Welcome to our series on the attributes of God. The Christian God is unlike any other god. He is unbelievably complex, yet He invites us to know Him. Every attempt to describe God must embrace a level of mystery, as He is beyond our understanding. This does not mean that we cannot know Him, or that a deeper level of relationship is not worth pursuing. God is infinitely vast, yet personal and approachable. He has revealed Himself in scripture and though there are things we cannot know, there is much we can know. Today, we are going to look at His attributes starting with holiness.
God has numerous attributes. Chief among them is holiness. Understanding it is critical to understanding the rest of His attributes since His holiness is connected to every other attribute such as love, mercy, grace, and even justice. When we understand God’s holiness, we will have a greater understanding of the rest of His attributes and how this impacts our lives.
Understanding Holiness
The word “holiness” and the adjective “holy” are found over 900 times in the Bible. It is the chief attribute of God that speaks to His high moral excellence and purity. The basic definition of the word is to be set apart. As it refers to God’s character, it means He is pure in every conceivable way.
God’s holiness is a fundamental attribute. That means that at the core of His being, God is holy, and holiness is the thing from which all other attributes flow. His holiness sets him apart from anything created and helps us understand He is outside of and superior over creation, also known as transcendent (Isa. 55:8-9; Rom. 11:33-36). His holiness informs us that he is the absolute standard for moral perfection, as he is entirely separate from sin and moral imperfection (Deut. 32:4; Ps. 18:30, 19:7; Matt. 5:48; Rom. 12:2). God’s justice is holy because it is always righteous (Ps. 33:4-5, 99:4, 103:6, 140:12). God’s love is holy because it is selfless and pure (Jn. 3:16; Gal. 4:4-5). God’s grace and mercy are holy because they are not based on our merits, but extended in accordance with His character (Ex. 34:6; 1 Cor. 15:10; Eph. 2:4-5, 8; Jas. 4:6; 2 Pet. 3:9)
The Uniqueness of God’s Holiness
God’s holiness is unique because it is unlike anything we can experience outside of Him. God is transcendent. There is none like Him. We often think of holiness in terms of moral goodness relative to societal standards or personal convictions. However, human holiness is subject to change based on subjective societal standards and personal convictions. We are often motivated by self-interest or satisfying cultural norms. God’s holiness, however, never changes as he is the absolute standard.
The nature of God’s transcendence is that holiness is beyond human comprehension. Isaiah 55:8-9 says,
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Then again in Isaiah 40:28,
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
God’s holiness is unique because he is transcendent, outside, and above creation. We as created and finite beings cannot fully comprehend an eternal God.
Implications of God’s Holiness for Humanity
When we encounter the holiness of God, it demands a response from us. We realize that we must approach Him according to His character and nature. When Moses encountered God through a burning bush, God instructed him to remove his sandals because the place he was standing was holy ground (Ex. 3:1-6). Moses’ reaction was to hide his face because he was afraid to look at God. After Moses returned to the mountain during the exodus, he asked to see God’s glory. God tells him that no one can see his face and live, but that He will cover Moses’ face until He has passed by and will allow Moses to see His backside (see Ex. 33:18-23). God’s holiness means that He is so pure, that impurity cannot survive in His presence.
Encountering God’s holiness reveals our sinfulness. When we begin to understand the gravity of our sinfulness in light of God’s holiness, we begin to ask (Ps. 24:3-4). When Isaiah experienced the holiness of God, he said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isa. 6:5 ESV). This leads us to understand we cannot stand before a holy God.
Yet this holy God calls us into a relationship with Him. How can this be? Insert our mediator, Jesus Christ. He was our substitute, who paid the price of our sins, satisfying God’s wrath, and giving us his righteousness, allowing us to stand before God. When we respond to the gospel by turning away from our sins, we are made righteous and can enjoy a personal relationship with God. Through this relationship, we are gradually changed to be more like him through obedience to his commands. God’s holiness creates a desire in us to be like Him, which he commands us to do (Lev. 19:2, 20:7, 26; 1 Thess. 4:7; 1 Pet. 1:16)
Holiness in Christian Worship and Community
When the holiness of God is properly understood, it affects every facet of our lives. It is common to think worship only applies to the musical portion of a worship service, but worship is a lifestyle where everything is placed under the authority of Christ. Everything we do, say and even think is to glorify him. This plays out in a myriad of ways both individually and in the Christian community.
The holiness of God drives us to the pursuit of perfection. The more we embrace His holiness, the more we want to be like Him. The more that desire grows, the more it will influence how we live our lives. Holiness in worship inspires a sense of reverence and awe, driving us to approach God with humility and respect. It causes us to consider the gathering of the saints as a sacred time and space. The holiness of God leads to a transformative encounter with God as we sing, proclaim His word, and apply biblical principles to our lives. The goal of a worship service is to experience a change of heart, experience renewal, and be empowered to live godly lives.
Experiencing a holy God in worship challenges us to reflect His holiness in our daily lives by pursuing moral purity, yielding to God’s will in our lives, living counter-culturally, and extending grace and mercy to those around us. As we discover principles for living godly lives, we put them to work through obedience, and in the context of a loving community, encourage one another to live out our calling as individuals, but also as a body of believers.
Challenges in Embracing God’s Holiness
Though we may come to understand God’s holiness better, it remains no easy task to walk in it. It is easy to talk the talk, but much harder to walk the walk. We are constantly at war within ourselves. We were slaves to our sin nature but have now been set free. Yet, we must continue to choose to allow Christ to live through us or we will revert to sin (Rom. 7). This is what Paul refers to putting on the new man (Eph. 4:22-24).
The temptations to deviate from God’s design are still present, but we now have the power to resist sin by choosing to follow God’s design, and the Holy Spirit helps us in that arena. Our selfishness often stands in the way of subjecting our lives to Christ, so that he may do his transformative work. We are called to wage war against our sin nature, and that always comes with sacrifice. It is our partnership with the Holy Spirit, understanding God offers grace and mercy when we fail, that helps us press on in the struggle.
We gain victory in the pursuit of holiness as we practice spiritual disciplines. Gather with the saints when the church holds worship services. Developing strong Bible study skills and an active prayer life play a critical role in spiritual formation. Fasting and service are others that assist in helping one grow spiritually. Gradual progress in these areas will help you overcome the various challenges in embracing God’s holiness.
Conclusion
The holiness of God speaks to His high moral excellence and purity. It is the defining characteristic from which every other attribute stems. It reveals his transcendence as the one who is truly above any other being. There is none like Him. As we encounter Him, we discover our sinfulness, yet are invited to participate in a personal relationship with Him, made possible by Jesus Christ.
There is no richer experience than knowing God and discovering His purpose for your life. I strongly encourage you to get involved in a local church if you are not already. Develop the spiritual disciplines of prayer and Bible study. Gather some like-minded people around you to help you and keep reading. When we see God for who He is, we see beauty in its purest form.