The Only God

We will understand God better when we understand the difference between us (Isaiah 45:22).

Imagine a creative, 10-year-old girl named Sarah, who loves to read and is learning to write stories. Sarah recently read a book that tells the story of a woman who writes a daily blog online, and she is intrigued. At dinner one night she says, “Daddy, I want to write a blog. How do I do that?”

Her father’s first thought is not what a great learning opportunity this would be for his home-schooled daughter; rather, his mind turns immediately to protecting her from internet predators. “Honey, someday you can do that, but do you remember what we’ve talked about that we have to be careful on the internet because some people we might contact online want to hurt people?”

“I’ll be careful,” says Sarah. “Please let me write a blog. Please, please, please! Nothing bad will happen!”

Her dad has seen enough stories of teenage girls lured into trouble online and does not give it a second thought. The answer is no.

A difference in wisdom

Who would fault Sarah’s father? The difference in experience, knowledge, and discernment between a 10-year-old and her 40-year-old dad is vast, so great that Sarah cannot grasp it.

Only a virtuoso concert violinist knows in detail how great is the gap between his skills and those of a beginner. In small measure, a beginner can hear the difference but cannot really understand or explain it.

A person blind from birth cannot imagine what it is to see.

These analogies shine light on the difficulty we have with God’s holiness. God is holy because he is unimaginably different from and superior to his creation in every way.

Isaiah 45:11–12, 22 says, “Thus says the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him: ‘Ask me of things to come; will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands? I made the earth and created man on it; it was my hands that stretched out the heavens, and I commanded all their host…. Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.’”

The hurdle

Divine holiness is for many the greatest hurdle to wanting to draw closer to God. We do not understand it. The difference between the great “I Am” and his creation is infinitely greater than any analogy can fully communicate.

But we need to leap over that hurdle. I cannot understand the most important truths about God unless I have some grasp of his holiness—and value it. The more I grasp his holiness, the better I know God and relate to him as he is (not how I wish he were).

An inscrutable difference

For example, the whole sacrificial system that God required in the Old Testament is not what I would have planned. The thought of going to the tabernacle to slit the throats of animals leaves me cold. Similarly, I would not have planned the atoning death of Jesus on the cross as a sacrifice for human sin. I feel this way, however, because I am infinitely less wise, enlightened, and holy than God.

An inscrutable story

Another example: One of the most counterintuitive stories in the Bible for me is the near-fatal experience Moses had on his journey to Egypt to deliver Israel from bondage. The story lasts just three verses. It comes out of nowhere; there is little explanation, and then it is over, and the narrative resumes as though nothing had happened.

Moses had recently met with God at the burning bush. God had commanded him to go to Pharaoh, and Moses had at last accepted the assignment. He went home, gathered his wife Zipporah and two sons, and set off for Egypt. One important fact: neither of his two sons had been circumcised, as centuries earlier God had commanded Abraham and all his descendants to do.

The crisis

Exodus 4:24–26 says, “At a lodging place on the way the LORD met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!’ So he let him alone. It was then that she said, ‘A bridegroom of blood,’ because of the circumcision.”

That’s the story in total. Obviously there is a lot of backstory we are not given, but it appears Zipporah had for years resisted circumcising her sons, and Moses had failed to insist on it. Thereby he had given more honor to his wife than to the Lord, and that is a serious sin.

But God knew all this

Still, God knew these circumstances when he chose Moses, so why did he subsequently decide to end his life? One thing is certain, this narrative is not mysterious to God. His actions make perfect sense to him. They are right, wise, and good, as all his actions are, always and without exception. Yet to us they are mysterious. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom 11:33, ESV)

One reason this story makes so little sense to me is, God is holy, and apart from him I am not. He is the I Am, and I am not. He is the only God, and I am his creation. He is perfectly pure, and I—though holy in status through Christ—am a recovering sinner. I see things from a human, this-world perspective; God sees things from an all-knowing, eternal, heavenly perspective. So I cannot understand the most important things about God unless I understand and value his holiness.

Worshiping God for the infinite, holy difference

With that in mind, here is a prayer I regularly use: “Lord, I praise you because you are infinitely superior to me in every imaginable way. I praise you because you are infinitely superior to me in knowledge. I praise you because you are infinitely superior to me in goodness. I praise you because you are infinitely superior to me in love.” And so on, with wisdom, kindness, mercy, grace, patience, and other virtues. All this is a detailed way of saying, I praise you because you are holy; you are the only God.

When it seems as though circumstances are not what God should allow, when my prayers are not answered, when I seek God for guidance and wisdom that seems way too long in coming, I find peace when I pray in this way, remembering God’s holiness.

There are only two categories for all that exists—God and his creation—and there is an infinite difference between the two.

Jeremiah 9:23–24: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’” (ESV)

March 29, 2021March 11, 2021

A Peaceful Ocean of Knowledge

Isaiah 11:9 tells where we can find a peaceful ocean of understanding.

“They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
—Isaiah 11:9 (ESV)

In what ways can the knowledge of God change you and those with whom you live and work? The knowledge of the Lord can bring peace.

Supernatural peace

Isaiah 11:9 begins with a great promise of peace. A day is coming when people will not hurt others nor destroy others nor destroy the earth.

The preceding verses describe a peace that extends even to the animal world:

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den.” (Isaiah 11:6–8)

God’s mountain

The place of perfect peace will be God’s holy mountain. This is the New Jerusalem that in the New Creation will come down out of heaven and forevermore be the capital city of the newly recreated earth. (See Revelation 21 and 22, Isaiah 65:17–25.)

