We have considered the sights that the apostle saw in heaven: now let us observe the songs that he heard, for there is in heaven not only that to be seen which will highly please a sanctified eye, but there is that to be heard which will greatly delight a sanctified ear. This is true concerning the church of Christ here, which is a heaven upon earth, and it will be eminently so in the church made perfect in the heaven of heavens.

In Hebrew, the double repetition of a word adds emphasis, while the rare threefold repetition designates the superlative and calls attention to the infinite holiness of God—the quality of God felt by creatures in his presence as awesomeness or fearfulness (Ps 111:9: “Holy and awesome is his name”). The living creatures celebrate God’s holiness and power as manifested in his past, present, and future activity. Such holiness cannot tolerate the presence of evil (21:27).

Holiness refers primarily to the quality of God, denoting his transcendent apartness from the rest of creation, his uniqueness, and his total purity. When the term is applied to people, things, or places that have been touched by the presence of God or dedicated to God, it connotes the idea of being set apart for God and thus belonging to the realm of the divine, which is morally and ceremonially pure.

The biblical concept of “holiness” is grounded in the idea of being set apart and transcendently distinctive. When the Bible claims that God is holy, it means primarily that he is radically distinctive in sphere, in character, and in requirements. He is high above human beings (1 Sam 2:2) and distinctive from all other deities (Exod 15:11; Pss 86:8–10; 99:2–3). As a quality or attribute of God, the term also carries the sense of “morally good” and “ethically pure.” Thus, the holiness of God entails that God’s character is totally good and entirely without evil (Hab 1:13). The triple repetition of “holy (קָדוֹשׁ, qādôš)” in Isaiah 6:3 expresses that God’s holiness is superlative and embrace the entirety of his divine nature. The term qādôš can be applied to persons, things, places, or times that are touched by or devoted to God. Since God is holy, whatever comes into contact with God or his presence is immediately holy and thus belongs to the realm of the sacred. In Exodus 3:5, God’s presence makes the ground on which Moses stands holy (קֹדֶשׁ, qōdeš).

In both the OT and NT, holiness is presented as a calling and a command to the people of God. Holiness itself or the desire for holiness is often presented as the prime characteristic and standard of behavior for worshippers (Lev 11:44–45) and Christians, patterned after the reality of God’s innate holiness (Lev 19:2; 1 Pet 1:16). In the NT, Christians are addressed by the term “the holy ones” or “the saints” (hagios; Phil 1:1, Eph 1:1, Heb 3:1), indicating that they are a group of people called by God and set apart for divine purposes.

Why do the cherubim say, “Holy, Holy, Holy”? Because God is Triune—Father, Son, and Spirit. The word “holy” means “whole”—not eroded by sin, not falling apart at the seams, not hypocritical or flawed in any way. And it is this holiness, this wholeness, which causes the cherubim to fall down in worship. Then, rising to go their way, they see Him again and bow again in ecstasy and awe. And on and on it goes perpetually—not because the cherubim are some kind of wind-up angels programmed to do this, but because they are totally overwhelmed by the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:2).

Truly, there is nothing as lovely as holiness in a man or woman, in a church or family—for, without even being able to identify it, people are attracted to it. Oh, they might be enamored or seduced by evil or darkness for a season—but when judgment comes, people hate it. Holiness, on the other hand, never becomes disillusioning or disappointing. The more holy a person, family, or congregation is—the more satisfying they are.

Full of vision and insight, the cherubim understand this. And that’s why they can’t take their eyes off this One who is holy.