The Holiness and Glory of God (Isaiah 6:1-7)

2025-12-06

There are a lot of qualities of God that make Him unique above all things. He is holy and He is the Creator. And if He is the Creator, then He is the owner of all and sovereign over all things. Moreover, if He is Creator, He is distinct from His creation. Today, we consider the holiness and the glory of the LORD.

The words holy (adjective), holiness (noun), sanctify (verb), hallowed (adjective), saint (noun, a holy person, or one of God’s people) and sanctuary (noun, meaning a holy place) are all related words. What do the Scriptures say? We start with a more generic definition.

Basic Definition of Holy

Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine. (Exodus 13:2)
That thou shalt set apart unto the LORD all that openeth the matrix, and every firstling that cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be the LORD’S. (Exodus 13:12)

Here, the firstborn are commanded to be sanctified, which is also related to being “set apart.” These are set apart for God’s special purpose.

The implication here is that the firstborn are to be sanctified, or made holy, because they are by nature not holy or not sanctified. The difference is that with God’s holiness, it is eternal, and by nature He is holy. Anything else to be made holy must derive his holiness from God’s holiness.

The opposite of holy is not necessarily what we think of as evil or demonic or something of that nature, though it could be. Rather we would say something is profane or common. Recall Peter’s vision from the LORD before going to Cornelius: “But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Acts 10:14-15). And again, pertaining to the temple in Ezekiel’s vision, “He measured it by the four sides: it had a wall round about, five hundred reeds long, and five hundred broad, to make a separation between the sanctuary and the profane place” (Ezekiel 42:20).

Does this do justice to the word “holy” when we speak of God’s holiness? Absolutely not, for how do we see the LORD as holy in the Scriptures?

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. (2) Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. (3) And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. (4) And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. (5) Then said I, 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 mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. (6) Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: (7) And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. (8) Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. (9) And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. (10) Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. (Isaiah 6:1-10)

The Son Is on the Throne

Let us see the beauty of holiness one piece at a time. But before we do, let us identify something very important: on this throne is seated the Lord Jesus Christ.

While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. (37) But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: (38) 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? (39) Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, (40) 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. (41) These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. (John 12:36-41)

John 12:40 is quoting Isaiah 6:10, and Isaiah heard these words “when he saw his glory.” Whose glory? The antecedent is Jesus the Son. We step on delicate ground when we speak of the Persons of the Trinity, but I feel this much is safe. We read elsewhere, “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom” (Hebrews 1:8; quoting Psalm 45:6).

What seems that much more difficult, is that when we see a similar scene in Revelation 4, the beasts in heaven are praising the Father:

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. (Revelation 4:8)

This seems to be the Father because later, the Lamb, who is the Lord Jesus, is standing amid His throne, the beasts and the elders:

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6)

Nonetheless, in Isaiah 6, we can confirm that on the throne is Jesus, for the apostle affirms this in his gospel.

But from our original passage, what can we glean?

The Authority and Highness of the LORD

First, we see the Lord is on a throne (Isaiah 6:1). One sitting on a throne implies power, authority, and might. God is the King over everything. “For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:3). And again, “Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen” (1 Timothy 6:15-16). And again, “And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:16). And again, “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (John 18:37).

Next, we see that the Lord is “high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1). He is exalted above everything else that is called an authority or a power. The Lord has a magnificence greater than anything that human faculties can perceive or fathom.

Sennacherib king of Assyria, when he and his servants blasphemed God and lifted themselves up against Him, we read, “Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 37:23).

Melchizedek the priest of Salem said, “Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all” (Genesis 14:19-20). Many such times is God called the Most High, the Almighty, or the Holy One of Israel.

His train fills the temple, which is the temple in heaven, and the train of His garment fills this temple. Think of this as a train as of a long garment. This heavenly temple is mentioned elsewhere, such as we see in our latter end: “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail” (Revelation 11:19).

The earthly Tabernacle and Temple were patterned after this heavenly Temple, where the glory of God saturates this heavenly throne room. This Temple can never be defiled like the earthly one was on numerous occasions. Sights and sounds of wonder are associated with this holy place.

So far, we see (1) the Lord is an exalted king, (2) He is high and lifted up, and (3) His train fills His heavenly Temple.

The Seraphim

The seraphim, or being translated elsewhere, “fiery,” surround the Lord. We will not discuss these angelic beings in detail here. These mighty creatures praise the Lord together: “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” You can see how God’s holiness is tied into His exalted status, His royalty, and His beauty. The word “holy” as pertaining to God demonstrates how He is “wholly other.” There is no one like Him. We can say He is unique but that does not do His uniqueness justice. He is different from anything or anyone else we can ever dream of. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

The Glory of the LORD

We see how His holiness is tied to His glory (Isaiah 6:3). His glory fills not only this sacred heavenly Temple; the Lord’s glory fills the earth. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1). And again, “And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen” (Psalm 72:19).

