God's Holiness
When faced with the presence of God, the most common reaction is to his outstanding characteristic of holiness. In Isaiah 6 the seraphim cry out in His presence, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" So Isaiah says: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." The presence of God brings conviction of sin because of His holiness, which is often underestimated.
God's holiness is that character trait by which he is reckoned separate, especially in regards to that which is evil or untruthful. He is spoken of as "dwelling in unapproachable light" 1Tim 6:16 God's holiness expresses His intolerance of the presence of that which is sinful. And thus to be in a right relationship with Him the issue of sin must be dealt with.
Why is God invisible? Why is he spoken of as being in heaven? Because he is holy. God also expresses his holiness in the Law. For God had Moses build the ark of the covenant to represent his presence on earth and place it in the tabernacle which he also instructed Moses to build. It was placed in a special room in the tabernacle - the Most Holy Place, which had a curtain in front of it. The high priest could only enter the Most Holy Place once a year, and not without blood being offered. Those who tried to approach God in an unauthorized manner were killed. (1Sam 6:19) So also he expresses his holiness through the Law in all the restrictions he places on his chosen people as to what they were to eat, wear, and practically every other area of life. In particular his restrictions concerning keeping the Sabbath day holy reflected his extreme holiness. For he commanded death to any of the people of Israel who even so much as picked up sticks on the Sabbath.
God is holy and demands he be approached only on his terms.
When faced with the presence of God, the most common reaction is to his outstanding characteristic of holiness. In Isaiah 6 the seraphim cry out in His presence, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" So Isaiah says: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts." The presence of God brings conviction of sin because of His holiness, which is often underestimated.
God's holiness is that character trait by which he is reckoned separate, especially in regards to that which is evil or untruthful. He is spoken of as "dwelling in unapproachable light" 1Tim 6:16 God's holiness expresses His intolerance of the presence of that which is sinful. And thus to be in a right relationship with Him the issue of sin must be dealt with.
Why is God invisible? Why is he spoken of as being in heaven? Because he is holy. God also expresses his holiness in the Law. For God had Moses build the ark of the covenant to represent his presence on earth and place it in the tabernacle which he also instructed Moses to build. It was placed in a special room in the tabernacle - the Most Holy Place, which had a curtain in front of it. The high priest could only enter the Most Holy Place once a year, and not without blood being offered. Those who tried to approach God in an unauthorized manner were killed. (1Sam 6:19) So also he expresses his holiness through the Law in all the restrictions he places on his chosen people as to what they were to eat, wear, and practically every other area of life. In particular his restrictions concerning keeping the Sabbath day holy reflected his extreme holiness. For he commanded death to any of the people of Israel who even so much as picked up sticks on the Sabbath.
God is holy and demands he be approached only on his terms.