2 Peter 3:13 says, “According to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.”

Peaceful holiness

The mountain is “holy.” Holiness is good and desirable for every reason, including that it is the precondition of peace. Unholiness is what makes our world a painful, frightening, dangerous place to live. Unholiness ruins friendships, marriages, families, workforces.

Galatians 5:22–23 says, “The fruit of the Spirit [that is, the Holy Spirit!]is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

The hinge

The conjunction “for” is the hinge of Isaiah 11:9. Something will happen that will transform our world from a place of much evil and suffering to a place of perfect peace: “for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

What transforms the world is the knowledge of the LORD. The world is broken because people do not know God, the Holy One. They have false conceptions of God, idolatrous understandings of God, or worldviews that deny God and make man the touchstone of reality. The result is divisions, endless confusion about right and wrong, and continual struggles for control and selfish gain.

A. W. Tozer said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

An ocean of knowledge

What will someday turn the world into a paradise of peace is an exponential increase in the knowledge of the LORD. Someday the knowledge of the LORD will cover the earth as water fills oceans. How much water is in the Pacific Ocean? How well does that ocean of water cover the ground beneath it? That analogy quantifies how much knowledge people will have of God in the New Creation.

Two other translations help us with the analogy. The NLT says: “Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the LORD.” The CSB says: “They will not harm or destroy each other on my entire holy mountain, for the land will be as full of the knowledge of the LORD as the sea is filled with water.”

So the earth will be filled with people who are filled with the knowledge of God. No one will be ignorant of or have fragmentary knowledge of God. The entire earth will be covered with an ocean of the true knowledge of God, and the result will be perfect peace, blessed shalom.

A peaceful you

Do you need peace? Pray for the knowledge of God that is lacking, for you, and if needed for others.

For example, Lord, I ask you to give Edward the knowledge of God that will bring him peace in his relationship with Mark, and do the same with Mark.

Or, Lord, cause me to know you in a way that will bring peace to my worried mind.

In the knowledge of God is your peace.

September 9, 2019December 29, 2020

Holy Love

God’s holy love is perfect love that always pursues the highest good of righteousness, truth, and purity in us.

A year ago I got an ugly cold and sinus infection. My nose ran nonstop for days, I was sneezing and had a mild fever, and my body hurt all over. I carried around a paper shopping bag and filled it with used tissues. I was so miserable I didn’t shower for two or three days. I was unclean. When I finally felt well enough to shower, I experienced sweet relief as I washed away the germs, oil, and sweat, holding my face in the spray to let the purifying water keep rushing over the skin that had been a hazardous material zone. When the shower ended, I wasn’t yet fully healed, but I felt like a new man.

God’s love is like that shower. It is a holy love that sanctifies us. “You were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11, ESV).

God’s holy love

The holy love of God is displayed in the love Jesus has for his church. “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25–27 ESV).

Uncleanness literally kills our bodies and souls, so true love cleanses.

God’s love is not an unholy love. An unholy love is selfish, exploitative, fickle, ignorant of what is best for another person. Unholy love seeks only pleasure, not purity. A holy love pursues righteousness in the relationship. God’s holy love seeks a holy relationship, marked by the fruits of the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23).

Models of holy love

God’s holy love is like the love of Jesus for Peter, with an unswerving commitment to truth, the forgiveness of wrongs, a desire to be together, patience and understanding, and the pursuit of Peter’s growth and maturity.

God’s holy love as displayed in Jesus is like the love of Paul for Timothy, marked by testing, challenges and charges, admonishment, and instruction.

On the other hand, we see unholy love in the relationship of King Ahab and Jezebel, marked by manipulation, weakness, a love for evil-doing, and the rejection of the Lord and his ways. We see unholy love in Samson and Delilah, Solomon for his foreign wives, Judas for Jesus.

God’s holy love as displayed in Jesus is like the love of Ruth for her mother-in-law Naomi, marked by a servant’s heart, humility, unselfishness, and commitment.

God’s holy love as displayed in Jesus is like the love of Jonathan and David, marked by righteous loyalty in the face of evil attacks.

God’s promise

God will succeed in his loving purpose of cleansing us entirely. We will someday be perfectly clean and pure, holy in status before God, in nature, and in conduct. God will accomplish this, for we cannot do it by ourselves, though we must cooperate. The great struggle against sin, temptation, and darkness will soon come to an end, and we will be pure people living in a pure world cleansed of all moral filth.

For when Jesus comes again, “He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD” (Malachi 3:2–3).

Our way and God’s way

Our way: Fallen humans want God’s love to be a permissive, indulgent love, to accept us as we are and leave us as we are. We want absolutely unconditional love. We do not want to change and resist becoming clean.

God’s way: He seeks our highest good, so he seeks our purity. Uncleanness corrupts, degrades, and destroys. To leave us in filthiness would not be loving. Holy love always accords with truth and righteousness.

Life principle: The strength of our relationship with God depends on our ongoing pursuit of purity. For, by pursuing holiness we walk in harmony with the holy God.

November 19, 2018December 29, 2020

Jesus’ Top Priority Prayer Request

Pursuing holiness by understanding God’s holiness gives you the most satisfying life possible.

The Son of God taught us to pray:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’ (Matthew 6:9).

Therefore Jesus taught that the first request we make in prayer is that God’s name be honored as holy in our lives each day.

The first words of this prayer are the address: “Our Father in heaven,” but the first request is “Hallowed be your name.” This means that Jesus is showing us the chief desire of his own heart and what should be the chief longing of our hearts. You should long for God to be seen as holy in your life each day and pray accordingly. God’s holiness is supposed to be of ultimate importance to you.

