What Does the Bible Mean When It Talks about the Holiness of God?

Considering God’s Attributes

For our sermon series this summer, we’ve been looking at various attributes of God – descriptions of who he is, and how he works. And in previous weeks, we’ve considered what it means for God to be infinite, eternal, and unchanging. We’ve considered God’s being, his wisdom, and his power. And this morning we’ll be presented with another of God’s attributes. We’ll be looking at his holiness – the holiness of God. And we’ll be considering what that means, and what it means for us.

And so if you haven’t already, please turn with me in your Bible to 1 Peter Chapter 1. I’ll be reading verses 13 through 16. But before I do, let’s ask for God’s help as we come to his Word this morning:

[Pray and Read Text]

The Holiness of God

The Bible sometime uses words that the average American isn’t familiar with. I remember, as a kid, I would go to church with my family. And sometimes we’d sing songs that included the word “Hallelujah,” or Alleluia. But for the longest time, I had no idea that the word actually meant something. I just assumed that it was a filler word in songs or something. It wasn’t until late high school, maybe even college, when I learned that Hallelujah means Praise the LORD. It’s a word based on the original Hebrew language that the Old Testament was written in. And it was later brought into English. So there’s meaning behind the word, that’s helpful for us to appreciate.

But I think another Bible word that many Americans aren’t familiar with, would be the word holy. I think you can imagine – if a teacher asked her students to use the word holy in a sentence, what would they say? A boy might raise his hand, and say, “Bobby fell on the sidewalk and tore his pants, so now his pants are holey.” But, of course, when the Bible describes something as holy, that’s not what it’s talking about.

Instead, being holy means that someone or something is separate and set apart for a spiritual purpose. The original Hebrew and Greek words for holiness – they both carry this basic idea of separateness. And in just a moment, we’ll consider more fully what this separateness is, and why it’s important, as we unpack our text. After all, the word holy is used here multiple times.

But first, since we’re diving into the middle of 1 Peter, here, I’ll explain some basic background about these verses I just read. As you may know, God gave this part of the Bible to us through one of Jesus Christ’s closest followers. This was a letter written by Peter (Simon Peter). That’s stated at the beginning of Chapter 1. And Peter, led by the Spirit of God – he was writing, here, to give important reminders and instructions to guide early Christians.

Now, up to this point, in the first half of Chapter 1, Peter’s been reminding his fellow Christians of God’s saving work. He’s essentially been saying, “Remember God’s kindness, how he gave you new life, and raised you out of sin and death. Remember how God has given you joy and hope, as you’ve trusted in the incredibly good news of Christianity.” Peter gives some helpful reminders of who God is, and what he’s done for his people.

But then in verses 13 through 16, Peter builds on this – and he goes on to make an important point. He makes the point that understanding God’s kindness and greatness should impact how we live. In verse 13, Peter says therefore – since God has done great things, because God has given us good news – therefore, Christians should be clear-minded people who set their hope fully on God’s future provision. That’s one of the ways that our knowledge of God should practically impact how we live.

But then Peter points out another way that knowing God should impact how we live. And this is where Peter gets to the discussion God’s holiness. Starting in verse 14, Peter says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’”

You might notice, at the end, there, Peter’s quoting from the Old Testament. Those words “You shall be holy for I am holy,” they show up in the book of Leviticus – multiple times, actually. And similar comments show up a lot in other parts of the Bible. Apparently, one of God’s favorite ways to describe himself, is to tell us, “I am holy.”

So from this, we get a sense of God’s separateness. Because, again, that’s the basic idea of what holiness is. But there’s actually a lot more we could say about God being holy. There are dimensions to his holiness – that we can’t just find listed out in one verse or section of the Bible. And so even though we’ll spend much of our time in our 1 Peter text, I’ll also reference other parts of Scripture that show us God’s holiness, so we can be rightly affected by it.

We’ll spend most of our time exploring several dimensions of God’s holiness. And then to close the sermon, we’ll consider our duties or responsibilities – how should we respond in light of God’s holiness?

