God's Holiness

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 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. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”” (Isaiah 6:1–3, ESV)

(This post is one in a series on the Attributes of God. Click here to see more posts in this series.) 

Holy, Holy, Holy 

Several years ago, I heard RC Sproul say something powerful about the holiness of God. He said, “The Bible doesn’t say that God is Holy. It doesn’t even say that God is holy, holy, but that He is holy, holy, holy. Scripture doesn’t say that he’s love, love, love, or mercy, mercy, mercy or wrath, wrath, wrath, but that he’s holy, holy, holy; exalting this character of God to the supreme degree.” (RC Sproul; Holy, Holy, Holy).

Take a moment to let that sink in. No other attribute of God is presented this way. That should cause us to pay closer attention.  

Holiness in Contact with Sin

Take a moment to see how people respond when they encounter the holiness of God. 

When Isaiah encounters the holiness of God, he says, “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 6:5, ESV)

When Peter encounters Jesus, recognizing his divinity (and his holiness along with it), he says, “But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”” (Luke 5:8, ESV). 

When people encounter the holiness of God, they immediately recognize how far they fall short. They recognize their sinfulness. RC Sproul makes this point throughout the book. At one point he says, “The clearest sensation that a human being has when he experiences the holy is an overpowering and overwhelming sense of creatureliness. That is, when we are in the presence of God, we are humbled and become most aware of ourselves as creatures. This is the opposite of Satan’s original temptation, ‘You shall be as gods.’” 

What is Holiness?

Holiness can be difficult to describe. It’s a multi-faceted word. Many people immediately connect holiness and purity. To some degree, this is right. This is why people recognize their impurity—their sin—when encountering a holy God. It’s like noticing a black dot on a pure white tablecloth. If the cloth was stained, you wouldn’t notice it. But since the cloth is pure white, every tiny flaw stands out in stark contrast. 

However, there’s more to holiness than purity. At its core, holiness means to be separate from. So, when the angels are crying out “Holy, Holy, Holy,” they are setting God apart as completely separate from us (and them). This is why we recognize our creatureliness when encountering the holiness of God. His greatness and glory—his “otherness”—force us to recognize our lack of greatness and glory. 

Our Holiness

Since God’s holiness is a central attribute throughout scripture, we shouldn’t be surprised when we read verses that say, “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy…You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” (Leviticus 11:44–45, ESV). Since we have been created in the image of a holy God, we have been created to live holy lives. 

That means both PURE and SET APART lives. We are to fight against sin, not accepting any impurity in our lives. But it’s more than that. Holiness isn’t just about NOT sinning. It’s about LIVING a life that is set apart—a life that differs from the world.

Obviously these two things are connected. As we fight sin in our lives, we will increasingly be set apart from the sinful world around us. As we seek to live a life that is set apart from the world, we will need to fight the sin in our life. 

Here’s the first step in the process: Encounter the holy God. When you truly encounter the holy God, you will become very aware of your sin and your creatureliness. You will recognize your need to turn from your sin and be forgiven. You will recognize how weak and frail you are. You will begin to understand how much you must TRUST this holy God. You will begin to follow him in everything you do. As you do these things, you will grow in holiness and love of your holy God.