The term Holy God has kind of a
mystical sense to it. There is only One who is holy and that is God
Himself. Anything that is not “Godlike” (i.e. like God Himself) is considered un-holy
or un-clean by God and unable to stand in His presence. God offers no wiggle room for anyone other
than Himself to be the source of righteousness and propitiation, hence the need
for Christ Jesus as our Savior.
"The holiness of God is the
most difficult of all God’s attributes to explain, partly because it is one of
His essential attributes that is not shared, inherently, by man. We are created
in God’s image, and we can share many of His attributes, to a much lesser
extent, of course—love, mercy, faithfulness, etc. But some of God’s attributes,
such as omnipresence, omniscience, and omnipotence, will never be shared by
created beings. Similarly, holiness is not something that we will possess as an
inherent part of our nature; we only become holy in relationship to Christ. It
is an imputed holiness. Only in Christ do we “become the righteousness of God” Reference "Got Questions.org"
2 Corinthians 5:21 (AMP)
21
He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in
Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made
acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious
lovingkindness].
"God is holy but what exactly
does the word holy mean? What does the
Bible define as holy?
The Hebrew word for holy is 'qodesh' and means 'apartness, set-apartness, separateness, sacredness' and I
would add that it should also be 'otherness, transcendent and totally other' because God is totally above His creation and His creatures, including us. Holy has the idea of heaviness or weight of
glory. In the New Testament, the word
for holy is 'hagios' and means set apart, reverend, sacred, and worthy of
veneration. This word applies to God
because God Himself is totally other, separate, sacred, transcendent, reverend,
and set apart from every created thing.
Since God is spirit this is why the Third Person of the Trinity is
called the Holy Spirit. He too is fully
God and all three Persons of the Trinity are holy and have the weight of glory
abounding in them.
God has many attributes just like I
do. I am a father, a husband, a son, an
uncle and so on but God is merciful, patient, longsuffering, and abounding in
love but the only attribute of God that is mentioned three times is apparently
His predominant attribute. He is not
just holy, but He is holy, holy, holy.
In Jewish liturgy, when something is incredibly important, it is
mentioned twice. Jesus does this when He
says something twice like “verily, verily” but this also signifies great
intimacy when He repeats someone’s name twice like Moses, Moses; Abraham,
Abraham; Saul, Saul…but when something is mentioned three times in a row, it is
off the charts in importance and this is why of all the attributes of God He is
holy, holy, holy. That is the greatest
emphasis that can be put on anything or anyone in Scripture and this is telling
us that this is the most important thing about God. God is holy, holy, holy. This is the only attribute of God that is
mentioned in the Scriptures three times!
Isaiah actually saw a vision of the
glory of God and this smoke was the Shekinah glory of God. (Shekinah is the English transliteration of a
Hebrew noun meaning dwelling or settling, and denotes the dwelling or settling
of the divine presence of God). In
ancient days, the length of the train of a king’s robe was the measure of his
greatness and in this case, God’s train fills the whole temple. Each of the seraphim angels had six wings and
proclaimed “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of
his glory!” and indeed it is. The
seraphim had six wings for this purpose; with two of them they flew, with two
of them they covered their face and with the last two they covered their feet. Why cover their feet and their face? Because God is too holy for even the holy
angels to look directly at. Remember
that God told Moses that He could not see His face directly or he would
die. No man or any created being can
look directly at God and not be incinerated so two of the seraphim’s six wings
had to cover their face (and eyes) or else too would die.
Exodus 33:20 (AMP)
20
But He said, “You cannot see My face,
for no man shall see Me and live!”
Next, the other two wings covered
their feet because they were standing on holy ground and you might remember when
Joshua encountered the pre-incarnate Christ and when Moses approached the
burning bush, they were told to remove their shoes from off their feet. That is because the ground where they stood
was holy ground and so this explains why even the seraphim had to cover their
feet
because anywhere that God is will be holy
ground.
Exodus 3:5 (AMP)
5
Then God said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet [out of
respect], because the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
Joshua 5:15 (AMP)
15 The captain of the Lord’s army
said to Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where
you are standing is holy (set apart to the Lord).” And Joshua did so.
John. like Isaiah, gets a heavenly vision of God. John sees a vision of Jesus Christ
and His glory and the angels (the four
living creatures)
Revelation 4:8 (AMP)
8
And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of
eyes all over and within [underneath their wings]; and day and night they never
stop saying,
“Holy, holy, holy [is the] Lord
God, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], who was and who is and
who is to come [the unchanging, eternal God].”
This “who was, and is, and is to come” shows
the eternality of Christ. That He was
(has always existed) and is (does exist now) and is to come (will always
exist). He too is holy to the third
degree. Since Jesus is also God, He too
is “Holy, holy, holy.” It appears that
these creatures are also seraphim and had six wings for the same purpose that
they did in Isaiah’s vision; they flew with two, they covered their face or
eyes with the others, and they covered their feet with the remaining two wings.
