Isaiah Saw Jesus

      Isaiah 6 is a chapter well known to many. In it we read of Isaiah's experience of being in the presence of the Lord.

     In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe  filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory." and the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 

     Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and  I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts (Isaiah 6:1-5 NASB).

     There is no doubt that Isaiah saw God. The Hebrew word translated LORD is Yehovah, the self existing, eternal one. What Isaiah saw was an awesome manifestaion of the glory of the LORD, while Seraphim cried "Holy, holy, holy," and the temple shook. In fact Isaiah was undone in the presence of Yehovah God.

     As we read on we see that one of the Seraphim flew toward him with a coal from the altar, and touched his lips, purging his sin, and taking away his iniquity (Isaiah 6:6-7). 

     In John's gospel we read of the final events of Jesus' ministry in the days leading up to His arrest and crucifixion. John 12:38 tells us that in spite of all the signs that He had performed before the people, they did not believe in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED (John 12:38 NASB)?

     In spite of three years of ministry, teaching, and miracles of every kind, the people in general rejected Jesus as their Messiah, as the very Son of God. In describing the manner of death by which He was to die, the people asked, "Who is this Son of Man?" They were confused by His use of this divine title (Daniel 7:13-14), believing that the Messiah was to remain forever (John 12:32-34).

     All this was a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:1. Jesus, the Arm of the LORD had been revealed to Israel, as Yehovah God, their God and king, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, yet they did not believe. Isaiah 53 continues on to show the events that were yet to come in the life of Jesus. It speaks of the horror and injustice of his arrest, torture and death. However it also shows us why. He suffered all of this as a sacrifice for sin; to bear the iniquity of mankind so that we could be reconciled to God. And the unbelief of the people played into this as the events unfolded.

     John also quotes Isaiah 6:9-10 to show that the unbelief of the Jews fulfilled prophecy,

     For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, "HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."

     These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him (John 12:39-41 NASB).

     Whose glory did Isaiah see? and who was Isaiah speaking of? John is showing us that the words of Isaiah were being fulfilled before their very eyes. Isaiah had prophesied of this. It was Jesus whose glory that he saw. Jesus was the LORD high and lifted up, seated on the throne, and it was Jesus whom Isaiah spoke of.  Jesus the "Word become flesh, who is the image of the invisible God, in whom all the fullness of God dwells in bodily form (John 1:14, 12:44-45, Col 1:15, 19).

     

     

     

     

     

Jesus in Psalm 45

      My heart overflows with a good theme; I

address my verses to the King;

My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

You are fairer than the sons of men;

Grace is poured upon Your lips;

Therefore God has blessed You forever. 

Gird Your sword on Your thigh, O Mighty

 One, in Your splendor and Your majesty!

And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,

for the cause of truth and meekness  

and righteousness.

Let Your right hand teach You awesome 

things. Your arrows are sharp;

The peoples fall under You;

Your arrows are in the heart of the 

King's enemies.

Your throne, O God, is forever

and ever; A scepter of uprightness

is the scepter of Your kingdom.

You have loved righteousness 

and hated wickedness; Therefore

God, Your God, has anointed You 

with the oil of joy above Your fellows.

Psalm 45:1-7 NASB

     

     This psalm, in the first section, describes a King who is fairer than men, one who speaks with grace, and is forever blessed by God (Psalm 45:1-2). Next we read that this same King has splendor and majesty ascribed to Him (Psalm 3-4) and will ride in victory for righteousness, meekness, and truth (Psalm 45:3-4). And yes, we read in these verses that this King is a mighty warrior who will inflict judgement upon His enemies (Psalm 45:3, 5). 

     In Psalm 45:6 we see that this King is God, who rules forever, in uprightness. As God, He loves righteousness and hates wickedness (Psalm 45:7). This is the very foundation of His kingdom. 

     What we read next is quite amazing. Because the King (God), loves righteousness and hates wickedness, He is anointed by God, His God with the oil of Joy above His fellows (Psalm 45:7). This is a profound statement describing a plurality in the Godhead, and ultimately describes the reign of Jesus Christ.

     The writer of Hebrews has this to say,

But of the Son He says, " Your throne O God,

is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter 

is the scepter of His kingdom. 

You have loved righteousness and

hated lawlessness; therefore

God, Your God, has anointed You

with the oil of gladness above Your companions."

Hebrews 1:8-9 NASB

     In this passage we see Psalm applied to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. From this we see plainly that, yes, Jesus is divine, He is God. We also see that as God, He was anointed by God, and that even though Christ is God, He still has a God (Psalm 45:7, Heb 1:9). As the God who became flesh to dwell among us (John 1:14), He lived in subjection to the Father. This helps to bring clarity to passages such as John 20:17 where Jesus states that He must ascend to My Father and Your Father, and My God and Your God, and Ephesians 1:3 which speaks of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We in our finite minds cannot always comprehend the deep things of God, but yet we see scriptures revealing God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

    

     

     

In Whom Did Abram Believe?

