As we begin studying specific attributes of God, it seems fitting to begin with one that sets apart the Lord God of heaven and earth; holiness. God alone is holy (Exodus 15:11, Revelation 15:4). To be holy is to be pure, blameless, sinless, sacred, set apart. God is wholly unlike any other god or man. God’s holiness led Moses to ask, “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods?”

God declares His own holiness by His own word. The Lord says to Israel through Moses, “I the LORD your God am holy,” (Leviticus 11:44-45,19:2, 20:26, and 21:8). In the New Testament we read that He who called us is holy (1 Peter 1:15). God’s people declare His holiness throughout His word as well. Psalm 99:9 declares, “The Lord our God is holy.” In Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8 we get a glimpse of the throne of God and angelic beings flying around Him shouting, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord.”

A. W. Tozer, wrote in “The Knowledge of the Holy,” “We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it…His holiness he cannot even imagine.” Part of our trouble in grasping the holiness of God is declared by Asaph in Psalm 50:21, “You thought that I was one like yourself.” A more literal, word-for-word translation of this verse might say, “You thought that the I AM was like man.” When we view God as less than He declares Himself to be in His Word and more like us, we diminish His holiness.

In “The Attributes of God,” Arthur Pink, who lived from 1886-1952, noted that the majority of Christians look upon God very much like “an indulgent old man, who…leniently winks at the ‘indiscretions’ of youth.” This view strips God of more than just His holiness, it strips Him of all of His attributes. God is not like man. His holiness is nothing like a lenient wink at sin but demands payment for sin. That payment was carried out on the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Go Deeper:

Have you allowed your view of God to diminish His holiness? How?
This next week pray for God to highlight His holiness to you in His Word.

Grace & Peace,
John
(You can reach Pastor John at jwhite@thevillagemi.com)