This is part one of a five part series written concerning essential truths concerning God. Obviously, these five truths do not capture the entire scope of God’s Divine nature, that is why we have the entire canon of Scripture. Yet these are five essential truths that will greatly impact how we understand and view God.
Essential Truth about God—Holiness
Many theologians believe that the holiness of God is the foundational attribute of God. This means that instead of saying God is holy and merciful, we ought to say, “God is holy in mercy.” Or instead of saying that God is holy and just, we should say, “God is holy in justice.” This might seem to be a mere semantic differentiation, yet it is important.
To understand properly the holiness of God, we need to study the Old Testament Scriptures where we first encounter God. The Hebrew word for holy is “qadosh.” This word means “separate, distinct, sanctified, hallowed.” In Isaiah 6:3, we are introduced to angelic servants in the courtroom of heaven, ever-present with God called Seraphim, or fiery ones. But even they must cover their feet with wings presumably as a reminder of their creature status, and they must cover their eyes with wings as a reminder that even they cannot look upon the glory of God and live. The praise that echoes in the chamber of heaven for eternity is “qadosh, quadosh, quadosh” Holy, Holy, Holy.
When Hebrew people wanted to show the greatness or the immense value of something, they would repeat it. Jesus did this often in the New Testament to show the importance of words that he spoke, “Verily, verily, I say unto you.” Paul used this to pronounce cursing on those who would preach another gospel in Galatians 1. When Jesus was seeking to rebuke Martha for her service without worship, he called to her, “Martha, Martha.” Even when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, he called himself “I Am that I Am.” He was not just “I Am” but he was “I Am, I Am”
Yet nowhere in Scripture aside from Isaiah 6:3 does God repeat one of his attributes three times. God is not just holy, He is not holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy!
So how does this affect us in our lives? Too often we reduce the holiness of God to mere sinlessness. Do not err, God is sinless, impeccable in desire; But when we reduce the definition of God’s holiness to only his sinlessness, we miss some of what it means that God is the three times holy God. God is holy in every way. This means that God is distinct, separate from all his creation in all ways and thoughts. The reason that God tells Isaiah in chapter 55 verse 9 that his (God’s) thoughts and ways are higher and greater than man’s thoughts and ways, is because God is not like man and man is not like God. We cannot think Divine thoughts unless God chooses to dwell within us because we have no capability to do so. There is none like God in heaven above or earth below. God is holy, holy, holy in his cogitations and determinations-he is distinct in his love, no one loves like God; he is distinct in his justice, no one executes justice like God; he is distinct in his mercy, no one shows mercy like God; and we can say that about every attribute of God. He is holy in all his attributes and activity.
When we understand that God is holy, holy, holy, we will fall before God and say like Isaiah, “Woe is me, for I am undone.” The only sensible response to the knowledge of the holy is a deep sense of humility as demonstrated in Isaiah 6. In the OT, when something or someone was consecrated to the Lord, it became “holy unto the Lord” meaning that it now shared in God’s holiness and was to only ever be for a display of God’s distinct, separate glory. The priests were “holy unto the Lord,” sacrifices were “holy unto the Lord,” the tabernacle was “holy unto the Lord.” Beloved, we are called priests (Rev. 5:10), sacrifices (Rom. 12:1), and the temple (Eph. 2:21); therefore we are “holy unto the Lord” devoted fully to nothing but displaying God’s distinct, separate glory. God has touched us with his holiness via his indwelling Holy Spirit, we are “infused” with his holiness, how then ought we to serve Him as his Holy vessels?
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