Moral Purity
When we come to verses 4-5 of Isaiah's temple vision, we are presented with an earthquake and smoke. This signifies the might and power of the one who sits enthroned. Isaiah's response in verse 5 is the only response a sinful creature can give in the presence of a holy God. This is the secondary definition of holiness that I alluded to in part one. It has to do with moral purity. In view of his wickedness and God's purity, Isaiah pronounces the oracular woe from prophetic language upon himself! In the OT prophets, the "woe" was an anathema. It carried the meaning of divine curses. The woe is even employed by Jesus when, in his prophetic office, he curses Chorazin and Bethsaida (cf. Matt. 11:21). When Isaiah brings the divine woe upon himself, he is invoking the anathema of God because he is a "man of unclean lips (v. 5)." He recognizes that in the presence of a being who is absolutely pure he is completely "undone."
What application then does this temple vision have for our worship? FIRST, it should be noted that it is still necessary for those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ to have the "holy tremors" in the presence of God. We are doubly unworthy of God both as finite, creatures and as wretched sinners. Our finiteness causes us to tremble at God's transcendence and our sinfulness causes us to quiver at his absolute, moral purity. The only way for us to stand in this kind of reverential awe is for us to be brought into the presence of the holy. And the only way for us to be brought in the presence of the holy is for us to return to serious, solemn expository preaching.
SECOND, consider that before Isaiah appreciated his justification, he had to recognize the horror of his condition. In verses 6 and 7, we have a beautiful display of justification as Isaiah's guilt is removed when the coal from the altar is placed on his lips. The wonder and awe of justification is not fully experienced, however, until the horror and terror of our undone state is recognized. We recognize our horror and God's holiness when we catch a glimpse of God's moral perfections as contained in the law. Though it has become unpopular in many evangelical churches, a proper exposition of the law will drive us to the cross. In many churches of the past, the law was a vital part of the corporate worship service as a means of directing the congregants to the great divide that exists between our holiness and God's.
FINALLY, the entirety of the passage is radically, God-centered. Isaiah is not the central figure in this passage but God is. Instead of extolling God, most modern preaching has become man-centered. It is concerned with addressing man's "felt-needs." In reality, man has one need and that is for God. I pray that we would recapture this God-saturated, Biblical vision of trembling before the Almighty. Soli deo gloria!
Showing posts with label Holiness of God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holiness of God. Show all posts
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The Holiness of God- Part One
The scene is a familiar one. A witless, young blonde opens a door to find a dark stairwell that leads down to an old basement. She begins to fumble down the stairs while the audience knows all too well that something strange and sinister lurks below.
In every culture, there exists some idea of the holy. This is due to the fact that within every human there is an innate desire to feel terror. It is a strange phenomenon that theologians have called the mysterium tremendum, or the "overwhelming mystery." We seek to satisfy this desire whether it be through the Hollywood, horror slasher or through telling ghost stories by the campfire. In Scripture, God is portrayed as the being who evokes "overwhelming mystery." If we lose this concept of God as holy and mysterious, we will replace it with something that will make the hair stand on the back of our necks.
In the modern church, the holy tremors have all but vanished. In its place, we have adopted a casual, cavalier attitude towards the Sovereign of the universe. The slogan, "Jesus is my homeboy" has become so ubiquitous that the concept of God as transcendent and holy is nearly unintelligible. God is imminent but he is not imminent to the exclusion of his transcendence. We must recapture the Biblical picture of God as "high and lifted up" (cf. Is. 6:1) if we are expected to encounter God in this generation.
