Holiness of God

Definition and Meaning

The holiness of God is the attribute of God by which he is set apart from everything created and is unmixed with sin or evil. The Old Testament Hebrew word qadosh and the New Testament Greek word hagios both have the basic meaning of "set apart" or "separated." Holiness therefore denotes two things together: moral purity, and transcendence, meaning that God is fundamentally different from his creatures and stands above the world. Theologians describe holiness as a quality of God's character closely bound up with other attributes such as the righteousness of God and the love of God.

Biblical and Historical Background

The classic text is Isaiah 6:3. In the vision in the temple, the seraphim cry, "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts," and a similar song of praise appears in Revelation 4:8. The church calls this hymn the Trisagion or Sanctus (a hymn that proclaims holiness three times) and has long used it in worship. Leviticus declares, "Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy" (Leviticus 19:2), making God's holiness the standard by which his people are to live. First Peter 1:15–16 quotes this command and calls believers to holy conduct.

Reformed theology divides the attributes of God into two groups. Attributes that are not shared with human beings are called "incommunicable attributes," while those that human beings can reflect to some degree are called "communicable attributes." Holiness is usually classified as a communicable attribute.

Practice in the Korean Church

Many churches sing the hymn "Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty" at the opening of worship or use the Trisagion as a doxology. Denominations differ in their emphasis on how human beings participate in God's holiness.

• Holiness churches: The Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, the Jesus Korea Sungkyul Church, and others stand in the tradition of Wesleyan theology and the Holiness movement. They make entire sanctification, understood as a grace received by faith subsequent to regeneration, a central doctrine and set it within the Fourfold Gospel of regeneration, sanctification, divine healing, and the Second Coming.
• Methodist churches: Inheriting Wesley's teaching on "Christian perfection," they emphasize a holy life made perfect in love.
• Presbyterian and other Reformed denominations: They describe holiness as progressive sanctification that continues throughout life after justification, and they hold that sinless, perfect holiness is difficult to attain in this life.
• Pentecostal churches: They tend to explain the holy life in connection with being filled with the Holy Spirit.