God: Holy of Loving?

What word best describes your view of God: “holy” or “love”? Which is the primary quality of God?

In his book, God in the Wasteland, theologian David Wells expresses his concerns that the contemporary church is sliding into apostasy because of its failure to maintain the supremacy of God’s holiness. Throughout the book, he refers to a 1993 survey of students from seven conservative seminaries. The students were asked which statement best described their primary view of God: (1) God is love, or (2) God is holy. The results troubled Wells. 80% answered that “God is love” best described their view of God. Only 18% said the same concerning the statement, “God is holy.” In light of these responses, Wells argues that evangelicalism is degenerating into a form that no longer resembles biblical Christianity. For Wells, to emphasize God’s love over God’s holiness denies the message of Scripture and results in a weakened and compromised gospel.

Is Wells right? What do you think? Is God’s holiness the quality that should take precedence in our view of God? Or, is love the central quality of God?

A close look at Isaiah 6 – Isaiah’s well-known vision of God – answers the question, but not in the way one might expect. Only when Isaiah 6 is placed in the full context of the complete revelation of God in sacred scripture does it shed the fullest light on the nature of God.

Historical Background

“In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord…” (Isaiah 6:1a). King Uzziah died in 740 B.C. (cf. 2 Chronicles 26). The date is given, not only to tell us the when of the vision, but also to provide us with the why. The historical context surrounding King Uzziah’s death provides us with important information concerning the reason Isaiah received his vision.

Isaiah received his vision during a time of crisis. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was perched for collapse to the invading armies of the rising superpower of Assyria. God had declared through the prophets that Israel’s unrelenting disobedience to God was the reason the nation would fall to Assyria’s might.

The Southern Kingdom of Judah over which King Uzziah ruled for fifty-two years did not experience the same moral decline as Israel. However, because of its increasing disobedience, its future trajectory was beginning to resemble that of the doomed Northern Kingdom.

For this reason, God commissioned Isaiah as prophet. Isaiah denounced Judah’s unfaithfulness. The opening chapters of The Book of Isaiah announce God’s disappointment with Judah. Immediately prior to Isaiah’s vision, Isaiah declares six “woes” against Judah (Isaiah 5:8, 11, 18, 20, 21, 22). The future appeared dark and perilous. The coming gloom was amplified by the death of the good king Uzziah. With Israel to the north conquered by Assyria, Judah would be next. And if Judah continued to mimic the moral decline of Israel, then Judah would face the same doom as Israel – captivity to a pagan nation. All these things greatly troubled the righteous prophet.

While reflecting on Judah’s present crisis during sacred temple worship, Isaiah experienced a vision of God. For a brief moment, the veil between heaven and earth was lifted and Isaiah encountered the invisible-behind-the-visible. He experienced the great glory of the thrice-holy God. He discovered that even though King Uzziah was dead, the real king of Judah was anything but dead!

The Throne in the Temple (1)

“I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple” (Isaiah 6:1b). In spite of Israel’s near-collapse and Judah’s empty throne, Isaiah saw that the true throne was not empty. In the midst of crisis, God remained sovereign, immovably seated – “lofty and exalted” – upon his throne.

In his vision, he saw “the train of his robe filling the temple.” In ancient times, monarchs wore beautiful robes with long trains that were carried by servants. In Isaiah’s vision, the King’s train completely fills all available space in the temple. This language of divine fullness occurs three times in four verses: two times in relation to the temple (Isaiah 6:1, 3) and one time in relation to the earth (Isaiah 6:4). It points to the awesome transcendence and immanence of God. God is not aloof; God is gloriously present in the temple and in the entire world!

The Seraphim around the Throne (2)

Isaiah quickly descends from the throne to the mysterious heavenly creatures surrounding the throne – the seraphim. It is impossible to enumerate how many of these creatures Isaiah saw. The plural ending, -im, simply indicates that Isaiah saw more than one seraph. There could have been two; there could have been two thousand.

The word, seraphim, means “the flaming or burning ones” and connotes creatures ablaze with splendor and full of enthusiastic energy. This is the only passage in the entire Bible where these special angels are mentioned. It seems that they are special creatures specifically designed to minister in the presence of God.[1]

Isaiah describes the seraphim with special attention to their six wings. The placement and function of each pair of wings sheds light on the creatures’ relationship to God. Two wings cover the seraphim’s face. Apparently, even though the seraphim exist as special ministers around God’s throne, they are forbidden – or perhaps, unable – to gaze directly at God’s glory. Though mighty and sinless, it is still necessary for the seraphim to shield their eyes from the direct gaze of the face of God. The awe and fear inspired by the holiness of God is not primarily due to a sense of sin; the seraphim have no sin. Unlike fallen humans, they do not hide their faces because of shame or guilt. In spite of their great glory, awesome might, and tremendous beauty, the seraphim are merely creatures. An infinite and impassable distance exists between them and God – the span between creature and Creator.

Two wings cover their feet. This suggests, as it did with Moses at the burning bush, that they are unworthy to fully approach God. As creatures – even as glorious creatures – they experience limitations in their relationship to God. They maintain a distance that respects God’s glory and affirms their creaturehood.

