Holiness: Transcendent Majesty

"But the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him." Habakkuk 2:20

"Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" (Exodus 15:11)

A few months ago I read a chapter on the holiness of God that has deepened my understanding of this important aspect of God's character.

Stephen Charnock defines God's holiness as "a glorious perfection belonging to the nature of God. Hence he is in Scripture styled often the Holy One, the Holy One of Jacob, the Holy One of Israel; and oftener entitled Holy, than Almighty, and set forth by this part of his dignity more than any other."

Holiness is more than just moral perfection; it is also transcendence as R. C. Sproul points out, "When we speak of the transcendence of God we are talking about that sense in which God is above and beyond us. It tries to get at His supreme and altogether greatness. . . .Transcendence describes God in his consuming majesty, His exalted loftiness. It points to the infinite distance that separates Him from every creature."

So when we think of describing God we have to use terms like "wholly, absolutely, infinitely, incomprehensible, supreme, exalted, solitary, unique, and peerless."

I concur with Jerry Bridges who writes in The Joy of Fearing God, "Majesty, refers to sovereign power, authority or dignity. It speaks of grandeur and splendor. It can be a relative term, however, when we use it of human rulers--some are more sovereign or powerful than others; some have more grandeur and splendor. When we speak of God's majesty, we have to mean absolute, unequaled majesty. Since transcendence means over and above, I propose the expression transcendent majesty to enable us to come closest to an understanding of God."

So, let us delight to fear God. Let us cleanse ourselves from evil in our flesh and spirit (2 Corinthains 7:1). May we practice humility in light of his transcendence (Isaiah 57:15). Surely we should grow in gratitude to God for His mercy to us through Christ. And such a sense of transcendent majesty should cause us to enter His presence with reverence (Hebrews 10:19, 22).

Enjoy God's holiness and praise Him for His transcendent majesty!