Sermon #20                                                            Series:  Isaiah

 

          Title:       The Essence of God’s Character

          Text:       Isaiah 6:3

          Subject:  The Holiness of God

          Date:      Sunday Evening - August 27, 1989

          Tape #

 

          Introduction:

 

          Take out a pen and piece of paper.  I am going to give you a word.  When I do, I want you to write down the first three words that come into your mind, as synonyms for that word.  Are you ready?  Do you have pen and paper?  Here is the word - God.  Write down the first three words that come to your mind which describe God.

 

          What comes to your mind when you think about God?  What is he like?  What is his character?  That is what I want to preach about tonight.  The title of my message is The Essence of God’s Character.  Let’s read Isaiah 6:1-3.

 

          When Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon his throne, high and lifted up, he heard the seraphims continually chanting one to another and in unison, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”  The seraphims represent God’s messengers, prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors and missionaries.  In every age, in every country, God’s messengers are sent into the world to declare unto men who God is and what he has done, so that men and women might know him, the only true and living God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.  It is this knowledge of God which is eternal life.  All of God’s servants have the same message.  Their message is, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.”  What does this message tell us about the character of God?

 

1.   There are Three Persons in the Godhead.

 

          We worship one God in the trinity of his sacred Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  The Lord of hosts is one God.  But in that one God there are three separate and distinct Persons - (Rev. 4:8).  All God’s messengers are trinitarians (I John 5:7).

 

·        The Work of Grace (Eph. 1:3-14).

·        The Baptism of Christ (Matt. 3:13-17).

·        The Baptismal Formula: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

2.  This great and glorious triune God is the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe.

 

          He is here called “the Lord of hosts.”  That is to say, He is the Lord of all creatures, the Lord of all beings, the Lord of all things.  He who is Lord is Lord of all.  That means, God is in absolute control of all things at all times.  Any man who preaches a god who is something less than a total, absolute sovereign is a false prophet.  And the god he preaches is no God at all.  The God of the Bible is an unrivaled sovereign and all his messengers always declare his glorious sovereignty (Isa. 46:9-11; Dan. 4:35-37; Rom. 9:11-24).

 

3.   And the whole earth is full of the glory of God.

 

          God’s messengers see God’s glory everywhere and declare plainly that everything in God’s creation is but the reflection of his glory and shall be the praise of his glory - (Rev. 4:9-11).

 

·        God’s Creation is full of His Glory.

·        God’s Providence is full of His Glory.

·        God’s Salvation is full of His Glory.

 

4.   But my subject tonight is The Essence of God’s Character.  And the essence of God’s character is holiness.

 

          In all that we believe and preach about God, the essence of it all is this - “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.”  Holiness is not one of God’s many essential attributes, like love, grace, justice, truth, and immutability.  Holiness is the essence of all God’s attributes.

 

          Holiness is his nature.  God is holiness.  And holiness is God!  The holiness of God is God.  When you think of God, the first thing that should come to mind is holiness.  When you think of holiness, the first thing that should come to mind is God.

          But what is holiness?  Usually, we attach the idea of moral purity and perfection to the word “holy.”  And, certainly, anyone who is holy is morally pure and perfect.  But moral purity does not begin to comprehend the meaning of God’s holiness.  Holiness is the transcendence of God.  It is the supreme, absolute greatness of God that sets him apart from and infinitely above all his creatures.

 

Proposition:  Holiness is the whole perfection of God’s infinite being.

 

Divisions:  As I began to prepare for this message, I quickly realized why the books on my shelves offered very little help:  The holiness of God is a subject too great for our peanut brains to comprehend.  The subject is so great that my words about it will be few.  I have no hope of explaining, or even adequately identifying God’s holiness.  I only hope to say enough to cause our hearts to adore, worship, love, and trust our great, holy Lord God.  I am going to make five statements, briefly comment on them, and send you home to worship God in the beauty of his holiness.

 

1.   God Alone Is Essentially Holy.

2.   God Requires All Men To Be Holy, Even As He Is Holy.

3.   God Alone Can Make Unholy Men To Be Perfectly Holy.

4.   The Supreme Revelation Of God’s Holiness Is the Cross Of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

5.   Every Sinner Who Believes On the Lord Jesus Christ Is Perfectly Holy.

 

I.      GOD ALONE IS ESSENTIALLY HOLY.

 

          God’s angels are holy.  And his saints are holy, but not essentially so.  Angels, though fallen, are angels without holiness.  And men, though fallen, are men still, though they have no holiness their holiness and ours is a derived holiness.  But God would not be God, were he not holy.  Holiness is essential to his being.  God is “The Holy One” (Isa. 40:25; Hos. 11:9; I Sam. 2:2; Rev. 15:4).  “Holy and Reverend is his name” (Ps. 111:9).

