God is holy. That description seems so simple and final, but wrapped within that little four-letter word is an infinite horizon of explanation. “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy” (Ps. 99:9 NIV). Yes, He is holy, but His holiness is one of the most difficult attributes to grasp.
Holiness inhabited
Within the Bible, God’s holiness spills over into an array of ancillary realities that are also described as holy:
- His throne
- His mountain
- His arm
- His temple
- His way
- His city
- His Spirit
- Even His name
So not only is God holy, everything He inhabits is too. Even His children.
Holiness described
While describing God’s divine holiness in human terms will always have its limitations, it helps to think of His holiness in three different ways:
Exclusiveness
One definition of holy is separate or exclusive. When you say that God is holy, you’re saying that He is so exclusive, no one else and nothing else is even in the same category as Him. He is beyond compare, has no equal and has no opposite.
Excellence
His holiness is also used to encompass His moral excellence. Everything He does, thinks, and speaks is right, good and perfect.
Exalted
Lastly, God’s holiness makes Him worthy of praise. He does not acquire His holiness from someone else; He is innately and intrinsically holy in and of Himself. Because of this, He is to be exalted. The Bible describes angels whose only purpose is to proclaim the holiness of God. “And they were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory”’ (Isa. 6:3).
Your holiness
Because God is holy, He demands that we be holy too. On the surface, this seems like the most unattainable command in the entire Bible. But when we remember that whatever God inhabits is also holy, the command comes within reach. You cannot be holy on your own strength; it is only attained by embracing His holiness as He inhabits you.
In your everyday life, it means that you must remember that you are separate from the world. You are in the world, but not of the world. You’re different. You are called out, exclusively chosen to be His for His purpose. You will never be holy because of who you are. You can only be holy because of who He is.
Let’s Talk: What is the best description or explanation of God’s holiness that you have ever heard?
I love your comment “we are in this world, but not of this world.” I just recently wrote a series about being a biblicaly submissive wife on my blog and I would put the link on my fb wall. One of my high school friends left a really sassy comment on it telling me how outdated and unrealistic that is and how it is so not a standard way to act in our modern world. I told her I respected her opinion but that I do not follow the standards of the world. I remind myself of this often. I follow a totally different standard than the rest of the world. I follow God’s standard!!
Submission is such a robust word! Wildly unpopular, so misunderstood, so hard to explain, so difficult to practice, but so worth every effort!
I remember when I wanted to be like everyone else….it was popular and fun for a season…a very long dry empty season. When someone tells me I am “so different” or so sweet or comments on my actions…it is not me they see…but the Holy Spirit who dwells in me. I love “NOT OF THIS WORLD” Just an alien hearing the Word and trying to do the Word waiting for my ride home. It is not who I am but whose I am.