Pursuing holiness replaces other pursuits

This means that the holy one in your life each day is not money, your investments and security, your employer, your job performance, advancing your career, padding your resume, building your network.

The holy one in your life is not a best friend, romance, spouse, family, or children.

The holy one is not a visa or green card or citizenship.

Neither is the holy one Hollywood, sports, video games, travel, food and restaurants.

The holy one is not sex or the pleasures of drink, drugs, or clubs.

The holy one is not adventures or experiences.

Rather, your holy one is The Holy One. The Almighty, infinitely loving, infinitely wise and good Creator and Sustainer of every living thing. The Father.

Every day you begin by setting God apart for highest devotion, love, and praise. That’s who the de facto holy one is in your life. It’s whoever or whatever is set apart in the temple of your heart for highest devotion, love, and praise.

Pursuing holiness revolutionizes your world

People can sense who the holy one is in your life. If your holy one is God, people will know it. There is a spiritual atmosphere in and around a person who regards God as the Holy One, the One set apart for highest adoration, praise, and thanks. When that is the ongoing condition of your heart—not merely a decision made once that is now compromised by other chief concerns—but rather when adoring and honoring God as the Holy and Incomparable One is the ongoing condition of your heart, then the Holy Spirit rules in your heart and clothes you with his presence and makes himself felt in the space around you. You become a holy man or holy woman who brings the awareness of God, even the reverence of God, to others.

You become a holy one. So you become what you already are—a saint—through Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit. And that condition, being a holy man or holy woman, becomes sweet and satisfying to you. Where at one time in your life you may have laughed at the idea of being a holy one, now in Christ it becomes both your identity and pursuit. You rejoice that you are already holy through faith in Jesus, but you continue to pursue holiness in your motives, thoughts, desires, words, and actions. You go through your days taken by the reality that you serve a holy, awesome God, and you really can aim to be holy because he is holy.

Holiness and the holy things God has put in this world become increasingly attractive to you. Prayer becomes something you can never get enough of no matter how much you pray. The Word of God becomes an ocean of life you can never exhaust. God’s people, God’s house, become your family, your house. God’s work becomes your family business.

All this and much, much more happens when God becomes your Holy One. It is the most wonderful life, because it is the life you were created for. And it endures forever.

How to pursue the Holy One

Proverbs 9:10 says, “The knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” The knowledge of God is insight; the knowledge of God as holy is insight. Understanding God’s holiness will revolutionize your life. You will have more insight and wisdom than the lost and aimless world around you.

Keep pursuing the knowledge of God’s holiness by reading and meditating on His Word, in company with holy people doing the same. The Word of God confronts you page after page with the Holy One. That’s why the world rejects the Bible and most people avoid it. Because in page after page the Bible confronts you with the Holy One, and you either have to repent and walk in reverent fear of this Holy God and trust in Jesus to make you right with him, or you have to reject him altogether. But you cannot humbly read about the Holy One in the Bible and stay the same. He is too great, too awesome, for that.

November 12, 2018December 29, 2020

Sinning unto Death and the Holiness of God

A person can sin unto death by violating God’s holy boundaries. God vindicates his holiness by withdrawing his gift of life, turning a person over to death.

Over the last year or two we have seen something become common in the corporate world that used to be rare, and it gives us insight into one aspect of God’s holiness.

Hardly a month now goes by without a high-profile executive, journalist, or politician losing their job because they have crossed a boundary that once was not fatal to one’s job. For example, there is now zero tolerance for racist actions, sexual abuse, or saying derogatory things about women. When a leader crosses one of these boundaries, the company fires them and thereby shows its disapproval of the words and actions of the offender. The company knows that no matter how talented and effective that leader has been, many in the public will turn against that company if they tolerate such behavior. Better to lose even their best employee and try to salvage their name. No one is bigger than the company. By firing an offending employee, they uphold what they and the public regard as good. Good companies fire leaders who violate vitally important boundaries.

To cross certain boundaries is to sin unto death

In the same way, God has boundaries. And for some of his boundaries there is zero tolerance. This is not because God is bad, but precisely because he is good. Holy means good. God protects the things of highest value, moral weight, and significance. What is of highest value in all existence is the honor of God’s holy name. God’s holiness is the ground of all truth, purity, righteousness, virtue, and justice. Therefore, his holiness is all important not only to him but to humanity and all the moral creation including angels, authorities, powers, and so on. God’s holiness is more sacred and important than any human life.

As a result, there are several surprising stories and sections in the Bible that tell of God’s having to withdraw the gift of life from a person who violates the boundaries of God’s holiness. That is how God vindicates his holiness. That is how God makes clear to others the seriousness of violating this boundary.

These stories don’t get talked about much because they don’t fit the popular notion that God should always be nice no matter how evil a person becomes. It makes us uncomfortable to think that God would end a person’s life because of something that we may not even regard as a serious violation. But make no mistake, there is no greater boundary you can violate than God’s holiness. If you regard that boundary like men once regarded sexual abuse of women, you will sooner or later find that it is a big deal to God.

You, too, have boundaries

God and companies are not the only ones with zero-tolerance boundaries. You also have boundaries. There are things you will not allow anyone to do or say to you. You respect yourself enough not to let violations happen again.

Good people, good companies, good governments, and our good God—all have proper boundaries. And for the most serious of those boundaries, there is zero-tolerance.

