The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness. God pleads with sinners in Jeremiah 4:14: "Wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?" Similarly, James 4:8 urges: "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded."
Isaiah's Woes
Isaiah was a specialist at proclaiming woe on sinners. He declares in Isaiah 3:11: "Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him." He continues with woes against those who join house to house (Isaiah 5:8), rise early to follow intoxicating drink (Isaiah 5:11), draw iniquity with cords of vanity (Isaiah 5:18), call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20), are wise in their own eyes (Isaiah 5:21), and are mighty at drinking wine (Isaiah 5:22). However, when Isaiah saw the glory of the preincarnate Christ, he pronounced woe on himself. Isaiah 6:5 records: "Woe is me!"
The Vision of God's Holiness
In Isaiah 6:1-5, the prophet describes seeing the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, with seraphim crying, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" This threefold declaration emphasizes God's holiness above all other attributes. The psalmist affirms in Psalm 93:5: "Holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forever." God is glorious and beautiful in His holiness. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, but the way to God's Promised Land is the Highway of Holiness (Isaiah 35:8). Believers are called not only to partake of God's divine nature but also to be partakers of His holiness (Hebrews 12:10).
The Unchanging Heavenly Refrain
Over 750 years later, John the beloved received a similar revelation. In Revelation 4:8, the four living creatures cry day and night: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!" When Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus, he knew he would be destroyed, crying, "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" (Isaiah 6:5). Isaiah did not see God the Father but Jesus the Son. In the Old Testament, "LORD" (all caps) refers to Yahweh, the Father, while "Lord" (capital L, lowercase ord) refers to Adonai, Jesus. David writes in Psalm 110:1: "The LORD said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'"
Purification by Fire
Isaiah recognized his moral separation from God. God told Moses in Exodus 33:20: "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." The angels covered their faces with their wings as they proclaimed God's holiness. Then a seraphim flew to Isaiah with a live coal from the altar and touched his mouth, saying, "Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged" (Isaiah 6:6-7). The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, as James 3:6-8 explains. Only the blood of Jesus can take away iniquity and purge sin. To see the glory of Jesus, Isaiah's sins had to be purged.
No Worship Without Holiness
Jesus says God seeks worshippers who worship in spirit and truth. The worship of the unclean is unacceptable. We are called to worship God in holiness: "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!" (1 Chronicles 16:29). Psalm 29:1-2 echoes: "Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." Judah and Jehoshaphat triumphed over three enemy armies by praising the beauty of holiness (2 Chronicles 20:21-22).
No Redemption Without Holiness
Our redemption is incomplete without holiness. Obadiah 1:17 declares: "On Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions." God sent Jesus to grant us that we might serve Him in holiness and righteousness (Luke 1:74-75). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness, so holiness is not optional but imperative. Romans 6:19 urges: "Present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness." 2 Corinthians 7:1 commands: "Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." Psalm 24:3-4 asks: "Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart."
Our Temple of Holiness
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 reminds us that we are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in us. If anyone defiles the temple, God will destroy him. Ephesians 1:4 states that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blame. He wants to present us as a glorious church, holy and without blemish (Ephesians 5:27). Therefore, 1 Peter 1:15-16 commands: "As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" And 1 Peter 2:4-5 describes believers as living stones being built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
