God Is Holy, Holy, Holy

Today’s Scripture:

Revelation 4: 8

The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy, holy, holy,

Lord God Almighty,

Who was and is and is to come!”

Bible in a Year: Nehemiah 4-6; Acts 2:22-47

First let me say that it is almost impossible to elaborate on God’s Holiness.  How would one explain Holiness?  First of all it is pure, we see many times through television, and the like, where men, and women are prancing around in pure white suits, booties on their feet, mask, and in some cases complete head covering with a facial shield to protect them.  Is this to protect the individual?  Not at all!  This is to protect the product or item they are working on or with.  You will see this many times in electronic production when making computer processors or other highly delicate electronic items.  Are these people wearing this protection to protect themselves?  No, absolutely not.  They are wearing these items so as not to contaminate the items they are working on or with.  The people are unclean, and in a sense dirty.  So in like manner, and symbolically, I could say the items are holy?  They are precious, and cannot stand to be contaminated with human germs, dirt, and dust; if so they would be worthless, and would have to be destroyed.

So now we have to understand, in this modern world we live in, that we are surrounded by items that are sensitive to our humanism and uncouthness.  The very air we breathe, in some cases, can contaminate computer electronics that are highly sensitive to dust and dirt.  I’m sure that if we were able to see beyond our human abilities, and looked into this world of high sensitivity, we would find a very holy cleanness that would not be human like in any form or fashion.  Even though, to us this would be, let’s see, sanitized; it would still be unholy in God’s eyes.  So how would one describe God’s Holiness?  I personally believe it impossible to accurately describe God’s Holiness, however though, I am reminded that the whole idea of sin, and the actions of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, resulted in all we know, and understand, which may I say, isn’t much.  God created a perfect creation, He blessed it, and said it was all very good.  When God created man He breathed into the man (Adam) the breath of God.  I call this, “God’s Breath.”  This gave man an internal soul.  Adam was one on one with God, but not anyway equal to God.  This is the lie that Satan used with Eve.  At any rate, Adam was perfect, 100% knowledgeable and in the same wave length with God.  All this was perfect, holy, it had to be holy because if it wasn’t, God would not have been there.  Now when Satan entered the garden to talk to Eve, God was not in the Garden, but came later to visit with Adam.  Now let me intervene here, and say that God was aware of what was happening with the devil, and his corrupt plan.  Anyway I thought how the devil could even show up there because all was holy, and perfect, and the devil was not, so in this there is clarity that it was not the devil that need stay out of God’s operations, but the unholy action that Adam and Eve committed the ultimate sin, “They denied God, and believed Satan over God.”  Adam and Eve due to their actions separated themselves from God’s Holiness.  Their sin of disobedience was a degradation of severe impurity to God’s holiness.  It contaminated the Garden, and voided their ability to stay there.  They were thrown down by their own will, and God had to curse them, and all involved, in Romans 8: 18-23 it tells of all creation groaning waiting to be delivered.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.  For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.  Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

So we now accept Christ Jesus, creator of all, and find salvation, and deliverance, that through Him we are to be restored to the presence of God our Heavenly Father. Now the Importance of the Holiness of God, as we approach the subject of the holiness of God, let us be mindful of the importance of this divine attribute. When observing Isaiah chapter 6 we find,

“The Bible says that God is holy, holy, holy. Not that He is merely holy, or even holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. The Bible never says that God is love, love, love, or mercy, mercy, mercy, or wrath, wrath, wrath, or justice, justice, justice. It does say that He is holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of His glory.

So let’s attempt to define Holiness. The term “holy” is often understood in its contemporary usage rather than its true meaning in the Scriptures. So let’s begin by reviewing several dimensions of the definition of holiness.

(1) To be holy is to be distinct, separate, in a class by oneself. The primary meaning of holy is ‘separate.’ It comes from an ancient word that meant, ‘to cut,’ or ‘to separate.’ Perhaps even more accurate would be the phrase ‘a cut above something.’ When we find a garment or another piece of merchandise that is outstanding, that has a superior excellence, we use the expression that it is ‘a cut above the rest. This means that the one who is holy is uniquely holy, with no rivals or competition. “When the Bible calls God holy it means primarily that God is transcendentally separate. He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost totally foreign to us. To be holy is to be ‘other,’ to be different in a special way. The same basic meaning is used when the word holy is applied to earthly things.”

The Scriptures put it this way in Exodus 15: 11. 

“Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?  Now this scripture is found after the crossing of the Red Sea and they were singing “The Song of Moses.”

First Samuel 2: 2. “No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none besides You, nor is there any rock like our God.”

Psalms 86: 8-10.  There is no one like Thee among the gods, O Lord; Nor are there any works like Thine.  All nations whom Thou hast made shall come and worship before Thee, O Lord; and they shall glorify Thy name. For Thou art great and doest wondrous deeds; Thou alone art God.

