God Is Holy: God’s holiness is not
simply the best we know made infinitely better. God is absolutely untainted.
His holiness stands apart—unique and incomprehensible
.
Of all the attributes of God, I
personally believe holiness is the key attribute. As I stated in the opening sentence: God is absolutely untainted. Have you ever been to a restaurant and
ordered a large glass of milk. When it
was delivered to you there was a little piece of something brown floating on
top! Although in comparison to the glass
the small “floating thing”” was small, you asked for another glass of
milk. You did not want that drink
tainted by anything.
When I was a kid I remember Proctor and
Gamble advertising their Ivory Soap as "99 44/100% Pure.” The
founder’s son had an independent laboratory analyze Ivory and found it was this
percentage purer than another soap available at the time. 99 44/100% is almost 100 % pure.
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Do you see the little dot between the
two lines above? It is not very large,
but you can see it. Would it be okay if
God were 99 44/100% pure?
Absolutely not. He would not be
God. But, God IS absolutely untainted.
Holiness is a kind of synonym for
God.
Holiness
"embraces every distinctive attribute" is "the outshining of all
that God is" (R.A. Finlayson)
Here
is the context for the above quotes: “…we must define holiness as more than a
mere attribute of God, and accept it as the sum of all His attributes, the
outshining of all that God is. It means that as the sun's rays, containing all
the colours of the spectrum, come together in the sun's shining and blend into
light, so all the attributes of God come together in His self-manifestation and
blend into holiness. This is, over all, the Biblical presentation of God. To
conceive of His being and character as merely a synthesis of abstract
perfections is to deprive God of all reality. In the God of the Bible these
perfections live: they function, operate, burn, in holiness! Our God is a
consuming fire! “ http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/article_holiness_finlayson.html
God's holiness both repels and attracts. A primary meaning of holiness is "to
separate."
Holiness tends
to bring out the contrast between the pure God and His impure creatures. It
emphasizes the awe-inspiring side of His character.
The OT has a
strong emphasis on holiness; as does the book of Revelation.
1
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and
exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him
were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces,
with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3
And they were calling to one another:
“Holy,
holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:1:3)
the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:1:3)
The significance
of the repetition of the word “holy” can be easily missed. It represents a peculiar literary device that
is found in Hebrew forms of literature, especially in poetry.
The repetition is a form of
emphasis. For example, a word repeated
is for emphasis. In the New Testament,
we often have “Truly, truly, I say unto you.”
Here the double use of truly was a sign that what He was about to say
was of crucial importance.
“On a handful of occasions the Bible
repeats something to the third degree. To mention something three times in
succession is to elevate it to the superlative degree, to attach to it emphasis
of superimportance. For example, the
dreadful judgment of God declared in the book of Revelation by the eagle who
cried in midair with a loud voice: “Woe! Woe!
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth”
(Rev. 8:13)
The book of Revelation repeats what the prophet Isaiah heard:
“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
“Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.” (Revelation 4:8-11)
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.” (Revelation 4:8-11)
Be Unto Your Name: Holy, Holy, Holy
2 comments:
Beautiful words to let the heart and soul feast on this morning. Thank you!
You are welcome. Glad the words gave you a feast this morning. That reminds me of Psalm 119;103 "How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
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