Revision as of 17:30, 3 October 2022

Theological Proposition/Focus: God is Holy.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: God's holiness should drive us to seek to be set apart for his purposes.

Introduction:

Fundamental to our faith is the doctrine of God. We are going to spend several weeks on the doctrine of God. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 Article 2 states

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all-powerful and all-knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

Today we will focus on the phrase God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections.

Setting the Stage:

There are concepts that are hard to understand or hard to imagine. I think holiness is one of those concepts. Holiness transcends us and is very difficult for us to comprehend. However, God does give us glimpses of his holiness throughout Scripture. We are going to study one such glimpse.

Image: The best way to get to know someone is to visit them in their home and learn about them on their turf.

Seriously, think about it. I could tell you that my house is messy, but do you really know what that means to me? I could tell you that Emily is a minimalist and does not like to have much up on the walls or on horizontal surfaces but do you know what that really looks like? No, if you want to really understand you come and visit.

If we want to understand God's holiness then it makes sense to start by looking at God in his throne room in heaven. Looking into God's throne room gives us the opportunity to see God in his place as the King of kings.

Revelation 4 begins with a glimpse of the throne room in heaven.

The throne room here in Revelation 4 is significant because the throne room is the place from which the proper perspective of all that is happening and will happen can be found.

4:1-11 and 5:1-14 are a two-part vision, part 1 is God on his throne, part 2 is the worthiness of the slain lamb.

Join me as we enter God's throne room and receive a glimpse of the holiness of God.

Body

The picture of God's throne room conveys transcendence and immanence (Revelation 4:1-7)

When we say that God is immanent we mean that God is within or near to the entire created universe. That is God chooses to operate and be present in his creation.

God's invitation to witness His holiness (1-3)

First notice the open door, symbolic, Heaven may seem distant but pervades all that happens on earth.

The open door is not locked, is not shut but stands starkly open. The idea here is that God and his throne are not some far-off distant place.

Second notice the invitation is from Christ (the one speaking like a trumpet Rev. 1:10-18).

The invitation to enter God's presence comes from Christ.

1 Tim 2:5 tell us there is one mediator between God and man.

Heb. 1:3 reminds us that it is Christ who is the radiance of God's glory.

Christ is the one who ultimately reveals God to us. Christ was the one who invited John to see the throne room.

In verse 2 John invites us to witness the unfolding story by stating that there was someone sitting on the throne (without telling us who).

We are supposed to feel suspense here. We are supposed to wonder what is going to happen next, and while we know who it will be, we can't help but feel the anticipation.

The description of the one seated reminds us of Ezekiel's description in Ezek. 1:25-28

In John's unfolding account we are to begin to recognize this as none other than the God of the Old Testament.

Greek word for Jasper - a greenish opaque stone (other colors possible)

Greek word for Ruby - reddish brown or orange stone

Greek word for emerald - a bright green gem that you are familiar with.

Probably no individual significance but collectively portray great value and beauty.

Notice that in contrast to the rainbows we know, this rainbow seems to be of a single color.

Whatever is going on here, the point is that we should be impressed with the unimaginable beauty.

God's beauty transcends imagination but also

The inhabitants of God's throne room transcend imagination while remaining consistent with the God we know (4-7).

The 24 elders described here play a prominent role in John's descriptions of the heavenly scene. However,

while prominent, the elders are not identified, and their identity is insignificant in the presence of God.

This is important, theologians have debated the identity of the 24 elders. I don't know what we are supposed to know. The point is not who these men are, the point is God. We must never trade a lesser for a greater. God is our greater and our focus must be on him.

The white garments and crowns remind us of the need for purity and God's reward for his people.

The presence of thunder and lightning represents God's awesome presence (similar to Sinai).

Describing God in this way reminds us of Sinai and also other theophanies (Judges 5:4-5; Psalm 18:7-15; 68:7-8; 77:18; Isa. 13:13; 64:2-4; Jer. 10:10; Hag 2:6-7).

The seven torches represent the seven spirits which refer to the completeness of the Holy Spirit see also 1:4 and 5:6 .

The glass sea reminds us again of Ezekiel's vision in Ezek. 1:22 and Exod. 24:8 where God under God's feet is a clear floor.

The four living creatures are reminiscent of Ezekiel 1 and are unlike anything we know but also resemble things we do know.

Isaiah's experience in God's throne room stretches our imagination (Isa. 6:1-2)

Three Things stood out to Isaiah.

God was high and exalted.

God's position was higher than any earthly king. The people of Israel needed to know that God superseded their ideas and rulers.

God was seated on a throne.

The picture here is that God has his own throne. The Israelites had the Ark of the Covenant topped by cherubim and God's glory was evident there but Isaiah was shown that God is much more than just some glory between two cherubim.

The train of his robe filled the temple.

God's royalty and majesty are unimaginable.

The Seraphim are distinct angelic beings who are only mentioned here.

Image: Transcendental numbers transcend but are not imaginary.

Okay, bear with the number theorist here for just a second. The number pi is called transcendental. It is a real number but no ordinary numbers can touch it. Specifically, it cannot be the solution to any polynomial equation (whatever that means). Realistically, what it means is that the number pi is unlike other numbers. It is still a real number, as opposed ot imaginary, but anytime you try to make sense of it with other real numbers you run into problems. When we say that God transcends us we are saying that any attempt to describe God, to understand his holiness, will inevitably fall short. That doesn't mean we don't try. Just like pi is not 3.14 but knowing pi is like 3.14 is useful, so any metaphor of God will fall short but is still useful.

