Thinking in 3’s - Revelation 4:8-11 - A Cluster of 3’s

As we work backward through the Bible, from the end of Revelation toward the beginning, the frequency of “3’s” increases. Here is chapter 4, a worship setting, I’ve marked 4 sets of 3 within 4 verses. We will look at these.

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty (verse 8)

This is not the only place in Scripture where we find a three-fold holy. An important reference is Isaiah 6, when Isaiah “sees” the Lord in His throne room, and the seraphim cry out, 

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;The whole earth is full of His glory!”

The importance of the repetition goes something like this: if God says it twice, He really means it. And it He says it three times, then He really, really means it. This is highly important.

Our second “3” is in the same verse

“who was and is and is to come!”

It speaks of the eternality of God. It is said that we have eternal souls. That is, whether in spiritual life and death, we will always exist, whether in fellowship with God or out of fellowship with God. But God’s eternality is different, in that, while He will continue to life forever, He has always existed. We cannot say that of ourselves.

“Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks” (verse 9)

These three go together, as does the next collection of 3 in a moment. One can scarcely give glory to God without giving honor, and one can scarcely give honor to God without giving thanks. Our thanksgivings belong to the highest acts of worship, glorifying and giving honor to God. Therefore, we should never discount the importance of thankfulness to Him.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,” (verse 11)

In any of these three areas, we cannot over-glorify God. We cannot over-honor Him. We cannot make too much of His power. They are of an order above and beyond the most extravagant of our ascriptions. And so our best worship is a mere scratching at the surface of His wonders and perfections.

In Revelation 4, the members of this heavenly host who are praising God are an elite worship team. And if they cannot get to the bottom of it, neither can we. And yet, it is our privilege to do our best in worship.