The Holiness of God

Taken and modified from multiple sources

I understand why it is so critical to have a clear understanding of God’s holiness.  In speaking of that holiness of God, it is good, perhaps, to begin with something of a definition.  It was Hodge who said,

“The holiness of God is not to be conceived of as one attribute among others.  It is rather a general term representing the conception of God’s consummate perfection and total glory.  It is His infinite moral perfection crowning His infinite intelligence and power.” 

He said it is infinite moral perfection as the crown of the God-head, holiness is God’s total glory crowned.

Thomas Watson said,

“Holiness is the most sparkling jewel of God’s crown, it is the name by which He is known.” 

R.L. Dabney wrote,

“Holiness is to be regarded not as a distinct attribute, but as the result of all God’s moral perfection together.”

They are recognizing what the prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 57 verse 15 when he said,

“For thus says the high and exalted one who lives forever, My name is holy.  Holy is His name. ”

In in something along the lines of what we just heard.  R.C. Sproul, in speaking upon God’s being, said:

“God’s self-existence, His being is utterly separate from ours…”

He is utterly distinct from us.  The Hebrew is qadach, the Greek, hagios, meaning distinct or separate, He is “other” than we are as to the essence of His existence or His nature.  Therefore nothing in the creation, no one in the creation, not even man created in the image of God compares to God in essential nature.  He is incomparable.  He is infinite perfection.  That is why His name is to be kept separate, distinct, or holy.  And thus does Exodus 15:11 say,

“Who is like you, majestic in holiness?”

And this, I think, is what those mediaeval theologians were after, to add majestic to utter distinction somehow is an expression of worship.  First Samuel 2:2 says,

“There is no one holy like the Lord.  There is no one beside You,”

That is, No One exists in Your category of being but You.  Psalm 111 says,

“Holy and awesome is His Name.”

When we think of God’s holiness, we think of His utter separation from sin because, the truth is, everything in the creation is affected and influenced by sin.  But there’s more to His separateness than that, however. And that, for us, is the graphic illustration.  It’s hard for us to truly grasp the difference between being and becoming.  We see clearly God’s distinction from us in the matter of His moral, perfection and sinlessness.  It was Habakkuk, the Prophet, who wrote,

“Your eyes are too pure to approve evil.  You cannot look on wickedness.” 

Elihu observed, quite rightly, in Job 34:10:

“Far be it from God to do wickedness, to do wrong.” 

Revelation 15:4 says,

“You alone are holy.” 

Of course, there are many other statements, but that gives you sort of a broad picture across Scripture.

We could talk about the passages already mentioned, but I want to go a little bit beyond that, if I may.  There are more than mere statements regarding God’s holiness in Scripture, as definitive and authoritative as those, indeed are! 

There are revelations of His holiness.  In fact, every revelation of God, every disclosure of God, every manifestation of God is a revelation of His moral perfection, every single one.  You can study any of God’s revelations of Himself and you will find there His moral perfection.  Let’s look at some illustrations.

Let’s start by studying God’s holiness by in creation.  You will remember that at the end of His creation, Genesis 1:31, the Scripture says,

“God saw all that He had made and behold, it was very good.” 

This is a reflection of His essential nature, it couldn’t be anything else.  On the previous days it was said that it was good and that was applied to all the specific details of His creation.  But in the end when He saw all of it, the whole creative complex in its totality, it was not just good, it was very good.  In fact, Ecclesiastes 7:29 speaking directly of man says,

“God made man upright.” 

Of course, He could do no other.  Whatever came from His hand from His being had to be perfect.  Made in His image, man was free from sin.

To Be Continued…