The Psalmist Voice Reloaded: Mirror On The Wall Part 1 of 4.

Our translation for holiness comes from the Hebrew word qadowsh which means "to cut." To be holy means to be cut off, or separate, from everything else. It means to be in a class of your own, distinct from anything that has ever existed or will ever exist. Qadowsh means a second thing: to be holy means to be entirely morally pure, all the time and in every way possible.

When you put these two elements of holiness together, you're left with only one conclusion: that the Lord of hosts is the sum and definition of what it means to be holy. He occupies a moral space that no one has ever occupied before, and as such, we have no experience or frame of reference to understand what he is like because there's nothing like him.

Exodus 15:11 asks, "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" (ESV) 1 Samuel 2:2 declares, "There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God." (ESV)

There's even more to be said. God's holiness is not an aspect of who he is or what he does; no, God's holiness is the essence of who he is. If you were to ask, "How is the holiness of God revealed?" the only right answer would be, "In everything he does." Everything God thinks, desires, speaks and does is utterly holy in every way..