What comes into your mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you. It determines, it dictates, it defines your life. Your life is the overflow of your thoughts about God.
Scripture Focus: Isaiah 6:1-3; Revelation 4:8
"And one called out to another and said, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.'"
In the year King Uzziah died—a king who had become so casual with God that he waltzed into the temple thinking he was on God's level and was struck with leprosy—Isaiah the prophet beheld the most majestic, elevated, and magnified view of God anywhere in all of Scripture.
"I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple."
God is not sitting in a La-Z-Boy so He can relax. He's not at a conference table where He co-reigns with His buddies. He's not in a theater watching and observing. He is on a throne because He is ruling and reigning. He's powerful. He's majestic. He's holy.
Where's the throne? It's not at eye level. It's lofty and exalted. Transcendent. Emphasizing the superiority of the King who reigns upon it.
And the train of His robe? It fills the temple. How big is God's temple? It's infinite. There's no room for anyone to stand. There's nothing modest here about God. Every corner of the temple filled with His glory. No competition. He's a glorious God.
Isaiah records that Seraphim stand around the throne of the king. What are Seraphim? They are burning, fiery creatures, warrior angels—and each one of them, the text says, has six wings. With two wings they covered their faces. Why? To shield them from looking directly at the glory of God. Remember, one angel can wipe out 185,000 Assyrians overnight (2Kings 19). And yet they don't have this idea of themselves that they're on God's level. They're shielding their own eyes from beholding the glory of God.
And they cry out to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts."
When you want to emphasize something in Scripture, you repeat it. And there's only one attribute of God in all of Scripture that is highlighted to the superlative degree. God is love, First John says. But the angels are not crying out "Love, love, love." They're crying out "Holy, holy, holy (Sproul)."
This is heaven's song. God is holy.
But what does "holiness" mean? God's holiness is not a quantitative difference—He's not the bigger and better version of you, not like you multiplied by a thousand, way more powerful, way more godly. He's not a powerful genie. It's a qualitative difference. Qualitative meaning totally other. He's in a different category. He's not like you, but better and bigger. He's qualitatively other. That's what holiness means. Other than. Set apart. Unlike you or I.
Exodus 15:11 asks the question: "Who is like the LORD? Majestic in holiness?"
Answer: No one.
You're not almost God. God never points outside Himself to define Himself because there is nothing and no one like Him.
Do you have a low view of God? Low views of God lead to low views of holiness, which lead to low views of sin, which lead to low views of the cross, which means your understanding of grace is low. And if your view of grace is low, then it assuredly won't be "amazing", even if that's what you sing.
Catch this vision of God. He is "holy, holy, holy."
1. What comes into your mind when you think about God? Is it biblical, or is it a projection of what you want God to be?
2. Have you become casual with God—treating Him like He's on your level, like He's lucky to have you?
3. When was the last time you were gripped by the holiness of God in a way that made you fall on your face?
Stay dialed in