The Dimensions of God’s Holiness

So let’s consider the dimensions of God’s holiness. There are six that we’ll be giving attention to this morning.

And here’s the first one. When we say that God is holy, one of the key things that means is that God is truly unique. He’s not just an uncommon sort of thing, but he’s literally one of a kind. He’s unique, in that he’s set apart from everything else, and he’s in his own category of distinction. Nothing else is like him.

When I was in high school, I was on the track team, and I was a high jumper. I could jump respectable heights, but there were some guys who could run up and jump over a bar that was 6 feet, 4 inches off the ground. It was pretty incredible. But, of course, for college competition, there are some athletes who jump over seven feet. But even among all these extraordinary athletes, there’s only one man, in the history of the event who’s ever been able to jump over a bar set at 8 feet – Javier Sotomayor from Cuba. Even from all the other extraordinary high jumper, Javier is unique. He’s in a group all by himself.

And this is how the Bible speaks about the holiness of God. In Exodus 15:11, Moses points out how God is uniquely different from all the false gods of the surrounding nations. And it prompts Moses to praise God for his holiness, “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness?” And this aspect of God’s holy uniqueness also appears in 1 Samuel 2:2, which says, “There is none holy like the LORD, for there is none beside you.” So when we say that God is holy, one of the things we’re saying is that he’s utterly unique.

But let me clarify early on here – this uniqueness is only an aspect of God’s holiness. Even though the Bible describes both God and other things as holy, the separateness of God is categorically different from the separateness of every other holy thing. Things like the temple, or the sacrifices, or the objects used in worship – they were certainly set apart as special. But God’s holiness is even higher – even more set apart. And a big part of this is because every other holy thing – it’s something that’s been made holy, or something that’s becoming holy. But for God, there’s never been any process of him becoming set apart. But God’s mysterious, absolute otherness – his holiness – has always been who he is.

And we actually see this distinction between God’s holiness and the holiness of other things, here in 1 Peter. It’s not so obvious in our English translations. But in the original Greek that the New Testament was written in, there are actually two different words to describe being. One of them has more of the idea of how something exists – what that thing is. And the other word for being often has the idea of becoming something. Becoming wise, becoming well-behaved – becoming something that isn’t an unchanging aspect of our existence.

And in 1 Peter, verse 16, both words are used. Peter quotes God’s Words from the Old Testament. And he says, “as it written, “You shall be holy” – in other words, you and I should become holy in our conduct – for I am holy.” Because God is holy in the eternal essence of who he is. So God has a distinct holiness that’s set apart from the holiness of his creatures. And this is why, when we talk about God’s holiness, part of what that entails is that God is unique. We can’t replicate his likeness by making pictures or statues. We can’t imagine that God thinks and operates just like us. And we can’t imagine that we’ve reached a point where we’re noble and wonderful just like God. Because he’s unique. He’s holy.

So that’s the first dimension. The second dimension of God’s holiness, though, is that it points us to God’s commitment to divine uses and purposes. We’ve already seen that holiness carries the idea of being set apart from ‘regular things.’ But we have to be a little more precise than that. Because you and I, we often have things in our house that might be set apart in some way. You may have fancy dishes that you pull out for Thanksgiving Dinner. You might have baseballs signed by famous athletes, or other collectors’ items, that you don’t use in a normal way. You just have them put aside for safekeeping. And yet we wouldn’t say that those things are holy, even though they’re set apart. And that’s because things are really only holy when they’ve been devoted to God – set apart for him. That’s what makes them sacred, consecrated.

And so you’ll notice, in our text, Peter points out that an important part of holiness is being committed to divine uses and purposes. In verse 14, Peter says, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” In other words, don’t let your life decisions be driven by your mood swings, your opinions, your desires, or other earthly things. But instead, live as people who have been set apart for God – for his purposes.

Because God himself demonstrates what this looks like. As Peter says in verse 15, “[B]ut as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” Everything God does is 100% devoted to his noble plan. Unlike us, he never allows himself to be a pawn in the hands of the evil one. He never forgets who he is, and the business he’s engaged in. He’s never lazy or negligent. But in his holiness, from eternity, he’s been dedicated to carrying out his special spiritual priorities. And we can say that this is a part of God’s holiness, too.

