Isaiah 6:1–3 (ESV)
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.
2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

When we say that God is holy, we are referring to more than his moral character. It is true that God is pure in a moral sense, but his holiness is more than just that. God’s holiness refers to him in his entirety. To be holy is to be “other”. God is wholly other as he stands outside of all of creation. He is separate and distinct.

God’s people are also called to be holy:

“For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. You shall not defile yourselves with any swarming thing that crawls on the ground. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”” (Leviticus 11:44–45, ESV)

Of course, we cannot be holy in all the same ways God is holy. We are part of the creation and there is nothing we can do about that. However, we can be separate and distinct from the worldliness around us. We are called to live lives that are different and that glorify the Lord. In this way, we are holy just as God is holy.

---

**If you enjoy reading Shaped by the Word, please consider sharing this post on social media. Doing so helps us reach a larger audience. Thanks for reading.

Follow Shaped by the Word on WordPress or Facebook.