Beholding the Holy One: Our Worthy Calling
In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, with the train of His robe filling the temple. (Isaiah 6:1, LSB)
Immediately I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. (Revelation 4:2, LSB)
In both of these passages, Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4, we get an image of God sitting on his throne. Each one reveals the majesty and holiness of God. In fact, They both have the phrase “Holy, Holy, Holy”
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” (Revelation 4:8, LSB)
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is Yahweh of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory.” (Isaiah 6:3, LSB)
The Transforming Vision of God’s Holiness
Both the Greek and Hebrew word for “Holy” carries the idea of being set apart. The meaning being in the context of this throne room, that God is completely other than his creation. The triple repetition—“Holy, Holy, Holy”—represents the strongest possible emphasis on God’s unparalleled holiness. He is utterly unique and lifted up.
When confronted with these visions of God, Both Isaiah and John recognized their sinful state. Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5, LSB). And John fell at his feet “as though dead” (Revelation 1:17). What this reveals is that a true encounter with our Holy God leads us to a proper understanding of ourselves and who God is.
I believe a great example of this actually comes from Exodus 33 with Moses and God. After leading Israel through the wilderness and experiencing both intimacy with God and the people’s rebellion, Moses makes this bold request: “Please show me your glory” (Exodus 33:18). God responds by revealing His goodness and proclaiming His name by allowing Moses to see His back, but not His face, for “no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20).
What happened after this encounter is that Moses changed. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, “the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God” (Exodus 34:29). So radiant was his countenance that the people were afraid to come near him, and he had to wear a veil over his face (Exodus 34:30-33). Moses’ physical transformation perfectly illustrates the spiritual reality that beholding God’s glory changes us.
Beholding and Becoming
This brings up the biblical concept of beholding and becoming. We have a calling to behold the glory of God and be transformed by what we see. In fact, this is what God wants us to do. He doesn’t want us to hide, he doesn’t want us to turn aside. Even when we sin, instead of feeling the guilt or condemnation to the point where we hide like Adam and Eve did in the garden, God made a way for us to behold him.
Paul explains this beautifully in 2 Corinthians 3:18:
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18, LSB)
But notice the natural flow of this, Paul is assuming that all Christians are doing this - We all. We all are what? Beholding. This is not a command, this is not necessary just a statement - it is actively what Christians do because God is at work in us.
If we back up to verse 16, it says, “But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veiled is taken away.” The moment we believed, we have freedom because the Spirit dwells within us. The veil has been removed. The veil being the very thing that separated us from God in order to protect us from his holiness and glory. This is who we are in Christ - people who can now behold God.
The Greek word for beholding carries the idea of both reflecting and gazing into a mirror. We are not yet face to face with God, so on this side of heaven it is like a mirror. But that does not hinder us from our transformation. Even if the glory of God is like a reflection, where we get to see glimpses of it in his creation or through his Word, we are still being changed. As we gaze upon his glory, we are increasingly reflecting that glory to the world around us. Our identity in Christ is to be mirrors of his character.
What a honor and blessing this is.
The Church
Just to be clear about the implication of this for us as a church. The New Testament reveals that the church—the body of Christ—is now God’s dwelling place, his temple (Ephesians 2:21-22). We don’t have to await death or a special vision to enter God’s throne room. When we gather as His people, we, in one sense, stand on holy ground.
It is not the building that we meet in, but our fellowship with one another.
This is why Paul puts such emphasis on unity and Christ-like character. If we are the temple where God’s glory dwells, we reflect him in how we relate to one another. Our relationships within the body of Christ either obscure or reveal God’s glory to a watching world.
Walking Worthy of Our Calling
So how do we walk worthy of this high calling to behold and reflect God’s glory? Paul outlines this in Ephesians 4:2-6:
With humility and gentleness (v. 2) - True encounters with God’s holiness produce genuine humility. When we see God as He is, we see ourselves as we are.
With patience, bearing with one another in love (v. 2) - As we behold God’s patient love toward us, we extend that same patience to others.
Eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit (v. 3) - Unity is not an optional extra; it’s essential to our calling. The repeated “one” in verses 4-6 echoes the “Holy, Holy, Holy” of God’s throne room.
Recognizing our shared identity in the Triune God (vv. 4-6) - Our unity is grounded in the one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all.
When we truly behold the One seated on the throne, our lives begin to reflect His character. The qualities Paul lists are the natural outflow of a heart captivated by God’s glory.
So let us never stop behold God - remember to point your own heart to God and encourage others to see his beauty!