The third dimension of God’s holiness is his purity. His moral cleanness. As I pointed out earlier, in verse 16 of our text, when the Lord says, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” – it’s a quote from the Old Testament, from several parts of Leviticus.

Now, the book of Leviticus – it was written for the Jewish priests, who were from the family tribe of Levi. And Leviticus gave instructions for the priests, on how to conduct worship. And one of the main concerns that God expresses, is he desires for the worship of his people to be marked by cleanness. This is symbolized in a variety of physical ways. For one thing, God gives instructions about how to deal with contagious diseases in a clean way. He especially speaks about skin diseases. Also, God commands the Jews to avoid eating certain types of unclean animals. The idea is probably that these animals carried more diseases. And in light of these concerns about physical cleanness, God speaks in Leviticus 11:44, and he says, “I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.” So there’s a clear connection between holiness, and the idea of purity.

But as it turns out, God’s ultimate concern for the purity of his people isn’t just physical. Of course, having clean hands is good for human health. And physical hygiene helps us visualize and think about cleanness as a relatable category. But God’s main concern for his people is spiritual cleanness. That’s even reflected when God says “You shall be holy for I am holy.” Since God isn’t a physical creature, it doesn’t make sense that his main concern would be about physical sanitation. He wants us to be pure as he is pure.

And so God emphasizes that moral purity is wrapped up in his holiness, when he speaks in Leviticus 19:2. He says, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel, and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God. Do not turn idols, or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the LORD your God.” So we can see here, God’s set apart from evil, and moral defilement – and that’s a dimension of his holiness that’s important for his people, too.

When the Bible speaks about God’s holiness, though, we can identify a fourth dimension to it. The holiness of God also means that he’s set apart in his transcendence. And essentially what this means, is that God doesn’t inhabit space and time like us. He doesn’t have natural limitations like us. And he isn’t acted upon and manipulated by other forces like we are. But in his special holiness, his separateness, he stands above everything else. He’s set apart, ­beyond the whole universe as we know. And he’s even beyond the highest angels. And so, of course, this can’t be an aspect of holiness we’re expected to replicate. But like his uniqueness, the transcendence of God is another aspect of his holiness which just applies to him.

And this explains, why there have been a number of theologians who have said that God’s holiness is the crown of his divine excellence – that this is, perhaps, his chief attribute. Because the holy separateness of his divinity – it explains why there’s no power higher than his power, and no wisdom higher than wisdom. God is beyond all things, but there’s nothing beyond God. This is a key component of God’s set-apartedness, his holiness.

And I just want to point out – it’s a wonderful thing. Because it means that the corruptions and tragedies of the world, can’t somehow manipulate God and his work. Even despite the great power of the United States military, there’s some concern in recent years of foreign governments trying to manipulate US citizens, and political decisions. And because we live in a country where we’re human – and we’re impressionable, to some degree – the concern makes sense. Because other forces can act to influence us, to discourage us, to confuse us.

But the God rules from heaven, is transcendent in his holiness, and he isn’t touched by these things. You and I know what it means to be driven about by fleshly things – we know what it’s like to be conformed to the passions of our former ignorance, like Peter speaks about in verse 14. But God is untouchable. He isn’t suddenly overwhelmed with unexpected, uncontrollable passions or emotions. He has no ignorance, that leaves him vulnerable to bad advice from others. But God is set apart, unassailable, and unmoved. You should be encouraged by that stability – from the transcendence of God’s holiness.

But a fifth dimension of God’s holiness we see in Scripture, is that it points to his worthiness – his special worthiness to be reverenced, and cherished, and worshiped.

Now I think it goes without saying, when people or objects are set apart for God – set apart as holy – I think we understand that it’s right to show a real respect and honor for such things. But again – God’s holiness is set apart higher than this. He’s in his own category here. Much higher than famous pastors, or missionaries, or any spiritual being in heaven.

