Week 8: Holy is the Lord

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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!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 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!”

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

Isaiah 6:1-7 (ESV)

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We always talk about the holiness of God, to the point where its become another Christian buzzword. But what do we really mean when we talk about God’s holiness, and—even more importantly—how should we respond?

God is holy, which means that He is wholly and perfectly set apart from all the universe. Naturally, this is true of our Creator, who is present in His creation yet infinitely and eternally greater and sovereign over all things. In Him there is no darkness, no error, no fault, no imperfection. In all of His ways, all of His actions, and all of His attributes, He is perfect.

God’s holiness is expressed in His triunity. The love shared among the three persons of the Trinity has been perfect from eternity past and will be perfect in eternity to come. The unity of all three persons is perfect. The holiness of God is never diminished nor diluted because of His triunity, but is instead made even more evident.

The triune God’s holiness is expressed in all the rest of His attributes: His love, His might, His sovereignty, His splendor, His glory, His wrath, and His omnipresence, to name a few. Christians often subconsciously (or consciously) dichotomize God’s holiness and His love. We contrast the holy God of the Old Testament, who was willing to put idolaters to death, and the loving God of the New Testament. We contrast the holy God who sends people to hell, and the loving God who brings people to heaven. But God’s holiness is not incongruous with His love. No, indeed, His love flows from His holiness, and His holiness from His love. Praise God for being who He is: perfect in every way!

When Isaiah was confronted with the holiness of God, it is nothing like the examples that well-meaning Sunday school teachers tell children: “Imagine getting to meet the President of the Philippines!” No, here we have finitude meeting infinitude; the creature meeting the Creator; the distorted meeting the perfect; the depraved meeting the holy. Our response should be as Isaiah’s response when we view the true holiness of God, whom even the angels ceaselessly praise.

“Woe is me!” Indeed, all of our self-righteousness is shattered in the face of the Almighty! In the presence of the holy God, there is no room for our misguided pride. Yet, glory to the Lord, the story does not end at our helplessness. This holy God, infinitely greater than us sinners, initiates the act of redemption. At our most helpless state, He touches our unclean lips with His cleansing fire. He consecrates us for His purpose, that we too may be holy.

Do not let the immensity of God’s holiness and His amazing gift of redemption be lost on you. Take time to once again rest in the undeserved, pride-shattering love of God. May we boast not in our misguided sense of self-righteousness, but in the one and only holy God.