Perfectly Holy

The one attribute that God alone possesses is holiness. No other being is intrinsically holy. Holiness is being wholly other, fully set apart from sin and from any other being. Pure. Undefiled. 

Only twice in scripture is the declaration of “holy, holy, holy” proclaimed, in the verse above and in Isaiah 6:2-3. In both instances the scene is set in heaven, in the presence of God Almighty with angels declaring this truth... with the trifecta of “holy, holy, holy” expressing that God is thoroughly, perfectly holy. 

One of the most important qualities of holiness is that of being completely other. Totally set apart and unlike any other. Which means all others are imperfect where God is perfect. Thus, He is sinless and perfectly pure. Just like affirming God’s perfect goodness, I John 1:5 affirms the truth of God’s perfect holiness when it declares that, "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 

As such, God can do no evil. It is impossible. 

The fact that God is wholly other and unlike anything or anyone else creates a problem for us when it comes to trusting Him because our only points of reference are others we have trusted. Our only point of reference is the imperfect, broken world that is so blemished and therefore, so untrustworthy. As a result, we are skeptical, at best, in trusting almost anything or anyone because we have fallen victim to the pain of trusting what is untrustworthy, because it is marred by sin and is inherently self-serving. 

Perhaps you struggle to trust God because of the disappointment you have personally experienced in trusting others. The wound is deep and unrelenting in the pain you’ve suffered. And as a result, you find it hard to trust God.

God’s perfect holiness means God is completely different from any other person. And because God is perfectly holy – perfectly other – He is perfectly trustworthy. Whatever He does or doesn’t do, emanates from His perfect holiness. So it’s impossible for Him to behave in any other way than with true purity. 

So trust God today, knowing that He is wholly different from anyone you have ever trusted. He is perfectly holy, perfectly pure, and therefore, perfectly trustworthy. 

RESPOND: Take whatever disappointment you’ve experienced in trusting others and put that at the feet of Jesus, acknowledging that He is fully trustworthy because He is wholly other.