The Attributes

of God
Attribute:
a quality or feature regarded as a
characteristic or inherent part of
someone or something

Thursday 13 January 2011

 The Holiness
of God

Thursday 13 January 2011

 Since the sin of Adam we
have found it difficult to tune
into the “God Channel” - like a
poorly focussed picture our
perception is simply not
clear. Part of this continues
even when we get born again
due to the fact God is so
different to mankind.
God’s holiness is one thing
that highlights how different
we are to God.

Thursday 13 January 2011

 “God’s holiness is his intrinsic and
transcendent purity, the standard of
righteousness to which the whole
universe must conform”
Tony Evans
God is the standard for creation - all else must
conform to him, not vice versa - bad is bad in
the light of God’s holy standard. We shall look
at 5 aspects of God’s holiness.

Thursday 13 January 2011

1. God’s Central Attribute
Holiness is the
centrepiece of God’s
attributes. Of all he
is, God at the centre
of his being is holy.
Exodus 15 will form
the basis for this
section.

Thursday 13 January 2011

1.a. Majestic in Holiness
Moses uses poetic language to describe the
deliverance of the people - and then sums it
all up in verse 11 - there he says if you want
to understand God’s actions you have to
understand them in concert with his
holiness.
Ex 15:8-11 By the blast of your nostrils the
waters piled up. The surging waters stood up
like a wall; the deep waters congealed in the
heart of the sea. 9 The enemy boasted, ‘I will
pursue, I will overtake them.

Thursday 13 January 2011

 I will divide the spoils; I will
gorge myself on them. I will
draw my sword and my
hand will destroy them.’
10 But you blew with your
breath, and the sea covered
them. They sank like lead in
the mighty waters.
11 Who among the gods is
like you, LORD? Who is
like you— majestic in
holiness, awesome in
glory, working wonders

Thursday 13 January 2011

1.b. The key to God’s nature
God’s holiness unlocks the
door to understanding and
making sense out of
everything else about him.
This attribute infiltrates every
other attribute - his love is
holy love, his omniscience is
holy omniscience, his
omnipresence is holy
omnipresence - every aspect
of his nature is infiltrated by
holiness

Thursday 13 January 2011

 Often God is called “the Holy One”
Luke 1:49 -the Mighty One has done great
things for me—holy is his name.
Isa 6:3 - “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD
Almighty; the whole earth is full of his
glory.”
(not love, truth, power etc. x3)

Thursday 13 January 2011

Thursday 13 January 2011
Ps 89:35 - Once for all, I have
sworn by my holiness
Why swear by his holiness -
because it is the fullest
expression of God’s character
Rom 7:12
Lev 19:2 - 2 “Speak to the entire
assembly of Israel and say to
them: ‘Be holy because I, the
LORD your God, am holy.
Holiness is the defining part of
how God is - the centrepiece of
who he is.

Thursday 13 January 2011

2. God’s Holiness Separates Him
from Creation
Isa 57:15 -For this is what
the high and exalted One
says— he who lives forever,
whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy
place, but also with the one
who is contrite and lowly in
spirit, to revive the spirit of
the lowly and to revive the
heart of the contrite.

Thursday 13 January 2011

 Holy - Hebrew word
means separate - we get
saint and sanctified - all
mean to be distinct or
separate.
God is high and exalted,
distinct from all creation

Thursday 13 January 2011

2.a. Perfect in Holiness
Hence Exodus 3:5 - remove
your shoes,
1 John 1:5 -God is light; in
him there is no darkness at all.
James 1:13-14 - When
tempted, no one should say,
“God is tempting me.” For God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor
does he tempt anyone;
There is no sin or darkness in Deveronvale Perfection: world
record price for a sheep
God
£231,000

Thursday 13 January 2011

2.b. No Degrees of Sin
We grade sin in people -
really bad, not too bad, ok,
not perfect but pretty
good...
God has no degrees of sin
but different sins have
differing consequences:
Murder and telling a lie
are both sin but have very
differing results

Thursday 13 January 2011

God does is perfect and
does not grade sin.
From God’s holy
perspective all have
sinned, there is none that
is righteous - Rom 3:10, 23
All evil and wickedness
are the same before God
We might look and think
that the sin is different but
it is all sin before a holy
God.

Thursday 13 January 2011

2.c. Encountering a Holy God
When people encounter God
they see his holiness.
Hab 3:16- I heard and my heart
pounded, my lips quivered at
the sound; decay crept into my
bones, and my legs trembled.
Isaiah sees God and says (6:5)
“woe is me!”
God’s holiness requires us to be
humble - to hallow his name.
Do you act with more respect
to people than you do to God?

