The Holiness of God

    In my last post, I ended with a quote from A.W. Pink. I want to state it again, only this time put it in words I use. He was a bit more brilliant minded than I am. Basically, I understood him to say, “so few people today are used to meditating on the attributes or perfections of God. Of those who occasionally read their Bibles, few are even aware of the awe-inspiring majesty of God. If they were, they would worship Him. Most believers assume that every knows God is wise, powerful and merciful, yet they never even come close to an adequate understanding of His being, His nature, or His attributes as revealed in the Word of God.”

                I was recently informed that to understand the vileness of sin and what salvation required, I must first have an understanding of who God is, what He is like. I didn’t understand why I was told that until I started to study the Attributes of God. Now I see why.
               
                Humanly speaking, God is past finding out. We will never fully understand Him, but by His grace, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, we can learn as much about Him as He is willing to reveal to us through the Scriptures. To study all His attributes will be a task I will perform throughout all eternity.

                I could spend a lifetime studying His omniscience, or the truth that He is all knowing, and never be able to understand His knowledge. Read all of Psalm 139 to get a glimpse of His knowledge concerning man.

Psalm 139:6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it.

                I could study His immutability, or the truth that He never changes. What God has spoken and what He has promised will come to pass. He changes not.

Malachi 3:6  For I am the LORD, I change not: therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

                I could study the truth that He is an infinite God. He has no limits. Not even heaven and earth can contain Him.

1 Kings 8:27  But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house I have builded?

                Books have been written concerning the attribute of God’s Sovereignty. I have spent much time studying this truth. I have taught many Sunday School lessons on this subject and yet I will never be able to fully grasp it all.

Daniel 4:35  And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

                Our God is a solitary God. He is self-sufficient, self-sustaining, self-existent, long-suffering, good, merciful, loving…on and on we could go and never find end to the study of all God’s attributes. However, for the purpose of gaining a better understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ…our sin and salvation, I want to bring out only a few of God’s attributes that are dealing in the salvation of men.

                To understand our sin, we must understand that God is a Holy God. To understand our sin, we must understand that He is a Just God. To understand sin, we must understand God is a God of Wrath. To understand sin, our need of a Savior, what Christ accomplished on Calvary…to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we must look into these attributes of God.

                Only when we understand these attributes will we be able to understand the vileness of our sin. Sin would not be what it is if God was not who He is. Because God is who He is, then sin is what it is…vile, loathsome, wicked, evil, an abomination before a Holy God.


                We will begin our look into the attributes of God with the attribute of His holiness. Our God is a Holy God. I know we say, “He is a Holy God,” but do we even understand what holiness is? The holiness of God is not often taught in churches today. Why is that? When was the last time you heard a sermon on or personally studied about God’s holiness? To my own shame, I have not studied the attribute of God’s holiness until now. God is a Holy God!  What does that mean?

                Holiness is the most difficult attribute to define because it deals with the essence of God’s character. Trying to define holiness is like trying to define God. It cannot be done completely. We can describe it and give examples of it from the pages of scripture, but  we cannot define it entirely. Holiness is what makes God who He is.

Exodus 15:11  Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?

                The Bible says that God is “glorious in holiness.” Lets us first look at the word,“holiness.”  Our English word “holiness” is translated in this text from the Hebrew word, “Qodesh” which means set-apart, separated, sacred. A thing is holy if it is set apart for a special use. Other words used to describe holiness could be distinctive or different. Holiness is that characteristic of God that sets Him apart from all His creation.

                Consider this: The Seraphim, the holiest, most powerful of all of God’s creation…the ones that hover above the very throne of God, cannot look on the holiness of God.

Isaiah 6:2-3
2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

                Do you see that? They cover their faces, showing their inability to look on the holiness of God. They cover their feet showing that they are created beings and they fly crying, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” God transcends even them. God is separated from His creation. He is above His creation in every way.

