June 2021
Revelation 4:8, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.”
Holiness in scripture means “to be set apart” or blameless. This verse points us to God’s perfection. We see “holy” is repeated and often in scripture repetition is meant to draw the reader to a specific quality, a hallmark of ancient writing. By mentioning “holy” three times it not only points out God’s holiness but the holiness and perfection of the Trinity. God, Jesus, the Spirit all are holy, all are perfect.
For us this passage has meaning and implications for our lives. First, we can be assured God has power over everything. God controls everything in existence. When we see our lives in limbo or are in the midst of chaos, as believing Christians we can rest in the understanding God quite literally has the world in his hand.
Second, if we look at the “deities” of ancient cultures we see gods whose interactions with men changes due to their emotions, their whims or circumstances. Many gods caused men to suffer or go through hardships simply for their pleasure and entertainment. God is holy. God is perfect and without fault. God is honest, sinless and always holy. The verse says God was and is and is to come. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. God will not and cannot change his attitude or treatment of us on a whim, he treats us the same always. Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Third, our acceptance, belief and faith in Christ lead us to imputed holiness. Through the animal sacrifice the perfection of the animal and the sin of the man were transposed. As Christians our sin was placed on the person of Christ at the cross and his perfection was placed in us. God sees Christ’s perfection when he looks on us.
Fourth, we understand the cost of our salvation; the beating, breaking and crucifixion of Jesus as punishment for our sins. Because we understand this, “God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8) we must reflect this back in our lives. Being forgiven and seen as holy by God even as we still sin frees us to treat others with love, charity, compassion and respect even as we see the wrong in their lives; even if they wrong us. Being forgiven and seen as holy by God demands that we show others the glory of God by our good deeds.
Fifth, knowing all of this, we can continue to praise God even if things seem to go from bad to worse. Like the angels in heaven we praise the Most High God. “Then I heard every creature in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea saying: ‘To him that sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!’” (Rev 5:13)
Throughout our lives, in all we experience, we have hope. We have a holy, holy, holy hope named Jesus.
Pastor Jim