intensify a superlative idea (i.e. underline, bold, exclamation point!). God’s holiness is the only attribute that is emphasized 3x.

To say that God is Holy, Holy, Holy is to say that He is beyond the beyond and he is above the above. In other words, God is in a class by himself.

This is why the the Lord’s prayer begins:“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” (Matthew 6:9)

Notice what happens at the voice of the Seraphim in v.4, “And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke.”

Isaiah’s vision is designed to gives us a glimpse of how majestic God us.

Is it possible that one of the reasons why we find worship services often times boring is simply because we have forgotten how big God is?

In his book, Yawning at Tigers, You Can’t Tame God So Stop Trying, Drew Dyck writes,

“A vision of God’s holiness is essential to our worship. It rescues our worship from superficiality and makes it passionate and profound. If we had a vision of God like Isaiah did, I don’t think we’d be asking him for good parking spots.”

It is my honest desire for us to leave this service saying, “What an awesome God we worship.”

Let me show you some of God’s attributes found in our passage.

Behold Our Holy God.

He is

Self-existent

“I saw the Lord”

King Uzziah is dead. God is alive.

In the beginning, God already existed (Gen. 1:1)

Yahweh (Isaiah 6:3) - I am who I am. “The God who is and continues to be.”

Because he is self-existent, he is also self-sufficient.

Holy, holy, holy Is the Lord, God Almighty Who was and is and is to come (Revelation Song)

The next three attributes are closely related. In v.1 Isaiah saw the Lord, Adonai. His lordship is display in his power, knowledge, and presence.

God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.

Omnipotent

All powerful. He created the world by the power of his Word.

He is more powerful than anything and anyone in the universe.

“Nothing is impossible for God.”

Omniscient

All knowing: He knows the past, the present, and the future.

Open theism: God doesn’t know all the choices humans will make.

Isaiah 46:9–10 “I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done.”

Nothing catches God off guard. He knows everything.

Omnipresent

All-present. His presence is in all places.

Psalm 139:7–10 “7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.”

God is present right now with our brothers and sisters in Egypt and Morris, MN. God can give his undivided attention to all his children at the same time. (no need for an appointment).

Sovereign

Isaiah 6:1 “I saw the Lord (Adonai) sitting upon a throne.”

God rules over his creation. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords.

Uzziah is no longer on the throne. God is sitting on his throne.

Tiglath-Pileser III rose to power but he also eventually died. God is still sitting on his throne.

Jimmy Carter rose to power but he also eventually died. God is still sitting on his throne.

Kings and presidents will come and go, but God will remain on his throne in power and authority. Adonai is sitting on his throne.

In Isaiah 46:10 God says “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.”

Transcendent

Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, HIGH AND LIFTED UP

Transcendent means that God is far above his creation and independent of it.

Glorious

Isaiah 6:1 “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.”

Literally, the hem of his robe filled the temple

Isaiah only sees a glimpse. It only takes the hem to fill the temple.

Isaiah 66:1 “Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest?”

Perfect

God is all his attributes.

He is not 80% love and 20% justice

God is not a jigsaw puzzle of divine attributes.

Beautiful

God is perfect and beautiful.

Psalm 96:9 “9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!”

The seraphim are in the presence of the most perfect and most beautiful being in the universe: they cover the faces and their feet.

No wonder the foundations of the temple shook and the temple was filled with smoke. God’s glory, perfection, and beauty are beyond compare.

Justice

Notice Isaiah’s reaction to the Holiness and Majesty of God:

Isaiah 6:5 “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!””

You would think that Isaiah would have say, “this is so cool. I’m going to write a book and do a tour sharing about my experience.”

Instead, Isaiah in a way is “traumatized.” He is literally undone to the point that he cries out “Woe is me!

Allow me to explain to you the significance of the Isaiah’s expression.

When a prophet would deliver a message from God, he would start the phrase with the word “blessed” if it was good news. But if it was bad news, he would start the message with the word, “woe.”

In the Bible the word “woe” is associated with doom and judgment.

Isaiah’s declaration is perplexing to say the least. Isaiah is the most quoted prophet in the NT, and yet, upon personally encountering the majesty and holiness of God, he pronounces the judgment of God upon himself. For our God is a consuming fire (Dt. 4:24; Heb 12:29)

Brothers and sisters, If we saw our sinfulness in the light of God’s holiness we would also cry out, “Woe is me! We are lost.”

Well, at this point Isaiah feels like bad news.

I got Good News for us all this morning. Yes, there is a huge gulf that is hopelessly wide between God’s holiness and our sinfulness, but that’s exactly where the gospel, the good news of Jesus come in.

