How do relationships grow? By spending time getting to know one another. If you never talk to, learn about, and listen to people, you won’t have any friends. So how do we grow in our relationship with God? We talk to Him and learn about Him by listening to His Word. We want to know God because our view of God determines our view of life. So if we desire to grow in our relationship with God, then we need to know who God is. We do this by studying His attributes.
The attributes of God are the essential qualities of His nature. These characteristics make Him who He is. When we talk about God’s attributes we must start with holiness. To be holy is to be completely pure, set apart, and clean. In Isaiah 6, the prophet Isaiah receives an amazing vision of heaven. As he describes the scene, a striking detail emerges. The angels that fly around God’s throne repeat this phrase, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Notice that the angels repeat one word three times- holy.
No other attribute of God is repeated three times in Scripture. This fact alone should cause us to stop and consider what this means. The Bible never says, “God is love, love, love” or “God is power, power, power.” Now God is love and all-powerful, so why this repetition of holy? This repetition is meant for extreme emphasis. It means God is perfect in His purity, wisdom, and power. He is set apart from everything else in all of creation. He is completely other. Nothing and no one can compare with His perfection. Isaiah’s response to his vision further solidifies this truth because he cries out in verse 5, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
We see this threefold statement again in Revelation 4:8. As John receives a vision of God’s throne room, he sees four living creatures around the throne. They never cease to praise God, day and night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” I believe both these visions of heaven communicate that God’s holiness is the primary attribute that governs His character and all His attributes. What does that mean? Everything God is and does is holy. His love is holy. His mercy is holy. His wrath is holy. His wisdom is holy. His power is holy. God is holy, holy, holy!
What does this mean for us? As we celebrate Good Friday, we’re reminded of God’s holiness. The suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ was necessary because God is holy. He is completely perfect. No evil can enter His presence. And because we are sinners, we deserve His holy wrath. We rebelled against God and deserve eternal punishment. And that’s why Christ had to die. God’s holiness couldn’t ignore our sins. That would undermine His whole nature. Rather, He chose to sacrifice His Son in our place. Only Jesus, the holy Son of God, could take our punishment and pay our debt. Only Jesus could satisfy God’s wrath and make us holy. Jesus Christ is our perfect Savior. By faith in Him, our sins are forgiven, and the holiness of Christ becomes ours. God now sees us as He sees His perfect Son. Our sins weren’t ignored but were paid for by the death of Jesus Christ. So praise God for His holiness and grace demonstrated in the cross of Christ. He died so that you can have eternal life. Seek to live in His holiness.