If you are a Christian and at all Biblically literate, then you know that the Bible, without equivocation, declares that God is holy. The Prophet Isaiah, at the moment of his calling, receives a vision of the Lord sitting on His throne with seraphim on either side, and he hears one seraph make this declaration to another seraph: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3). Take note of the emphasis made in this declaration. It wasn’t enough to say “God is holy.” No, the seraph had to say holy three times to capture the depth and breadth of God’s holiness. 

It’s as if I were to say to you, “I saw this guy at the ballgame who was huge, huge, huge!” You would know right away that this was not an average big guy. You would know that this guy was probably the biggest guy I had ever seen. “Holy, holy, holy” is meant to stretch the boundaries of your imagination. Whatever you think it means to say that God is holy, you need to know that He is in an entirely different category of holiness; He is much holier than you ever thought holiness could be.

But even the thrice “holy, holy, holy” was not enough for the seraph as he tried to capture God’s holiness. He adds, “The whole earth is filled with His glory.” How great is the holiness of this God? Great enough to fill the whole earth. These words are crafted under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to take your imagination where it has never gone before.

They are meant to blow your mind with the thought that God is not like anything you have ever encountered. They are to humble you with the realization that God is foundationally unlike you. They are intended to help you to understand that you are now dealing with Someone different from everyone you have ever dealt with before. He is holy, holy, holy—earth-filling and gloriously holy. He is holy unlike anyone or anything that has ever been called holy. He is the sum and definition of what it means to be holy. When compared to God, nothing that exists is holy. He is holy, holy, holy.

Stop and pray that the eyes of your heart would open and that somehow, someway, you would get even a little glimpse of the mind-blowing grandeur of His holiness. Why? Because seeing His holiness will change you and the way you live, both now and forever.

Our translation for holiness comes from the Hebrew word qadowsh, which means “to cut.” To be holy means to be cut off, or separate, from everything else. It means to be in a class of your own, distinct from anything that has ever existed before or will ever exist in the future. Qadowsh means a second thing: to be entirely morally pure, all the time and in every way possible.

Saved for Heaven and Holiness

It is important to understand that we have been saved not just for Heaven, but for holiness as well. We cannot ignore God’s call or allow ourselves to lower His standard. In the glory of His holiness, He is the standard for everything we think, desire, say and do. 

First Peter 1:15-16 captures this well: “But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (ESV).

Rather than living as one controlled by the self-oriented passions of your former life, Peter says you are called not only to obey the Lord but to quest to be holy as He is holy. This call is to be your highest value, your constant commitment, the ultimate long-term quest of your life. Peter is so bold as to call people to what is impossible apart from their being rescued and empowered by the grace of the Holy One whom they are called to imitate. 

Between your conversion and your homegoing, the focus of God’s redeeming work is on radical personal transformation. Therefore, when you embark on a quest to be holy as God is holy, you are committing yourself to make God’s purpose for you your purpose.

My fear is that in our pleasure-obsessed world, where comfort is king and temporary personal happiness is the definition of the good life, this quest of quests will get lost in the endless din of our cravings for the next amusement. The highest human joys are found when we take seriously God’s call to a life committed to holiness, and when the commitment is applied to the situations and relationships of our daily lives. 

For example, the best Biblical definition of a good marriage is when a husband and a wife are committed to responding to one another, in words and actions, in a way that is holy in the sight of God. If the goal of marriage were comfort, it would make no sense to put a flawed person next to another flawed person in such a comprehensive relationship. Rather, the struggle of marriage is one of God’s most efficient tools in forming us into a holy people; that is His call, and it is possible only by the power of His grace.

Be Holy in A World That Doesn’t Value Holiness 

Here is the problem that you and I face all day, every day. The culture around us, along with the systems and institutions of that culture, has abandoned the category of holiness. You see, when you deny that this God, the Holy One, exists, then you do not sense a need for holiness of any kind. You never hear politicians, educators, social media influencers, cultural critics or entertainment icons use this category. It has no purpose or meaning to them. 

The people who write the dramas we stream on our electronic devices don’t have this category influencing what they write, how they think about right and wrong, or the way they represent the morality of a character. As a culture, we have philosophically walked away from holiness. Holiness is not in our definition of meaning and purpose. Holiness doesn’t enter into our concept of success. Holiness is not seen as something to shape your marriage and guide your parenting. Holiness is never discussed when people are talking about plans for their careers. Holiness is viewed as a dusty religious concept with little practical meaning, held on to by a shrinking minority. 

Almost everyone wants justice, mercy, peace, forgiveness and love, but those things can exist in our lives only if the One in control is holy. Why? Because even though we have abandoned this truth, God has hardwired in all of us a hunger for what holiness alone can produce.

Now, all the practical implications of this call to holiness are impossible for every one of us. I have no ability to transform my heart. I have no independent ability to escape the sin that still lives in me. I have no autonomous power to harness my thoughts and desires. I have just as much ability to be holy as God is holy, as I have to jump high enough to touch the top of the Empire State Building. 

So, this high and holy calling is an argument not only for our desperate need for right-here, right-now grace, but also for the humbling fact that in our fallen state we will never be grace graduates. Till our final day, we will be reaching out for holiness and crying out for the grace that alone has the power to produce holiness in us. 

May we love being holy in God’s eyes more than we love all the self-oriented pleasures that tempt us to give our love elsewhere. And may we bask in the blessings that result when we make God’s purpose for our lives the purpose of our hearts. For therein lies the essence of the quest for holiness. ©2024 Paul David Tripp

Unless otherwise marked, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version. The verse marked ESV is taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version.

Paul David Tripp is a pastor, speaker, and the award-winning author of more than 30 books, including the bestselling daily devotional New Morning Mercies, and Do You Believe? 12 Historic Doctrines to Change Your Everyday Life. Paul and his wife of more than 50 years, Luella, live in Philadelphia and have four adult children.