Examples of sin unto death

Here are stories and passages, both in the Old and New Testaments, that describe times when God takes back the gift of life that he gave in the first place in order to vindicate his holiness. As you read this list, keep in mind God’s words through Ezekiel: “I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD” (Ezekiel 18:32).

The great flood kills all that breathe except Noah and those in the ark. Genesis 6–8.
The cities and people of Sodom and Gomorrah are burned with fire from heaven. Genesis 19:1–29
The Angel of the Lord slays all the firstborn of Egypt, and then the entire army of Egypt that pursued Israel into the Red Sea. Exodus 11, 12, 14
Aaron’s priestly sons Nadab and Abihu try to offer unauthorized fire to the Lord, and fire goes out from God’s presence and consumes them. Leviticus 10:1–3
Moses fails to circumcise his sons, and God comes to slay him for rebellion against this fundamental commandment for all Israelite males. But Moses’s wife circumcises the children just in time to save Moses’s life. Exodus 4:24–26
Seventy men of Beth Shemesh look into the ark of God and die. 1 Samuel 6:19–20
Uzzah puts his hand on the ark of God and dies. 2 Samuel 6:1–10
Korah and other leaders in Israel rise up to oppose the authority of Moses and Aaron, and the earth literally opens beneath their feet, and they and their households are swallowed alive. Fire also goes out from God’s presence and consumes 250 other rebellious leaders. Numbers 16:1–40 (verses 37–39 are especially revealing)
The people of Israel arise in rebellion against Moses and Aaron, and a plague breaks out, killing 14,700. Numbers 16:41–50.
During the time of Israel’s 40-year journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, there were other similar occasions when major sins resulted in major loss of life: Exodus 32. Numbers 11; 14:1–38; 21:1–9; 25:1–13.
The priestly family of negligent Eli and his wicked sons die. 1 Samuel 3–4
The Angel of the Lord slays an army of 185,000 Assyrians whose leader had taunted God. Isaiah 37:23–38
There are several stories of people mistreating Old Testament prophets—who spoke the words of God and therefore carried God’s authority—and dying as a result. 2 Kings 1:1–15; 2:23–24. Jeremiah 28.
Many in the Corinthian church were not treating the Lord’s Table with proper respect, and so some offenders became sick and some died. 1 Corinthians 11:27–34
Ananias and Sapphira lie to the Holy Spirit and die, and—what might be surprising to us—the church grows in numbers and favor afterward. Acts 5:1–14.
King Herod is slain for receiving praise as a god after an effective speech. Acts 12:21–23
The apostle John writes about the sin unto death. 1 John 5:16–17.

Well, you get the point; I’m sure the list could be longer. Since we naturally feel compassion for other humans and most of us are in no hurry to die, it is normal to shudder at stories like these. Death is tragic; God himself regards death in these circumstances as tragic. Again, God told sinful Israel, “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live” (Ezekiel 18:31–32).

Why do I compile a detailed list like this? Because God records these stories in his book for a reason. He wanted them in the Bible. They are not a dark secret about which we should be ashamed or defensive. This is an important part of God’s holiness.

Reverence before God

Some people have the insolence to question whether God should do this. It is our wisdom and humility to say with Job, “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). God always does right. In American culture we are seeing the moral decay that results when people lose the fear of God.

God has warned humanity, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The vindication of God’s holiness is infinitely more important than the lifespan of any human; those who object probably see it the other way around. (But God forbids anyone from taking punishment into their own hands. That’s called murder, which God outlaws. God gives only civil governments the right to execute the death penalty. See Romans 13:1–7.)

Our sins, Christ’s death

I conclude with good news. God has made a way to show mercy. He has provided his Son Jesus, who on the cross took the death penalty for all people. You can run to him in faith and find mercy from God.

John 3:16–17 says, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

1 John 5:12 says, “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

If you have not done so already, turn now to Christ and begin following him as your Lord and Savior.

November 5, 2018July 17, 2021

Seven Aspects of God’s Holiness

The seven aspects of God’s holiness show the greatness of God, how much we need Jesus, and how lavish is his grace.

We have looked at the subject of God’s holiness for several months now, so a summary is in order. “God is holy” means

1. He alone is God.

God is holy because he alone is deity. The God-ness of God makes him the Holy One, self-existent, dependent on no one, the eternal I Am.

2. He is supremely awesome in majesty.

God dwells in spectacular glory.

1 Timothy 6:16 says, God “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”

God told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exo. 33:20).

3. He alone is perfectly good.

Everything about God is good. Every aspect of his character and divine nature is good. All his works and words are good. He only thinks and does what is right, just, and true. He cannot do wrong. To be near God is to be near absolute goodness.

Jesus said, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18).

1 John 1:5 says, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

4. He is set apart for highest reverence.

God is exalted over the earth, dwelling in heaven, unassailable, inviolable, separate from sinners, adored by the hosts of heaven.

“Thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place’” (Isaiah 57:15).

5. He is perfectly pure.

God is as pure as sunlight, as clean as fire. He is not 99.99 percent pure, but rather 100 percent clean and pure, perfectly free from contamination and corruption, perfectly delighting in what is pure and abhorring what is defiled.

“Our God is a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).

6. He righteously judges all evil.

As the Creator of all people, God alone has the knowledge, power, and wisdom to hold everyone morally accountable for their thoughts, motives, words, and actions. On Judgment Day he will call this evil age to an end and sit as judge.

Psalm 9:7–8 says, “The LORD sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness.”

Romans 2:6 says, “He will render to each one according to his works.”

