992. Hallowed Be Thy Name

Welcome to The Daily Platform from Bob Jones University in Greenville South Carolina were continuing our study series on the Lord's prayer and today will hear from seminary professor Dr. Randy Gately today were going to look at the second aspect of our Lord's prayer we are going to look at, hallowed be thy name. Our thesis for the message this morning is this we must have a zeal for God's holy character. I suppose that there is no coincidence here that whoever picks the speakers picked an Old Testament guy today because basically the Old Testament is so rich in its presentation to us of what God's holiness really is the Lord's prayer is one section of our Savior's overall teaching on the subject of what he expects for believers in Matthew 548 which I would suggest is that beginning of everything that includes a sermon on the Mount.

The command is being therefore perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect. Now what the magnitude of that just impact your soul for a little bit be perfect. Well, you might as well tell me to jump over the moon and by the way, this is not the first time God has told somebody to be perfect. Consider the life of Abraham when he was 90 and nine years old. Lord appeared to him and he said I am the Almighty God. Walk before me and be thou perfect. Now course, we want to nuance that term perfect right we want to say all well in the Old Testament the concept of perfect shot laying this whole complete mature, it doesn't really mean perfect in the sense that we think of perfection. Oh really what you can nuance all this all you want but this is a very high goal that the Lord is setting for Abram at this point. His name is Abram and a very high goal.

Our Savior is setting for us. You know, we generally don't like the bar set high and watch those up all pull waters in the Olympics there was a young lady from Greenville.

The Greenville area who got silver metal and pole vaulting and they start out with it way higher than anything any of us could drop and then when they get a few successfully jump back and they raise the bar higher and will see how many can meet that goal. And then they raise a higher and pretty soon it's getting to the point where you say nobody's good to be able to jump that and somebody does make the gold medal. But we don't like the bar getting raised, at least for us personally, raise the bar for so what else not be well now the Lord has raised the bar quite quite high for us. Now let's talk here about what kind or how are zeal for God's holiness is manifested. First of all we must have a zeal for conformity to God's holy character, hallowed be is for those Greek bodies out there and there is passive imperative third person singular.

Knowing English. We have second person imperatives. You do this or y'all do this singular and plural Hebrews the same way. Hebrew has second person imperative but Inc. neither English nor Hebrew has 1/3 person imperative. So how in the world do we translate this well I success.

I would suggest that syntax communicates the idea of a humble petition for God to manifest his holiness to the supplicant. The person who is going to be praying this Lord, please. This is a fond zealous desire of the believer who prays this way, Lord, please manifest your holiness to me. I have a desire for this. This is this is deep down inside of me. What I really want and by the way, you cannot fake that that's going to be something that is going to have to result from your personal walk with the Redeemer who has saved you. There has to be grace involved for you to want this. This way, this is the kind of thing where the love of Christ constrains us our love for the one who redeemed us those deep within our hearts and we want to know him better. We are not going to be satisfied with anything less then a vibrant deep relationship with this one. Who is been so gracious to us. Now we have to ask ourselves what is God's name, hallowed be thy name. I have now. This desire to know God's holiness, but the text tells us that this is something related to God's name.

We usually use the concept of the name simply to refer to a moniker that you go by my name is actually my first name is John my middle name is Randolph. And so I go by Randy.

Don't ask me why it's a long story but I do know the word John means okay have no idea what what the word Randolph means and I don't care because we don't intend to communicate something about ourselves in the use of the name was significantly different in Old Testament times.

For instance, consider just as an example, the birth of Esau. Now in Hebrews name sounds a bit different than a dozen English is actually in a style and you don't anybody know what that name means. It means Harry HA I RY not AJR are why okay why did his parents given this name because the text says when he was born he was hairy all over like a hairy garment and so just think calling for dinner a hairy time for dinner and spent his whole life being just as hairy as anybody. You probably would've ever known.

That was characteristic of him as a person and so we ask ourselves the question when it comes to God's character or God's attributes really what is holiness.

Holiness is one of those kind names where are words that you use a point hasn't really good religious ring to it doesn't it holiness and I like the sound must refer something to God's like God's awesomeness. But if you ask typical people in the typical church define what God's holiness is you might get a few blank stares. So let's take a look at two key aspects of what it certainly is and then the third aspect of what I think it probably is right. Certainly it refers to God's majestic greatness.

And what better.

What better text to turn to. Then attacks from which are song that we sing this morning, holy, holy, holy comes from and that is Isaiah chapter 6 indicate here, the King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord, the master, the sovereign sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. That is his royal robes. There's no choo-choo in heaven above it stood the seraphim by the way Serafina's plural.

It does not need an S on the end.

