A three part series on on God’s holiness, justice, and love1 About a 20 minute read.
There are times when I have been concerned about my casual attitude toward God. I have become aware of my shortcoming when my need for an exalted view of God has been the greatest. Sometimes when I have needed God the most, I have sought Him the least. And when I have sought God, I may have been too casual.
Can you relate? My guess is that I may not be alone. Not that God isn’t a friend. Jesus said if we obey him we are his friends (John 15:13-14). But what about when God may be saying, Take off your (Nikes, Steve), for the place where you are standing is holy ground (Exodus 3:5).
I remember one instance on a cloudless night in the Philippines when I became aware of my casual attitude toward God.
Have you ever had the opportunity to be out on a dark, clear night, perhaps on the beach or in the wilderness where there is no electricity? The spectacular display of the heavens draws something out of you. In that moment you may have felt small in the expanse of the universe and at the same time felt the presence and touch of the Creator. The soaring transcendent awesomeness of God should drop us to our knees overwhelmed with reverence of the Holy.
We were on vacation on one such night in the Philippines. I was strolling on a beach out under the beautifully starlit sky. On impulse I said to God, “Please send me a shooting star.” I waited. And to my disappointment nothing happened.
It struck me that perhaps I was too presumptuous. What right did I have to make such a request to the eternal, almighty Creator God and King of all that is and ever will be?
Do I sometimes take God too casually? Perhaps even trivialize the Sovereign One when what I really need is a fresh encounter with who God really is, a new kneeling before the Almighty, the Holy?
When we stand in the presence of a holy God we are changed, yielding to God’s holy will and direction for our lives.
When we stand in the presence of a holy God we are changed, yielding to God’s holy will and direction for our lives. Isaiah, one of Israel’s most renowned prophets, is one such person who personally, powerfully experienced God’s holy presence. God’s passion became his passion. God’s mission became his mission.
In the presence of a holy God: Understanding God’s character
Being a prophet was a tough job. It was like being a marine on D-day in WWII—a pretty high casualty rate.
As a prophet one was a spokesman for the God of Israel, a messenger who without timidity, uncompromising proclaims, “Thus says the Lord.” Frail and human; empowered by the All-Powerful.
This was the role of Isaiah Ben Amoz. He was the son of nobility, not humble in his beginnings as many prophets were. He was a statesman, interacting with kings and leaders of governments. He wrote volumes of material, the work of a prophet. “Thus says the Lord.”
Being a prophet of the Most High was a vocation with a call. You didn’t apply for the job. The Almighty God appointed you. It was not something to be refused. We read about Isaiah’s encounter with God in Isaiah 6:1-8.
Let’s set the stage. In the year that King Uzziah died. . . (Isaiah 6:1). Uzziah was a good king, a godly, effective leader (2 Chronicles 26). As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success (6:5). Uzziah rebuilt the nation’s infrastructure, strengthened the military, and exacted tribute from the neighboring countries. His godly leadership brought about a solid economy, a time of economic prosperity.
Uzziah reigned 52 years! If he had died in 2021, he would have started his benevolent reign in 1969! And Isaiah had a great relationship with Uzziah as a friend and advisor.
Sadly, what started well did not end well. Though Uzziah had begun his reign doing what is right in the sight of God, he ended in defeat. In pride he had entered the temple and tried to claim the role reserved only for priests. When the temple priests resisted him, he was enraged. As he screamed at them, he broke out in leprosy. Horrified, he did not resist the priests as they hurried him out of the temple. He lived the rest of his years, secluded and alone, his son governing in his place.
This was surely an incredibly sad and depressing time for Isaiah, a time when hope was evaporating, the end of a golden era. Uzziah’s prideful sin and God’s judgment on Isaiah’s king and friend was more than a grievous national loss. It must hit close to home, breaking Isaiah’s heart, a personal loss. I wonder if Isaiah possibly pondered if he could have done anything to divert this tragedy.
Isaiah entered the temple and saw another king, the Ultimate King, the one who sits on the throne of Judah forever—the matchless, immeasurable I AM.
King Uzziah was judged for his unholy actions in the temple of God. In a vision, Isaiah entered the temple and saw another king, the Ultimate King, the one who sits on the throne of Judah forever—the matchless, immeasurable I AM.
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple (6:1). Whether the earthly temple or the heavenly throne, it was an overwhelming vision.
There was no question in Isaiah’s mind that this was the Lord. He was high and exalted. His clothing even set him apart. The temple was filled with His royal robe. And an incredible scene unfolds before Isaiah.
Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying (6:2).
Seraph (plural, seraphim) means “burning ones”.2 These heavenly, angelic creatures burn with the purpose and passion of glorifying God. With two wings they covered their faces—a shield from the glory of God. With two wings they covered their feet—reminiscent of Moses and the burning bush: Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground (Exodus 3:5). And with two they were flying above the throne.
And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory” (6:3).
The seraphim were giving the greatest emphasis possible to God’s holiness.
In English, we underline, italicize or make words bold if we want to give emphasis. In Hebrew, words were repeated to give emphasis. Truly, truly, I say to you . . . (John 8:58).