7. He is jealous for the glory of his name.

God protects the honor of his name. When people profane and violate him through sinful actions and words, he sooner or later vindicates his name through judgment if they do not repent and trust in Christ.

God says, “I will be jealous for my holy name” (Ezekiel 39:25).

What God’s holiness tells us

This summary of what it means to say God is holy brings two things into clear focus.

First, we need a Savior. God the Father sent his Son Jesus into the world because we desperately need him. Apart from a relationship with Jesus Christ, no one can stand before this holy God. But if we have a relationship with Jesus, we can stand before the Holy One fully accepted, beloved, blameless, and pure, filled with joy and confidence. Such is the sufficiency of the atonement that Jesus achieved on the cross when he shed his holy blood for fallen mankind! The blood works. Through faith in Jesus we are completely forgiven. God’s holy wrath is completely satisfied. Because of the blood of God’s holy Son on the cross, God’s name is fully vindicated, fully honored as holy. That is why the suffering of Jesus at the hands of sinners was so horrific. That is why Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). You cannot understand or appreciate the Cross apart from the holiness of God.

Second, the only reason we have a Savior is God’s grace. In his holy love and kindness, the Holy One decided to give us what we do not deserve. His holy goodness overflowed toward sinners in grace. His grace is just as much an expression of his holiness as his wrath. He is rich in grace because he is rich in holiness. Holy means good. Holy means loving. And holy means kind and generous. Because he is holy, he chose to be gracious.

When we understand the holiness of God, we realize what a miracle it is that we can have peace with God.

I invite you to read my weekly posts about
knowing God and his ways better.
—Craig Brian Larson

October 29, 2018December 29, 2020

How to Show Others That God’s Name Is Holy

“Hallowed be your name” is more than a prayer. The most important way you show others that God’s name is holy is by believing you can do what he says and following directions.

If you pray the Lord’s Prayer regularly, you are familiar with these words: “Hallowed be your name” (Matt. 6:9). Have you thought about what you are asking God to do in that request? What does it mean to hallow? And, connecting elsewhere in the Bible, what does this have to do with God’s not allowing Moses to enter the Promised Land? Could it also have something to do with what God allows you to do?

Hallowed be your name

To hallow means to honor as holy. In other words, Jesus taught us to pray: “Our Father who is in heaven, may your name be honored as holy.” What a powerful and important prayer that is! Your great desire and first request of God is that he would cause his name to be honored as holy in your life, family, church, city, nation, and world—not just honored, but honored as holy.

This agrees with what we saw last week, that God is jealous for the honor of his name, that he vindicates the honor of his name. So once again, we see the crucial importance of God’s holiness, how important it is to God and how important it should be to you.

And that brings us now to Moses and his failure at the waters of Meribah, which we’ll see in a moment. For a long time this story puzzled me for two reasons. First, the punishment for Moses’s failure seems out of proportion to his wrongdoing, especially because Moses had been faithful to God in most ways and was his right-hand man. And second, I could only vaguely grasp what Moses’s mistake had to do with a failure to honor the holiness of God.

How Moses failed to hallow God’s name

Here’s the story. After Israel’s 40-year journey in the wilderness, which followed their season at Mount Sinai and after their failure to trust God and enter the Promised Land, Israel came to a place where they could not find water, and as usual they complained against Moses. Numbers 20:6–13 says:

“⁶ Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them, ⁷ and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ⁸ ‘Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.’

“⁹ And Moses took the staff from before the LORD, as he commanded him. ¹⁰ Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, ‘Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?’ ¹¹ And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.

“¹² And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.’ ¹³ These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the LORD, and through them he showed himself holy.” (ESV)

Relevance

This story is relevant to your life because you also face situations where you are tempted not to uphold God as holy in the eyes of others. So, let’s try to understand what that means because God today is no less jealous for his holy name, and you don’t want to grieve him or miss entering your promised land, as Moses did.

Careful obedience matters

Moses actually brought water from two rocks in the wilderness to meet Israel’s need, and this story is the second occasion (for the first, see Exodus 17:1–7). There is a critical difference between the two situations. The first time, God told Moses to strike the rock with his staff in order to bring forth water; in the story above, however, God told Moses merely to speak to the rock (v. 8).

But Moses didn’t follow orders. Like the first time, he decided to strike the rock rather than speak to it. He disobeyed God. That is always serious no matter what the action is, as Adam and Eve discovered when they ate the wrong fruit. And it is especially serious for leaders, who are supposed to know better.

And Moses knew better. Aside from Jesus, he probably understood God’s holiness better than any person who has ever lived, having met directly with God and spoken with him many times.

Why Moses disobeyed

God tells us why Moses disobeyed: “Because you did not believe in me” (v. 12). Another translation says, “because you did not trust in me” (NIV). This apparently means Moses doubted that merely talking to the rock could bring the water. He had success once before using his staff to strike the rock to bring water, and he had used his staff many times before to work miracles before Pharaoh and then to part the Red Sea. The staff was physical; he could see it and feel it.

Apparently he trusted that material staff at that moment more than he trusted God’s immaterial word and his own immaterial word. For he raised that staff and struck the rock and felt the need to strike the rock a second time (v. 11). Moses got physical with the rock. And it worked, with water gushing forth.

But it didn’t work to accomplish God’s higher purpose, which I think was to show God as the holy Rock from whom comes water in the desert. God had brought waters from the Rock some 40 years earlier for their parents (Exodus 17), and now God would do the same for the children, who certainly had heard the story of what happened in Exodus 17. Moses knew God as “the Rock” (Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31). Centuries later, the apostle Paul refers to these events: “All drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4).

