Our Awesome God Series: THE HOLINESS OF GOD
ISAIAH 6:1-8
[Note: portions of this message were extracted from my previous Bible study on this passage and from Bruce Goettsche message.]
A little boy excitedly told his mom that he had just MEASURED HIMSELF and he was six feet tall! Mom was a little skeptical, so she asked him to measure himself again while she watched.
She discovered the problem when the boy took out not a 12-inch, but a 6-inch ruler. He had calculated well: he was six-ruler-heights tall – he just had the wrong ruler, the wrong standard.
Of all the things about God that are hard for us to focus on perhaps the most difficult is His holiness. Holiness is one of those uncomfortable attributes because it reminds us how much unlike God we are. Let’s start with a definition. The holiness of God is His intrinsic and transcendent purity, the standard of righteousness to which the whole universe will be conformed.
God does not conform to any standard created by others. He is the standard. Therefore His creation must conform to His standard.
Holiness is the centerpiece of God’s attributes. Of all the things God is, at the center of His being is His holiness. God’s holiness unlocks the door to understanding and making sense out of everything else about Him. This attribute infiltrates all the other attributes. His love is holy love. His all-knowing is holy all-knowing. His all-presence is holy all-presence. Everything about God has been infiltrated by this defining attribute of God called holiness. Therefore, if we want to know God we must understand the idea of God's holiness.
There are two elemements to God’s holiness. The first is the idea of greatness. One of the meanings of holiness is the idea of being "set apart". God is totally above and beyond us . . . He is in a class by Himself. "There is a profound difference between Him and those He has created (Ex. 15:8-11). He is great, grand, majestic. He is awesome.
The second aspect of holiness (and the one we generally think of first) is the idea of purity. God is good. He does what is right and never does what is wrong. God is unstained by, and uncompromising with sin. God does not "bend a little" when it comes to wrong-doing. God always acts in a righteous manner because His nature is holiness. He is both great and good. He is awesome.
The best way to understand Holiness is to look at a case study in Isaiah 6:1-8. The setting is after the death of King Uzziah. Most of Uzziah's story can be found in 2 Chronicles 26. He was for the most part a successful King and brought stability to the nation during his 52 year reign. When Uzziah died, in spite of the shame of his latter years, it was a time of national mourning. Perhaps Isaiah was concerned what would happen in his nation after their king’s death. Maybe the vision had nothing to do with Uzziah at all. During this time of transition Isaiah went to the temple to worship and pray for the nation and himself. There God met him and Isaiah saw a heavenly vision. There are several things that happen in this vision.
The first thing we notice is GOD'S GREATNESS in verses 1-4. “In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. “Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. (3) And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory.” (4) And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke.
Notice the details of Isaiah's vision: King Uzziah may have died, but when Isaiah raised his head during worship, he saw another King, the Ultimate King, the One who sits on the throne of David forever. He saw the Lord high and lifted up.
At His side were angels. Their job was to give glory to the Lord. We know that these angels were beings that were without sin. They were pure, yet, with their six wings they cover their face and feet. They shield them selves from the direct gaze of God because of their reverence and awe before the presence of the holy majestic Lord!
We make a mistake when we imagine that God's goodness is simply higher than that of the best human. God’s goodness is in a class all of it's own. Even the best people are flawed people! God's purity makes the sinless angel's blush and seek cover.
The continuous occupation of the seraphim is the blessed work of praising God (v. 3). One group of the seraphim cries out, and the other group would answer. As Isaiah stared in silence, dumbfounded by the vision he saw, the cry would sound out again and again and again. The substance of their songs of praise was the declaration of the holiness of God.
This is the crux of Isaiah’s vision. For the seraphim’s song reveals the awesome message concerning God. The main focus of the song is the repetition of a single word-holy. Three times the word is sung in succession, giving the church its most lofty anthem: HOLY, HOLY, HOLY!
Why is the word holy uttered three times. The significance of the word holy can easily be missed. The Hebrew language possesses an unusual way of expressing its comparatives and superlatives. Comparatives are repeated twice. Superlatives are repeated three times. Thus this trishagion of gadosh ( , Separate, cut off) is expressing an ultimate about God. Only on a handful of occasions does the Bible repeat or elevate something in the third or superlative degree. It does so about the holiness of God both here and again in Revelations 4:8: Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come. [Sung by Cherubim also around the throne.]
God is not simply holy, or even holy holy. He is the trice holy God. The seraphim and cherubim, the beings in closest proximity to God and most familiar with His presence, with what God is like, proclaim that holiness is the fullest expression of who and what the Lord is. Holiness is central to who God is. Holiness is central to His character as well as His essence.
God is holy meaning He is completely separate from the unholy or common. Holiness is distinctiveness, distinctiveness from all others. It distinguishes the divine Creator from all other things. He is separated not merely from creation because of its sinfulness but in essence different from creation also. He is absolutely independent of His creation, outside of it or transient from it. Creation is dependent upon Him, He is not dependent upon it. Holy means God is transcendent or beyond the limits. He is supreme and absolute in greatness. He is free of space and time in a totally unique dimension, outside of His created universe.
