“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” – Isaiah 6:3
INTRODUCTION
The word Holy in Isaiah 6:3was carefully repeated three times. It is the only description of God repeated in the three-fold formula, a literary device to lay great emphasis to God’s Holiness.
This is precisely what God gave to Isaiah; a dramatic revelation of His holiness. He saw the Lord sitting enthroned, lofty and exalted. The angels who stood above Him were magnificent, and they called out to one another, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory”. The earth quaked, and the temple was filled with smoke.
In the awesome presence of the Lord, the prophet Isaiah stood in awestruck wonder, yet the holiness of God caused him to recoil in reverential fear. Similarly, the prophet Daniel and the apostle John demonstrated the same emotional mixture of attraction and dread when ushered into the presence of their majestic Creator (Daniel 8:17; Revelation 1:17).
God is beyond full human comprehension. Indeed, our language lacks the superlatives and precision necessary to justly describe Him. Drawn to Him for His unequaled goodness and majesty, we will fall down in Holy reverence to His Majesty.
A.The core idea behind holiness is absolute moral purity. God is not only perfectly good; He is the very source and standard of goodness. In this regard, goodness has a permanence to it precisely because it is rooted in the eternal and everlasting God. Goodness does not change because God does not change.
- B. God is holy. In Him, there is not even the faintest trace of evil. He is impeccably pure, wholly without fault, and uncompromisingly just. God cannot lie. He cannot make wrong decisions. He is blameless, timeless, and sinless.
C.When we lose a vision of the beauty of His holiness, then there is an ugliness that creeps from the inside out, touching our relationships, churches, workplaces, buildings and ways of life. In the Old Testament, there were holy places and holy spaces. The ground around the burning bush was holy (Exodus 3:5). The temple was holy (Isaiah 64:11; Habakkuk 2:20). There are holy utensils (I Chronicles 9:29), garments (Exodus 29:21; Lev. 16:4), foods (I Samuel 21:4; Nehemiah 7:65), oil (Exodus 30:25, 31; Numbers 35:13; Ezekiel 42:13).
D.The holiness of God sets apart concrete things as holy. Though we are not bound by the ceremonial law (fulfilled in Christ), we are to now set apart all aspects of our lives as holy unto the Lord. There is for us a holy meal (the Lord’s supper), holy baptism, holy hands (I Timothy 2:8), and a holy calling (II Timothy 1:9). We are now to be holy in body and spirit (I Cor. 7:34) and to offer our bodies as a holy sacrifice (Romans 12:1).
Unlike His created beings, God is eternal, preeminent, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He was, is, and will be before all things. He is ageless, tireless, and faultless. He is beyond full human comprehension. Drawn to Him for His unequaled goodness and majesty, the Prophet Isaiah wrote,
“For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
‘I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite’” (Isaiah 57:15, ESV).
To the lost the holiness of God is a dreadful matter, but to the redeemed the holiness of God is our greatest good.
Christians may rest safely in God’s promises because He is faithful not only in his intentions but in his nature. By nature,He is unchangeable. God swore by himself. He is immutable and,therefore, His oath/promise is immutable and reliable.
The Dangers of Ignoring God’s Holiness
Ignoring God’s holiness brought deadly consequences. Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu, acted contrary to God’s commands in their priestly duties and he killed them with fire. Many years later, when King David was having the ark of the covenant moved on a cart, in violation of God’s commands, it tipped when the oxen stumbled, and a man named Uzzah touched it to steady it. God immediately struck Uzzah dead.
We ought to offer absolute reverence to His holiness
Reverence for God is a quality missing in much of what masquerades as Christianity today. Instead of the kind of reverence we see demonstrated throughout the Bible, modern Christianity has adopted a “a posture” in their prayers that seems to command God. Our attitude grossly downplays the holiness, power, and righteous wrath of the Sovereign Creator.
When the worshipers enter the place of meeting, they should do so with decorum, passing quietly to their seats. We should not be indolent, careless, and inappropriate in our attitude. Common talking, whispering, and laughing should not be permitted in the house of worship, either before or after the service. Ardent, active piety should characterize the worshipers.
Human beings were created to worship God, so reverence is the natural response of a heart that has been transformed by the Holy Spirit. The more we grow in knowledge and understanding, the more reverence we feel toward Him. Proper reverence is not the same as stiff, religious formality. The gift of Jesus to us was God’s invitation to draw near (James 4:8; John 14:9). However, familiarity with God should not breed contempt, by making us ignore the awesomeness the Holiness of the Almighty God.
Prayer point
God Almighty, we have out of total ignorance made you too little. Please forgive our foolish ways. Help us to tread cautiously in your presence and help us to be holy as you are Holy. In Jesus name we have prayed. Amen
Remain Blessed!
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