These are notes for my Bible study class on Sunday mornings at 9:45, a book called Downpour by James MacDonald.
What is holiness?
Holiness is a word that gets thrown around a lot, but what is it? Not to make a play on words, but it revolves around your view of God; that He is exalted, sitting high on the throne in heaven, transcendent and separate from His creation. In Hebrew the word is qodesh and in Greek it is hagios, and both mean “to be set apart.” He is majestic, set apart, and there is nothing like Him (Exodus 15:11). When we think of holy we must think separated.
At the core of our sinfulness is our desire to usurp God. Adam and Eve listened to the lie that they could be like God (Genesis 3:5). In the New Testament, every human has exchanged the truth for a lie and worship the creation rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25). We desire to reduce this thing called holiness so that there is seemingly no separation between God and mankind.
Holiness describes separation:
Heavenly throne room scene 1 – Isaiah 6:1 describes a heavenly scene, when Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up. John 12:41 tells us that it was the pre-incarnate Christ that Isaiah saw (a theophany). John 1:18 mentions that no one has ever seen God; remember that He is separate from anything we know.
- “I saw the Lord sitting.” He was not pacing or worried, but sitting in authority.
- “I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne.” God is continually worshipped beyond space and time. The throne is high, so that even sinless angels will know God is separate from everything.
- “And His train of His robe filled the temple.” At Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953, she had a train that went down the isle and out the back door; a fitting symbol of her splendor. Here the train fills the temple, back and forth, packing the house. Who is like our God? (Deuteronomy 33:29, Psalm 35:10, 89:8). The question is rhetorical!
Heavenly throne room scene 2 – Ezekiel 1:1, 3-4 has another scene different from Isaiah. The common theme is that if you have seen heaven you’ve seen the throne. Ezekiel is having a hard time finding words to describe it; using likeness 10 times and appearance 16 times. But when he sees it, he had to get down low (Ezekiel 1:27, 28). This emphasizes separation. Today, we have lost this view of God because we see Him as near, approachable and our BFF. We have lost the reverence of Him being lofty, separate, holy and exalted. A casual view of God leads to cheap grace; and shallow sanctification on our part. We forget that no man can see God and live (Exodus 33:20) and that He is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). Basically our view of God is too small.
Holiness demands caution:
Be careful; be very, very careful. Isaiah does not go on to describe God, but rather the angels around Him (Isaiah 6:2). Even they fear gazing upon God, that He could consume them in a moment, so they cover their eyes and don’t want God to look at them. Even these sinless seraphs don’t want His holiest of eyes to look at them. They emphasize a “carefulness” around God.
Heavenly throne room scene 3 – There is a Great White Throne in Revelation 20:11, like the garments at the transfiguration, being exceedingly white (Mark 9:3). Even the earth will see His holiness and retreat (2 Peter 3:10). Our sinful “casualness” in the presence of God is amazing, that we believe we could run the world better than God, or we would want to give God a piece of our mind.
Holiness declares God’s glory:
The angels sing “Holy, Holy, Holy” back and forth as they praise God. The universe declares His glory. The weather declares His glory (notice what is called acts of God). The earth is full of glory (earth’s axis being at 23 degrees to the sun). The solar system declares His glory (1.3 million of our earth could fit inside the sun). Not only is He Creator, but in Him all things are held together (Colossians 1:17). The universe declares His glory (140 billion galaxies in the universe; like 140 billion peas would fill a football stadium).
The human body declares His glory: 100,000 miles of blood vessels, a heart beats 100,000 times each day, the body makes 25 billion new cells every second, nerve impulses travel at 426 feet per second (five times faster than lightening), and even a three month old pre-born infant has fingerprints. Psalm 139:14 is very true.
Heavenly throne room scene 4 – it is associated with honor, all to Him and none to us (Psalm 115:1). In Revelation 4:11, the word is worthy, meaning “properly balanced scales.” No amount of praise we give to God will ever tip the scales.
Holiness determines mystery:
Isaiah 6:4 tells us about the ground shaking when He speaks. John was feverishly writing what he saw and then was told to stop (Revelation 10:4-7), which reinforces that fact that some things are going to remain a mystery.
Heavenly throne room scene 5 – This scene comes from Daniel 7:9, 10, where God is called the Ancient of Days and a book is opened. Revelation 20:15 explains the book. Each of us needs to be in this book, and there’s no fooling Him, tricking Him or playing games with God. You are either a new creation or you’re not (2 Corinthians 5:17). We should be changing day by day, pressing on toward the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). The power of sin must be broken for God to begin changing us.
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