Rarely is the emphasis given in triplicate, giving a superlative emphasis, super-importance. God is not merely holy, or holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy. Never does the Bible characterize God in the triplicate in relation to his other attributes. For example, there is no “love, love, love” or “mercy, mercy, mercy” though God is love (1 John 4:16) and is merciful (Daniel 9:9).
What is this holiness?
Many have a hard time putting holiness into words. In English slang, we may be influenced by somewhat derogatory terms, like, “holy Joe” or “holier than thou” or “holy roller.” Our culture tends to lean toward negativity when it comes to holiness.
Asked to define holiness, we might say, “Holiness is not sinning, but like the opposite of sin.” Yes, this aspect of holiness is moral perfection. This is what we often think of when Jesus-followers think of holy. It is the absence of sin. And it is God’s will that we be free from sin, victorious over sin.
Another aspect is that something or someone is set apart for the service of God. It is sanctified. It is God who sanctions that thing, sets it apart, for his special purpose. It is God’s will that we be set apart for the service of God. As followers of Jesus, sanctification is being set apart to become more and more godly, more Christlike all the time. There’s a sense that this happens at a point in time, and a sense that this is an ongoing process. We’ll touch on that in a future post.
It is God’s will we live by faith in this One who is above and beyond, far greater than the greatest, greater still by far than can be imagined or described.
A third aspect of holiness is transcendence. This is hard to describe but it is like being above and beyond, far greater than the greatest, greater still by far than can be imagined or described. It is of this transcendence which Paul exults in Romans 11:33-36. 33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35“Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen. And, it is God’s will we live by faith in this One who is above and beyond, far greater than the greatest, greater still by far than can be imagined or described.
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.” The seraphim give three times over, intensified special emphasis to God’s absolute sinlessness and purity, and His incomparable transcendence.
Touched by the holiness of God: Responding to God’s character
What is Isaiah’s response in the presence of a holy God? What happens when we are touched by such terrible, wonderful holiness?
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke (6:4).
Even the physical, non-living structures are impacted by the announcement of the heavenly creatures of God’s holiness.
“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (6:5).
Woe is a good word—but one we don’t understand very well today. We may think it means something like, “Too bad for me. Pity me.” But it is stronger.
When the prophets gave an oracle, a word from the Lord, it was either a blessing (that’s good news) or woe (that’s bad news). It was a pronouncement of doom, an announcement of the judgement of God.
Isaiah’s use of the word is strong: he calls his doom, the judgement of God on himself. He follows this up with I am ruined!
Isaiah felt like he was coming apart in the presence of holy God.
The King James Version may help us understand a bit more what Isaiah was feeling: I am undone. Quite literally, he was calling out, “I am coming unraveled.” R.C. Sproul suggests, “To be undone means to come apart at the seams, to be unraveled. What Isaiah was expressing is what modern psychologists describe as the experience of personal disintegration. To disintegrate means exactly what the word suggests, dis integrate” (The Holiness of God (p. 28). Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Kindle Edition).
Isaiah felt like he was coming apart in the presence of holy God.
Are we sometimes too casual, too flippant about God?
I know that this level of awareness of God’s holiness is not my first go-to when I think of what God is like. In our 21st Century culture, at least in the West, we think of God as a friend, a counselor, a provider, a benefactor–rather, than a transcendent, awesome, fear-inducing, holy God. For some God is an infant statue dressed up in a glittery robe. For others, God is a psychologist who meets their emotional needs at their convenience, but without their personal commitment or obligation. For yet others, God is an ATM machine without daily withdrawal restrictions.
I reflect on my request for a shooting star–too casual? It would have been more appropriate to drop to my knees, trembling in awe that the heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the work of his hands (Psalm 19:1). It would have been more appropriate if in stunned silence I would have been astounded that the One who calls each of the uncountable stars by name would know my name too. Stunning! Overwhelming!
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. (Isaiah 40:26)
Unworthy. Unclean. I am ruined. I am staggered. I am named! I am accepted! I am overjoyed!
How did the presence of God impact others?
There are many examples that we can draw on that illustrate the impact of God’s presence, but let’s simply consider one person, Peter, in two different scenes.
Peter, Scene 1. Jesus is in Peter’s fishing boat (aka Simon). Luke 5:1-11 describes Jesus teaching a huge crowd of people on the nearby shore. Jesus is setting the scene to display who he really is, and to invoke a response from Peter. Jesus tells Peter to move the boat to deep water and throw out the nets.
“But we’ve been fishing all night and haven’t caught a thing! . . . Well, okay. For you we’ll do it.” Jesus causes so many fish to fill the nets that Peter’s fishing partners, James and John, had to rush to help. There were so many fish, it almost sank the two boats!
Peter’s first response? When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” (v. 8). Isaiah-like. Sinful. Overwhelmed. Astonished. Afraid. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people” (v. 10). Blessed assurance. Peace. Acceptance. A new vision.