 

          John Gill wrote, “God only is essentially, originally, underivatively, perfectly, and immutably holy.”

 

          “Holiness in angels and saints is but a quality, but in God it is his essence…God’s holiness and his nature are not two things, they are but one.  God’s holiness is his nature, and God’s nature is his holiness” - (Thomas Brooks).

 

          Holiness is the lustre, glory, and harmony of God’s nature and attributes.  It is “the beauty of the Lord” (Ps. 27:4).  What is wisdom and knowledge without holiness, but tyranny, oppression, and cruelty?  But our God is “glorious in holiness” Ex 15:4).  Holiness is the glory of his being and the beauty of his nature.

 

·        All that God is is Holy.

·        All that God does is Holy - In Creation.

                                                In Providence.

                                               In Redemption.

                                                In Judgment.

 

II.   GOD REQUIRES ALL MEN TO BE HOLY, EVEN AS HE IS HOLY.

 

          The holy God demands holiness.  He cannot and will not accept less than perfect, pure, flawless holiness.  God will not accept sincerity, works of benevolence, repentance, sacrifices, moral reformation, or even faith as a substitute for holiness.  God demands holiness (Matt. 5:20; Heb. 12:14; I Pet. 1:16; Lev. 11:44-45).  God says, “Walk before me, and be thou perfect” (Gen. 17:1).

 

The slightest deviation from perfect holiness ignites the fire of God’s wrath against his creatures.  It was deviation from perfect holiness that :

 

·        Drove Lucifer from Heaven.

·        Drove the Angels into Darkness.

·        Drove Adam from the Garden.

·        Drives men into Hell.

 

          Hear the word of God - It will take something more than a trip down a church aisle, a few tears, a prayer, and decision of your free will to get you into heaven.  If you would enter into heaven’s glory and live forever with God, you must be as good as God.  You must be perfectly holy!

          That means that salvation by the will of man, the works of man, or even the worship of man is an utter impossibility, because you cannot make yourself holy!

 

IV. GOD ALONE CAN MAKE UNHOLY MEN AND WOMEN PERFECTLY HOLY.

 

          Holiness is more than moral reformation, purity of life, and uprightness of heart.  Holiness is nothing less than the complete restoration of manhood to the image and likeness of God.  Holiness is the complete, not partial but complete, conformity of man to the image of God in Christ.

 

          Men talk of practical holiness and living holy lives and of being holy.  And that’s alright, as long as you understand that holiness is not something you produce.  It is something God gives!  Not even faith in Christ produces holiness.  Faith receives holiness.  Faith embraces holiness.  Faith loves holiness.  And faith seeks holiness.  But faith cannot produce holiness.  Holiness is the work of God alone!

 

          The whole purpose of God in the scheme of redemption and grace is to make his people perfectly holy for the glory of his own great name.  Salvation is neither more nor less than God taking that which is common and unclean and making it perfectly holy (Eph. 1:3-6; 5:25-27).

 

          God makes his people holy by the distinct works of grace.

 

A.  We have been made holy positionally, before the law of God in justification by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us - (Rom. 5:19; II Cor. 5:21).

B. We are made holy experimentally, in regeneration and sanctification by the imparting of Christ’s nature to us - (II Pet. 1:4).

C. And we shall be made holy in glorification by the miraculous conformity of our nature, body, soul, and spirit to Christ in the resurrection - (I Cor. 15:51-58; I John 3:1-2).

 

 

IV. THE SUPREME REVELATION OF GOD’S HOLINESS IS THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST (Rom. 3:24-26).

 

          Here, and here alone, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Ps. 85:10).

 

          When I see Jesus Christ, the Son of God, with my sin upon him, suffering the horrible wrath of God, without mercy, I see that God is indeed holy, so holy that he will not allow even his Son to go unpunished when sin is imputed to him, so holy, that he will sacrifice his darling Son to save sinners before he will sacrifice his character!  No wonder the seraphim, looking on the mercy-seat, cried, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!”

 

          What is holiness?  If ever you find out the meaning of substitutionary atonement, you will find out the meaning of holiness!

 

          Illustration: The Chief and the Chicken Thief!

 

V.  Now let me show you one more thing, and I will send you home to worship and adore our great and holy God - EVERY SINNER WHO BELIEVES ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS PERFECTLY HOLY - (Col. 2:9-10).

 

                   With His spotless garments on

                   I am as holy as God’s Son.

 

                   Near, so very near to God,

                   Nearer I cannot be,

                   For in the Person of His Son,

                   I am as near as He!