Day 31

Of God and of the Holy Trinity

Chapter 2, Paragraph 1.

“…every way infinite, most holy…”

Scripture Lookup

Isaiah 6:3.

Reflection

God is absolutely holy.

What does that mean?

Thomas Vincent describes it this way:

The holiness of God is his essential property, whereby he is infinitely pure; loves and delights in his own purity, and in all the resemblances of it which any of his creatures have; and is perfectly free from all impurity, and hates it wherever he sees it.

That is both terrifying and awesome.

That God is absolutely holy is terrifying because this holiness sets Him apart from any other being. Terrifying because God is so holy that sinful beings cannot approach Him. If you attempt to come to God on your own terms, by your own strength, you will fail to know Him, because you cannot last in God’s presence with the stench of your sin still clinging to you. “I’m not that bad,” you may think. But any sin is an affront to God. What does darkness have to do with light? (2 Corinthians 6:14) “God is a perfectionist!” might be your next cry. Yes. Yes, He is. And He is perfectly good and just to set the standard of holiness, since He is most holy. How can we even begin to approach Him?

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ… -Ephesians 2: 4,5

That God is absolutely holy is awesome because this holiness is essential to God. There is no blemish upon His holiness whatsoever. Have you ever been outside after it has snowed, and the sun shines so that everything is blindingly white? Or have you seen polished metal that gleams? And yet those elements of snow and metal still have impurities in them. God is so holy that the seraphim have to cover their eyes. And yet He provides a mediator in Jesus Christ. He sends His Spirit to dwell in those who trust Christ, conforming us to the image of His Son, and He delights in that!

Question to Consider

• Have you ever praised God for His holiness?