The Divine Holiness—unapproachable,
incomprehensible, unfathomable, and unattainable.
January’s
Awakening, Day 18
A true love for God must begin with a
delight in his holiness, and not with a delight in any other attribute; for no
other attribute is truly lovely without this.
—Jonathan Edwards
We cannot grasp the true meaning of
the divine holiness by thinking of someone or something very pure and then
raising the concept to the highest degree we are capable of. God’s holiness is
not simply the best we know infinitely bettered. We know nothing like the
divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible and
unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God’s power and
admire His wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine.
—A. W. Tozer
Who
may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Psalm 24:3
NIV
I
am the Lord, who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy,
because I am holy. Leviticus 11:45 NIV
But
just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:
“Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15–16 NIV
The
holiness of God is central to the essence of who God is and that which makes
Him God. Holiness will always be a bit of a mystery till the day we, as redeemed
humanity, are imparted with it once more by God when we receive our glorified
bodies at the Rapture. Only two humans, Adam and Eve, have ever experienced
holiness and know both what it is to have it and what it is to lose it.
Holiness is all or none, there is no in-between, and once it is lost, the only
source is God Himself.
We
may imagine the holiness of God as “wholly otherness.” Holiness separates God
completely and infinitely from every other created thing. His essence
transcends purity and moral perfection and complete righteousness, as God’s
holiness makes it utterly impossible for Him to think any wrong, say any wrong,
or do any wrong. One day when we have our holiness imparted back to us, we will
be able to stand in His holy presence and still be in total awe.
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