Isaiah 6:1-4

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also—I saw another king. That’s really the way it’s being put. In the year that one king died, I saw another king. I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim. Each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.”

Now in verse 3, there is a declaration of the holiness of God: “And one cried unto another and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory.” In the previous article, I begin to explain this declaration concerning the holiness of God. And I asked the question: What does scripture affirm when it declares God to be holy?

The answer is twofold. The answer is that scripture affirms God both to be ethically holy and also what we may describe as majestically holy.

1. God is Ethically Holy

God is ethically holy. In an absolute way, he is morally separate from sinners and sin. And that is the testimony of both the Old and the New Testament.

Job chapter 34 and verse 10:

“Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.”

There is a fundamental separation between God and man along the line of holiness—far be it from him that he should do wickedness as man does wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should commit iniquity as man commits iniquity. There is an absolute separation in God from sinners and from sin.

That is highlighted for us  in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ in his life upon this earth, and it’s indicated most clearly in Hebrews 7 verse 26:

“For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.”

Now the Lord Jesus Christ was born into a sinful world. He was raised, and his mother and his father were sinners. Those whom he interacted with in Nazareth were sinners. The disciples were sinners. But yet he was separate from sinners. He was ethically distinct from all that were around him. And he maintained that ethical distinctness, that ethical separation.

So, this is the teaching of Scripture: in an absolute way, he is morally separate, apart from sinners and from sin. He is distinct in that way.

And then ethically, he is in possession of moral perfection. If you think of these two things in ethical holiness, one is really negative—negatively he is separate from sinners and sin, but positively he possesses all moral perfection. And that does mean that every moment of time God continually wills and unvaryingly wills to do that, to think that, to be morally perfect.

Again, there is an abundance of scripture really for it. 1 John chapter 1 and verse 5:

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

And when we remember light there is standing for good, for holiness, and darkness for evil, for wickedness, this idea is positively stated: God is light. There is not the slightest shadow of evil upon him.

2. God is Majestically Holy

Well now, God is ethically holy. God is also majestically holy. It is a vision of God’s divine majesty that Isaiah is given. He sees the divine majesty and glory of God.

In chapter 6 and verse 1, there is a clear reference to the divine majesty and sovereignty of God: “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw also another king, the Lord, sitting upon a throne.” Now what must be noted about the throne is that the throne is not just something physically for the king to sit upon, but the throne is the symbol of glory. It functions in a symbolic way. It has the symbolism of glory and of majesty.

When you think of the splendor of Solomon’s throne, presumably he could have just sat on a seat, but he didn’t. It was a throne, and it’s meant to indicate glory. And this vision of the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, is communicating the divine glory and majesty of God.

And of course we have to say here, he sees the Lord sitting upon a throne, we must make the statement: it is the divine majesty and glory of the Son of God.

If you reference John chapter 12 with Isaiah 6—John 12, picking it up at verse 37:

“But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?”

That’s a reference to Isaiah 53 verse 1. Continuing to speak about the Lord:

“Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.”

And that’s Isaiah 6 verse 1—when he saw his glory and spake of him. And so when you look at the context and you match the scriptures up, it’s a very clear statement that it is the divine majesty and the glory of the Son of God.

And there’s no question that the vision in Isaiah 6 bears striking similarity to the vision in Revelation chapter 4. And that’s interesting in and of itself because you have John’s Gospel where the commentary is, and then you have Revelation 4, and of course it’s the same man—it’s John again. In Revelation 4, again we have the throne:

“And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him—again, similarities there—and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy…”

Again, the striking similarity with Isaiah 6:

” Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”

Once again you see that you’re before the throne; it’s the divine majesty, it’s the glory of the Son of God, or we describe it – the majestic holiness of the Lord.

Understanding Transcendent Holiness

Now, what do we really mean when we speak of this matter? We can see the Divine Majesty communicated in Isaiah 6, but what are we getting at when we speak of the majestic holiness of God?

