WONDERS OF GOD’S HOLINESS (1)

“And they do not rest day or night, saying: “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” – Revelation 4:8b

We cannot fully fathom on this side of eternity, the WONDERS of GOD’S HOLINESS: “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!” (Rev.4:8). To be holy is to be distinct, separate, in a class by oneself; to have a superior excellence, with no rivals or competition. It comes from a root word that meant, ‘to cut,’ or ‘to separate.’ God’s Holiness is central to His eternal essence. It is a unique quality of His character. Holiness is what makes God to be God. Everything He does is done in holiness. God is “glorious in holiness” (Exo.15:11). His Glory is a Holy Glory! His love, mercy, forgiveness, benevolence, salvation, judgement, and other virtues, are all manifestations of His innermost core of Holiness.

Holiness calls attention to all that God is. He is transcendentally separate; far above and beyond all of His creation. The Holy God is He “Who was and is and is to come.” This indicates that the Holiness of God is attached to His eternal living. Holiness is in the essence of Divine Life. That is why God hates sin because if He identifies with sin, His eternal existence would be compromised. On the basis of the Holiness of God, we can affirm that He existed in eternity past, exists now, and will exist into eternity future. Holiness is the secret of God’s eternal existence. Holiness is the secret of His divine existence. This also explains why the resurrection of our Lord from the dead is proof of His Holiness: “and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the SPIRIT of HOLINESS, by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom.1:4).

God is holy. He is flawless and perfect. He does not lie. He does not change. He cannot be unfaithful. He is perfect without a fault. There is no darkness and no iota of contamination in Him. It is God’s Holiness that makes Him “a consuming fire” (Heb.12:29). No wonder it is written: “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1Cor.3:17). As sinners, we cannot see God in His Holiness, nor come close to Him. Habakkuk 1:13 says: “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.” The only way God could relate with us is that we submit to His Holiness. That way, we’ll be like Him, for He says, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet.1:16). Holiness is our guarantee of walking with God into the future to enjoy eternity with Him.

Isaiah the prophet encountered the Wonders of God’s Holiness: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isa.6:3b). R. C. Sproul wrote: “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”! Isaiah caught the majestic vision of God’s Holiness and was totally transformed: convicted, cleansed, called, and commissioned (Isa.6:5-13). God’s Holiness always expects repentance, conducts a cleansing, consecrates for a calling, and proclaims a commission.

The word “holy” also applies to whatever God has called holy – separated; distinct in a special way (1Pet.2:9). To be holy also means to be morally pure; consecrated, set apart unto purity (Psa.24:3-5). Holiness includes, but transcends Purity. The revelation of the Wonders of God’s Holiness produces in the Believer fruit to holiness: “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your FRUIT to HOLINESS, and the end, everlasting life” (Rom.6:22).