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The Attributes of God: The Holiness of God
Isaiah 6:1-8
If someone called you "holy" would you consider it to be a compliment?
It would probably depend on two things.
First, it would depend on whether another word was attached to the word holy, such as, "a holy roller" or "holier than thou" or a "Holy Joe".
In these cases the term would be considered a negative connotation.
And secondly it would depend on the person's definition of holiness.
In the mind of many, "holy" means; narrow-minded, uptight, judgmental, detached, Victorian and other negative words.
In this case being called holy would not be a compliment.
But if you were called holy in the Biblical sense, it would be a great compliment, one we might be very uncomfortable with.
Of all the attributes of God; holiness is the one that seems to take center stage.
Some of you may know that in the Hebrew language to repeat a word is to emphasize it.
For example if you said a stone was big it would mean one thing.
If you said the stone was big, big, you would mean it was a really big stone.
If it was big, big, big, it means that it was a gigantic boulder.
In Isaiah 6 and in Revelation 4 the angels declare that God is "holy, holy, holy".
This is the only attribute of God that is emphasized this way.
God is never called "Love, love, love," or "mercy, mercy, mercy".
Therefore, if we want to know God we must understand the idea of God's holiness.
What is Holiness?
R. C. Sproul gives us a simple way to remember the definition of holiness, “The first prayer I learned as a child was the simple table grace: ‘God is great, God is good, and we thank Him for this food.’
The two virtues assigned to God in this prayer, greatness and goodness, may be captured by the one biblical word, holy.”
So, there are two ideas to holiness.
1.
Is the idea of greatness.
One of the meanings of holiness is the idea of being "set apart".
God is apart from us.
He is in a class by Himself.
R. C. Sproul says, "There is a profound difference between Him and those He has created.
When the Bible speaks of holy objects or holy people or holy time, it refers to things that have been set apart, consecrated, or made different by the touch of God upon them.
It was the nearness of the divine that made the ordinary suddenly extraordinary and the common, uncommon."
Holiness means that God is transcendent, or unique, and superior, in His greatness.
2. Is the idea of purity.
God is good.
He does what is right and never does what is wrong.
God is unstained by, and uncompromising with sin.
God does not "bend a little" when it comes to wrong-doing.
God always acts in a righteous manner because His nature is holiness.
He is both great and good.
\\ 1.
What Does Holiness Look Like?
The best way to understand Holiness is to look at a case study in Isaiah 6:1-8.
The setting is sometime after the death of King Uzziah.
Most of Uzziah's story can be found in 2 Chronicles 26.
He was for the most part a successful King.
We do know that Isaiah ministered during part of Uzziah's reign but we don't know what kind of relationship they had.
We can only speculate on what Isaiah's state of mind was when he received the vision recorded in chapter 6.
Perhaps Isaiah was concerned what would happen next in Israel.
Maybe the vision had nothing to do with Uzziah at all.
Anyway, Isaiah has a vision.
And there are several things that happen in this vision.
A. The first thing we notice is GOD'S GREATNESS.
Isaiah 6:1-4…(NIV)
Notice the details of Isaiah's vision: God was on the throne.
Uzziah may have died, but God was still on the throne.
The throne was high and exalted which means that it is greater and exceeded all other thrones.
The train (just the train) of His robe filled the temple.
I don't know why it is but when a bride walks down an aisle her dress often has a long "train".
Some of you remember the wedding of Diana and Prince Charles.
Diana's train was so long that there were people there to carry the train of her dress!
Why?
It is a symbol of royalty.
The train of God filled the entire temple!
His royalty far surpasses anything we have known or can imagine.
At his side were angels.
Their job was to give glory to the Lord.
We know that these angels were beings that were without sin.
They were pure, yet, with their six wings they cover their face and feet.
The faces are covered in the presence of the magnificent God!
We make a mistake when we imagine that God's goodness is simply higher than that of the best human.
It is in a class all of its own.
Even the best people are flawed people!
God's purity makes the sinless angel's blush and seek to hide their faces.
The angels praise the Lord with the "holy, holy, holy".
They declare that He is supremely holy.
The shaking of the doorposts simply adds to the sense of awesomeness and power.
These images are designed to point us to a majesty in God that should provoke reverence and awe.
True worship begins when we stop and gasp at the wonder, power, and majesty of God.
Worship begins when we catch of glimpse of holiness.
\\ 2. We See GOD'S GOODNESS and Man’s Unworthiness.
V.5…
Isaiah's response is not what we would have expected.
We would have expected him to say something like, "Cooool!" or "Far Out!"
But Isaiah is not impressed or wowed, he is "undone".
We see similar experiences in Matthew 14:25, 26 “During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified.
“It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.”
In Matthew 17:5-7 at the Mount of Transfiguration we read, "While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.
Listen to him!”
When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground, terrified.
But Jesus came and touched them.
“Get up,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid.”
When the centurion at the cross of Christ saw the earthquake he was terrified.
When the Shepherds saw the angels at the birth of Christ we know they were "sore afraid."
Anyone who gets a glimpse of the Almighty God they are terrified.
Why?
Because in Exodus 33:20, God said, "no one may see me and live."
God is so good that He will destroy anything sinful or unholy.
The first response of an unholy person to the holiness of God is an acute awareness of personal sin.
When the unholy confronts the holy we become very conscious of our own sinfulness.
It is like we live most of our lives with some of the lights off, we are able to hide some of our wickedness in the dark.
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