When we speak of seeking to gain a greater understanding of God’s holiness, the question bears asking: Just how holy is God? As an infinite being, He is infinitely holy. As an eternal being, He is eternally holy. And therein lies our great dilemma. It is impossible for our temporal, finite minds to fully comprehend the infinite, eternal holiness of God. But me must ascertain to understand it to the extent that we can.
Let us start with the realization that when we say that God is holy, we are saying that He is absolutely pure. There is not even the slightest hint of impurity in Him. He is perfect in all His ways. Since this is His nature, He cannot allow even the slightest evil to come into His presence. Thus, the deserved penalty for violating His holiness is separation from Him. The infinite magnitude of His holiness demands that the separation be total. And the eternality of His holiness demands that the separation be eternal. As sinful creatures, we deserve to be devoid of His presence throughout eternity.
This is all true, but infinity and eternity are indeed lofty words that we cannot truly understand. Our minds grapple and wrestle with them, but we cannot fully wrap our minds around them, thus enabling ourselves to say that we fully comprehend them. These words that we use to describe God’s holiness defy definition. So we need more practical illustrations of His holiness in order for us to gain a deeper understanding and greater awareness of it.
When we think of purity, we often point to an innocent child. A young child has committed no great sin. Children have an innocence about them that we adults long to recover. We wish we could be as innocent as children again. However, a child’s innocence can be attributed to naivety. Young children do not know how to lie, cheat, steal, slander, and kill. However, as they grow up, they become aware of these things and learn how to engage in such behavior, thus losing their innocence.
God is not innocent in this way. He is not naïve about sin. In fact, He is the One who has told us that certain acts are sinful. He recorded them in His law. So to get a more accurate picture of His holiness, let us look at a virgin bride on her wedding day. Perhaps she is 25 to 30 years old. She has had boyfriends in the past. Boyfriends who perhaps have wanted to engage in sexual behavior with her. And, being in love at the time, she was no doubt greatly tempted to give in to them. However, she has resisted the temptation, said no, and kept herself pure for her husband on her wedding day. She is not naïve. Therefore, she is not innocent as a child is. She is more than that. She is pure.
In this example, we begin to see a more accurate picture of God’s holiness. But, alas, it is only an analogy. And when it comes to the nature of God, even the best analogies fall short of truly depicting reality. So do we have any concrete examples of God’s holiness? Can we point to any instances in which God’s holiness was made manifest to Man in a very real manner? Yes, we can. And the first will be discussed tomorrow.