Reflections: Holiness in Heaven

Imagine – heaven.

Holiness is a condition that exists in heaven. While holiness means a number of things to different people, the biblical concept of holiness means two things: exalted and separate.

Exalted

The Lord our God is holy. The Psalmist writes, “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.” (Psalm 99:9)

The Lord, who is the persona par excellence and the essential constitution of heaven, sits on a throne that is above all thrones. He is exalted above all. He is “The Son [who] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Col. 1:15-17)

“Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,” the Psalmist writes, “mightier than the breakers of the sea—the Lord on high is mighty. Your statutes, Lord, stand firm; holiness adorns your house for endless days.” (Psalm 93:4,5)

The citizens of heaven, because they have been united in nature with the one who is absolutely holy, have entered a most prominent position.

They have been elevated into the presence of the one who has absolute power.

They dwell in the high and lofty place of God’s glory.

They occupy a most exalted position wherein they have obtained the status, distinction and affluence that is in him who alone is holy.

They have received a glorified body.

They have entered into a glorified existence, for the hero of heaven, the resurrected and exalted Christ, is their substance.

Separate

The truth of the statement, “I the Lord am holy” (Lev. 21:8b) reverberates repeatedly throughout God’s Word. 

He is the unique, one-of-a-kind, set apart one-and-only true God, and sin has no possibility whatsoever of ever entering his presence. His holiness is of such nature that it dissipates even the slightest hint of sin. 

That is why the conditions that accompany sin, those that exist only because sin exists, like injustice, war, rebellion, disease, sickness, and death, are never present, nor can they ever be present – where he is.

Separation, also known as consecration, means two things: separation from sin and separation unto the Lord.

Separated from Sin

Given that heaven is a place that is utterly separated from sin, so that the wages of sin, those that carry the same conditions that death itself carries, have been eradicated, it is a most pristine place.

Because God himself is separate from human infirmity, impurity, and iniquity, those who live in his company and under his sovereign rule are also separate. They have been severed eternally from sin and its effects. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, the legal requirements of God’s law have been fully met, and they have been eternally removed from sin, all sin’s consequences, and all sin’s claims. Calvary has separated them from the penalty of sin, the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work has separated them from the power of sin, and now, glorified, they have been separated from the very presence of sin itself.

Separated unto the Lord

To be holy means to be set aside by and for God. It means to be chosen by him and to be dedicated to his exclusive intentions. 

In heaven I am separated unto and joined effusively with God himself. He is my greatest source of enthusiasm, and I am his.

All other contractual relations have been severed, so that I belong only to him.

All other obligations have been dissolved, so that I am constrained only by him.

All other associations have been cut, so that my affiliation is only with him, and with those who embody his nature and personify his identity.

The Lord, because he is and always will be perfect in goodness and righteousness, is worthy of complete devotion. With this as their established foundation, the citizens of heaven are most naturally and ardently committed to him. 

They are completely suited to his holy presence because they have been made holy by the holy work that he has completed in them, as the Bible tells me, “Those who are left in Zion [where God dwells], who remain in Jerusalem [God’s city, town, village, community, etc.] will be called holy.” (Isa. 4:3)

I can’t wait!