The Holiness of God

What it means

The seraphim call to one another that the Lord of Armies is holy, holy, holy, and that the whole earth is full of his glory. Hebrew repeats a word to intensify it, so a threefold repetition is the strongest statement the language can make.

Why every Christian should know it

Isaiah sees the holiness of God before he hears his own commission. Learn this verse and you learn where worship begins: not with what God does for you, but with who he is apart from you.

Cross references

• Revelation 4:8
• 1 Peter 1:15-16
• Exodus 15:11

Pray it back

Holy Lord, you are set apart from all you have made. Let me never grow casual in your presence.

What it means

Peter tells believers to be holy in all their behaviour, and he grounds the command in a quotation from Leviticus: you shall be holy, for I am holy. The call to holy living is not a new rule; it is God's old word to his own people applied to the church.

Why every Christian should know it

It ties your conduct to God's character rather than to a standard you set for yourself. Holiness stops being self-improvement and becomes family likeness.

Cross references

• Leviticus 11:44
• Hebrews 12:14
• 1 Thessalonians 4:7

Pray it back

Father, you are holy. Make my ordinary hours look like yours, in the places nobody sees.

What it means

Habakkuk says God's eyes are too pure to look on evil and that he cannot look on wrongdoing. The prophet is not stating a doctrine at a distance; he is arguing with God about injustice, and he argues from God's own purity.

Why every Christian should know it

It shows that holiness is something you may plead when the world looks wrong. God's purity is the reason evil cannot last.

Cross references

• Psalms 5:4
• Habakkuk 1:2-4
• Revelation 15:4

Pray it back

Lord, your eyes are pure. When wrong seems to win, hold me to what your holiness guarantees.