“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3).
Because holiness is so essential to the Christian life, we will spend the next week examining God’s holiness and its relation to the believer. The Scriptures are replete with commands for Christians to separate themselves from the world and to grow in holiness. To ignore this foundational aspect of the Christian life is to put any professing Christian in a precarious position concerning his eternal state. The very concept of sanctification is based on holiness. It is the process in which the Christian, who has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, puts off corruption and grows in holiness. As obedient children, we are not to be conformed to our “former lusts … but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy’ ” (1 Peter 1:14–15).
To understand the believer’s call to holiness, we need to understand the holiness of God. Holiness is not just a single attribute of our Lord, it describes His very essence.
Isaiah came face to face with the holiness of God, and it was so overwhelming, so beyond anything he had ever imagined, that all he could say was “Woe to me, for I am undone!” When Isaiah saw himself in the light of God’s perfection, in light of His holiness, he realized his own corruption and fell down before the Lord in fear and humility.
Isaiah 6 says that the robe of God filled the temple. In ancient days, the length of the monarch’s robe signified his stature and power. This vision of God’s robe filling the temple displayed the infinite magnitude of God’s glory. This is the God who dwells within, not just among, but within, His people. If so holy a Being has breathed life into our dead souls, how can we help but become holy in conformity to His likeness?
If we are truly renewed by His Spirit, we will necessarily grow in purity and holiness because He dwells in us, and His very essence is holiness. This is the God we serve, this is our heavenly Father, this is our holy King, and as His children we are to bear the likeness of our Father and that likeness is nothing less than purity and holiness—the kind that fills the temple in glory and humbles us before His presence.
Read Isaiah 6 slowly and thoroughly. Think about how you approached God when you went to worship yesterday. Did you come before Him filled with reverence and humility? If not, pray that you will be filled with a greater understanding of His holiness so that you will honor Him in worship.