Well again, as we spoke to you last time, the idea is—as it so often is when you speak of holiness—the idea is that of separation. What the majestic holiness of God is doing, what this vision from the throne is doing, is emphasizing the idea of the separateness of God as God from his creation. It is emphasizing the separateness of God the Creator from his creation.

And at the same time, it is emphasizing the sovereign exaltation of God over the creation. He is sitting upon the throne. He is both separate from it, but he is sovereignly exalted over it. Taken together, what is really being communicated is that God is a majestically transcendent being.

If you think about it in terms of a human king—this is only an illustration—if you go back to medieval times, the kings were quite remote. People didn’t know what the king looked like. They were remote; they were “other”. And this idea of majestic holiness is emphasizing the fact that God is utterly unique. He’s utterly other. There’s a division between God as Creator, as a majestically transcendent being, and his entire creation.

Just in Isaiah 6, it’s no surprise that as the ethical holiness of God impresses upon Isaiah, he cries out, “Woe is me! for I am undone,” in verse 5. But the seraphim—ethically, they are holy creatures. They’re not sinners. But the seraphim are covering their face and covering their feet. It is the majestic holiness of God that is impressing itself upon the seraphim—this “otherness,” this transcendence, this separateness of God, this sovereign exaltation. It’s not just ethical; it is also majestic.

The Witness of Scripture

Scripture does speak of this in a number of places:

• Exodus 15:11 — “Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious [or majestic] in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?” The whole emphasis in this verse is on the separateness and uniqueness of God. It’s a rhetorical question, but the answer is there is none like Him. Literally, there is nothing like God; He is unique, a majestic, transcendent being.
• 1 Samuel 2:2 — “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.” In relation to man, you could speak of ethical holiness, but this verse stresses the majestic because there is none like God—this whole idea of uniqueness.
• Isaiah 8:13 — “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread.” Set apart the Lord; there is none like him. He is set apart, and he should be set apart. It’s in that context that the Lord Jesus applies this truth: we are not to fear those who have power over the body, but fear him who has power over both body and soul.
• Hosea 11:9 — “I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, and not man.” That is a blunt statement: “I am God, and not man.” But it brings home this line of division, this separation. God is distinct, unique, and separate from His creation.

When this truth is brought home to Isaiah—when he is given this vision that God is God, and that He is not a creature but something else entirely—his first thought is, “Woe is me, for I am undone.” This is a saved man who is given a vision of God, and this is the effect it has upon him.

If this is the reaction of Isaiah, consider who foolishly deny God or pretend they’re going to die as a dog dies and that’s the end of them, or who think, “Well, I’ll be alright…” The moment the veil is lifted, the moment God as God is brought home to them, they’re going to know precisely this: the game is up. “Woe is me, for I am undone.” It’s something to ponder.

Called to Salvation, Separation and Reverence

As human beings our most fundamental need is to be forgiven of our sins. Our sins separate us from our God and his favour in this life and if we continue impenitently in them, then there is no doubt that in light of the holiness of God we shall be forever separated from God’s love and exposed to his wrath.

Moreover, considering the declaration of the holiness of God, the basic idea is that of His separateness—the fundamental thought in the Hebrew word.

Ethically, He is separate from us as sinners.

Majestically, He is separate from us as creatures.

When we apply that truth to our own lives, when Scripture urges us to “be holy as God is holy,” there must be in our minds this idea of separation. Separation from that which is unholy and separation unto Christ who is the holy one.

If we are serious about going on with God, we must keep before us the idea of separation:

1. In the Ecclesiastical Realm: Light can have no communion with darkness. The Gospel of Christ can have no truck whatsoever with a message that is patently not the gospel, or churches that deny the gospel.
2. In the Family & Individual Realm: That separation must come down to the family level and down to the individual level. 

Reverence in Worship

Lastly, when we come before God, we must remember who He is. When we come to worship God, our worship must not prioritise the entertainment of the people with all the contemporary worship inanities such a priority has brought to so many evangelical and reformed (in doctrine only) churches but rather our priority should be the God who is holy and deserving of the worship that is reverential and scripturally mandated.