Divine Holiness

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.