Each one had six wings with twain he covered his face with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly and one cried unto another, and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. Now what is completely well nearly completely unprecedented in the Scripture in the Old Testament is a threefold repetition of something I Haber routinely uses a single repetition of terms to denote a superlative character quality.

For instance, in Isaiah 26 the prophet says you will keep the one whose mind is propped up in shalom shalom and how do the English versions handle that perfect peace. That's a superlative idea. But wait a minute.

How about this threefold repetition.

How do you translate that. What's the significance of that superlative beyond the superlatives there's there is nobody like this so great and holiness. And here now is Isaiah he's in the Lord's throne room and he sees well the one that we know from John chapter 12 is Christ himself seated on a throne and Isaiah gets a magnificent glory view of his glory glory is very closely related concept holiness.

Basically, holiness is everything God is in the perfections of this infinite character glory is what God wants us to see and know about his infinite holiness.

So glory is technically in my view, a subset of holiness, but they're very close terms. Here are the seraphs. These burning ones they could have said anything they jolly well well pleased. They could have said anything they wanted to describe this majestic sovereign sitting on his universal throne, but they repeat three times holy, holy, holy is the one who controls all the heavenly armies, all the armies on earth. All the celestial beings all that starry host. This one who has complete and utter sovereign control over everything. The one who is majestic beyond words to describe it, the one who is supremely holy. They don't say loving, loving, loving is the Lord of hosts. They don't say righteous, righteous, righteous is the Lord of hosts, they say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts now. Not only does his holiness involved his the greatness and majesty of his incomparable character. It also certainly refers to his uniqueness. For instance, in Exodus chapter 15 verse 11 we have sort of like I suppose you could say the center point of a Psalm of praise that Moses composes that essentially summarizes the first 14 chapters of the book of Exodus. This is the theological center of what God wants to teach his people through the Exodus, the deliverance of the Red Sea and so what is the centerpiece of Moses, a Psalm of praise.

He says who was like under the Lord among the gods rhetorical question the demands he answer no one who is likely glorious and holiness, fearful in praises doing miracles work wonders there.

I supernatural acts that only God can do and so what is it that this verse is communicated to us. No one no earthly person.

Certainly no false gods, no pretenders to be a God.

There is no one in the universe who is glorious and holiness. No other person in the universe who is fearful in praises doing wonders.

Now the third thing I would suggest you will need understand about holiness is that most likely holiness describes the totality of God's being. In other words, technically, what I'm arguing here is that holiness is not to simply one of God's attributes.

Holiness is the sum of his attributes.

In other words, that means God's righteousness is holy righteousness. In what sense it infinite and unique and his righteousness God's love is a holy love. No other love like that it's unique. There are no bounds to it. Not like our love.

That's fly night easily turned from what it ought to be directed back on ourselves that we become those who love themselves not to know God's love is far far beyond what we can even ask or think or comprehend every aspect of God's character is a holy character. Now most likely I we are. Or so I think we should see from this that are there are a couple of indicators of this in Scripture. Well, there are many more but we only have time to get to the main ones first of all, look at these two verses from the book of Amos, first of all, Amos 42 the Lord God has sworn by his holiness that low, the day shall come upon you that he will take you away with hooks in your posterity with fishhooks. In other words, judgment is coming, what is Amos say about the certainty of this God has taken an oath when God takes an oath he can't take it on anything less than himself. So he says I've taken this oath. According to my holiness. Now let's look at parallel passage, not very far from Amos 42 is Amos 68 the Lord hath sworn by himself and then of course follows judgment once again these parallel passages are not an airtight proof that God's holiness is equal to himself, but I think there there are an indicator that way and by the way, what does this term himself translate literally it says God has sworn by his Nefesh those of you who have taken Dr. Casillas's class in OT theology done. A word study on Nefesh and you know that the taxonomy of personhood.

Nefesh is right up there at the very top Nefesh is everything you are as a person. So when the text says God has sworn by his Nefesh it's equivalent to he's sworn by himself, and that is directly parallel to the concept of holiness as well. We consider what the Old Testament says about God's name we learn that 23 times.

The Bible tells us that God's name is holy and then kind of a synonym to this since holiness is the greatness and uniqueness of God's incomparable character is also said to be great. 13 times and then he said to be glorious. His name is said to be glorious.

11 times. But remember, I've already said glory is very closely related to holiness. So all the times. The Old Testament tells us that God's name is character is something it's always related to the concept of holiness what God wants us to realize through this is that when he says my name is holy. He's describing everything he is in the totality of his being.