I think we see this most clearly when God gives the prophet Isaiah a vision into the courts of heaven. We can read about in Isaiah chapter 6. And even though Isaiah sees extraordinary, glorious heavenly creatures in God’s throne room, he hardly notices how impressive they are. Because these creatures, are standing before the intense majesty of God. And even they – they’re forced to cover their faces. They can’t even lift their eyes up. And as they cry out to the Lord in worship, there’s one thing in particular that most awes them about God. They cry out to him, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

I’m sure you noticed, the supreme pinnacle of God’s glory and preciousness – the thing that strikes fear and amazement into the hearts of these heavenly creatures, is the Lord’s holiness. They say it three times. And this is significant. Because in the original Hebrew that this was written in, there was no such thing as exclamation points, or underlining. And so if you wanted to alert people to the importance and weightiness of something – do you know what you’d do? You’d repeat it three times.

And so the voices of heaven call out to us – and they say, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts.” It’s all about him! He, above all other things, is worthy to be lauded and loved and lived for.

It’s as though the angels are demanding of us, “Stop being so obsessed with your personal appearance. Stop being so fixated on your games and fantasy books, on your vacation plans, on all your ambitions for how you want to run your life – and instead get your eyes up. And see what Isaiah saw! A God who deserves our deepest affections, our highest allegiances, and our greatest efforts. Have you seen something of this?

It’s one thing to say that God is worthy, of your whole life. But are you living it? Is your parenting aimed at leading your kids to worship and obey Jesus? Or are you just teaching your kids to look good, so they don’t embarrass you in public? There’s a difference. In your free time, are you specifically choosing activities that will deepen your joy in God and your thankfulness to him? Or is it just selfishness that drives you? We need to wrestle with this. Because the holiness of God isn’t just a story book idea. But it’s a foundational to having a grasp on reality. A life that isn’t oriented around the Supreme worthiness of God is a life wrongly lived. The Lord’s worthiness is a key part of his holiness. We can’t ignore it.

But the last dimension of God’s holiness to highlight, is that it’s a sanctifying holiness. And what I mean by this is that it’s a holiness that makes other things holy. A sanctifying holiness. We actually see this early on in the Bible. God demonstrates his own holiness, by setting apart other things as holy.

Think about the opening verses of Genesis 2. That’s where God has just finished his work of creating the world in six days. And on the seventh day, we’re told that God did something unique. He blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Interestingly, this is the first time that the word holy even appears in the Bible. And from the beginning, we see that God’s the One who’s uniquely able to make things holy.

Fastforward, now, to our text – to 1 Peter. And we see the same idea at work. Verse 15 reminds the Christians in Peter’s audience: “He who called you is holy.” Notice the language about God calling these Christians. It shows that God plays an active role in turning around sinners, and finding lost sheep, and raising people out of their spiritual deadness – just like Jesus called to Lazarus when he was lying dead in the tomb, and he raised him back to life. God actively calls people.

And Peter shows us that when God calls people he calls them into holiness. And there are actually two aspects to the way God brings us into holiness. For one thing, God makes his people positionally holy. This is what he was doing, when he sent Jesus to carry the blame and burden of our sin to the cross. Jesus took our dirtiness, the whole track record of our failed commitments to him – and Jesus was struck dead for our sin, in our place. And only because of the blood of Jesus, every Christian can now say – I’m holy. You and I can affirm along with Hebrews 10:10, that “we have been sanctified [we’ve been made holy] through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all.”

You were once was plastered in defilement and filth, but by God’s mercy, he set you apart in sparkling clean robes. You were once crawling in the darkness, but God has set you apart to walk in the light. You were once a slave to sin, but now you’re free, as Peter indicates in verse 14 – you’re set apart now to live as an obedient child of God. This new position of holiness is a gift. And because of it, every Christian can draw near to the Glorious God of heaven, without fear, without shame. Because we have a God who makes things holy.

But the Bible indicates that God grants holiness another way, too. He also works by His Spirit to make his people progressively holy. You could say that becoming positionally holy is like being hired into a new job. And being made progressively holy is the process of getting on-the-job training and development, so you can get better at your new role.

