First Lesson of the Quarter: The Holiness of God Part 1

 The Holiness of God Part 1

This is Part 1 of a series on the Holiness of God. Each week we will study a different aspect of God’s holiness. When you have completed the series, you may experience a change in how you worship, speak, and pray.

Isaiah 6: 1-5 reads:  “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Emphasis supplied) 

No true believer will deny the holiness of our God. Holiness is a very important topic. Holiness is a quality uniquely attributable to God.  However, when it comes to the Christians attempt to live holy lives, there are some extremes that should be observed. First, there is the camp that thinks they are holy because of their external dress, hair, and standards. I want to be clear that there is nothing wrong with following your personal convictions about how you should live for the Lord. At the same time, we should never confuse our human efforts to be holy with God’s holiness. Our holiness is through the application of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that He shed for us applied to our hearts.. We have His imputed righteousness covering our lives. Whatever holiness we think we have in our lives is really filthy rags. The second camp has elevated the status of man to a place that they are equal to or above God. They believe they have the right to declare things, to come against other problems, to decree certain events to occur, to call things forth into existence. They believe they are “little gods.” They believe they have the right to take authority over sin, sickness, and poverty and they command it to depart. This group is elevating themselves to a place of sovereignty equal to or above the LORD. The third camp thinks they are in His Presence when they sway back and forth and sing some worldly sounding song. Their idea of worship is to have a good sensual experience of worship for themselves. They may want to “wait in His Presence and soak.” They may have thoughts, visions, or dreams of Jesus laying down next to them, crawling into bed with them, or going for long walks. These camps are missing the true nature of God’s holiness. This study advocates the position that according to the Scriptures, God’s holiness is so perfect and glorious that if a man experienced it, he would be almost traumatized.by the experience. Holiness is an important subject and we want a Biblical understanding of it. 

Questions to answer:

1. Does the Bible describe a dress code or standards as a condition of being holy?

2. Does the Bible authorize you to declare and decree things to occur?

3. What was Isaiah’s physical reaction to being in the Presence of the LORD?

4. How should God’s holiness affect your worship of Him?

5. Do you think you are holy?

When Isaiah had his encounter with a thrice-holy LORD, he cried woe to himself. Even while he was about to be commissioned as a prophet of the LORD for His people, Isaiah said he was undone (means ruined) and had unclean lips. This is a far different reaction than many claim to have when they are “in the presence of the Lord.” Isaiah saw “the train of his robe filled the temple.” In Biblical times, the dress of a monarch was a measure of their status. The material of their robe whether sable, mink, or canvas determined that status. Isaiah saw God’s robe completely filling the temple which was a visual experience of the majesty of His garments, which were far above any dress of an earthly monarch.

The seraphim had six pairs of wings. The multiple pairs of wings were for service. Two wings enabled them to fly. Two wings covered their faces from the brightness of the LORD’s glory.  Two covered their feet as a symbol of their creatureliness. Their threefold repetition of “holy, holy, holy” demonstrates its importance. Repetition in the Bible is used to call attention to something that is uniquely important. Holiness is the only attribute of God given this threefold repetition. God is love, but nowhere do we read that God is love, love, love. Only holiness receives that status.

The vision of Isaiah helps us see how we should approach the LORD in worship. Whenever we come to God in worship, we should be reminded to approach Him with the appropriate reverence, awe, fear, and thanksgiving. Much of what passes today for worship, e.g. light shows, comedy skits, jokes, laughter, etc. shows a lack of respect for the thrice-holy LORD.

Prayer

Consider what you have read above into your prayer time:

1. Praise the LORD because He is holy, holy, holy.

2. Confess that you have approached God without proper respect for His Holiness.

3. Thank God for His promise to sanctify you wholly through the Holy Spirit so that you might approach Him the way you should. 

4. Ask the Holy Spirit to impress upon you the majesty of God’s Holiness as you study this subject over the next five weeks.