What does it mean that God is holy?

Coming now to the attributes more directly connected with the moral nature of God, we meet with holiness and justice, out of which necessarily arise all those rich elements, which come out in His moral government. In His activities among men, we see sovereignty, goodness, truth, mercy and compassion, but all characterised by the moral purity of His holiness, and the rectitude of His justice. Holiness is His intrinsic moral purity. "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" (Hab. 1:13). It has been defined as God's perfect satisfaction with Himself in the power of all-satisfying good; and may be said to inhere in His nature. Justice or righteousness is more external, as being characteristic of God in all He says and does. It is His perfect consistency with Himself in both word and act. It brings us to the great scope of His moral government. Holiness may be said to be the standard to which all must be brought, and justice the mode of action which leads to that standard.

The holiness of God, in the very nature of things, is bound to call forth punishment for sin. "Our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). "Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hand from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil" (Isa. 33:14-15). See the attitude and language of the Seraphim as they stand round the Throne of the majesty representative of creation. "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of Hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isa. 6:3). In His mercy sinners are forgiven, but sin is not condoned. "Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God, Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the Lord our God is holy!" (Psalm 99:8-9).

When I speak of what is holy, it is not judicial authority, as in the case of righteousness, but what purity of nature abhors and rejects, or delights in. Righteous and holy are the attributes which attach themselves to the moral nature of God and His supreme authority.

Again, as the symbol of what God is, light is transparent, perfectly transparent. It is thus the symbol of intrinsic purity, of God's moral character. To say "God is light," is to say He is holy; not only relatively, but absolutely so. His holiness is essential, intrinsic. This means He is able to preserve Himself as He is. As light is unchangeable; so is God incorruptible, untarnishable; it is impossible for any moral poison to come into His moral nature. No evil, no sin can ever originate or be in Him. What He is in moral nature and character He has ever been and must ever be. He cannot be deceived; "cannot be tempted with evil" (James 1:13). "God is light" tells us that His moral discernment is absolutely perfect. It is a moral impossibility for God to look complacently upon sin. He cannot behold iniquity (Hab. 1:13). If, then, His perceptions are unerring, His moral discernment absolutely perfect, His judgments must be right. He must perfectly resent everything that is contrary to what He is in His own nature. He can never compromise with what is against or in opposition to His character. That He is light is the assurance and guarantee of all this.

The name "Holy One of Israel" implies that the God of Israel is completely separated from all evil for He is of purer eyes than to behold evil. This is also what the seraphim express who exclaim in front of His throne: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts" (compare Rev. 4:8).

Holiness has been described as "a nature that delights in purity, and which repels evil." Adam and Eve were 'innocent,' not holy; for though they might have delighted in purity, they did not repel the evil of Satan. God is ever holy; in heaven there is no evil to separate from, and He was holy, consistent with His perfection in everything, before there was any evil. The Spirit is the Holy Spirit though He is down here where sin is, and the Lord Jesus when in this sinful world was holy, harmless, and undefiled. God is called 'the Holy One of Israel,' Isa. 30:15, etc., and the Lord Jesus 'the Holy One.' Mark 1:24; Acts 3:14.

NOTE. - We never (save the sanctifying the seventh day) get holiness brought out as an attribute of God, nor of anything in connection with Him in the book of Genesis. But it is a mistake to suppose that it is the law which makes the difference, as if it expressed God's personal character; in us holiness must be holiness to the Lord. God is holy because He abhors evil, and delights in good according to His nature, but we can be nothing but evil without being consecrated to God - all else is evil.

Holiness, on the other hand, is the abhorrence, in the nature, of what is evil, and delight in what is good and pure, and, when we speak of men, God having His own full place in our hearts, as in God it is His separation from all evil, and abhorrence of it. One is connected with judicial title, the other with the delights of the nature.

Righteousness is perfectness in, or consistency with the relationship in which anyone stands; evil and good being known. Holiness, the aspect of heart, which intrinsic purity of nature bears towards other things, according to their character. We may speak of things as holy when entirely set apart to God, and separated from all profane use; but properly it applies to persons expressing their abhorrence of evil and delight in that which is pure and good. God is holy in Himself, abhorring evil and delighting in what answers to His perfect nature. The creature can only be holy as separated to God in what He is in His perfectness, because its nature can have no true and perfect object but Him, and its object gives its character to a nature in a creature, and holiness is the expression of a nature, not the obligation of a relationship. We are holy as far as every movement of thought answers to the impress and character of God, having Him for its object. Anything taken up in itself, apart from Him, is necessarily independency and sin. So far God is set aside. We have no object which makes the heart right but Him. Although we cannot leave God out as the author of, and as giving authority to, the relations in which we stand; yet, as we are placed in certain relationships, righteousness has somewhat more extensive range, though as a sanction God must be brought in. But whenever a relationship owned of God exists, it is unrighteous not to act up to it: not to be faithful to obligation in it.

Holiness may be distinguished from righteousness thus: the latter is consistency in one's relationships; the former is an inherent abhorrence of iniquity, and delight in what is excellent and good. Measured by such a standard as this, every member of our fallen race stands disqualified by nature for the presence of God. In this "there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). It would be as reasonable to expect to gather figs of thistles, or grapes of thorns as to look for natural holiness in a single scion of the first man. It is the beginning of good things with a man when this is frankly and humbly acknowledged before God.

Holiness is connected with the nature of God. It has been said that an appreciation of righteousness would hinder me from doing wrong, whereas holiness would give me the desire not to do it.