The Holy One

This article explores the awe-inspiring nature of God’s holiness and how He gradually reveals Himself as the Holy One throughout history. From the burning bush to Isaiah’s vision, we see how His holiness invites both reverence and redemption. Through Jesus, we are now able to approach the Holy One with confidence, despite our imperfections.

The holiness of God is so magnificent, encountering it always causes trembling. This name in Hebrew – Qadosh – conveys the reality that our God is completely set apart from all else. He is one of a kind, without equal.

God’s loving humility enhances His holiness as we see Him gently, gradually invest thousands of years to reveal His holiness. Our first glimpse of holiness comes through Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3). There we learn that even the ground where one approaches God demands reverence. Through the generations, God used the lives and circumstances of His people to make more of His holiness known.

Finally, when Israel faced a time of great fear and chaos, God granted a full vision of Himself as The Holy One. A young Israelite saw God seated on a throne surrounded by powerful angels singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” That one single vision of God brought Isaiah to his knees with the cry, “Woe is me” and propelled him to proclaim the words of The Holy One to an unreceptive, rebellious people for the rest of his life (Isaiah 6:1-3).

Thankfully, God waits to reveal Himself to us until we are able to know Him in the fullness of His glory; otherwise, like Adam and Eve, we would run and hide from The Holy One. Seeing His holiness brings the stark realization of how far we have fallen from our original design, made in His Holy image and called to be like Him.

When His holiness exposes our unholiness, we experience the same piercing pain as Isaiah. Yet we do not despair. We must remember then, for this we have Jesus! Jesus opens the way for us to come boldly to the throne of The Holy One (Hebrews 4:16)!

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