SYNOPSIS: The saints in the Bible knew of God’s holiness. When God passed by Moses in the cleft of the rock, Moses tasted the holiness of God. When Elijah called down fire from heaven on the false prophets, the people saw the holiness of God. When Ananias and Saphira were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit, the church knew the holiness of God. But other than a relatively few cautionary tales, the New Covenant people were somehow able to partake in the holiness of God without being consumed by it. I wish that for you—and for me, too—that we could partake in God’s holiness without being consumed by it. I am not sure how we can come into that kind of experience—and perhaps I don’t really know what I am asking for—but there is something deep within my spirit that cries out to know God in his holiness. May God grant us a deeper, transformational revelation of Divine holiness so we can truly worship him in the splendor of his holiness.
Moments With God // Psalm 96:7-9
O nations of the world, recognize the Lord; recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory he deserves! Bring your offering and come into his courts. Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him. Tell all the nations, “The Lord reigns!” The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly.
I don’t know that we really “get” the holiness of God. And that’s too bad. We throw that term around a lot—holiness—and we have a sense that his holiness is not to be trifled with, but I don’t think we know how to wrap our minds around the concept.
We know God as a loving Father—guiding, providing, and protecting. That one is easier to absorb, at least in theory. We know God as revealed through his Son, Jesus—compassionate, servant-hearted, gentle, and caring. We know God through the infilling of the Holy Spirit—empowering, energizing, and enabling us to do his bidding. But the holiness of God—do we really know him that way?
The saints of old did. When God passed by Moses in the cleft of the rock, Moses tasted the holiness of God. When Elijah called down fire from heaven on the false prophets, the people saw the holiness of God. When Ananias and Saphira were struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit, the church knew the holiness of God. But other than a relatively few cautionary tales, the New Covenant people were somehow able to partake in the holiness of God without being consumed by it.
I wish that for you—and for me, too—that we could partake in God’s holiness without being consumed by it. I am not sure how we can come into that kind of experience—and perhaps I don’t really know what I am asking for—but there is something deep within my spirit that cries out to know God in his holiness.
May God grant us a deeper, transformational revelation of Divine holiness beyond the positional holiness imputed to us at salvation and the empirical holiness of our obedience to Christ so that we can truly worship him in the splendor of his holiness.
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