Watch the video above and talk about it with a group or mentor. Learn more.
Holiness Is About Uniqueness
When most people think about the concept of holiness they connect it with the idea of being morally good. God is holy because he is perfect. But in the Bible, the idea of holiness is even bigger and richer. What it is really describing is how God is the creative force behind the universe, the only one powerful enough to make such beauty and life. All these abilities make God utterly unique, which is the meaning of the word “holy.” The Hebrew root of the word “holy” comes from an older word meaning “to set apart.”
God Is Good, But He Is Not “Safe”
A helpful way to think about God’s holiness is by using the sun as a metaphor. The sun is unique. It is powerful and is the source of life on our planet. We could say that the sun is holy and could also say that the area around the sun is also holy. The same power and goodness that generates life is also dangerous. Being too close to the sun would kill a person. But this is not because it is bad, it is because it is so good. We see this same paradox with God. If you are impure, his holiness can be dangerous to you. Again, not because he is bad, it is because he is so good.
“Aslan is a lion- the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he-quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion”…”Safe?” said Mr. Beaver …”Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.’ ” -C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
This paradox is shown in a number of places in the Bible. When Moses encounters God’s presence in the Old Testament (OT), he is told to take off his sandals and is also told not to come any closer. Moses covers his face in fear. This concept of God’s holiness is also explained through the temple. The temple was the main place where God’s holiness was located. In order to come into God’s presence, a person needed to be morally and ritually pure. The Book of Leviticus had rules explaining how to become pure and what to do if you were impure and wanted to become pure again. It would be dangerous, even deadly, to come into God’s holy temple while being impure.
God’s Power Transforms Us
Later, this same concept is explored in a vision by the OT prophet Isaiah. In his vision, he sees a seraph coming to him with a hot coal. Isaiah is fearful because he knows he is sinful. The angel touches his lips with the coal and then says that Isaiah’s guilt is taken away and that his sin is atoned for. Usually, if you touch something impure, that impurity is transferred to you. This is not the case here. A pure thing, the hot coal, transferred its purity to Isaiah. He is not destroyed but transformed.
Another prophet, Ezekiel, had a vision where he stood by the temple. He saw a trickle of water coming out of it that became a stream, then a river that flowed into the Dead Sea. Wherever it travels it brings life, and trees and growth. God’s holiness is coming out of the temple, making things pure and bringing them to life.
Jesus Christ Fulfills the Ancient Visions of God’s Holiness
Jesus is the fulfillment of all these ancient visions in surprising ways. Jesus touched impure people. Instead of their impurity being transferred to Jesus, his purity transferred to them and they were healed of all sorts of diseases. Jesus was like the burning coal, the embodiment of God’s own holiness. Jesus claimed that he and his followers were God’s holy temple. Through them, God’s holy presence would go out into the world and bring life and healing and hope. The Bible ends with a final vision of God’s holiness. John sees the whole world becoming new. The entire earth would now be God’s temple. God will remove all impurity, and everything will be holy as God always intended.
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- What comes to your mind when you hear the word “holy”? How does its biblical meaning differ from our cultural meaning?
- How is holiness rooted in an understanding of God’s character? How is God’s holiness both good and dangerous at the same time?
- What is the significance of Isaiah’s vision in comparison to the tabernacle/temple system established by Leviticus? How does his vision reveals God’s heart for people who are unclean?
- How does this help you understand the importance of the kind of people that Jesus would heal? What kind of impact would these healings have had in the Jewish culture of Jesus’ time?
- Read 1 Peter 2:1-10: How do all the images of temple, holiness, priests, and the church come together? What does this reveal about God’s holiness? How does this raise the bar of holiness for a follower of Jesus?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
