Above him
[the LORD] were
seraphim [angelic beings], each with six wings: With two wings they
covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were
flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD
Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” Isaiah 6:2-3 (NIV)
I once taught a Christian retreat on the book The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. I posed the question to our group, “Which do you believe God wants to be known for first, His love or His holiness?” Everyone immediately responded with “His love,” and gasped when I said, “His holiness.” Love is what we have been taught, and it is the world’s mantra, but He wants to be known for His holiness first, for that is what defines Him.
That God is
love is true and while Paul writes of love being the greatest virtue (1st
Corinthians 13:13) the angels around the throne are not crying “Love, love, love
is the LORD Almighty.” God wants to be known first for His attribute of
holiness.
To be holy
means to be separated from something, and to God it is a complete separation
from anything that challenges His character, and that is all sin. God demanded this
separateness from human spiritual corruption throughout Scripture. He especially demanded separation from His
presence for the protection of the Children of Israel and even Moses himself
(Exodus 19:12, 33:20).
Why is it so
important to study the attributes or character of God? Tim Challies in his
article Counterfeit Detection, Part 1, says federal agents are not
trained to spot counterfeit currency by studying counterfeit currencies, but by
studying legitimate bills. By knowing what is right, they can more easily catch
what is wrong. Knowing the attributes of God can cause us to pause at
something we hear and say, “Wait a second, that does not sound right. It goes
against the character of God.” Jesus said the Holy Spirit will lead us into all
truth (John 16:13). Holy truth comes from the mind and heart of God Himself.
It is well
to understand that because God exists in perfect holiness, everything He does
is perfect. Things may not play out like that in our estimation, but often down
the road when we see the result, we can stand in amazement at the beautiful
wisdom in His answer. It may not have been as swift as we may have liked but it
was done right. When we do not understand God’s ways, we can cling to God’s
worth, that in His holiness He is good even when times are not.
The definition of His holiness puts all His other
attributes into finer focus. Studying the real thing helps us immediately
identify the counterfeits. Even the angels who are ever before Him never cease
to call out the eternal truth of His holiness (Revelation 4:8)
His perfect
attribute of holiness means we are spiritually renewed in Him through the holy
perfection of Christ, having full access to the Throne of Grace. Holy is
the Lord. It is not what we can do for ourselves but what He can do for us. He is our blessed hope. Blessed be His perfect and holy name forever!
Maranatha,
Ken