That shows us just how holy God is. That
He is above all things, holy. This
mentioning of his holiness three times could also indicate that there a one
holy for each Person of the Trinity and that He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and
omniscient but most importantly He is holy, holy, holy.
God doesn’t tell us that He is
wanting us to be holy [on our own] or that we can make ourselves holy, since it is written:
1 Peter 1:15-16 (AMP)
15
But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your conduct
[be set apart from the world by your godly character and moral courage];16
because it is written, “You shall be holy (set apart), for I am holy.”
and God through Moses tells the
children of Israel that they must be
holy;
Leviticus 19:2 (AMP)
2
“Say to all the congregation of the children of Israel, ‘You shall be holy, for
I the Lord your God am holy.
How can we be holy since we are
wicked to the core? Is this even possible?
First John 1:8-9 gives us help in
knowing how to be holy as he writes:
1 John 1:8-9 (AMP)
8
If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude
ourselves and the truth is not in us. [His word does not live in our hearts.] 9
If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful
and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and
cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not
in conformity with His will and purpose].
When God cleanses us, we are clean
indeed. In fact, Paul tells us in 2
Corinthians 5:21 that:
2 Corinthians 5:21 (AMP)
21
He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in
Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made
acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious
lovingkindness].
When the Father sees us, He
actually sees Christ’s own righteousness.
When Zechariah had a vision of Joshua the High Priest, which seems to
indicate Jesus Christ for Jesus’ Hebrew name is Joshua, he writes:
Zechariah 3:4 (VOICE)
Special Messenger of the Eternal
(to the other heavenly council members):
4 Remove the filth-covered clothes from this man.
4 Remove the filth-covered clothes from this man.
(to Joshua) Just as I have taken
away your dirty clothes, I have taken away your guilt from you. In place of
those clothes, I will dress you in pure, expensive garments. Then you will be
ready to serve God and lead the festival.
And I said, So we can only be made
clean by the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.
If you have repented and trusted in
Christ then it is you of whom they speak in Revelation 7:14
Revelation 7:14 (AMP)
14
I said to him, “My lord, you know [the answer].” And he said to me, “These are
the people who come out of the great tribulation (persecution), and they have
washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb [because of His
atoning sacrifice].
you can be made holy and acceptable to God.
1 Peter 1:19 (AMP)
19
but [you were actually purchased] with precious blood, like that of a
[sacrificial] lamb unblemished and spotless, the priceless blood of Christ.
There is no other way.
Acts 4:12 (AMP)
12
And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven
that has been given among people by which we must be saved [for God has
provided the world no alternative for salvation].”
You will either die in your sins
and be judged and found guilty and be separated from God forever
Revelation 20:11-15 (AMP)
11
And I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated upon it, from whose
presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them [for this
heaven and earth are passing away]. 12 And I saw the dead, the great
and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another
book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged according
to what they had done as written in the books [that is, everything done while on
earth]. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death
and Hades (the realm of the dead) surrendered the dead who were in them; and
they were judged and sentenced, every one according to their deeds. 14
Then death and Hades [the realm of the dead] were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire [the eternal separation from God]. 15
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was hurled
into the lake of fire.
…or you will be one of “his servants
[that] will worship him."
Revelation 22:3-5 (VOICE)
3
No one or nothing will labor under any curse any longer. And the throne of God
and of the Lamb will sit prominently in the city. God’s servants will continually
serve and worship Him. 4 They will be able to look upon His face,
and His name will be written on their foreheads. 5 Darkness will
never again fall on this city. They will not require the light of a lamp or of
the sun because the Lord God will be their illumination. By His light, they
will reign throughout the ages.
Nobody wants to hear about consequences for rejecting a Holy God in our permissive culture, but God in His love for mankind has made a way of redemption back to Him through His Son Christ Jesus. We can live a life of being acceptable to God by receiving Christ Jesus into our lives and humbly coming to God through His sacrifice. That in turn is all about the holiness of God, He becomes our salvation.
When Moses asked God His name at the burning bush God answered and declared "I AM that I AM". In other words God was declaring "I AM the becoming one, I will become what I will become", God has become our salvation in Christ Jesus. That is the wonder and glory of God.
God does robe Himself in majesty and light, for it is He alone who is holy! And worthy of all our praise!
Stephen Barnett
God is good all the time―all the time God is good!
You Are A Holy God
Words and Music: Brian
Duane | Kathryn Scott
Verse 1
You are a holy God
An all-consuming fire
You're robed in majesty
Bright shining as the sun
Verse 2
Your ways are not our ways
Your thoughts are high above
You are the fountain Lord
Of mercy truth and love
Chorus
(And we cry)
Holy
holy is the Lord God Most High
(And we cry)
Holy
holy is the Lord Most High
CCLI
Song # 2689160
©
1999 Vineyard Songs (UK/Eire) (Admin. by Vineyard Music UK)
The above lyrics are copyrighted by the respective artists and are presented here for educational purposes only and not for profit.
The above lyrics are copyrighted by the respective artists and are presented here for educational purposes only and not for profit.
No comments:
Post a Comment