Holiness

As we return to our study of God’s attributes, we will focus our attention for the next four weeks on the attributes that are communicable. These are the attributes we share with the Lord as His image bearers, though in a limited and imperfect way. We will begin by focusing on God's nature as one who is holy, or set apart from the rest of creation. Holiness has two main qualities: moral purity and uniqueness. In Scripture, we see holiness applied to locations (Ex 3:5), objects (Ex 30:29), people (2 Ki 4:9), but most commonly to the Lord (Rev 4:8). In Isaiah 6:3, the angels in heaven proclaim that God is "holy, holy, holy," showing that His uniqueness and moral purity are unmatched in all creation. There is none like Him. Yet as we look at Leviticus 19 this Sunday, we will see that the Lord's holiness is not just something for us to recognize, but also imitate. As the Lord is holy, we are called to be holy and set apart from the rest of the world. God's holiness can cause us to tremble as we see with clarity our broken and twisted nature as sinners. Yet, we take comfort that the Holy One, Jesus, came to touch and heal broken sinners like us. Instead of being repelled by us, He draws near to us and makes us like Himself.