Christmas word of the week #4–Holy

The main character trait of God is that He is holy. It describes His righteous nature and the character trait He desires for His people. As His people, we are to be holy or set apart to serve Him and walk in His ways. This expectation of God for us, His followers, to be holy is expressed in Leviticus 19:2: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” Also, in 1 Peter 1:14-15, we are told: “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.”

In Isaiah 6:3, the seraphim are calling out together, in unison:

And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
    the whole earth is full of his glory.”

Matthew Henry in his commentary states that: “None of all the divine attributes is so celebrated in scripture as this is. God’s power was spoken twice (Ps. 62:11), but his holiness thrice, Holy, holy, holy. This bespeaks [of] The zeal and fervency of the angels in praising God; they even want words to express themselves, and therefore repeat the same again.”

If the angels themselves show such reverence to God and His holiness, should we not do the same?

In Revelation 4:8, the same song is sung by the angels, but a line is added to the end “who was, and is, and is to come.” This shows that we are to be praising God’s holiness continually because He always has been and always will be and is right now our most holy God. In Revelation, the angels day and night never stopped saying “holy, holy, holy.” So, we, too, should be praising His holiness at all times and in all circumstances.

God’s holiness is hard to grasp. And, if we are to be holy also, what does that look like? Taking the 1 Peter passage above, I think it means throwing away our old selves and putting on Christ-likeness. Is that easy? No! It is a hard walk. We need to put blinders on to what the world throws at us–materialism, politicism, sexualism, etc. Throwing myself into God’s Word helps me. In scripture I find how He wants me to live and serve Him. I find words to guide me and direct me. I find the strength and hope to live for Christ each and every day. I also find grace, because I do not succeed at all times in living the holy life He calls me to.

God’s grace and mercy abound and that gives me pause. How can He be so forgiving? Because He is holy, that’s how. In His holiness, He sent His son to this earth so that you and I would have the chance at that grace to receive His forgiveness and become His child.

I love the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy.” The lyrics are below, read them, meditate on them, and then praise God for His holiness.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity.

Listen to it here.

Those are my thoughts for today.

Christmas words of the week round-up:

#1–Wonder

#2–Joy

#3–Peace