Heard On Sunday - The Holiness of God: Understanding What It Means to Stand in Awe

March 15th, 2026
by RHC Revelelation Series

The Holiness of God: Understanding What It Means to Stand in Awe

We live in a culture that has diluted powerful words. "Awesome" now describes everything from a pizza topping to a parking spot. "Holy" gets thrown around in casual exclamations. When we strip these words of their true meaning, we lose something precious—our ability to truly comprehend the nature of God.

What Does It Really Mean to Be Awesome?

True awe isn't simply thinking something is cool or impressive. Biblical awe is *fear mingled with admiration and respect*.

“Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.”

— Psalm 33:8

Consider Jacob's dream in Genesis 28:10–17. He saw a ladder reaching to heaven with angels ascending and descending—beings who, throughout Scripture, regularly cause humans to fall on their faces in fear. Above it all stood the Lord himself, promising land, descendants, and blessing.

Jacob woke and said:

“How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”

— Genesis 28:17

That’s the kind of moment that deserves the word *awesome*. Not a football catch. Not a new car. The manifest presence of the living God.

What Does “Holy” Really Mean?

To be *holy* means to be separate, other, set apart. When speaking of God, it means perfect—truly and absolutely perfect, without flaw, without sin, utterly pure and transcendent.

The opposite of holy is *profane*—common, ordinary.

Imagine scattering gold worth thousands of dollars per ounce across your yard like dirt. You’d be treating something precious as though it had no value. That’s what it means to profane something.

God confronts his people about this:

“Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things.

They have made no distinction between the holy and the common,

neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean,

and they have disregarded my Sabbaths,

so that I am profaned among them.”

— Ezekiel 22:26

This isn’t passive indifference. It’s active harm done to God’s name and reputation by those who should know better.

And the problem is universal:

“They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good, not even one.”

— Psalm 14:3

What Have We Made Common?

If we’re honest, we’ve profaned many things God has called holy:

God’s Word – The Bible becomes a decoration instead of a daily, life-giving authority.
Marriage – Redefined by culture instead of honored as God’s covenant design.
Prayer – A last resort in emergencies rather than our first conversation each day.
The Lord’s Supper – Reduced to a ritual instead of a sacred remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice.
The Lord’s Day – Traded for sports, chores, and convenience, subtly teaching our children that God’s day is not truly set apart.

The issue is not legalism. The issue is: *Do our regular choices show that we believe God is holy—set apart and worthy of being prioritized above all else?*

Isaiah’s Vision of a Holy God

Isaiah 6 gives one of the clearest pictures of God’s holiness:

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up;

and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings:

with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

And one cried to 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 were shaken by the voice of him who cried out,

and the house was filled with smoke.”

— Isaiah 6:1–4

Notice what Isaiah doesn’t describe: colors, materials, architectural details. He moves past all that to the central reality: *the Holy One on His throne* and the worship of the seraphim.

Even these heavenly beings cover their faces and their feet—signs that they know they are creatures in the presence of the Creator—and with two wings they fly to serve. Their unending cry is not:

Love, love, love,”

or “Merciful, merciful, merciful,”

but:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of His glory!”

— Isaiah 6:3

God’s holiness is his preeminent attribute. His love is *holy* love. His justice is *holy* justice. His mercy is *holy* mercy.

A Glimpse of His Glory in Creation

The seraphim declare that the whole earth is full of God’s glory. We see that glory in creation, even in something as small and familiar as the human eye:

“The hearing ear and the seeing eye,

the Lord has made them both.”

— Proverbs 20:12

Twelve tiny muscles work in perfect coordination so that, even when your head moves, your horizon stays level and you don’t get dizzy. That’s design, not accident. From galaxies to cells, creation whispers (and often shouts) that God is awesome and holy.

And his glory fills the earth in another way: through the spread of the gospel. What Israel once assumed was theirs alone—covenant relationship with God—has been extended in Christ to people from every tongue, tribe, and nation.

How Should We Respond?

Look again at Isaiah’s reaction:

“Woe is me, for I am undone,

because I am a man of unclean lips,

and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;

for my eyes have seen the King,

the Lord of hosts.”

— Isaiah 6:5

“Woe” speaks of deep sorrow. “Undone” means ruined, coming apart at the seams. And Isaiah responds this way having seen only the *train of God’s robe*.

Yet God acts in mercy:

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me,

having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar.

And he touched my mouth with it, and said:

‘Behold, this has touched your lips;

your iniquity is taken away,

and your sin purged.’”

— Isaiah 6:6–7

This is the tension of the Christian life:

- We are drawn to God’s holiness and want to know him more.
- We are humbled by our sin and know we cannot bridge the gap.

Only God can do that, and he has done it fully in Christ.

The Holy One Above All

God is not “the man upstairs” or “the big guy.” He is incomparable:

“To whom then will you compare me,

that I should be like him?

says the Holy One.”

— Isaiah 40:25

Scripture emphasizes God’s holiness again and again:

“Who is able to stand before this holy God?”

— 1 Samuel 6:20

“I have not denied the words of the Holy One.”

— Job 6:10

“You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.”

— Psalm 22:3

-God reigns over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne.”

— Psalm 47:8

“God has spoken in his holiness.”

— Psalm 60:6 (cf. Psalm 108:7)

“Once for all I have sworn by my holiness.”

— Psalm 89:35

“He sent redemption to his people;

he has commanded his covenant forever.

Holy and awesome is his name!”

— Psalm 111:9

But the Lord of hosts is exalted in justice,

and the Holy God shows himself holy in righteousness.”

— Isaiah 5:16

“Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come and worship you,

for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

— Revelation 15:4

Living in Light of His Holiness

Our goal is not to reach God’s level of holiness—that’s impossible. Our calling is to grow in *sanctification*: to be increasingly set apart for God’s purposes.

That happens as we:

Spend time in his Word, where his voice still shakes our lives.

Pray, not just in crisis, but in daily dependence.

Gather with his people to worship him as holy.

Examine our habits and priorities to see whether we treat God as common or as set apart.

God saves us entirely by his grace. But once saved, we are invited to participate in the process of becoming more like him—by intentionally living in his presence.

God is on his throne. He never sleeps. He is never worried. And he is worthy—worthy of our worship, our praise, our honor, and our lives lived in reverent awe.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

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