That is one core meaning of the holiness of God: there is no one else like him. He is the only Rock.

Misplaced trust

Moses not only trusted his material staff more than God’s immaterial word, it appears that he also trusted himself and Aaron more than he trusted God. Before raising the staff to strike the rock, he angrily said to the people, “Shall we bring water for you out of this rock?” (v. 10). We—Aaron and I—we will bring you water; not, God will bring you water. At this moment, Moses did not trust God to bring water from a rock; he trusted himself and his stick. Moses failed to uphold God as holy because Moses, in unbelief, took credit for the miracle.

God specifically told Moses to do this miracle in public (v. 7), to speak to the rock with the entire congregation gathered before him and Aaron. God didn’t want him to do the miracle in private, where no one could see them bring forth water. That would have been safer for Moses, because if the miracle didn’t happen, Moses wouldn’t have had a public failure, embarrassment, and lost credibility to recover from. No, God wanted this public because he wanted to show his holiness to the people through the miracle.

How God vindicated his holiness

God punished Moses by determining that he would not enter the Promised Land with the people at the end of the 40 years. This stung Moses; he mentions it later when writing Deuteronomy (in 3:23–26). And it stung God, for he mentions it again as the day came for Moses to die (Deut. 32:49–52; see also Psalm 106:32–33). Failing to uphold the holiness of God is not a passing foible.

Under such circumstances, how did God show himself holy through the Israelites (v. 13)? He performed a miracle; in his goodness and faithfulness he met their need for water. That is God’s holiness, for holy means good. And he showed himself holy by giving Moses consequences for disobedience while in mercy forgiving him, keeping him as his servant, and ultimately bringing him to heaven. Holy means good, and good means both just and merciful.

Application

Perhaps you know that you are not showing the holiness of God in some area of your life. You should repent without delay.

Perhaps you’re not sure if you are failing to show his holiness in some area. Pray with persistence that God will make this known to you (see James 1:5).

And daily pray: Father, may your name be honored as holy in me today.

Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name….

What do you think about this story? How would you interpret it? Please comment below.

October 22, 2018December 29, 2020

Why a Good God Is Jealous for His Holy Name

God is jealous for his holy name because being good means guarding what is sacred.

We come now to the aspect of God’s holiness that may be the hardest for us to understand. Therefore, it is vital that we meditate on this, for anything we do not understand about God’s holiness seriously cripples our knowledge of God and hampers our properly revering him.

When we say that God is holy, it means that he is jealous for the honor of his name. He is holy because he guards and vindicates the honor of his name.

He does this because he alone is good, and he alone is God. Because he is good and God, he perfectly understands what is sacred and protects it. God rightly understands that there is nothing more sacred than his own name. Psalm 138:2 says, “You have exalted above all things your name and your word.”

Guarding what is sacred

All people guard whatever they regard as sacred. For example, one of the most sacred things in the possession of the U.S. government is the U.S. Constitution. I have been to the National Archives several times to view it. I found it displayed at the center of attention in a large, majestic hall along with other important historic documents. Thick, protective glass encases it. The room is dark, because light harms the ink and paper of the documents. There are guards throughout the building. (Actually, I think it is only a facsimile of the Constitution on display; they keep the original locked safely away.)

Suppose the administrators of the National Archives did not protect the Constitution with care. Suppose they decided to put the original document on a table, so anyone who wanted could have the experience of touching it. What if the administrators decided that even children should be able to hold and even write on it with crayons as a way of experiencing U.S. history? Would those administrators be good? Would they be doing their duty?

Suppose that terrorists tried to destroy the Constitution by blowing it up with a bomb. The terrorists charge into the building with guns drawn prepared to neutralize the armed guards assigned to protect the building and its documents. What would we say if the guards did nothing to stop the attack but instead ran out the back door in fear? Would we call these guards good? Would they be doing their duty? No, a good guard would shoot any terrorist seeking to harm the most sacred document in the nation.

We need the sacred

In any community, society, or family, when people profane what is sacred, that community begins to disintegrate unless someone vindicates the sacred. For what is sacred is the basis of all morality and values, meaning and significance. Therefore, it is good for humans that God is jealous for what is sacred, and that he vindicates what is sacred when it is profaned. God is good to us when he is jealous for his holy name. It is wrong for anyone to do anything less.

Our problem with God’s jealousy

Our problem with understanding God’s jealousy for his name is that we don’t rightly understand the sacredness of God’s name, reputation, and the idea of God. We don’t understand the sheer horror of violating his name. We hear God’s name violated every day. But to profane the Holy One is unthinkable to a good person. To violate the sacredness of God’s holy name is the horror of horrors, the evil of evils, because God is the ultimate holiness, the most sacred of all that is sacred.

We would react violently to hearing our own name defiled, or the name of a family member we love. But many react far less, if at all, when God’s holy name is profaned. This reveals how calloused and blind a person can be to God’s holiness. Our names do not have one billionth of the sacredness of God’s holy name, yet many are more concerned for the honor of their names than the sacredness of God’s name. They just don’t get it. And so, they don’t understand why God in his perfect goodness is jealous for his name, and why in his goodness he must be so. An absolutely good God could do nothing less than guard the most sacred name, the most sacred reputation, the most sacred idea in the universe from the defilements of evil persons. And that is so even when that name is his own.

An example of God’s jealousy for his holy name

Ezekiel 39:25–28 says:

“²⁵ Thus says the Lord GOD: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for my holy name. ²⁶ They shall forget their shame and all the treachery they have practiced against me, when they dwell securely in their land with none to make them afraid, ²⁷ when I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them from their enemies’ lands, and through them have vindicated my holiness in the sight of many nations. ²⁸ Then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, because I sent them into exile among the nations and then assembled them into their own land.”