Two wings are used to fly. This implies that they are always ready to do God’s bidding. They are ever standing and waiting on their seated Master.

The verbs used in this verse (“covered… covered… were flying”) provide us with a scene of continuous action and constant motion. Alexander Maclaren summarizes the wings and their significance: the seraphim possess “wings of reverence, wings of humility, and wings of service.”

The Song of the Seraphim (3-4)

The seraphim are engaged in antiphonal singing: “one called out to another” (Isaiah 6:3a). This heavenly singing echoes the manner in which God’s people sang in temple worship. Like the Levitical choirs in divine liturgy, one group of seraphim would sing a line and another group would sing in response.

We can imagine one side singing: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts.” The other side would then respond with, “The whole earth is full of his glory” (Isaiah 6:3b).

With this threefold declaration of God’s holiness, the seraphim emphasize God’s holiness to the highest degree. In English, when we want to emphasize a word, we use punctuation (underlining, exclamation points, italics). In Hebrew, emphasis is given through repetition. Thus, God is not simply “holy”; God is “holy, holy, holy” – holy to a super-superlative degree!

The semantic root of “holy” means “to cut” or “to separate.” Contrary to popular thought, the emphasis is not on God’s moral purity (God is separate from sin) but on God’s ontological otherness (God is distinct, separate, a cut above all others). Certainly, God is perfectly good. “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). God’s holiness draws attention to God’s absolute moral perfection – the absolute point of reference for all that is good. However, the greater truth of holiness has to do with how it communicates God’s complete “otherness.” God is separate from every other thing in every possible way!

God is infinitely above and beyond us. As the Psalmists put it, God is lifted up above all he has made. There is no one like God; an infinite chasm exists between God and everything else. It is this absolute otherness – this supreme and transcendent majesty – which merits our honor, reverence, and worship. God’s super-superlative holiness – a glory that is manifest throughout the whole earth – is the supreme subject of the seraphim’s song.

The glorious throne, the flaming angels, and the endless praise combine to provide an awesomely loud and overwhelming spectacle: “And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke” (Isaiah 6:4). The sheer weightiness of the moment guaranteed that the doors were not the only thing shaking. “The thing that quaked the most in the building was the body of Isaiah.”[2]

The Seventh Woe (5)

The vision of God’s holiness does not lead to ecstatic rapture and peaceful calm – qualities often associated with religious experience. Instead, it provokes sheer terror and self-condemnation. Isaiah cries out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined!” (Isaiah 6:5a)

“Woe” is an archaic word that we seldom use in contemporary conversation. In the Bible, “woe” is the antithesis of “blessed.” To declare woe upon others is to pronounce them cursed, condemned, or doomed. This is how Isaiah feels. He declares that he is “ruined and undone” – literally, coming apart at the seams. He is deteriorating in the presence of God – disintegrating, falling to pieces, unraveling before the divine glory.

Isaiah’s self-directed “woe” is the climax of the series of woes that began in chapter 5 (Isaiah 5:8, 11, 18, 20, 21, 22). However, it is significantly different in one respect. The first six woes were declared by Isaiah upon the sinful people of Judah. As a righteous prophet, Isaiah spoke on behalf of God, denouncing the unfaithful acts of God’s people. Now, he again declares woe, but this time, he is the subject of condemnation: “I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips.”

In relationship to the sinful people of Judah, Isaiah could picture himself as righteous. But in relationship to the absolute holiness of God, Isaiah could do nothing but turn his declarations of doom upon himself. And if God’s prophet was doomed, what hope did Judah have? Neither Isaiah nor Judah could measure up. They all fell short of God’s glory.

It was this vision of God’s holiness that brought such woeful terror: “For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah saw more clearly than ever who God was, and subsequently, who he was. Only when we see ourselves in relation to God, instead of in comparison to others, do we obtain an accurate vision of ourselves.

The Burning Coal (6-7)

What hope does anyone have in the presence of God’s holiness? If God’s great prophet feels doomed before the divine glory, what chance do the sinners of Judah have? Fortunately, the vision is not complete. God’s holiness brings great terror, but it is also the basis for great joy.

The thrice-holy God takes the initiative to cleanse Isaiah. Through the mediation of the seraphim, a burning coal from the altar is applied to Isaiah’s mouth – the place where Isaiah’s sin is most evident: “I am a man of unclean lips.” This is an act of mercy, but a severe act. A burning coal to the lips – one of the most sensitive parts of the human body – cannot possibly be pleasant! But the pain brings healing. “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin is forgiven” (Isaiah 6:7). By this act, Isaiah vividly discovers that the throne of glory is a throne of grace.

God Speaks (8-10)

Finally, after Isaiah’s unraveling and subsequent divine healing, God speaks. Isaiah hears “the voice of the Lord, saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’” (Isaiah 6:8a) It now becomes clear why the lips and mouth are so prominent in this scene: the Lord seeks a messenger. Isaiah immediately responds, “Here am I. Send me!”