Peter’s second response? So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him (v. 11). Peter, James, and John become Jesus-followers, disciples, learners, fishers of men.
Peter, Scene 2. Peter is in yet another boat, along with the other 11 disciples. They have had a very long day listening to Jesus teach well over 5000 people. And they had exerted a significant amount of energy delivering dinner to well over 5000 people as Jesus multiplied five loaves of bread and two fish. When everyone was well-fed, Jesus told the disciples he would say good-night to all the folk, and then he wanted some personal down time. He instructed them to get in the boat, cross the lake, and meet him on the other side. (Matthew 14:22-33)
About 3:00am, the already exhausted disciples were in the middle of the large lake, straining at the oars, fighting the wind. They were obeying their Teacher, doing his will, yet were in the midst of an overwhelming challenge. The sleepless, weary Jesus-followers suddenly saw something out on the water. The Creator, the I AM, the Son of the Most High, Jesus, was defying the laws of nature. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear (v. 26).
But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (v. 27).
Peter’s first response? Paraphrased, “Oh, ok! Let’s prove it. Tell me to come to you on the water.” And for a few moments Peter did what no mere human has ever done. Knowing who it was that was out there on the water, he took the plunge, so to speak.
Peter’s second response? After Jesus hauled Peter up from the water and helped him in the boat, worship was the natural, awe-filled response. And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (vv. 32-33)
Isaiah recognizes he cannot stand in the presence of a holy God
Peter actually was echoing the cry of Isaiah: I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.
I am a sinner! I cannot stand in the presence of a holy God! I am unraveling. I am disintegrating. I am sinful and live among sinful people.
God cleanses Isaiah’s sinfulness
The seraph swoops to the altar in the temple, with tongs takes a glowing, red-hot coal, places it in his hand, flies to Isaiah and touches it to his lips.
“See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” (Isaiah 6:7)
There is a throne, and there is an altar. Holy God, and only God, can take the initiative and forgive sin. Instantly, Isaiah is clean, not because of anything that he has done but because of holy God.
Transformed by the holiness of God: Directed by God’s character
Let’s talk about our response to the Lord. How do we respond in the presence of a holy God? How should we respond?
Isaiah responds to God’s character
Isaiah, cleansed, and forgiven, is whole. God asks, Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?
Isaiah responds, Here am I. Send me! (v. 8) Whole-hearted. Enthusiastic. Surrendered.
God’s holiness draws from us a deep, joyful submission in appreciation of the grace poured out upon us
Here is how it works.
When we have stood in the presence of our holy God, when we see His character and experience the corresponding transformation which he brings to our lives, we begin to have a firmer grasp of the nature and impact of God’s justice and grace.
God’s holiness demands justice. Justice is satisfied only mercy and by grace. Mercy and grace flows from the fountain of God’s love.
We stand trembling in the presence of holy God, knowing that we are utterly undeserving of his mercy and grace. Our response to God is awe-inspired love. Who will go for me? Who will be my ambassador? Who will be my salt and light in the world? Who will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself? Who will be uncompromisingly committed to my purposes and my glory? Who will pursue my heart, my passion, my mission?
Here am I Lord! Send me! We joyfully yield to His desire and direction.
What steps can we take to enter the presence of our holy God?
Pray for a fresh understanding of God, for an encounter with His holiness. Seek God’s face. Long for Him. Do this as individuals, as groups of friends, as married couples, as boards, as a congregation. “Lord, show us yourself. Show us what you want. We will do nothing, allow nothing, that distracts from the advancement of your Kingdom. We will do everything to advance your Kingdom.” Then expect Him to answer the prayer that is prayed according to His will.
Determine to seek God’s face daily. A personal time with God is something that we all acknowledge we need, but often don’t keep as our most important meeting of the day. We are transformed in the presence of a holy God, there we find His direction, there we are strengthened.
Repent of any sin of which God convicts you. As individuals, as boards, as a congregation, let the coal from the altar cleanse our lips. Make appropriate corresponding moves toward reconciliation and restitution when it’s appropriate. Charles Spurgeon writes, “My Lord is more ready to pardon than you to sin, more able to forgive than you to transgress” (Spurgeon, C. H. Morning and Evening : Daily Readings, August 22. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995.)
Develop the habit of sensing God’s presence everywhere, all day. Look for God. Sense God’s hand at work. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” God’s glorious presence is displayed in the whole earth if we but have eyes to see. We see God in the intricate patterns and rhythms of creation, in the beauty of a tree and sunset. We sense God’s touch in our daily experiences, in our relationships, in daily answers to prayer, in daily provision.
Knowing God as transcendent in holiness, make it your conscious choice to do nothing except to glorify God. So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31).
1This post is inspired by R.C. Sproul’s book, “The Holiness of God, Chapter Two: Holy, Holy, Holy,” Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Kindle Edition.
2Longman, T., III. (2017). Isaiah. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (pp. 1039–1136). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
Community Conversation
What stood out for you in this post?
Does this post answer any questions for you? Does it raise any questions?
Can you see any consequences one may experience for an in-the-presence-of-a-holy-God encounter?