So, God says, “I will be jealous for my holy name.” The word jealous first brings to mind its meaning in romantic relationships: “intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness” (Webster’s Dictionary). But Webster’s gives a second sense for the word jealous: “vigilant in guarding a possession.” The Online Dictionary puts it this way: “fiercely protective or vigilant of one’s rights or possessions.” God’s right and possession is the sacredness of his name and the sacredness of the idea of God. He is jealous for it, fiercely protective of the sacredness of his name, fiercely vigilant for the sacredness of his name. God is holy. He is good. So, he guards what is sacred.

Vindicating his holy name

And when God’s name has been profaned, sooner or later he vindicates it. In verse 27 above, God speaks of a time when he will have “vindicated my holiness.” The Online Dictionary says that the word vindicate has the meaning: to “show or prove to be right, reasonable, or justified.”

Sooner or later God will always vindicate the holiness of his name. He will show and prove that he has always been right, reasonable, and justified.

When we say that God is holy, we are saying he is jealous to vindicate his name.

What profanes God’s holy name

Obviously, God’s name is profaned when he is spoken against and when people say false things about him.

His holy name is also profaned when it is taken in vain. Therefore God protects his name with a command: “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).

His name is profaned when people called by his name (Christians or Israelites) do wrong and unholy things, even if they never speak against him. For example, in Leviticus 20:3 God says of those who sacrifice their children to idols: “I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name.” In this case, God’s holy name is associated with something he hates.

Our way and God’s way

Our way: We do not fully understand the sacredness of God’s name, reputation, and the idea of God. We are not as jealous for the honor of God’s holy name as he is.

God’s way: God perfectly understands what is sacred and why he must protect and vindicate it. God’s jealousy for the honor of his holy name is one thing that makes him holy.

Life principle: We should treat the holy name and idea of God as the most sacred of all that is sacred. We should fear profaning his name either in speech or by doing something that associates God’s name with something he hates.

October 15, 2018December 29, 2020

Holy Means Good: And Good Means Just

God’s justice and holiness are aspects of his goodness.

After exploring for several weeks (beginning here) the goodness of God’s holiness, we now turn to the aspect of God’s holiness that may have been the first thing that came to your mind when you think of the holiness of God: his judgments. Because God is holy, he judges evildoers.

God’s justice and holiness are aspects of his goodness

God’s justice is actually a necessary part of his perfect goodness. A good person cannot be indifferent or passive regarding evil. A good person cannot be unjust. And God is 100 percent good, so he must be 100 percent just.

For example, if someone is walking down Madison street and sees someone being robbed at gunpoint on the other side of the street, but does nothing about it—not calling the police but rather turning and running away to protect himself—that is bad. That is neglecting one’s responsibility to another person in need.

Similarly, if a person is a registered voter, and there is an election with moral issues at stake, but that person doesn’t bother to vote, that is moral negligence. He or she is contributing to evil in society by failing to act to prevent it. A truly good person is not passive or indifferent about any moral situation.

This is particularly so with someone who has the role of a judge in society. A good judge must uphold justice by condemning evildoers. A judge who ignores the laws and its punishments, who thinks he is being compassionate by regularly releasing murderers, thieves, rapists, corrupt politicians, lawless corporate executives and financiers, and drug dealers without punishment is not being compassionate to the past victims of their crimes, or to future victims of their crimes, or to society as a whole as law and order break down, and law-abiding citizens live in fear.

God’s justice and holiness require punishment of evil deeds

But justice is about more than protecting law-abiding people from predatory people. Justice requires punishment for its own sake. Justice requires that evildoers reap what they sow. God has created a moral universe where there are rewards and consequences for how a person acts, morally or immorally.

So, justice demands that an evildoer not only be kept from harming others in the future but also that the evildoer suffer punishment for doing evil. For that reason, putting an evildoer in a prison that kept him or her from society but provided a paradise of luxury living with gourmet food, daily live entertainment, and so on, would not be just. That would be rewarding evildoing. Justice requires negative consequences for evildoing.

I’m laboring this point because this is one idea Western culture has trouble embracing. Our culture does not like to punish evil-doing except in the most extreme cases, and this reluctance is a fault. It is unjust. It is this uneasiness with punishment that leads some people to dislike that God punishes evildoers.

Why many people disagree with God’s justice and holiness

This uneasiness with punishment can stem from noble impulses. We don’t want to be hypocrites, and we know we all fail in one way or another, and so we can feel hypocritical about punishing others when that means we also deserve punishment in some area of our lives. What’s more, we want to be compassionate, and it does not feel compassionate to inflict punishment on others, even evildoers. Moreover, we want to do to others what we want done to us, and we all want mercy for ourselves, not judgment.

The effect of all this is, the more aware we are of our own faults, the less willing we will be to punish others for similar faults, or for any faults. So, as our culture becomes increasingly immoral, we have become increasingly unable to dispense justice and punishment. People in our culture are confused about justice and uncomfortable with punishment.

And therefore, people are confused about God, who is the judge of all because he is the creator of all. People have trouble embracing the One who is perfect justice and righteousness. Therefore, we can be uncomfortable with God’s holiness. This is particularly the case when we realize that we or someone we care about deserves to receive punishment. Then we have skin in the game, and we lose impartiality.

