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This is the fourth message from the series, “Seven Aspects of God’s Holiness.”
When God describes himself as holy, it means he is the one we must treat with ultimate reverence and even with appropriate fear. Of all that exists, he is the one who is not merely sacred, but most sacred.
by Pastor Brian Larson, delivered to the congregation of Lake Shore Church in Chicago on May 9, 2021
The beatific vision is consummate bliss.
A few years ago a new 45-story tower went up two blocks west of us. It is sheathed in black, curved glass, curved because if you look directly down on the tower from a jet you would see it is oblong.
Shortly after construction finished, I awoke one foggy morning and beheld the sunlight reflecting off the tower’s hundreds of windows and through the mists in dazzling ways. I quickly put my camera on a tripod and photographed a light show for 30 minutes as the reflection of the sun slowly moved from tower top to bottom. The tower was like a diamond in a jeweler’s display case, with a spotlight moving on a track slowly above and a tiny fog machine pumping whiffs of mist, only the diamond was 45-stories high, with hundreds of facets, and as big as a city block.
I thoroughly enjoyed the show. I appreciate beauty as a gift from God, and with photography as a hobby I have learned to recognize the important role of light in beauty.
What I saw that morning illustrates the holiness of God, for one aspect of that holiness is resplendent glory.
1 Timothy 6:16 says God “dwells in unapproachable light.”
When the apostle John saw Jesus in heaven, he said “his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” (Revelation 1:16)
Isaiah foretold of a day in the New Creation when “the moon will be confounded and the sun ashamed, for the LORD of hosts reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and his glory will be before his elders.” (Isaiah 24:23)
Hebrews 8:1 simply describes God as “the Majesty in heaven.”
Hebrews 1:3 says Jesus “is the radiance of the glory of God.”
Job 37:22 says, “Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is clothed with awesome majesty.”
And Psalm 104:1–2 says, “Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty, covering yourself with light as with a garment.”
And therefore we call God holy.
I am looking forward to seeing God’s holy majesty. For many years I have heard the phrase “the beatific vision” used to describe what souls in heaven experience in God’s presence. You don’t hear the word beatific used in daily conversation, and I never checked the dictionary for its meaning, but I knew it was good. I finally looked it up, and it is related to the word beatitude, which means happy. Beatific things inspire holy bliss, consummate bliss. The beatific is so beautiful as to inspire ultimate happiness.
That is the holiness of God, and it is good. I will enjoy that holy, beatific vision for all eternity. Forever I will enjoy a sight more beautiful than anything I have known on earth.
However it will resemble something I have had countless experiences with on earth, namely, the sky, the heavens, the weather. Scripture says the sky displays God’s holy glory: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1).
Indeed the most dynamic part of our world is up—elevated above the land. The sun, the moon and stars, the clouds, the blue daytime sky and the blackness of night. The powerful thunderstorms and majestic sunsets. The sky is dynamic in color and light, temperature and motion. It is one of the most beautiful parts of our world, as well as the most powerful and amazing.
God designed it all to reveal his holy glory. Isaiah 6:3 says, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Because I enjoy countless things about the sky, I know I will enjoy beholding the Majesty in heaven. He is high above and transcendent over all creation. He is resplendent in unapproachable light. His beauty is beatific, inspiring unending bliss. Holy is he.
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)
This is the third message from the series, “Seven Aspects of God’s Holiness.”
God is holy because he alone is perfectly good. Thus in his holy goodness he is infinitely gracious, loving, righteous, just, benevolent, generous, kind. In his holy goodness, he is the giver of every good thing.
by Pastor Brian Larson, delivered to the congregation of Lake Shore Church in Chicago on May 2, 2021
God’s visual majesty makes him holy. Seeing God’s majesty inspires unending bliss and awe. Are you looking forward to the beatific vision?
Something about height is impressive. Stand on the sidewalk next to the Willis Tower in Chicago or at the base of Mount Rainier in Washington and look up, and you will feel something. Awe. Wonder. What you see is part of what people mean when they use the word majesty to describe things greatly elevated.
Something about light is also impressive. Experience a great light show at a concert or a top-notch, 4th-of-July fireworks finale or the best sunset of the year, and you will struggle to find words adequate to explain what you see and feel. Glory. Awe. Amazement.
Something about royalty is also impressive. Walk through the gate of the palace of a traditional king and queen for an audience. Behold the ubiquitous guards and their uniforms, the exquisite architecture, the trained formality of the large staff, the glistening gold and marble of the high-ceilinged hallways, the tall columns and artwork in the vast throne room, the gold thrones, the wide circle of attendants, the purple robes of the king and queen, the priceless crowns on their heads. Words like beauty, power, and glory come to mind.