God then commissions Isaiah to be a witness to the people of Judah. God clearly states that Isaiah’s mission will be difficult. Few will listen to him. And yet, his call to remain faithful as God’s messenger remains. Isaiah is to speak of what he has seen and heard – the weight of divine glory, the tragedy of human depravity, and the greatness of forgiving love. Perhaps the stubborn spiritual senses of the people will be awakened and they will return to the Lord and be healed.

Who Did Isaiah See?

We return to our initial question: What is the primary quality of God – holiness or love? It seems obvious, in respect to Isaiah’s vision, to conclude that holiness is the central quality of God. If we only possessed The Book of Isaiah, then perhaps this conclusion would be inescapable. However, the remainder of the Bible sheds further light on Isaiah’s vision.

Who did Isaiah really see on the throne? The Apostle John’s answer to this question is absolutely mind-blowing.

As Jesus’ earthly ministry comes to a close due to mounting opposition from religious leaders, Jesus tells the multitude that his time is short and that they need to “believe in the light” while there is still time (John 12:36a). John follows this exhortation with his own commentary:

These things Jesus spoke and he departed and hid himself from them. But though he had performed so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in him; that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke, “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this cause they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “He has blinded their eyes, and he hardened their heart; lest they see with their eyes, and perceive with their heart, and turn, and I will heal them.” (John 12:36b-40)

John is clearly referring to the commission and call given to Isaiah immediately following his vision in Isaiah 6. John then writes something absolutely staggering in its implications concerning his view of Jesus: “These things Isaiah said, because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him” (Isaiah 6:41).

Whose glory did Isaiah see? The glory of the thrice-holy Lord of hosts – the glory of God who sat upon the sovereign throne. Who exactly was sitting on the throne? According to John, it was Jesus!

Isaiah “saw His glory”! Over seven centuries before Jesus walked the earth, Isaiah saw Jesus “sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.” As shocking as this is, this should not surprise us. John has set us up for this revelation from the opening words of his gospel. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory” (John 1:1, 14). John desires that we understand that the glory Isaiah saw – the glory that shattered and healed him – has now been revealed in a form more appropriate to our fallen humanity.

The sight that overwhelmed Isaiah now touches us most intimately in the person of Jesus. This is the beauty of the incarnation. God’s glory, inaccessible to angels and terrifying to saints, is now accessible to all of us. God comes down from his throne, but he never loses the very qualities that make him worthy of his throne – his holy love.

This new revelation of God in Christ redefines our understanding of holiness. Jesus is the one that the seraphim praise as holy, holy, holy. And yet, Jesus has opened up new dimensions to our understanding of God. God is not a monad. God is a triad – Father, Son, and Spirit. The holiness of God does not refer to the otherly-ness of a solitary monad; it refers to the otherly-love of the eternal communion of Father, Son, and Spirit. The holiness of God is not some absolute standard or code of perfection detached from the being of God. The holiness of God is nothing other than the holiness of the intratrinitarian love between Father, Son, and Spirit.

Thus, the essence of God’s holiness is love. Otherly love – perfect and pure love of another kind – is the subject of the seraphim’s song. The holiness of which the seraphim sing is the eternal expression of divine love between the persons of the Trinity – love we are invited to share in Christ and by the Spirit to the glory of God the Father.

God’s Holy Love

Which word best describes God – holy or loving? Every answer will fall short for the question itself is flawed. It presents us with a misleading either/or.

God is holy. God is love. Even better, God is holy love – love of another kind; love unlike any other we encounter on this earth. Holiness is what distinguishes it from all other expressions of love. Because God’s love is holy, it is love unlike any other we have ever known. The glorious reality underlying all reality is that this love – the love of God, Father, Son, and Spirit – extends throughout all the earth in order that we might receive it, share it, and reflect it to others.

It is because God’s love is holy, and not simply human or ordinary, that God redeems sinful people. Contrary to many popular gospel presentations, it is not God’s holiness that is a threat to us, it is our own unwillingness to receive what God so freely wishes to give – holy, accepting, abundant, free, eternal love; love that cleanses us from our deepest stains. It is God’s holiness – his radical otherness – that is the reason his love is so far above ours, and thus, worthy of our devotion and praise.

We get a glimpse of this holy love in Hosea. Through the prophet, God declares how his holiness and love unite in their attitude toward a wayward people:

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?...
My heart is turned over within Me,
All my compassions are kindled.
I will not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in wrath. (Hosea 11:8-9)

God refuses to act out in anger upon a wayward people for one reason – God is holy. It is God’s holy love – God’s otherly love – that refuses to do what “normal” love in the same circumstance may choose to do. For some Christians, God’s holiness is the very reason he must judge sin and destroy all that is imperfect. But when God’s holiness is understood rightly, we discover that it is the very reason God refuses to come in judgment. God’s holiness points to a love of another kind!

And this is good news for us. The revelation that God’s love is holy is our only hope that God’s love will reach to the greatest sinner. Any other kind of love would fall short of our desperate need.

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© Richard J. Vincent, 2005