Thursday 13 January 2011

3. God’s Holiness and Sin
God’s holiness demands that he judges sin: Rev
16:1-5 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple
saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out the seven
bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.” The first angel went
and poured out his bowl on the land, and ugly, festering
sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the
beast and worshiped its image. The second angel
poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood
like that of a dead person, and every living thing in the
sea died. The third angel poured out his bowl on the
rivers and springs of water, and they became blood. 5
Then I heard the angel in charge of the waters say:
“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who
are and who were;
Thursday 13 January 2011
 3.b. Natural and Necessary
God’s holiness means he
cannot ignore sin - sin is
taken seriously and will be
judged. Holiness and health
go together as do
unholiness and decay:
1 Cor 11:30 - That is why
many among you are weak
and sick, and a number of
you have fallen asleep.
James 5:13-16

Thursday 13 January 2011

3.b. Comprehensive
God will judge both men and
angels, including the devil -
Matt 25:41
Note that satan does not rule
hell (though it was made by God
for satan, not for humans), he is
cast there by God.
God’s holiness is awesome;
Heb 12:29 -for our “God is a
consuming fire.”
Look at the effects of one sin -
Adam & Eve, Cain, Moses,
Elijah’s servant, Ananias &
Sapphira...
Thursday 13 January 2011
3.c. God Loves the Sinner
In spite of hating sin, God
does not wipe us all out - he
still passionately loves the
sinner. He wants to destroy
sin whilst keeping the
sinner - like killing cancer
but keeping the patient.
However look at Exodus
19:18-21 and see the effect
of God’s holiness

Thursday 13 January 2011

 Mount Sinai was covered with
smoke, because the LORD
descended on it in fire. The
smoke billowed up from it like
smoke from a furnace, and the
whole mountain trembled
violently...The LORD descended
to the top of Mount Sinai and
called Moses to the top of the
mountain. So Moses went up
and the LORD said to him, “Go
down and warn the people so
they do not force their way
through to see the LORD and
many of them perish.
Thursday 13 January 2011
4. God’s Holiness and His Terms
Holiness means we approach God as he says -
this is what Hebrews is all about. Old and
New Covenants are contrasted, we see only
shedding of blood makes restitution possible.
Heb 9:22 -the law requires that nearly
everything be cleansed with blood, and
without the shedding of blood there is no
forgiveness.
When Adam & Eve sinned God killed an
animal to make covering for them -
physically and redemptively.

Thursday 13 January 2011

 Exodus 20:4-5 - “You
shall not make for
yourself an image in
the form of anything in
heaven above or on the
earth beneath or in the
waters below. You shall
not bow down to them
or worship them; for I,
the LORD your God, am
a jealous God,”

Thursday 13 January 2011

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4.a. Israel’s and Our Tabernacle
Entry was restricted to
the OT tabernacle - three
curtains, entry was by
the shedding of blood -
you did not just enter,
God’s holiness meant you
had to be allowed to go in.
For us Jesus has made
the entry possible - Heb
9:24-28 - Because of
Jesus we are allowed
entry into God’s holy
presence - Eph 2:18
Thursday 13 January 2011
5. God’s Holiness and our Lifestyle
God has expectations of
us:
1 Peter 1:14-16
As obedient children, do
not conform to the evil
desires you had when
you lived in ignorance.
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.”
Thursday 13 January 2011
5.a. Pleasing our God
2 Tim 2:19 -19 - “Everyone
who confesses the name of the
Lord must turn away from
wickedness.”
Heb 12:10 -God disciplines us
for our good, in order that we
may share in his holiness.
Remember if (when) you fail -
1John 1:8-9
If you feel more sinful each
year it might be you are now
seeing more of God and his
holiness.

Thursday 13 January 2011

5.b. Pursuing Holiness and Getting
Clean
Make sure you are building
well on the foundation of
Jesus Christ - live a life in
keeping with the royal
position you have been
called into - live in
repentance as the Holy
Spirit reveals things to you.
Acknowledge God’s holiness
like Isaiah and pray as
David did, “create in me a
clean heart”
Thursday 13 January 2011
 Responding to the Holiness of God
1. Are you living God’s
holiness each day - listen to
the conversations you are
involved in, consider what
your eyes look at, and what
you think about.
2. Let God deal with the
people around you - you
don’t know what he is doing
in their lives.
3. Pray that 1 Peter 1:15-16
will be a daily reality in
your life.
Thursday 13 January 2011