The Holiness Of God

The Holiness of God

No one is holy like the LORD! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.

1 Samuel 2:2

Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Heaven’s Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!

Isaiah 6:3

Who will not fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy.

Revelation 15:4

You get a completely different answer when you add 100 + 100 + 100 than when you multiply 100 x 100 x 100. When the angels cry out that God is “holy, holy, holy!” they aren’t just repeating themselves or adding up God’s holiness like a sum. They’re saying that God’s holiness is like perfection to the nth degree. It’s perfection times perfection times perfection!

Holiness is a biblical term that means “to be set apart.” It also describes purity or freedom from sin. The Bible speaks of “holy ground” (Exodus 3:5), a “holy nation” (Exodus 19:6), “holy garments” (Exodus 28:2, NASB), a “holy city” (Nehemiah 11:1), “holy hands” (1 Timothy 2:8), a “holy kiss” (Romans 16:16, NIV), and “holy faith” (Jude 1:20). Almost anything can become holy if it is separated from what is commonplace and if it is devoted to God.

What does it mean that God is holy? God’s holiness is simply his God-ness in everything he is, everything he says, and everything he does. He is not like us. He’s not just a bigger, stronger, or better version of human beings. He is in a different category from us altogether. He is one of a kind, completely separate. He is holy. His holiness is his perfect self, to the nth degree. His holiness is what he is as God, which no one else is or ever will be.

DISCUSSION STARTERS

Have you ever heard someone repeat him- or herself over and over? Why do you think the person does that?

What do you think it means that God is holy? How can knowing about God’s holiness change your life?

First Peter 1:15 says that “you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.” What is one area in your life where you want God’s holiness to be more evident?