MTR: Ask yourself, how does the picture of God's throne room help me to better understand God's transcendence snd imminence?

The activities in God's throne room convey complete holiness (Revelation 4:8-11)

The three-fold declaration of God's holiness reminds us that God is eternally God (8).

Repeating a term three times can be used to signify completeness (e.g. Jer. 22:29; Ezek 21:27).

The Greek word ἅγιος means something separated for God.

Isaiah's account reminds us that us that God is unlike anything else we know (Isa. 6:3).

The Hebrew word קָדֹ֧ושׁ means separate.

Joh's title's for God tell us more.

Lord God Almighty - God's absolute dominion over all.

Who was, who is, and who is to come - recalls God's self-existence, the I Am of Exod. 3:14.

The holiness of God speaks to God’s existence as completely separate from his creation and, at the same time, to his pure and utterly incorruptible nature... Throughout the Bible, God’s holiness is the basis for our understanding of his existence outside of time and space. And yet, somewhat surprisingly, the Bible continually pictures his holy presence as manifesting within and even dwelling among his people (Carroll).^[1]

The 24 elders remind us that God's holiness should lead us to action (9-11).

Falling down or prostrating is a sign of humble adoration.

The laying down of the crowns reminds us that any creaturely honor is completely dependent on God.

The song of the elders declares that God is

Worthy of - can speak both to worth and being fit for honor

glory - prestige

honor - great value

power - strength and force

The song of the elders gives one of the many reasons God is worthy - creation and sustenance

MTR: Take a minute and recite Revelation 4:11 with me.

God's holiness should be both terrifying and motivating (Isa. 6:4-8)

When we begin to realize God's holiness we are driven to cry "woe is me!" (4-4).

Image: The value of a measuring stick.

Have you ever tried to build something just eyeballing it? Most of you probably say, no that sounds like a dumb idea. Well, I need to admit to you that I have and I will tell you, it is a bad idea. We need a measuring stick.

Paul Tripp states The holiness of God provides the only reliable means of knowing ourselves.^[2]

God's holiness is the only reliable way to understand the exceeding sinfulness of sin.

When we understand the character of God, when we grasp something of His holiness, then we begin to understand the radical character of our sin and helplessness. Helpless sinners can survive only by grace. Our strength is futile in itself; we are spiritually impotent without the assistance of a merciful God. We may dislike giving our attention to God’s wrath and justice, but until we incline ourselves to these aspects of God’s nature, we will never appreciate what has been wrought for us by grace. Even Edwards’s sermon on sinners in God’s hands was not designed to stress the flames of hell. The resounding accent falls not on the fiery pit but on the hands of the God who holds us and rescues us from it. The hands of God are gracious hands. They alone have the power to rescue us from certain destruction. (R. C. Sproul)^[3]

Realization of our sin should drive us to look to God for salvation (6-7).

An intermediary (the Seraphim) touched Isaiah's lips with a coal from the alter.

The symbolic act signified the removal of guilt.

This was an act of God’s grace; Isaiah did nothing to accomplish his atonement. Isaiah offered no sacrifices, did not promise to be a missionary to gain it, and had no power to save himself from certain ruin. To help Isaiah understand that God was removing his guilt, a seraph took a coal from an altar and touched Isaiah’s unclean lips (Smith). ^[4]

Christ provided the ultimate sacrifice.

Understand that we see our sin and should cry out, woe is me. However, we are not left without options. God has provided Christ who can come in and cleanse us from sin. The key is that Jesus died on the cross for our sin. We are called to place our complete trust in his sacrificial death as payment for our sins and then we are cleansed.

When we begin to realize the significance of our salvation we are driven to cry "Here I am, use me!" (7-8).

God's holiness gives us a personal quest in life.

God's holiness gives us a reason to go out on missions.

Image: Mission briefings give motivation.

1 Peter 1:16 commands us Be holy, because I am holy.

Ultimately, God invites us to be part of a restoration that can only be the work of a truly holy God (Rev. 22:1-5).

God is working to restore Eden. That is, the perfect creation that existed before the Fall is the ultimate goal.

Here is what I think is possibly the most amazing truth ever. God is restoring what was lost but more than just restoring. God is going to make it such that the dwelling of God is with man. In the ultimate act of love the transcendent will bring his glory to us to live with us forever.

Actually, what God has for us is God himself dwelling with us (Rev. 21:3-4).

This is worth saying "Here I am, use me!".

MTR: Join me in recognizing your sin and then boldly stepping out to declare "Here I am, use me!"

Conclusion: God's holiness should drive us to seek to be set-apart for God

1. ↑ J. Owen Carroll, “God’s Holiness,” in Lexham Survey of Theology, ed. Mark Ward et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018).
2. ↑ Do You Believe, 111
3. ↑ R.C. Sproul The Holiness of God, 25th ann. ed. (Sanford, FL: Ligonier Ministries, 2010), 221.
4. ↑ Gary V. Smith, Isaiah 1–39, ed. E. Ray Clendenen, The New American Commentary (Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 2007), 192.