To gain an understanding of the holiness of God, let us look to Scripture where men had real encounters with the holy. Such a visible manifestation of God's presence is often called by theologians a theophany. One such theophany is recorded for us in Isaiah 6:1-7:
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!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
The theophany
Chapter six unfolds with a majestic manifestation of God. Isaiah records that he saw the Lord "high and lifted up" and "the train of his robe filled the temple." The temple spoken of here is not the earthly temple but the heavenly temple. Isaiah is seeing God exalted in the heavens! "The train of his robe filled the temple" signifies the majesty of God. Seraphim fly about the throne of the Lord, covering their faces because angelic beings have no glory that can compare with God. The cry of the seraphim is that of "Holy, Holy, Holy" and it is known as the trihagion. God is holy. Why would it not suffice for the angelic beings just to cry holy once? It should be noted that in the Hebrew language, repetition is used for emphasis. However, this is not a complete answer. The reason that the angelic beings cry "Holy" thrice is because God is thrice holy. And God is thrice holy because God is tripersonal. God is holy-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To be enraptured with the holiness of God, is to be enraptured with the holiness of the Trinity. Let us examine closely what is meant by the term "holy."
The two meanings of holy
When we speak of holiness, we should be careful to distinguish its two meanings. Its primary meaning has to do with transcendence. God is separate from his creation. This meaning does not involve the idea of moral purity. If the idea of holiness were exclusively moral purity then only humans would reckon God as holy. For the seraphim were morally pure, yet we have just read that they had to cover their faces and feet and cry out, "Holy!" It is because God is transcendent and distinct from his creation. As such, the creation falls in reverential awe of him.
The text continues in v. 4 and we read "the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke." We will look next time at the secondary definition of holiness and how Isaiah reacted in the presence of a being with absolute moral purity.
In every culture, there exists some idea of the holy. This is due to the fact that within every human there is an innate desire to feel terror. It is a strange phenomenon that theologians have called the mysterium tremendum, or the "overwhelming mystery." We seek to satisfy this desire whether it be through the Hollywood, horror slasher or through telling ghost stories by the campfire. In Scripture, God is portrayed as the being who evokes "overwhelming mystery." If we lose this concept of God as holy and mysterious, we will replace it with something that will make the hair stand on the back of our necks.
In the modern church, the holy tremors have all but vanished. In its place, we have adopted a casual, cavalier attitude towards the Sovereign of the universe. The slogan, "Jesus is my homeboy" has become so ubiquitous that the concept of God as transcendent and holy is nearly unintelligible. God is imminent but he is not imminent to the exclusion of his transcendence. We must recapture the Biblical picture of God as "high and lifted up" (cf. Is. 6:1) if we are expected to encounter God in this generation.
To gain an understanding of the holiness of God, let us look to Scripture where men had real encounters with the holy. Such a visible manifestation of God's presence is often called by theologians a theophany. One such theophany is recorded for us in Isaiah 6:1-7:
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!” Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”
The theophany
Chapter six unfolds with a majestic manifestation of God. Isaiah records that he saw the Lord "high and lifted up" and "the train of his robe filled the temple." The temple spoken of here is not the earthly temple but the heavenly temple. Isaiah is seeing God exalted in the heavens! "The train of his robe filled the temple" signifies the majesty of God. Seraphim fly about the throne of the Lord, covering their faces because angelic beings have no glory that can compare with God. The cry of the seraphim is that of "Holy, Holy, Holy" and it is known as the trihagion. God is holy. Why would it not suffice for the angelic beings just to cry holy once? It should be noted that in the Hebrew language, repetition is used for emphasis. However, this is not a complete answer. The reason that the angelic beings cry "Holy" thrice is because God is thrice holy. And God is thrice holy because God is tripersonal. God is holy-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To be enraptured with the holiness of God, is to be enraptured with the holiness of the Trinity. Let us examine closely what is meant by the term "holy."
The two meanings of holy
When we speak of holiness, we should be careful to distinguish its two meanings. Its primary meaning has to do with transcendence. God is separate from his creation. This meaning does not involve the idea of moral purity. If the idea of holiness were exclusively moral purity then only humans would reckon God as holy. For the seraphim were morally pure, yet we have just read that they had to cover their faces and feet and cry out, "Holy!" It is because God is transcendent and distinct from his creation. As such, the creation falls in reverential awe of him.
The text continues in v. 4 and we read "the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke." We will look next time at the secondary definition of holiness and how Isaiah reacted in the presence of a being with absolute moral purity.
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