To be holy is to be morally pure. When things are made holy, when they are consecrated, they are set apart unto purity. They are to be used in a pure way. They are to reflect purity as well as simple apartness. Purity is not excluded from the idea of the holy; it is contained within it. But the point we must remember is that the idea of the holy is never exhausted by the idea of purity. It includes purity but is much more than that. It is purity and transcendence. It is a transcendent purity.

Psalms 24: 3-5.  Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, And has not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

We can reflect, somewhat, on Gods Holiness based on His Holy Word, The Holy Bible.

It says in Revelations 4: 8.

The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was, and is, and is to come!”

So if these four beast, as well as angels, are saying Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, might we think, as mere humans, lower than angels, and these four beast, might we see Gods holiness in our tiny understanding?  Isaiah 6: 1-3.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high, and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!”

The phrase “holy, holy, holy” appears twice in the Bible, once in the New Testament, Revelation 4: 8 (listed above), and once in the Old Testament Isaiah 6: 3, (listed above). Both times, the phrase is spoken, or sung, by heavenly creatures, and both times it occurs in the vision of a man who was transported to the throne of God: first by the prophet Isaiah, and then by the apostle John. Before addressing the three-fold repetition of God’s holiness, it’s important to understand what exactly is meant by God’s holiness.

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 Jesus Christ. It is an imputed holiness. Only in Christ do we “become the righteousness of God”

Second Corinthians 5: 21.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

God’s holiness is what separates Him from all other beings, what makes Him independent, and distinct from everything else. God’s holiness is more than just His perfection, or sinless purity; it is the essence of His “other-ness,” His transcendence. God’s holiness embodies the mystery of His awesomeness, and causes us to gaze in wonder at Him as we begin to comprehend just a little of His majesty.

Isaiah was a firsthand witness of God’s holiness in his vision described in Isaiah 6. Even though Isaiah was a prophet of God, and a righteous man, his reaction to the vision of God’s holiness was to be aware of his own sinfulness, and to despair for his life as stated in Isaiah 6: 5.

So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because 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.”

So we must ask ourselves today, are we people of unclean lips?  Are we undone?  By all means, we are still in the   sinful world, and condition that plagued Isaiah.  The world we live in today is even worse than that of Isaiah.

Even the angels in God’s presence, those who were crying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,” covered their faces, and feet with four of their six wings. Covering the face, and feet denotes the reverence, and absolute awe inspired by the immediate presence of God.  Even so look with me at Exodus 3: 4–5, when Moses was in the presence of the burning bush. 

So when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”  Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”

The seraphim stood covered, as if concealing themselves as much as possible, in recognition of their unworthiness in the presence of the Holy One. And if the pure, and holy angels, the seraphim, display such reverence in the presence of the Lord, with what profound awe should we, polluted, and sinful creatures, presume to draw near to Him! The reverence shown to God by the angels should remind us of our own speculation when we rush thoughtlessly, and irreverently into His presence, as we often do because we do not understand His holiness and even Who He is.

John’s vision of the throne of God in Revelation 4 was similar to that of Isaiah 6. Again, there were living creatures around the throne crying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty” in reverence, and awe of the Holy One. John goes on to describe these creatures giving glory, and honor, and reverence to God continually around His throne. Interestingly, John’s reaction to the vision of God in His throne is different from Isaiah’s. John does not fall down in terror, and awareness of his own sinful state.  John on the other hand had already been in the presence of Jesus.

Revelation 1: 16-17. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

Christ had placed His hand upon John, and told him not to be afraid.  So today we approach the throne of God much the same way as John, we have the hand of Jesus upon us, and we are wrapped in His righteousness.  Jesus took on the inherited sin of man in exchange He gave us His righteousness.

Second Corinthians 5: 21. For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The repetition of a name or an expression three times was quite common among the Jews representing the expressions of intensity. Therefore, when the angels around the throne call, or cry to one another, “Holy, holy, holy,” they are expressing with force, and passion the truth of the supreme holiness of God, that essential characteristic which expresses His awesome and majestic nature.

In addition, this Holy, Holy, Holy, also expresses the triune nature of God, the three Persons of the Godhead, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each equal in holiness, and majesty. Jesus Christ is the Holy One who would not “see decay” in the grave, but would be resurrected to be exalted at the right hand of God. Jesus is the “Holy and Righteous One” whose death on the cross allows us to stand before the throne of our holy God unashamed. The third Person of the trinity—the Holy Spirit—by His very name denotes the importance of holiness in the essence of the Godhead.

Now in conclusion, the two visions of the angels around the throne crying, “Holy, holy, holy,” clearly indicates that God is the same in both testaments. Often we think of the God of the Old Testament as a God of wrath, and the God of the New Testament as a God of love. But Isaiah, and John both present a unified picture of our holy, majestic, awesome God, who does not change, who is the same yesterday, today and forever, and with whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning.

James 1: 17.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

God’s holiness is eternal, just as He is eternal.

Amen and Amen!!