“who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” I Timothy 6:16
One little phrase in this verse rivets my attention every time I read through this passage. Just four brief words crafted into a phrase that captivates me, causes me to ponder, evokes sacred awe in my soul. “Dwells in unapproachable light”.
These words speak, of course, of our Heavenly Father. The King of kings. The Creator and Sustainer of the universe. The one true God.
It is HE who dwells in unapproachable light. There are several gloriously complex truths in this verse but today we will focus on this one. God dwells in unapproachable light.
Whatever could Scripture be communicating to us here? Why direct our attention to His abode? And tells us that, yes, He is LIGHT, but that He is unapproachable?
The message here is one of God’s holiness. A message that we modern day believers seem to sadly neglect. We love to sing about His love, His grace, and His power. We rightly cherish His forgiveness and His redemption. We praise Him for His generosity and His benevolence. But we seem to overlook His holiness.
And this one little phrase seems intent on directing our worship to that one attribute.
What IS holiness? Holiness is perfection, completeness, and uniqueness. Absolutely no sin in thought or word or deed. Wow. It is difficult to define because there is no one or no thing to compare it to. In fact, His holiness is what sets Him apart from everyone and everything. John Piper defines it this way: “ God’s holiness is his infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent person that he is and who by grace made himself accessible — his infinite value as the absolutely unique, morally perfect, permanent person that he is.”
Why is it important for us to strive to understand the holiness of God? And it must be important because, of all His attributes, holiness alone is the one Scripture describes in triplicate- Isaiah 6:3 and Revelation 4:8 are two places where the creatures whose purpose is to worship God cry out
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” and
“And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” “
So, what about His holiness is so important for us to try to grasp? Why not His magnificent love? His righteousness? His power? Because we cannot appreciate His love or any other attribute unless we recognize that He is holy – perfectly unique and profoundly incomparable. That is what makes His grace so amazing. That is why salvation through Christ alone is so incredible. He who dwells in UNAPPROACHABLE light – the One Whom we are not worthy enough to even see much less come near – has made Himself accessible to us through the sacrifice of His Son. He has made pardon possible so that we can come into His presence and His magnificent love beckons us to do just that. We who are so UNholy – sinful, imperfect, literally wretched – are invited into this dwelling place of UNAPPROACHABLE light. The place of perfect peace, complete love, inexpressible joy – His presence.
His incomparable value, His radiant glory, His incomprehensible power are made available to us at great cost
“the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. “(Ephesians 1:3–6)
Yes, He who dwells in unapproachable light deserves all honor and eternal dominion. Holy, holy, holy. Amen.