Put all this elevation, light, and royalty together, and you have another aspect of the holiness of God. The single word majesty conveys all this, and awe sums up its effect on those who experience it. God is holy because his visual glory is awesome.
We see all this in Isaiah’s vision of God. Isaiah 6:1–5 says:
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’ And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’”
God is holy because he is the royal Majesty in heaven. Thus he is high above and transcendent over all creation, resplendent in unapproachable light. His beauty is beatific—a word which means inspiring bliss. His glory inspires the perpetual awe and wonder of perfected souls in heaven, overwhelms the physical, human senses of souls on earth, and terrifies sinners. But for those justified through faith in Jesus Christ, to see God’s holy face is the ultimate human experience.
King David understood the goodness of seeing God’s holiness. He wrote, “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalm 27:4)
Moses saw more of the holy glory of God than any man, yet it only made him want more, for God had not yet displayed all his majesty. So on top of Sinai, in God’s presence, months after the Exodus, Moses said, “Please show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18).
God answered, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’” (Exodus 33:19) Notice that when we see the holy glory of God, we are seeing absolute goodness, infinite goodness, a goodness so good it is overwhelming.
Therefore God told Moses: You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live. Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. (Exodus 33:20–23)
The goodness of seeing perfect holiness is symbolized also by the garment God designed for the holiest man in Israel, that is, the high priest Aaron and his sons. God said, “You shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty….For Aaron’s sons you shall make coats and sashes and caps. You shall make them for glory and beauty.” (Exodus 28:2, 40)
The same was true of the temple itself. The holy place was beautiful, made of gold, silver, bronze, and embroidered fabrics. For example, for the Holy of Holies, God said, “You shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it” (Exodus 26:31).
God designed the temple and the priesthood as symbols to communicate that the glory of God in heaven is beautiful. It will inspire unending bliss.
Thankfully when we leave this fallen earth, God refits us for heavenly existence. What we cannot do now, made of dust as we are, weak and tainted still by sin, we will be able to do then. He will recreate us for life in a holy place by perfecting us in holiness through Jesus Christ.
On Mount Sinai, God told Moses, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” However, in the New Creation described in the Book of Revelation, God says his people “will see his face” (Revelation 22:4).
Until then, in the life we still live in this world, the joy of seeing God’s holy majesty should be our great hope. We have much to look forward to. Because of what Jesus has done and will yet do for us, God’s majestic holiness is no longer our insurmountable problem, but rather our great hope.
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)
This is the second message from the series, “Seven Aspects of God’s Holiness.”
God is holy because he is the royal Majesty in heaven. He is high above and transcendent over all creation. He is resplendent in unapproachable light. His beauty is beatific, inspiring unending bliss.
by Pastor Brian Larson, delivered to the congregation of Lake Shore Church in Chicago on April 25, 2021
This is the first message in the series, Seven Aspects of God’s Holiness.
God is holy because he is the only God. The Holy One is different from us as a potter is different from the clay.
by Pastor Brian Larson, delivered to the congregation of Lake Shore Church in Chicago on April 18, 2021
The Lord is holy because he is uniquely God.
God calls himself the Holy One. He is holy because he is unimaginably different from and superior to his creation in every way.
One Old Testament story displays this starkly.
Israel’s enemies the Philistines captured the holy Ark of the Covenant in battle from the army of Israel. The Ark represented the presence of God and normally resided in the Holy of Holies within the Tabernacle. The Philistines were thrilled with their conquest and believed this showed that their god Dagon was superior to the God of Israel. They put the captured Ark in the temple of Dagon as a trophy.
“And when the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.” (1 Samuel 5:3)
Not only had Dagon fallen on his face before the Ark of Israel’s God, he could not get himself off the ground. He was helpless. The priests of Dagon had to pick him up and restore him to his place. How humiliating for Dagon. How revealing to the Philistines.
Verse 4 continues, “But when they rose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold. Only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.”
Humans could prop up Dagon, but they could not keep him in his place. Again overnight he is toppled to the ground before the God of Israel, and this time God does to Dagon what conquering kings did to their enemies, what David did to Goliath: he cut of Dagon’s head and put it on the threshold of the altar as a trophy. That is, the head did not just fall off when God toppled the idol statue; rather, the head was removed and placed back on the threshold along with the hands of the idol for good measure, symbolizing that Dagon had no power in his hands and could do nothing.
God is holy because he is unimaginably superior to his creation in every way. He is superior not just to idols like Dagon, but to idols like money and possessions, idols like celebrities and companies, superior to all people and all things.
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.’”