The word holy also includes an ethical element, the complete freedom and separation from what is sinful not only in essence, but in character. God is holy in thought, word, and deed.
The shaking (Ex. 19:18) adds to the sense of the awesome presence and power of God. In addition to this shaking, the temple itself was being filled with smoke. These images point us to the majesty of God that should provoke reverence and awe. True worship begins when we stop and gasp at the wonder, power, and otherness of God. Worship begins when we catch of glimpse of holiness.
So first we see greatness. He is holy or “set apart.” God is distinct from us, He is in a class by Himself, i.e. He has no equal. In other words there is a profound difference between Him and those He has created. Holiness means that God is transcendent (or unique and superior) in His greatness.
SECOND, WE SEE GOD'S GOODNESS AND MAN'S UNWORTHINESS.
The doors of the Temple were not the only thing shaking. The body of Isaiah quaked also. His fear was so real as he was confronted with the realization of God’s holiness and as he became profoundly aware of his own sinfulness and the sinfulness of the society in which he lived. When he sees the Lord, the reigning Monarch of the Universe on His throne he bursts out an agonizing cry in verse 5, “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.”
Isaiah's response is not what we would have expected. He didn’t say something like, "Cooool!" or "Wow!” Isaiah though is not impressed or wowed . . . he is "undone".
To be undone or ruined is to be broken or to come apart at the seems, to be unloosen. A psychologist would describe the experience as one of personal disintegration. To go to pieces. He has not discovered that the universe is meaningless. He is fully aware that life has meaning but that he is outside, unable to participate in it.
The reason he is undone and outside of the meaning of life is because he was unclean. When seen next to the purity of God’s holiness, the impurity of human sin is overwhelmingly evident. The prophet realizes with sickening force that his character is not in keeping with God any more that the people’s character is.
[Anytime someone gets a glimpse of the Almighty God they are terrified (Lk. 1:12; 2:9; Acts 5:19). Why? Because in Exodus 33:20, God said, "no one may see me and live" (Jn. 1:18). God is so good that He will destroy anything sinful or unholy.]
The first response of an unholy person to the holiness of God is an acute awareness of personal sin (Mt. 17) . When the unholy confronts the holy we become very conscious of our own sinfulness. When seen next to the purity of God’s holiness, the impurity of human sin is overwhelmingly evident. It is like we live our lives with most of our lights off so that we are able to hide most of our wickedness in the dark. But when we come into the presence of God the darkness is gone. All the hidden is exposed.
All our lives we feel we are doing pretty well because we have been comparing ourselves to each other. And when we compare our self to those around us we can always spot those who are seemingly worse than we are. However, when we compare ourselves to the standard of absolute holiness . . . look out. At that time the walls of delusion come crumbling down.
This is why I believe that a person who has no sense of their own sinfulness has really never had a true sense of the nature of God. The person who believes that they did the right things to get saved has no awareness of how deeply stained they really are. We must be undone before we can be remade. The Holy Spirit has to awaken us to our sinfulness before we can be summoned to His grace.
His eyes had seen the Lord and for the first time in his life Isaiah really understood who God was. Also notice that at the same instant, Isaiah for the first time really understood who Isaiah was. In recognition Isaiah calls himself a man of unclean lips. His lips do not belong to God or else like the seraphim they would be pouring forth praise. The lips express what is in the heart and mind indicating their uncleanness also.
Interestingly Isaiah identified with his people who also were sinful (a people of unclean lips). Sin and iniquity must be removed if Isaiah and his people are ever to serve God with clean lips.
I have heard people say, "Look, God can never save me . . . I've done too many bad things in my life." I will often say to those people, "You are closer to salvation than many who have been raised in the church." Why? Because they are aware of their sin. They are closer to the Kingdom of Heaven than church goers who are trusting in their own goodness.
It reminds me of the story of KING FREDERICK II, an eighteenth-century king in Prussia, what is today Germany. He was visiting a prison in Berlin when the inmates crowded around him to proclaim their innocence. All except one man. He sat quietly in the corner, head bowed.
"Frederick walked over to him and said, 'What are you here for?' "'Armed robbery, your majesty,' the man replied.
'Are you guilty?' the king asked.
'Yes, sir. I deserve this punishment.'
"The king turned to the guard and ordered, 'Set this guilty man free. I don't want him corrupting all these other innocent people.'"
THIRD, WE SEE GOD'S PROVISION.
Once Isaiah realizes and acknowledges his sin, notice what happens in verse 7. “And he touched my mouth with it and said, Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven.
We read this and we are prone to say, "Ouch!" The angel takes a hot coal and touched it to Isaiah's mouth. Why? He cauterizes the sin. Perhaps you have been to the Doctor and had something cauterized. Cauterization is the process of sealing a wound or destroying abnormal or infected tissue with a heated instrument. God cauterizes Isaiah's lips. He eliminates the impurity.
Isaiah's guilt is taken away but it is not shrugged off. God doesn't say, "Aw, let's just forget it!" Instead he tells Isaiah that his sin "is atoned for.” In other words, it was paid for.
