Let me ask you a question, what image do you have in your mind when you think of God? Do you imagine a stern ruler with an iron fist? Do you imagine someone soft and welcoming—easy to approach?
Our internal vision of God matters, because we will acknowledge Him and respond to Him, based on how we view Him.
If your vision is out of whack, so will your homage unto Him be.
We live in the midst of a culture that struggles with respect and authority. Rebellion and dishonor has become the norm. Leaders and authority figures aren’t respected and everyone believes their behavior is justified. It’s no surprise that God and His Word are not esteemed in honor.
But I believe that if we had a right vision of God, these issues wouldn’t exist.
That’s why it’s so important to be able to answer this question, for both ourselves and the culture—Who is God? Of course none of us can answer that question fully and completely. Maybe one day, when we’re living with Him face to face, but for now, His Word gives us plenty to work with. Through His Word, He can be known.
The more we seek to know God and grow in truth about Him, the more we grow as well. We grow out of rebellion, pride, foolishness, and fear. When you meet God and get to know Him for who He truly is, and not a made-up version we often create of Him in our minds, you find that God is bigger and greater than anything you could have ever imagined. Better than anything or anyone you’ve ever known. And far more awesome than any word has the ability to express.
God is holy, and it’s time for us to learn what that means. It’s time to get to know God.
Holy, Holy, Holy
If I asked several people to name the most beautiful person in the world—according to their opinions—they’d probably all come up with someone different. Some answers would be based strictly on looks. Some answers might account for character and personality. And I’m sure there would be answers here and there that factor in intellect and accomplishments.
The fact is, we all view and determine what is beautiful in different ways.
Let’s take a look at how beauty is defined:
- Merriam-Webster: The quality or group of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or the mind.1
- Cambridge: The quality of being pleasing and attractive, especially to look at.2
So according to these definitions, people or things of beauty should bring pleasure to us and be pleasing to look at.
With that in mind, I want to take a look at two men of the bible, one in the old testament and one in the new testament. Two men that got glimpses of God, what they saw, and their reactions.
One thing I can tell you upfront with certainty is that our word beauty (or any other word for that matter) and its definition, doesn’t have the ability to fully capture who God is. His beauty and His holiness far exceeds anything you, I, or anyone else could come up with.
Let’s take a look first at the prophet Isaiah:
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. (Isaiah 6:14).
Let’s pause here for a moment and take in Isaiah’s experience.
Whether he was caught up to heaven or saw this in a vision, Isaiah has seen with his own two eyes, far more than most of us—if not all—have seen. Isaiah didn’t see another king sitting on his beautiful throne—he saw a convergence of glory, holiness, beauty, and purity like nothing we have ever seen before. He saw God.
God’s holiness is so encompassing and powerful, that the seraphim—created spiritual beings—cannot help but cry out holy, holy, holy, in His presence.
We see more of this in the apostle John’s experience in the new testament. Let’s take a look, and we’ll come back to Isaiah.
After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven…Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads. And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices. Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God. Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; For you created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.” (Revelation 4: 1-11).
As you can see, we get a bit more detail in John’s experience.
Let’s take a look at some of these things piece by piece.
First off, look at how John describes the appearance of God. I imagine he did his very best, but undoubtedly words failed him: “And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance.” I imagine God radiates such an intense degree of holiness, glory, purity, and beauty, that the best way John could describe Him was by emphasizing his uniqueness and comparing Him to something familiar, something beautiful, something special. Because there is no human that any other person would ever describe as a jasper or a sardius stone.
John’s words were limited—and that’s ok. It just deepens the realization that God is far above our finite minds and understanding—not just in His capabilities, but even in His appearance and His sphere.
Hence all that surrounds Him—rainbows, lightning, thunder, sea of glass, additional thrones—and wouldn’t you know, spiritual beings—once again, crying out holy, holy, holy.
John doesn’t identify them as seraphim so we have no confirmation as to whether or not these were the exact beings Isaiah saw, but it isn’t a far jump to assume they quite possibly are. And in assuming they are, we learn a little bit more about them this time around. More detail is given about their apperance, but even better, we learn that these heavenly beings do not rest day or night calling out to God and acknowledging His holiness.
God’s holiness is not only undeniable, it is contagious. When you get into a right relationship with God, through Christ Jesus, you crave more of Him and all that comes with Him—which includes holiness.
These beings can’t help but cry out to God. Every part of their being compels them to in His presence because His holiness is perfect and absolute!
Ponder this for a moment.
We are created, limited human beings that struggle to believe God—that struggle to obey God. Some of us even have the audacity to use His name in vain; and many of us completely deny and discredit Him as God. We prefer to make up a lesser god in our minds—one that submits to our agenda and our feelings.
And yet, there are beings who see the face of God everyday and can’t help but praise Him endlessly—because they know and recognize that He is far greater and far above and far better than anything and everything else.
That is something we all need to think more about!
In fact, if we go back to Isaiah’s experience, he wasn’t flippant or nonchalant in the presence of God. Neither did a watered down ooey gooey feeling overtake him. He was immediately humbled, and aware of his sinfulness and his smallness:
So I said: “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 my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5).
Isaiah realized his eyes were seeing Someone he was not worthy to look upon.
John had a similar experience when he first saw Jesus in all of His holiness and glory.
I, John…was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,”…then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. (Revelation 1:9-18).
John was not captivated by Jesus’ holiness and beauty—he was overtaken by it. It overwhelmed his senses and understanding.
God is holy. And when Isaiah and John encountered God, they both got their vision of Him right-sized.
We may not get the in-person glimpses of God that these two men experienced, but we can get our vision of Holy God right-sized. We can begin to see Him for who He is—not who we think He should be.
If you have a determination to know God, I encourage you to read His Word. Learn more about Him through what He shares about Himself—through the lives and experiences of the men and women who lived long before us.
God wants to be known, and we can know Him.
Right size your vision and understanding by recognizing and acknowledging that God is holy—and then, treat Him accordingly.
Going Deeper
We barely scratched the surface in delving into God’s holiness. Continue your study on this topic by studying the passages below. As 1 Peter 1:16 says, “It is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’”
- God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).
- No man shall see God’s face and live (Exodus 33:20-23).
- Holy ground (Exodus 3:1-6).
- Moses song—a testament to God (Exodus 15:1-19).
- Worship God (Psalm 96:1-13).
- Be holy (1 Peter 1:13-21).
Who Is God: A 4-part Series
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Sources
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Beauty. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from merriam-webster.com
- Cambridge University Press. (n.d.). Beauty. In Cambridge dictionary. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from cambridge.org
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