Last week’s lesson – communicable and non-communicable attributes of God.
1. The meaning of holy or holiness
2. God’s holy nature
3. Man’s unholy and potentially holy nature
4. Reconciliation of the holy and unholy
The most common understanding/usage of the word is that something is morally pure or without sin … this makes holiness incommunicable, since we are not sinless. However, God says BE HOLY, for I the Lord AM HOLY, so there is an aspect of holiness that is communicable, yet can we describe ourselves as holy?
God’s very high expectations of His people stem from His own nature, and the fact that we are created in His image (Gen 1:26-28). He shares that attribute with us. Exodus 19:6 and Leviticus 19.
To be holy/holiness exists in 2 fused dimensions
1. Moral purity (without sin or blemish)
2. Set apart/consecration unto a holy purpose
Hebrew word is Qadosh, and means that which is cut off, separated/set apart from other things, because of its uniqueness.
Qadosh is closely related to kabod, which refers to God’s glory and splendor. Uniting these 2 words, God’s holiness then refers to His being unique in all ways and so being set apart in glory and splendor. The combination of Holiness and splendor means we approach Him in awe of His purity, and this causes us to fear and tremble.
Greek word Hagios, also means set apart, or distinguished from other things. It means sacred, pure, blameless, consecrated, separated, properly revered, worthy of veneration, Godlikeness, set apart for God and His service.
GOD’S HOLY NATURE
God is holy, and unique in His holiness – I Sam 2:2
- Hannah in adoration says “there is none HOLY as the LORD…”
- Jesus in teaching us to pray starts by acknowledging God’s holiness – He says HALLOWED be Thy name…
God is holy, and God is holiness itself, His name is holy, His dwelling place is Holy, His Word is holy, His thoughts are holy, His actions are holy, His creation can be holy…
A.W. Tozer says “to be holy, He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard. He is absolutely holy with an infinite, incomprehensible fullness of purity that is incapable of being other than it is. Because He is holy, His attributes are holy; that is, whatever we think of as belonging to God must be thought of as holy.”
Because of His holiness, we cannot contain His presence, or stand in His holy presence. We will not live. God told His own friend Moses, that he could not see God and live (Exodus 33), so God had to protect Moses from seeing Him (God)
Imagine …
1. Your dog strays away from you
2. Chapel decked in white, you decked in white at a very important ceremony
3. Dog goes and wallows around in the cesspools of the Korle Lagoon – fur is all matted, dirty, has fleas and ticks, is foul-smelling etc etc.
4. You call out to dog – you want reconciliation
5. Dog comes towards LIC … and gets shooed away
6. Dog tries to come in and is eager to come and play with you etc, BUT…
7. He must first pass through a cleansing – a purification process (salvation)
8. And it has to commit to stay away from the cesspools and stay close to you
- From creation till now, God has been giving us tokens of His holy presence – the Ark etc… because we cannot handle His holy presence
Isaiah 55:8&9, Leviticus 23:19, 1 Samuel 16:7 etc. all remind us that God is NOT like man. He is different, set apart in ALL His ways, and He is pure, unlike us. Because of His moral purity, He is intolerant of evil, or sin. He cannot dwell in the same place as sin. God’s nature cannot, and will not allow Him to dwell with sinful men without an intervention.
Consider the experiences of …
- Isaiah @ the throne room
- Moses @ the burning bush
- Jacob @ Bethel
- Peter, James & John @ the mount of transfiguration
Isaiah 6:1-8
- Isaiah saw the Lord from outside the temple
- There were living creatures all around Him
- Smoke (symbolic of God’s presence) filled the temple (2 Chronicles)
- Isaiah (who must have been a Fante) saw his own vileness and cried out – woe is me! (the Fante version of “mewoe”)
- Holy, holy, holy – symbolic 3 times
- Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- In Hebrew, repetition (x3) elevates the attribute to the superlative degree – Holy, holy, holy
- Isaiah’s lips were touched with the coal to cleanse him.
- Significance of the hot coal. Taken from a fire, possibly from an altar – a sacrifice is necessary for us to be welcomed into His holy presence.
- Fire refines, purifies
- The coal did not, and cannot come from man. It had to come from God Himself – Christ.
MAN’S UNHOLY NATURE
The moment the fruit touched the lips of Eve and Adam, humanity lost its intrinsic holiness. That likeness to God was disrupted, and they could no longer even dwell in His presence, and had to cover themselves up and hide…
The nature of man is unholy – not morally pure as God is, and we are not naturally set apart from the world or from sin – we are part of it.
- Galatians 5:16-17 tells of the disparity between our nature and God’s nature
- Jeremiah 17:9 – natural wickedness
- Isaiah, describes it best in Isaiah 64:6 – that our righteousness are as filthy rags in God’s presence – dirty, smelly, worthless…
- The men of Beth-Shemesh -1 Samuel 6:20 – who shall stand before this Holy God?
- No matter how GOOD you are, your holiness can never match up to God’s
- And YET, God says we should be holy! That means it is possible to be holy
- Be morally pure
- Be set apart for God
- Be different.
RECONCILIATION OF THE HOLY AND UNHOLY
Our entire existence revolves around God’s holiness and His desire for fellowship with us.