You see, the good news is that this Holy God who is dangerous consuming fire turns out to be a rescuer and a lover. He doesn’t simply love us from a distance, he himself bridges that great chasm that lay between God and humans.

Let me be very clear, We cannot make sense of God’s love, grace and mercy without first understanding his Holiness. The cross must be interpreted in light of God’s holiness.

God’s wrath

Grace

God doesn’t say to Isaiah, “Get your act together.” God himself provides the solution.

Isaiah 6:6–7 “6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.””

The burning coal comes from the altar where substitutionary sacrifices had taken place. At the altar, a lamb would have been sacrificed to atone and forgive the sins of people.

Show God’s wrath and grace at the cross GRAPHIC

What you see is a picture of the gospel: atonement, propitiation, satisfaction, forgiveness, cleansing and reconciliation. (Motyer, Isaiah, 82)

Our hearts must be gripped by the height of God’s Holiness and by the depth of his love.

We must never attempt to shrink God down to our size and we must let go of our attempt to tame God’s relentless love.

“your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for."

Noticed how Isaiah is on the receiving end of God’s grace. His guilt is taken away and his sin is atoned for.

Amazing grace! Guilt is removed because of Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross! Trough the cross, God offers forgiveness and restoration.

You will never graduate from Grace University. Isaiah experienced God’s grace as a believer. , this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.””

Beware of manufacturing a God of your own: a God who is all mercy, but not just; a God who is all love, but not holy; a God who has a heaven for everybody, but a hell for none. Such a God is an idol of your own. He is not the God of the Bible. J.C. Ryle

But there is still more we can say about what the holiness of God is, in relation to his glory. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts,” the seraphim say, “the whole earth is full of his glory.” So, the Lord is holy, and the earth, then, will be full of his glory. So, we might, then, speak of God’s holiness as his very Godness, rooted, in a sense, in his inability to be defined by other things. “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One” (Isaiah 40:25). He is holy, he is incomparable. Or as Hannah prays in 1 Samuel 2:2, “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.”

Quotes:

“There is a kind of sequence within the prayer. God’s kingdom will never come where His name is not hallowed. His will is not done on earth as it is in heaven if His name is desecrated here.” (R.C. Sproul)

"A god who is all love, all grace, all mercy, no sovereignty, no justice, no holiness, and no wrath is an idol." (R.C. Sproul)

"At the cross, in holy love, God, through Christ, paid the full penalty of our disobedience Himself. He bore the judgment we deserve in order to bring us the forgiveness we do not deserve. On the cross divine mercy and justice were equally expressed and eternally reconciled. God’s holy love was ‘satisfied’" (John Stott)

"There is a danger of forgetting that the Bible reveals, not first the love of God, but the intense, blazing holiness of God, with his love as the center of that holiness." (Oswald Chambers)

"...we think of holiness as giving up the pleasures of sin for some worthy but drab life. But holiness means recognizing that the pleasures of sin are empty and temporary, while God is inviting us to magnificent, true, full, and rich pleasures that last forever." (Tim Chester)

If the gaze of man awakens fear to us, how much more so the gaze of God. If we feel exposed by people, we will feel devastated before God. (Ed Welch).

"God intends the Christian life to be a life of joy—not drudgery. The idea that holiness is associated with a dour disposition is a caricature of the worst sort. In fact, just the opposite is true. Only those who walk in holiness experience true joy." (Jerry Bridges)

"The fear of God is a profound respect for His holiness, which includes a fear of the consequences of disobeying Him." (Randy Alcorn)

"At the point when we begin to think of God as being anything other than holy is the moment we are imagining a completely different god altogether." (Jackie Hill Perry)

Because of our union with Christ, God sees His holiness as our holiness. (Jerry Bridges).

Beware of manufacturing a God of your own: a God who is all mercy, but not just; a God who is all love, but not holy; a God who has a heaven for everybody, but a hell for none. Such a God is an idol of your own. He is not the God of the Bible. J.C. Ryle

I think in today’s churches we find ourselves in the presence of a God who exists for us, not a God whom we need to fear. We have essentially said that in the New Testament era, it is safe to sin because we live under grace and not under law. It’s an overemphasis on the love of God, which needs to be preached, but where’s the wrath of God? There are two doctrines that destroy the church: the essential goodness of man and the endless tolerance of a nonjudgmental God. I think in some instances, those doctrines have come into the evangelical church, and when they have, the essence of the gospel is lost. Erwin Lutzer