How Scripture links God’s justice and holiness

Having laid this introduction, we come finally to the Scriptures. Because there is so much injustice and evil in the world, the Bible often and rightly talks about God’s holy judgments, for example:

From the Old Testament: “Thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Behold, I am against you, O Sidon, and I will manifest my glory in your midst. And they shall know that I am the LORD when I execute judgments in her and manifest my holiness in her; for I will send pestilence into her, and blood into her streets; and the slain shall fall in her midst, by the sword that is against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the LORD’” (Ezekiel 28:22–26).

From the New Testament: “And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, ‘Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments’” (Revelation 16:5).

This is God being good—doing what a good judge must do. Holy means good, and good means just.

God is never cruel; he is always perfectly just, and perfect justice is often severe, toward severe evil, and sometimes violent, for the wages of sin is death; this is not because God loves violence but because he is perfectly good, perfectly just, perfectly holy.

Our ways versus God’s ways

Our ways: We are for justice as long as nobody gets hurt, especially not we and people we care about, and especially not people who seem nice even though they break God’s moral laws.

God’s ways: God is completely, impartially just. He never compromises justice—never ever—because he is perfectly good. He always does what is right. But in holiness he has made a way to be both just and merciful: through the Cross of Jesus Christ. Through the Cross of Jesus, justice is completely satisfied, and at the Cross, mercy is offered to all who will believe and follow Jesus.

October 8, 2018December 29, 2020

Holy Means Good: For the Father Is the Source of Every Good

God the Father unites goodness and holiness. He doesn’t stop being holy when he feels tender love and goodwill toward us; such goodness is his holiness.

In previous posts we have explored the relationship between holiness and goodness first in Jesus, and then in the Holy Spirit. Today we see the relationship between holiness and goodness in the Father. The larger point I am making is that holy means good. When we think of God’s holiness, one of the first things that should come to mind is his infinite goodness, generosity, kindness, and love (Down the road I will add to what should come to mind).

Holy Father

So, first let’s affirm again the perfect holiness of the Father. Jesus addressed his God in prayer as “Holy Father” (John 17:11).

Revelation 4 gives the apostle John’s vision of the Father on the throne of heaven (we know this is the Father because Jesus approaches the throne in Revelation 5) and describes him as holy: Day and night the living creatures around the throne “never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’” (Revelation 4:8). The threefold repetition of the word holy communicates the perfect, infinite degree of the Father’s holiness.

Good Father

And this holy Father is good beyond all comprehension. The earth and its riches are meant to communicate this goodness, this goodwill, this generosity and kindness.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever” (Romans 11:36).

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth…gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24–25).

“A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27)

That last verse emphasizes that the holy Father doesn’t merely give good things in general to the world, and then good things may happen to you if you are in the right place at the right time and “get lucky.” No, the holy Father decides to give you—you—every good thing that comes into your life. That is why Scripture tells us to thank God for everything.

Goodness in creation

Genesis 1 is one of the most important descriptions of the holiness of the Father, for the creation narrative reveals the Father in all his God-ness, in his uniquely divine nature: eternal, the uncreated Creator, self-existent, all-powerful, transcendent over his creation, the Potter with the clay, from whom and through whom and to whom are all things, for whom nothing is impossible, unlimited in knowledge and wisdom. Although the word holy is not used in Genesis 1, this is the Father’s holiness on display.

And what does the holy Father do? He freely and of his own goodwill creates a good world filled with good life. Repeatedly the Father finishes the creation days by noting that what he created was good (vv. 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). It could not be otherwise, for “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). A good tree produces good fruit. Jesus said, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit.” (Luke 6:43–44).

The holy Father creates good and creates life. Holy is good; holy is life-giving.

A good Father even after the Fall

Even though the Father created Adam and Eve good, it does not take long for them to use their free will to turn against God, and that raises the crucial question of whether the Father will continue to do good to them and their children even though they deserve nothing but condemnation.

Jesus says yes. He affirmed the holy Father’s goodness even to those who repudiate him when he taught, “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:35–36). “Your Father who is in heaven…makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45).

Even though the Father did pronounce judgment on the world because of Adam’s sin, and consequently the world and its people groan under this curse, the holy Father nevertheless continues to show undeserved goodness and kindness:

“The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” (Psalm 145:9)

“The LORD will give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.” (Psalm 85:12)

“These all look to you, to give them their food in due season. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.” (Psalm 104:27–28)

“God…richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17)

“For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” (Psalm 100:5)

Holy means good, good to all, even to his enemies.

Goodness toward his beloved children

If the holy Father is good to all, even to those who are evil and reject him, how much more is he in holiness good to his children, whom he dearly loves. This fatherly goodness was the point of Jesus’ teaching on prayer: “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).

I understand this because I am a father of four sons, three daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren, and I know the goodwill and favor I have toward each of them. With every fiber of my being I want good for them. If I as a fallen human feel this way, then God’s goodwill must be good indeed.

Goodness and holiness in God the Father

And this goodness toward his children is his holiness. He doesn’t stop being holy when he feels tender love and goodwill toward us; that love and goodness is his holiness. Holy is good.

The Holy One is love. The Holy Father is love. First John 4:8 says, “God is love.” He doesn’t stop being holy when he is love. His love and holiness are one.

This is why Jesus would say, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). The unity of the Father’s love and holiness are pure goodness.

And this is why every single good work and word that Jesus performed on behalf of needy people was actually the Holy Father working through him: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:10–11).

If you are convinced that Jesus is always holy and always good, then you know that God the Father is always holy and always good. Holy means good. Jesus and the holy Father are equally good.