Revelation 4 Holy
Theological Proposition/Focus: God is Holy.
Homiletical Proposition/Application: God's holiness should drive us to seek to be set apart for his purposes.
Contents
- 1 Introduction:
- 1.1 Setting the Stage:
- 1.1.1 Image: The best way to get to know someone is to visit them in their home and learn about them on their turf.
- 1.1.2 Revelation 4 begins with a glimpse of the throne room in heaven.
- 1.1.3 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.
- 1.1 Setting the Stage:
- 2 Body
- 2.1 The picture of God's throne room conveys transcendence (Revelation 4:1-7)
- 2.1.1 God invited John to witness his holiness (1-3)
- 2.1.2 The inhabitants of God's throne room transcend imagination (4-7)
- 2.1.3 Isaiah's experience in God's throne room stretches our imagination (Isa. 6:1-2)
- 2.1.4 MTR: Ask yourself, how does the picture of God's throne room help me to better understand God's transcendence?
- 2.2 The activities in God's throne room convey complete holiness (Revelation 4:8-11)
- 2.2.1 The three-fold declaration of God's holiness reminds us that God is eternally God (8).
- 2.2.2 Isaiah's account reminds us that us that God is unlike anything else we know (Isa. 6:3).
- 2.2.3 The 24 elders remind us that God's holiness should lead us to action (9-11).
- 2.2.4 MTR: Take a minute and recite Revelation 4:11 with me.
- 2.3 God's holiness should be both terrifying and motivating (Isa. 6:4-8)
- 2.3.1 When we begin to realize God's holiness we are driven to cry "woe is me!" (4-6).
- 2.3.2 When we begin to realize the significance of our salvation we are driven to cry "Here I am, use me!" (7-8).
- 2.3.3 Ultimately, God invites us to be part of a restoration that can only be the work of a truly holy God (Isa. 55:6-13).
- 2.3.4 MTR: Join me in recognizing your sin and then boldly stepping out to declare "Here I am, use me!"
- 2.4 Conclusion: God's holiness should drive us to seek to be set-apart for God
- 2.1 The picture of God's throne room conveys transcendence (Revelation 4:1-7)
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 (Revelation 4:1-7)
God invited John to witness his holiness (1-3)
The inhabitants of God's throne room transcend imagination (4-7)
Isaiah's experience in God's throne room stretches our imagination (Isa. 6:1-2)
MTR: Ask yourself, how does the picture of God's throne room help me to better understand God's transcendence?
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).
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.
The 24 elders remind us that God's holiness should lead us to action (9-11).
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!" (4-6).
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.[1]
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 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)[2]