And this progressive holiness is the main thing that’s in view in our 1 Peter passage. As he who called us is holy, Peter says, you also – be holy in all your conduct. The instruction here is about how we’re supposed to live. With all the energy God’s Holy Spirit supplies us with, we’re called to pursue attitudes and actions that are more and more set apart for God, and increasingly set apart from our old passions and corruptions.

And we can appreciate this dimension of God’s holiness, too – that It’s something that touches people. It sanctifies us – it transforms sinners.  God’s holiness has a real impact on other things.

Our Duties in Holiness – How to Respond to the Holiness of God

And so it’s appropriate, then, in our remaining time, to consider – how God’s holiness impact us? In light of God’s saving mercy, what duties do we have in holiness? In our text, I think we can identify four. Here are four ways that God’s holiness should impact us.

First, it should deter us from living in a vulgar way. And I mean two things by this. On the one hand, since God’s holiness exposes the vileness and foolishness of sin, we shouldn’t go back to it. Instead, Peter urges us in verse 14, “As obedient children [of God], do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” Once you’ve learned what God says, you can’t pretend you’re ignorant. Once you’ve seen who God is, you can’t go on acting like your blind. But the pure virtues of God should deter us from living a life of profane vulgarity.

But we also shouldn’t live a vulgar life in this sense – the word vulgar historically described something that was commonplace and unremarkable. And there’s a temptation – when we think of ourselves, to imagine that we’re just plain old people. That subtle secular idea can creep in, that there’s nothing about you that’s particularly important, or distinct. But you need to understand, if you’re a Christian, you’re holy. God has set you apart. His plan is that your whole life would be devoted to honoring him, and advancing him, and enjoying him. Your life isn’t an ordinary thing anymore. You can’t treat it that way. Because God has set you apart, to be his. Do you see your life this way? Because you should.

Second, though – the holiness of God should also delight us. I remember, when I was a kid, I went to a movie theater around Thanksgiving time. And halfway through the movie I threw up. And it was on my shirt and coat. And I was thankful, when my dad helped me to the bathroom, to change me out of my dirty things, and to give me new clothes. I didn’t want to be wearing vomit anymore.

And of course, as we see in verse 15 – God has called us into his holiness. He wants us to take off our vomit, so we can put on his virtue. The fact that God is inviting us to resemble him in cleanness, and sacredness, even – it’s a really good thing. And we should desire it, and delight in it.

Third, the holiness of God should direct our conduct. This is quite plain from our text. Your preferences and passions shouldn’t determine how you live. God’s Word should. Your emotions shouldn’t determine how you speak to your family members. God’s Word should. The grievances you have against your boss and your co-workers shouldn’t determine your willingness to work hard. God’s Word should direct your conduct. And this is because you haven’t been set apart to live for yourself. But you’ve been set apart to live for God. And his wisdom and his commands are exactly what we need to show us a better way.

But there’s one more way I’ll mention that God’s holiness should impact us. It should also cause us to live in a way that’s more constantly mindful of God. Because the LORD has said, that we should be holy, since he is holy. The way God is, should shape who we’re becoming.

But in order for this to happen – in order for us to be holy like God – we need to know him. His wisdom and instructions need to be on our mind, or we won’t grow more like him.

I’m sure you know, some actors are professional impressionists. They specialize in learning to speak and act like other people. But the process of learning how to mimic another person’s mannerisms and voice inflections – it can often take months of studying video recordings. Sometimes it takes years. But in whatever case, it doesn’t just happen.

And similarly, becoming holy like God is – it’s a call for us to be near to him – to spend time with him. Our Father wants to be with us, to teach us from his Word. He wants us to gather with his family, to be sharpened by our brothers and sisters. He wants us to fill our thoughts and our hearts with a sweeter mindfulness of him – a mindfulness that will change us.

And so I hope you’re able to appreciate more the different dimensions of God’s holiness, and how they connect to his attributes. And as we continue on as a church in Mt Pleasant – each day this week, let’s make it our delight to be with him, and to become more like him. Let’s pray: