HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
July 8th | Pastor Gino
Isaiah 6:3 – “And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!’”
In Isaiah 6, the prophet is granted a breathtaking vision of God’s throne room—a moment of overwhelming majesty. Seraphim, heavenly beings ablaze with reverence, cry out: “Holy, holy, holy.” This is no ordinary praise. In Scripture, repetition is used for emphasis; to repeat something three times is to raise it to the highest degree. God is not simply holy—He is thrice holy—utterly, infinitely, and perfectly holy.
But what does it mean that God is holy? Biblically, holiness refers to being set apart—distinct, sacred, pure. It is moral perfection, the total absence of evil or impurity. Yet it is more than that. God's holiness is not merely one attribute among others—it is the radiance that defines all His attributes. As theologian Herman Bavinck notes, “In Isaiah’s vision, holiness is not a trait among others—it defines all that God is.” Every aspect of God—His love, justice, mercy, wrath, and power—is imbued with holiness. His love is a holy love. His justice, a holy justice. Furthermore, God is not merely holy; He is the Holy One.
This truth carries profound weight for us. When Isaiah beheld God’s holiness, he was overwhelmed. He cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips.” Though a prophet and a man esteemed for righteousness, he was shattered and broken by the holiness of God. And this is the proper response for us all. God’s holiness exposes our sin, strips away our pride, and reveals our desperate need for cleansing.
But the vision does not end in despair. While the holiness of Almighty God exposes sin, He also provides atonement. One of the seraphim flies to Isaiah with a burning coal from the altar and touches his lips, declaring him cleansed. The fire, a symbol of God’s holy presence, also echoes the sacrificial system, where sacrificial offerings for sin were consumed before God. In this act, we glimpse the heart of the gospel.
For us, the atonement has a name: Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God. He bore our unholiness on the cross so that we might be robed in His righteousness. His sacrifice did not merely cover sin—it cleansed it at its core.
Have you encountered the holiness of God? Not as a distant idea, but as a present reality—one that humbles, convicts, and transforms? True worship begins here: with awe, with repentance, and with faith in the cleansing grace of Christ. Let the cry of heaven become the cry of your heart: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!” And may your life reflect His holiness in reverent love and joyful obedience.
