The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness. This is not a suggestion but a divine imperative that threads through Scripture, demanding a purity that sets believers apart. The call to salvation is inseparable from the call to sanctification: wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. How long shall evil thoughts lodge within you? Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Isaiah, a prophet known for pronouncing woe on sinners, faced a life-altering moment when he glimpsed the glory of the preincarnate Christ. He had declared woe on the wicked, on those chasing intoxication, on those dragging sin like a cart rope, on those calling evil good and good evil, on the self-proclaimed wise. But in the year King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and lifted up, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each with six wings, crying out, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory. The doorposts shook, and the house filled with smoke.
The angels cried holy three times. No other attribute of God receives such emphasis. We do not hear mercy, mercy, mercy, but holy, holy, holy. God’s holiness is the most distinguishing aspect of His being. The psalmist declares, Holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forever. God is glorious in His holiness, beautiful in it. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, but the path to God’s Promised Land is the Highway of Holiness.
Over 750 years later, John the beloved received a similar revelation. The refrain had not changed. The four living creatures, full of eyes, rested neither day nor night, crying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come. When Isaiah saw this glory, he knew he was undone. Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips, dwelling among a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. He did not see God the Father but Jesus the Son. In the Old Testament, LORD in capitals refers to Yahweh; Lord with lowercase refers to Adonai, pointing to Jesus.
Isaiah understood the gravity: You cannot see My face and live. The angels covered their faces as they proclaimed holiness. Then a seraphim took a live coal from the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips, saying, Your iniquity is taken away, your sin purged. Why the lips? Because the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity, defiling the whole body. Only the blood of Jesus can purge sin. To see His glory, Isaiah’s sins had to be removed.
Jesus seeks worshipers in spirit and truth. The worship of the unclean is unacceptable. We are called to worship in the beauty of holiness. Judah and Jehoshaphat decimated three army nations by praising that beauty. When they sang, Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever, the Lord set ambushes against their enemies. Our redemption is incomplete without holiness. On Mount Zion, there shall be deliverance and holiness. We are delivered to serve God in holiness and righteousness all our days.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of holiness. It is not optional but imperative. Present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. Cleanse yourselves from all filthiness, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. You are the temple of God, and if anyone defiles it, God will destroy him. Christ chose us to be holy and without blame before Him in love. The church is to be glorious, without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish. Be holy, for I am holy. As living stones, you are being built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