And of course what this means is when we pray, hallowed be thy name. We are foundation we pray God I want to know you as you have as you really are. As you have manifested to me in the Scripture, I want to know you so that I might allow you to transform by very falling character that will come in the Christian life with different varying types of character's on the viewer's say very young in life before you had a chance to develop chronic character and your parents worked hard at making sure you are in church. Hearing the gospel hearing the word of God, you got you in a Christian school, and you learn from a very young age. You know good good character from the Scripture. And when he went on a trip your parents played you patch the pirate tapes. Obedience is the very best way to show that you will be leaving. That's the way I raise my kids but that's not the way I was raised. I didn't come to know the Lord till later on in life, and although my dad tried his best to beat some character printing it, you know, from his perspective is an unsaved guy, I should say that he was a good disciplinarian. He did not beat me, let's just make that clear. What I did learn something growing up, but not from a scriptural perspective. I was actually the first one in my family to come to know the Lord. So anyway basically one Leviticus. I 19 verse two and in first Peter chapter 3 verses 13 through 16, tell us that we are to be holy for our God is holy.

This is essentially a call for us to as much as a finite creature can manifest the holy character of the God we come to know and salvation. Only then will be. Will our lifestyle be what it ought to be.

Because you see holiness starts with internal transformation and then manifests itself in external lifestyle and if it's not in that order.

Then what happens when a being nasty Pharisees who think they're holy because of what they do and don't do.

I know I know holy because of what you don't do now what you don't do is important as you grow in God's holy character because there are lots of things that we need to condemn as well as command when we know our God.

The goal is perfection.

Even though will not reach the goal until death or until the return of Christ.

Christ and the church. But folks by God's grace we can make progress towards the goal that is called progressive sanctification these days there are those within what I call the super grace movement, then a very odd definition of grace. These are people who make such a point out of reveling in their justification that they conflate justification and sanctification, and they now basically have consigned progressive sanctification to the realm of what they call legalism. Watch out for this teaching it on the blotto spirit of fear. This is this is rampant. It used to be before the advent of any any Neo flight being able to establish a a webpage and his stuff doesn't have to pace Doesn't have the past any sort of peer review. It just gets on the Internet and spews his misunderstanding of theology and then he gets the following oh now misunderstandings developing a life of its own that spreads and people on Facebook like it may share it.

Eat some people that I am friends with, share some of the most unbelievable stuff on Facebook.

I look at you know where it no know till you see the problem with that.

That happens politically to his every other way on Facebook. We have to be very careful that we we go to the Scripture. Let the Scripture communicate to us the knowledge of our dear Savior, let it communicate to us what the goal is because we don't know anything about God other than its eternal power and an and sovereignty by looking at nature.

I actually only know by the sovereignty, but we do understand is power. We need the revelation of Scripture. Now folks, that means if we are to grow in holiness, then we're going to avail ourselves daily on the Scripture we are going to allow were going to plead with the Holy Spirit of God, who indwells us to use his word in transforming power and we will never ever be satisfied with where we are spiritually ever the day we become complacent.

I arrived. We're not worth shooting next. Not only was must we have a zeal for conformity to God's character, but we must also have a zeal for proclaiming God's holy character, why because our natural tendency. The old man within us to is to profane God's holy name, just as Israel did throughout its long history of spiritual apostasy has a long history. Same thing over and over again.

If you read Ezekiel chapter 36 verses 16 through 27 way going to find here is a repeated use of this concept of profane. What does it mean to profane God's holy name.

Well it means to take what is holy and treated as common and ordinary. So when, for instance, Israel began worshiping other gods and they tried to make an eclectic relation religion by mixing the worship of Yahweh with them with the worship of these false gods. Then they began to treat the Lord's character as if it were no different from the false gods that's called profaning his character not realizing the majestic, unique, incomparable greatness of God. If anything creeps into our lives and begins to dethrone the Lord from his rightful place as sovereign. That's a thing now, we have allowed a a profaning of God's holy name, but as New Testament believers we need to realize the truth of Romans 12 to we need to be renewed in the spirit of our minds and then when that renewal process is taking place.

We've yielded ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, our lifestyle by our lifestyle itself becomes a proclamation of the work of grace that God is doing in our lives to transform us so that we are not the same persons we were when we first came to know Christ but rather our lifestyle begins to take on a quality about it that is supernatural in its its manifestation's anybody ever looked at you and said I don't get you what makes you tick. Why in the world do you think so differently from the way I think how come you come to work on Monday morning and you're so stinking happy. Why I've never known anything like you are.

I that's it a point when you get to say look, it is the grace of God that is in the process of transforming to find out want to get to know me well enough, not perfect yet and only this, but this is this is the testimony we ought to be latter's written on tables of fleshy, not chiseled in stone, but letters of revelation to people who know us, especially unseen of what the grace of God is doing in our lives in progressive sanctification as we make progress toward the goal of manifesting God's holy character, hallowed be thy name.

That is a total life commitment to gross you been listening to seminary professor Dr. Randy Higley, which is part of the series on the Lord's prayer. We hope you'll join us next time. As we study God's word together on The Daily Platform