                Notice something else. The Holiness of God is the only attribute of God that is mentioned in triplicate. Here is Isaiah 6 and again in Revelation 4 we see it being said of God that He is Holy, Holy, Holy. If the word of God proclaims Him holy once, then that’s enough to settle it. When He says it twice, he is placing emphasis on it. But when he says it three times, it is of supreme importance!

                Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God is “Love, Love, Love.” Neither does it say that he is “Merciful, Merciful, Merciful” or “Just, Just, Just.”  It says He is “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

                How many times I have sung the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” and never gave it much thought? The thought of His holiness is something we far often take too lightly. The reason why is because we don’t understand it and we don’t understand it because we have never dared to studied it. We are too comfortable with the modern teachings of God.

                Consider Exodus 33:18 when Moses desired to see the glory of God. What was God’s response to Moses’ request? 

Exodus 33:20  And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

                God is Holy in that He is set apart from His creation. None of His creation can so much as look upon His Holiness.   

               There is another quality or aspect of the Holiness of God. Holiness also means “morally excellent; pure.” God by His nature is morally pure. The Hebrew word "Qodesh" comes from the Hebrew root word "Qadash" which means proclaimed to be entirely pure. God is separated from sin. He cannot sin. Neither does he tempt men to sin as seen in James 1:13.

                God is so pure, He cannot tolerated sin in any form or fashion. That is the nature of holiness. God hates sin. Proverbs 6:16-19 lists seven things God hates. Many in our day do not believe that God hates. They have been taught for so long that God is a God of love. The problem is they have been given only one side of the coin. One cannot understand God’s love without understanding God’s holiness. Because God is holy, His love is a Holy love. Holy love hates sin.

                Let me give you an example. If we love God as we say we do, then we are to love what He loves and hate what He hates. If we say we love children, then we must hate abortion. If we say we love marriage, then we must hate adultery and divorce. Yet, how many professing Christians today are indifferent when it comes to abortion or divorce?Many have no problem telling or laughing at perverted jokes, watching movies which mock sin, and have no trouble taking the LORD's name in vain? The reason this can happen is because their profession is a false one, or they do not understand God's holiness.

                Consider His holiness!  Muse, meditate, think on Him and His holy nature.

1 John 1:5  This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

              As I said earlier, we will never even come close to fully understanding God or the attribute of His holiness. That should not discourage us from seeking to learn as much about Him as it pleases Him to allow us to. 

             God's holiness should cause the lost sinner to tremble in fear. For the saved it should be a source of great thanksgiving.

Psalm 30:4   Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of   his holiness.

             Holiness is the greatest of the attributes of God. All His other attributes flow through His holiness. His holiness adorns all other attributes. God's justice is a holy justice. God's love is a holy love. His wisdom is a holy wisdom. The arm of His power is a "holy arm" (Psalm 98:1). His promise is a "holy promise" (Psalm 105:42). His very name, which signifies the combination of all His attributes is holy.

Psalm 103:1  Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Psalm 111:9  He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant forever; holy and reverend is his name.

             His name is holy. His works are holy (Psalm 145:17). His law is holy (Romans 7:12). Yes, His holiness is manifested in His law...the word of God.

Psalm 19:8-9
8  The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9  The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

               

                Our Holy God, who has manifested His holiness in His word, has magnified that word above even His name.

Psalm 138:2  I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy loving kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.

                God is Holy. He is set apart from His creation. He is high above and separated from everything He created. Before Genesis 1:1, He had no needs. He didn't need to create in order to be God. Creation did not complete God. He was complete and content in Himself. Creation did not add one thing to Him. He did not need the seraphim to fly around His throne crying "Holy, Holy, Holy." He did not need the companionship of man to sustain Himself. He needed nothing. He needed no one. He created simply because it pleased Him to do so. Had He not created one thing, He still would have been perfectly holy.

               Not only is he separate from His creation, He is absolutely, morally, perfect in His nature. He has no sin...not even the shadow of sin can be cast upon Him. He is light and His perfect holiness shines so bright it drives sin and the shadow of it from His very presence. 

              How does a God who is holy in His very nature deal with sin?  In my next post I want to write about God's holiness and man's exceeding sinfulness.