Searching the Unsearchable: A Holy God

The faith proclaimed by the historic Christian Church is one founded on the Living God. God created the universe by his Word. Creation stands by God's sheer will. There is no truth or moral basis without the perfect standard God provides. On a far more personal level, God is the one who reaches out to humanity to make Himself known. There is nothing that escapes God, nor evades his purpose. The question that demands an answer is: How can we know God? Where do we start?

The first concept that needs our attention is God's holiness. What does it mean to be holy? Webster's dictionary defines the adjective holy as "exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness." By its English definition, holy means to be considered to possess perfection and righteousness. By this definition alone, we begin to define the very character of God and the dilemma posed to humanity in the quest to interact with the divine.

The Bible provides further information about what holy means in the context of Biblical and Theological thought. Holy means to be totally separate from the ordinary or mundane aspects of life and existence. The Hebrew word, Qodesh, points to God's transcendence, which simply means God is not part of the created order in the universe. God's holiness cannot be accessed in natural terms, as creation gives hints about God's character, attributes, and His personal touch in all creation. The New Testament's Word, Hagios, similarly gives the meaning of worthy of veneration, complete separation from the mundane, exclusivity to the divine, and sinlessness/absolute purity. God is presented to the readers as the ultimate standard of perfection.

The anecdote from the Bible that highlights God's presence and the awesome image of who God is can be found in a vision given to the Prophet Isaiah:

"In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory." And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke." (Isaiah 6:1-4, NASB)

The image of the King of heaven seated on the exalted throne receives adoration in the highest form. The Three-Times Holy God is presented in the linguistic tool of repetition to emphasize the importance of the adjective and convey the extreme degree of the Word. God is not only holy, but God is presented as the maximum level of holiness. There is no more perfect or righteous being in the universe, such as the Living God. The response gives us the answer to the ultimate search humanity embarks on: To search and find the person of God.

"Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with tongs. He touched my mouth with it and said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away and your sin is forgiven."" (Isaiah 6:5-7, NASB)

God reveals Himself to Isaiah, and he confesses the problem that keeps him from communing with a Holy God. He is sinful, living among wicked people. The term "woe is me" could aptly be transliterated to say, " I am damned!" God then provides the antidote for the sinfulness that keeps the man from being close to God. The fiery angel, the Seraphim, takes a burning ember from the altar and touches the man's lips. The iniquity of his lips is removed, and the sins are removed and forgiven. How does this impact how we search for the unsearchable?

1. God discloses himself, humanity always falls short of finding God. Regardless of the method: Learning, Meditation, Pleasure, Enterprise, Fame, and many other forms, God is not attained through these. God discloses Himself to those whom He wills.

2. The Sheer awareness of God is intimidating. When faced with the weighty nature and expression of God's character (love, wrath, justice, righteousness, power, patience, etc.) is enough to make humanity aware of the total inadequacy to approach God with confidence. God, in his disclosure to others, provides a way to engage him in all his fulness.

3. God removes the reproach from the sinner. Through the removal of sin's reproach, God opens the way for fellowship and learning whom He is in relationship to the creation fashioned in his perfect will. God, through His self-disclosure, removes the obstacles that humanity is incapable of removing on our own. God invites humanity back onto Himself, actively giving humanity hints of Whom he is and his person's attributes.