By Wendy Wood
When the angels sing to God they sing Holy, Holy, Holy (Revelation 4:8 and Isaiah 6:3). They don’t sing “Faithful, faithful, faithful”, or “Love, Love, Love”. The repetition of Holy Holy Holy is significant.
Stephen Charnock says God’s holiness “is the crown of all His attributes, the life of all His decrees, the brightness of all His actions. Nothing is decreed from Him, nothing is acted by Him, but what is worthy of the dignity, and becoming of honour, of this attribute.”
Charles Hodge says “Holiness is a general term for the moral excellence of God… Holiness, on the one hand, implies entire freedom from moral evil and, on the other, absolute moral perfection. Freedom from impurity is the primary idea of the word. To sanctify is to cleanse; to be holy is to be clean. Infinite purity, even more than infinite knowledge or infinite power, is the object of reverence.”
God’s holiness is His moral excellence and absence of sin.
Wayne Grudem says God’s holiness means He is “separate from sin and devoted to seeking his own honor”.
John Piper says, “God’s holiness is his infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent person that he is and who by grace made himself accessible — his infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent person that he is.”
Heath Lambert defines holiness as “God’s devotion to himself as God above every other reality.”
Lambert is the only one I have ever seen use this definition of holy. What is unique about this definition is that it does not pull apart the Hebrew and Greek words for Holy - which mean “set apart” and “other”. I agree that God must be devoted to His own glory and honor because He is so worthy of it. It just doesn’t seem like a definition but the result of His holiness.
The word Holy means “set apart”. God is “other”. His holiness puts him in an entirely separate realm than anything or anyone else. When something in the bible is referred to as “holy” it means it is set apart for God. We are to keep the sabbath day holy by setting that day aside for God. Believers are to be holy and set apart for God’s purpose. Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” We are not to conform to the world but to renew our minds and live separately from the world.
Because God is holy, because He is the essence of goodness and moral purity, because He is set apart and distinct from everything and everyone else, He must pursue His own honor and glory. He is the only Being worthy of worship. God’s devotion to Himself is because He is supremely holy. If God were to be devoted to anyone or anything else, he would be an idolater.
Isaiah 6:3 speaking of the seraphim around God’s throne “one called to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory”
Isaiah 57:15 says, “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy.”
God’s very name is Holy. When God names Himself we should pay attention and note the importance of the attribute.
Revelation 4:8 is another view of God’s throne and the angels are singing “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”
Exodus 15:11 says “Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deed, doing wonders?”
Other translations say “glorious in holiness”. God’s Holiness on display is what brings Him honor and glory.
God’s holiness is seen in his works. “The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works” (psalm 145:17). God can only produce that which is morally excellent. When God made the world, He declared everything “good”.
God’s holiness is manifested in his law. “The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good.” (Romans 7:12) Everything that God commands and says in His word is holy - it is set apart for His honor and glory.
God’s holiness is seen in the cross. God’s holiness is seen in His abhorrence of sin and the lengths He went to to punish sin. God’s hatred of sin is seen in His plan to crucify His Son and forsake His Son to punish sin.
Every counselee needs to understand that sin separates sinners from God and it is only through faith in Christ’s atonement that we can be in relationship with Him.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
God provides for us what is needed to meet His requirement. God provided for Himself the sacrifice to cover sins once and for all. A holy God providing a way for us to be made holy and blameless before Him is worthy of much worship!
Because God is holy and hates sin, He calls all His children to be holy also.
1 Peter 1:15-16 “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Ephesians 5:1 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”
This is essential to counseling as our goal is to minister the word of God to sinners and sufferers to the glory of God. We display God’s glory when we imitate God and grow in holiness in our thoughts, words and actions. God is glorified as sinners become more and more like Christ, which is to say progressively more holy. Believers are to take on the likeness of their Heavenly Father and be conformed to the image of Christ. As our counselees learn to put off their sin, renew their minds, and put on Christlikeness, they are obeying the command to be holy for God is holy. Growing in holiness is a life-long process all believers should be striving for.
God’s holiness means that as a completely “other” and “set apart” Being, He is worthy of our worship and devotion. Our counselees should be growing in their awe and reverence and commitment to God as they study His Word, learn His attributes, and meditate on and behold the glory of Christ.