Notice in this text that after God identifies himself as the Holy One, he lists several things that make him the Holy One. He says he formed Israel as a nation. He says he knows the future. And he says no one can tell him what to do. He says he created the earth, mankind, and the heavens. He says he controls all the hosts, that is, the hundred billion stars in each of the universe’s hundred billion galaxies. And he says he is the one to whom people must turn to be saved. He says he is God, and there is no other God. Consequently he is the Holy One.
Scripture says there are only two categories for all that exists: the potter and the clay. There is only the Creator and his creation. That’s it. God is the potter, and everything else is clay (Isaiah 64:8). There is no third or fourth category, no other gods or forces or spirits or matter that have existence apart from him and his creation. And there is an infinite difference, an infinite otherness, between the two. God infinitely transcends his creation in his nature and abilities. He is independent, infinitely superior to his creation, including mankind, in every imaginable way. We are dependent in every way for existence and abilities. God is other. He is the only God, and this makes him the Holy One.
“From him and through him and to him are all things” (Romans 11:36). This asserts three things about God that are not true of you, any human, or any other created thing.
First, everything is “from him.” He conceived, designed with a purpose, and created everything that exists and happens. Ephesians 1:11 says, we have “been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” We cannot imagine how any being could be great enough to do this, but Scripture assures us it is true.
Second, everything is “through him.” He is the means to everything. He did not just create all things and then step back to watch and see what happens. Rather, he is actively involved in all things: governing all, sending or withholding the rain, opening and closing doors, blessing or opposing, sustaining or withdrawing the life of everything that exists. Jesus said, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father” (Matthew 10:29).
Third, everything is “to him” or for him. That means all things are for his glory and purposes. Ultimately he does all things for the sake of his own name and glory. He created us to worship and give thanks to him gladly. Ephesians 5:20 says, “[Give] thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This aspect of God’s holiness highlights his goodness, for he is the one who gets all credit for our wondrous world and universe filled with good things. In the creation narrative of Genesis 1, there is the well-known refrain, “And God saw that it was good.” And the sixth day, when God created mankind, concludes, “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” Because God is holy—the only God—the creation is good.
How should this aspect of God’s holiness affect the way we live, pray, and believe?
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)
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.
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.’”
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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)
Last week I finished the short theme on Knowing God, and next week I begin a series of posts on the new theme, “7 Aspects of God’s Holiness.”
God’s holiness is misunderstood by non-Christians and little understood by Christians, yet it defines him. If we do not understand his holiness, we fundamentally do not understand God. If we do not love God’s holiness, then we do not love God as he is, for he is the Holy One (Isaiah 1:4). Because we all sin, we have a natural reluctance about this subject, but we can overcome that through increased understanding, for God’s holiness is good and desirable in every way. That is what people do not understand—the sheer goodness of God’s holiness—and that is what we will explore.
There is another benefit to this subject. As we learn to understand and appreciate his holiness, we will learn to love personal purity. “This is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). So do not miss a week, for it will profoundly change your life.
I love Psalm 91, and our journey through its reassuring words was a highlight of last year. Meditating deeply on it is a must in these perilous times. My first post on it started in a majestic place: Dwelling in the Shelter of the Most High. Read it, for it can make you fearless.
You may have noticed I have been posting the audio of some of my sermons. My recent favorite is Getting Great Faith.
Knowing God is the most valuable investment of your time and life. He is the ultimate person and most worthy to be pursued in a love relationship. He is the only truly good person (Mark 10:18). He is the most creative, knowledgeable, and interesting person. He is the most loving person. He is the most beautiful and inspiring person. He is infinitely superior to us in every imaginable way—the most excellent person. He is literally perfect and without limitation. Absolutely pure—clean, morally sanitary—and thus eternally healthful to one’s body, soul, and spirit. He is kind, gracious, generous, compassionate, patient, benevolent.
When you choose to boast in knowing God over all other boasts (Jeremiah 9:23–24) and make it your goal to know him better every day, it is as though you were the poorest person in the world marrying the richest person in the world, or the most disfigured guy in the world marrying the world’s most beautiful super-model, or the lowest IQ in the world marrying the greatest genius in the world. When you choose to boast in knowing God, you are “marrying” way up—infinitely up.
Knowing God is the most rewarding, delightful, and inexhaustible knowledge you can have.
The proposal for my book on holiness is in the hands of several publishers. Please pray it finds a home with a publisher who will make the most of its ministry and bring maximum glory to the Lord.
According to the Bible, your eternal destiny stands on what you believe about the story of Jesus’ resurrection. As you decide, would it help you to know what one man who lived through the events says about it?
by Pastor Brian Larson, delivered to the congregation of Lake Shore Church in Chicago on April 4, 2021