How? It was paid for in Jesus. How can that be, you ask? Isaiah lived many hundreds of years before Jesus. But the promise had been made. The plan was in place. God forgave Isaiah on the basis of what Christ was going to do hundreds of years later. Just like He is willing to forgive you and I on the basis of what He has done many hundreds of years before us.
Finding God's pardon in our lives begins by admitting our guilt. To insist we are innocent when we are not leaves us in a prison of our own making. Yet when we admit our need, our guilt, God offers us grace and forgiveness. Imagine, if you could start your life all over today? You can do that by placing your faith in the sacrifice of God's one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
Some of you are feeling like Isaiah this morning, filled with remorse over what you've done wrong, but uncertain of what to do about it. The way to God isn't by trying harder, or by cleaning up your act. It's by faith. Faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross.
When Jesus the sinless Son of God died on the cross, He paid for our sin. God's justice is satisfied (sin is punished) and He is also able to extend mercy. The reason we are called children of God is not because we are good . . . but because we are forgiven. We are forgiven not because we were among the best of the class but because Christ died for our sin.
After Isaiah sees God's majesty, is confronted with His sin, finds forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ, he then is commissioned by God. When the forgiveness of sin is experienced, loving response to God follows as we see in verse 8. “Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Now, for the first time, God speaks. It is as if Isaiah was not ready to hear God before this moment, as if the possibility of service could not be appreciated until this time. Isaiah is now willing to serve not out of obligation but out of gratitude and out of a desire to exalt God's glory. For God makes it plain that while spiritual experience is never merely a means to an end, neither is it an end in itself. Isaiah wants the world to know the greatness and the goodness of God. He's not concerned about promoting his school of prophets, or his system of financial management, or his course on public speaking. Isaiah is concerned with one thing . . . to honor the one who is most worthy of honor.
In response to his cleansing Isaiah submitted himself entirely to God's service. No matter how difficult his task would be, he said, "Here am I. Send me!” The painful cleansing process was necessary before Isaiah could fulfill the task to which God was calling him. Before we accept God's call to speak for Him to those around us, we must be cleansed as Isaiah was, confessing our sins and submitting to God's control. Letting God purify us may be painful, but we must be purified so that we can truly represent our pure and holy God.
CONCLUSIONS
Isaiah had a threefold vision. It was a vision of deity - he saw the Lord. It was a vision depravity - he saw himself. It was a vision of duty - he saw a lost world.
Isaiah’s lofty revelation of God gives us a sense of God’s greatness, mystery, and goodness. Isaiah’s example of recognizing his sinfulness before God encourages us to confess our sin. His picture of the forgiveness and cleansing reminds us that we too are forgiven and cleansed in Christ. When we truly see the greatness and goodness of our Holy God, we will recognize our sinfulness and seek His cleansing. Then we will receive the power to do His work.
The conditions of our world are such that people often react in despair for the future. In crisis situation people ask, “Why doesn’t someone do something?” In God’s plan you may be that someone. The Lord is still asking, “Whom shall I send and who will go for us?” Future hope lies in those who hear His call, volunteer and say to Him, “Here am I; send me.”
What can one person do? Not very much alone. But through those who are willing, God can do wonders beyond our fondest imaginations. The Lord is able and willing. He waits upon His people to whom He has revealed Himself and cleansed to respond. “Here am I; send me.” Is that your response?
Though our study and pursuit of holiness must never end, this sermon needs to come to a conclusion. Here three final observations.
First, it should be obvious, that there is no better way to use our time than to use it for God's glory. There is nothing better. There is no one greater or more worthy than our Lord. He is our life, our hope, our joy. To run after and serve anything other than the Lord is foolishness. Look at your own heart and turn away from the trivial pursuits that so often occupy our energy.
Second, we need to take personal holiness seriously. We spend a good deal of our lives trifling with sin. I know I find myself compromising with the unholy far too often. We push God off to the side when we feel He is getting in the way of our enjoyment or of our "entertainment.” Look, I know that taking holiness seriously means significant change in our lives. And like you . . . I resist it. However, if we understand God's mercy and grace at all, if we have any sense of God's holiness (which is becoming more and more rare) we will want to purge all that is profane from our lives. It is time to do a personal inventory and to make changes:
in your entertainment
your use of your time
the way you spend your money
the way you talk
the way you do your job
the way you treat others
the way you worship
Finally, we need to stop comparing ourselves to others and start measuring ourselves by the correct standard. When we measure our lives by God's standards we see ourselves truly. Yes, it often hurts. And facing the truth is painful. We must accept responsibility for our own behavior. But the amazing thing about the gospel is that it tells us that because of what Christ has done on our behalf, if we admit our sin and turn to Him for mercy . . . we will find it. Our Holy God will cover us with the righteousness or goodness of Christ. Indeed, God is great and He is good. Let us devote the rest of our lives to giving Him praise and glory.
[Note: portions of this message were extracted from my previous Bible study on this passage and from Bruce Goettsche message]