We were CREATED for INTIMACY WITH GOD
1. God created man for fellowship
2. Man sinned and fell, and was necessarily cut off from God
3. God instituted ways of restoring us back to Himself
OLD MODEL – holiness/purity through rituals, sacrifices, etc… to purify the people and make them able to receive God’s presence
- The book of Leviticus is full of messages about holiness, and – how to set creation apart for God’s purposes
What God set apart for His purposes:
- People (Levites) (Ex 29:9), Elisha, Nazarites
- Items – oil, vessels, garments, altar… (Zech 14:20,21)
- Days/times - the Sabbath (Ex 20 20:8)
- Space – the holy of holies (Ex 26:33)
- Events – ceremonies, rituals, festivals etc…
2 Samuel 6:1-11
- The ark symbolized the holy presence of God – a mobile sanctuary – wherever it was, was consecrated/holy ground – a token of God's presence (Something serving as an indication, proof, or expression of something else; a sign …)
- As Christians, in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, wherever we go, we must be tokens or symbols of God’s holy presence
Note: the Philistines sent the Covenant Box unguided, trusting that the Israelites’ God would lead the oxen to His preferred location. However, God’s own people got human beings to guide it.
- A “new” cart; old or new, it was not what God had appointed! (Saul…)
- The oxen stumbled, and Uzzah did what any innocent person would have done – he tried to keep the ark from falling
God was angry – why?
1. The Ark was to be carried by priests – Levites - Kohathites (Num 4:5-15)
2. The ark was NOT supposed to be carried by a cart. David followed the example of the Philistines (he righted his wrongs in the final transfer (1Chron 15)
3. It was to be carried on the shoulders, and no one was to touch the Ark itself!
4. Perhaps Uzzah was presumptuous (Heb 10:31)
5. Familiarity >> breeds contempt and forgetfulness that we are dealing with Holy God, just like Ananias and Saphira forgot that they were dealing with a holy God!
How do we show REVERENCE to God and godly things? Through our thoughts, Decisions, Relationships, Words and Actions
- Godly days (Sundays etc…)
- God’s symbolic dwelling place and items of worship – the chapel, the Bible, the communion cups, the altar, etc…
- Godly people (pastors, everyone, etc)
- God’s creation – the environment, God’s people
NEW MODEL – holiness through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Through a more precious channel
- His Son - His Death
- His Blood - which speaks better things than the blood of Abel!
- His Resurrection (Col 2:15)
- His Constant Intercession (Heb 7:25)
Another way of looking at salvation is that Jesus died primarily because of the holiness of God – to restore unholy people to a holy God! (Heb 12:14)
Remember Isaiah - an encounter with the holy God must lead to some change –
1. We see God in His holiness – His purity and ‘otherness’
2. We see ourselves in our sinfulness and our unworthiness
3. We are transformed!
Hagiosune – the principle that separates the believer from the world. Hagiosune implies consecration to God – in soul and in body.
For us, holiness can be achieved in 2 ways:
1. It means separation from anything that defiles (Lev 10:10)
2. It means dedication to what is pure and holy (same principle behind James 4:7 – (1) resist the devil .. and (2) draw near to God. you can’t do one and not the other…
SUMMARY
- God is holy, and His holiness cannot tolerate or welcome anything unholy … and so what? And so Lev 11:45, 19:2, 1 Peter 1:15 & 16 – be holy, for I am holy. Amen!
- God’s nature – His holiness and His desire to be with us made Jesus’ sacrifice absolutely necessary
- God is holy, and only those who are holy can see Him (Heb 12:14). Holy God-Holy family, Holy God-Holy Church. Holy God-Holy people. Holy God-Holy Nation. Amen!
- Isaiah had to undergo transformation before he could stand in God’s presence. He ACKNOWLEDGED his unholiness and nothingness before Holy God.
- We cannot be holy outside of Christ. He is the coal that cleanses us. He makes us righteous, so that we can have a relationship with God. After imputing righteousness, the Holy Spirit sets us apart and keeps us apart, if we will allow Him to. He keeps us holy – consecrated and set apart unto God
- Observing, acknowledging and honoring God’s holiness means not treating His presence lightly – sitting in church and chatting, chewing gum, coming with unconfessed sin etc etc., are all things that show disregard for God’s holiness. Forgive!!!
Closing prayer
o John 17:17 – that God should use His Word to sanctify us and set us apart unto Himself
o That He should show us how to treat His holiness, and forgive us for past disrespect
o That the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to see holy ground – Jacob@Bethel, Moses@burning bush
MHB 544 (Thomas Binney, 1826)
Eternal Light! Eternal Light!
How pure that soul must be,
When, placed within thy searching sight,
It shrinks not, but with calm delight
Can live, and look on thee.
The spirits that surround thy throne
May bear the burning bliss;
But surely that is theirs alone
Who, undefiled, have never known
A fallen world like this.
O how shall I, whose native sphere
Is dark, whose mind is dim,
Before the Ineffable appear,
And on my naked spirit bear
The uncreated beam?
There is a way for man to rise
To that sublime abode:
An offering and a sacrifice,
A Holy Spirit's energies,
An Advocate with God:
These, these prepare us for the sight
Of holiness above:
The sons of ignorance and night
May dwell in the eternal Light,
Through the eternal Love!
1 comments:
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