What do we mean by glory? Here is an earthly example: When Joseph sent for his father to come to Egypt, he said, “And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither” (Genesis 45:13). The patriarch had authority and wealth. He had men at command. He rode with splendor in Pharaoh’s second chariot and they cried, “Bow the knee” while wearing royal vesture and a gold chain (Genesis 41:42-43). He both received honor and was honorable. How much more does the concept of glory apply to the LORD?

Response from the Elements

The LORD’s holiness and glory demand a response: “And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried” (Isaiah 6:4) The Lord’s glory was so magnificent that inanimate objects shook. Even the elements of the world respond to the holiness of God and the praise to Him. The LORD “shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble” (Job 9:6). And again, “The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof” (Job 26:11). “And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out” (Luke 19:40).

“...and the house was filled with smoke” (Isaiah 6:4). This is significant because clouds of smoke signify God’s glory. Consider when the Tabernacle was finished: “And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work. Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:33-34). And when Solomon blessed the Temple: “And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD” (1 Kings 8:10-11). The priests could not even do their work because of God’s glory in the Temple.

Response from the LORD’s People

However, it is not just the inanimate objects that respond. God’s holiness demands a response—it forces a response—from His people. The prophet, after seeing the Lord’s holiness and glory, responds: “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 mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5)

Isaiah recognized his sin when confronted by the holiness of God. He recognized foremost that his speech was unclean, and there are many such cases. He also recognized that his own countrymen had “unclean lips.” Perhaps this was a response to the seraphim praising God, and Isaiah saw had no right to call on the name of the LORD with His unclean speech. Perhaps Isaiah recognized the following:

But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be” (James 3:8-10).

Seeing the LORD elsewhere caused many similar responses: “And Manoah said unto his wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God” (Judges 13:22). And again, “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last” (Revelation 1:17). And again, “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake” (Ezekiel 1:28). We would be no different than these men.

When confronted with God, we realize how spiritually bankrupt we are. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isaiah 64:6).

We are very much remiss if we were to say that sin is mere moral pollution or bad stuff that we do. We sin because we are sinners, we do not become sinners because we sin. We are sinners by nature:

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned (Romans 5:12)

Because we are descended from the original sinner, Adam, we were conceived and born sinners. “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). Though we be born sinners, we are accountable for that which we have done. “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” (Revelation 20:13). Those works flow from the Adamic source within. However, we know very well that:

There is none righteous, no, not one: (11) There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (12) They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Romans 3:10-12)

By nature, no one is righteous, and because our character is contrary to God from birth, we have “all gone out of the way.” What else do we know about our nature as sinners?

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (Ephesians 2:1-3)

We were dead in sins, under the power of Satan, and we desired to walk in what we were by nature. And the result? We “were by nature the children of wrath.” The holiness of God demands judgment for sin, and we have no power to do anything about it. His wrath comes down on those that rebel against Him, which is all of us. “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13). From His holiness even heaven and earth flee: “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them” (Revelation 20:11).

The LORD’s Provision for the Sinner

However, in His compassion, the LORD extends His mercy. In our original passage, we read, “thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged” (Isaiah 6:7). Isaiah then was purged of his sin by the coal.

It is interesting that these same coals that purged Isaiah destroyed the wicked elsewhere in the Scriptures. “And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight” (Ezekiel 10:2).

Isaiah could not fix his sin problem or his unclean lips problem. The Lord had to fix it with the coal. In our previous examples, we saw that both the apostle John and the prophet Ezekiel had to be lifted up or filled with the Holy Spirit to even stand in His presence.

For us, Jesus Christ, the very same who was on the throne, so high and lifted up, humbled Himself all the way down to earth, being born of a poor virgin girl, living in a town that was despised by all Judea and Galilee, lived among the poor and outcasts of Israel. The LORD lived that perfect life that we could not. Why? Jesus is of immutable holiness, of which the seraphs continually testify.

The religious and political leaders destroyed Him, torturing Him to death on the cross. This is what the people saw, but there was more going on. Jesus “bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24). He fulfilled scripture:

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:10-11)

The wrath of God the Father came down on the Son instead of on us. Our sin was punished through Him without punishing us. God’s holiness demands the death penalty for our sin; God’s compassion demands a pardon for our sin.

By the blood of Jesus Christ, and that only, is the only requirement to be reconciled to God. This requirement never changes. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Romans 5:8-9). And again:

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, (20) By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; (21) And having an high priest over the house of God; (22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)

We have full acceptance in Jesus Christ, for He says, “he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). We need to be born again because the first time we were born, it was in Adam. Being born again, we are a part of a new family. We have changed citizenship from the kingdom of darkness to the Lord’s glorious kingdom.

The LORD’s Commissioning of the Saved

Only after we are saved from the penalty of our sin and our position before God is settled are we commissioned to good works. “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8) Not only does such a commissioning happen after we are saved, we are also eager to do it. Isaiah did not ponder his calling, “For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). And again, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

The holiness of God should make us stop and consider what we are doing and why. Consider the holiness of God:

So we cannot take any aspect of life lightly, for the only reason we are here is to reflect God’s holiness and bring His light to a lost and dying world.