 In the beginning was the Word...

John 1:1

 

     We read in Genesis 15 the account of Abram and the son promised him by the LORD. in verse 1 we read,

     After these things, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision saying, "Do not fear,  Abram, I am a shield to you; your reward shall be very great." (Gen 15:1 NASB)

     We see that the word of the LORD came to Abram. This was in a vision. Was it a voice from heaven, or did this word come in some other way?  Abram responds to this with a request for an heir, a child, as he was childless (Gen 15:2-3). Now the word of the LORD comes to Abram. First in a vision and now as a person as we will see.

    

     Then behold the word of the LORD came to him saying, "This man will not be your heir, but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be." (Gen 15:4-5 NASB)

     Notice that the word of the LORD is personified in these two verses. The pronoun He, is used in referring to the word of the LORD here. The word of the LORD takes Abram outside and asks him to count the stars. This is someone present before Abram who then speaks to him further and promises Abram that his descendants would be exceedingly numerous. 

     Abram believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness (Gen 15:6)

     Abram believes in the LORD in whose presence he is standing. The word of the LORD reveals himself to Abram as the LORD who called him out of Ur to go to a land which he would be given to possess. This divine being then makes a covenant with Abram as well. (Gen 15:7-21). So who is this? 

     We read in John 1:18, that no one has seen God at anytime, but the only begotten in the bosom of the Father has explained or revealed Him. This is Jesus, the one in whom all the fullness of deity dwells (Col 2:9). This same Jesus is revealed as the Word in John 1:1-5, 14. The one who came to Abram,  the one in whom Abram believed was Jesus Himself, appearing in a pre-incarnate form as the word of the LORD.

     

God and Governments

 Here in America we are sure facing a lot of stress and division during this election cycle. Sadly I see a lot of tension, fear, distrust, and even anger among professing Christians. Here are a few verses to ponder in the days and weeks ahead. Perhaps the Bible can help us gain a different perspective.

     This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets it over the lowliest of men. Daniel 4:17 NKJV

     While the word was still in the kings mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom is departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen: and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses." Daniel 4:32-33 NKJV

     Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.  Romans 13:1 NKJV

Now we could dig in depth into these verses but for the sake of brevity I will only make a few observations. First of all we read in these verses that it is God who ultimately raises leaders and bring leaders down. We do not understand all His reasons for why we see certain men in power, but be sure of this, God in His sovereign purpose rules in the kingdoms of men. We also can infer from this that rulers are not necessarily godly men. The verses in Daniel refer to Nebuchadnezzar, who was not someone we would emulate as Christians. 

Paul's reference in Romans 13 was written in the days of the Roman Emperor Nero, one of the cruelest leaders the world has seen. It was this Nero who persecuted the early church, throwing Christians to the beasts in the Roman coliseum. Yet we see Paul saying that God places leaders in their positions of authority, and we are to respect and submit unto them. Also we can pray for them so it will go well for us (1Tim 2:1-3). As Christians can we at least do this?

So in closing remember that whether your candidate won or lost, your party is in control or not, as  Christians we look to Jesus as our Savior and King. It is ultimately His kingdom that we are citizens of, and are to seek (Phil 3:20, Matt 6:33), not the kingdoms of this world. Our best efforts should be put into reaching the lost for Jesus Christ, as His is the only Kingdom that will endure (Daniel 2:44, 4:34, 7:13-14, Rev 11:15).

     

The Holy Spirit in the Ministry of Jesus

      While Jesus Christ is the divine Son of God, it is equally true that He emptied Himself and took on flesh. (Phil 2:6-8, John 1:1, 14). Theologians have wondered over the implications of this emptying of Himself. What did it entail? Humanly speaking we don't understand it fully perhaps, but the fact remains that Jesus became a man, and lived among us as one of us, sharing in our human limitations, although He never ceased to be God. 

     That leaves us with a question. The gospel accounts are filled with miracles. Jesus healed multitudes of people. He cast out demons, raised the dead, cursed the fig tree, fed 5,000, and then a short time later another 4,ooo  with just a few loaves of bread and fish. He taught the people with an authority that took them by surprise. It was unlike anything they had seen or heard up to that point. Again, the gospel record of Jesus is filled with the miraculous. How did He do it? Of course He was God in the flesh, the Son of God. Did His miracles flow from His divinity? Or did He operate another way in the days of His flesh? 

     You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God

anointed Him with the Holy Spirit

and with power, and how he went

about doing good and healing

all who were oppressed by the devil, 

for God was with Him.

Acts 10:38 NASB

     Here we see the answer to this question. Jesus ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit during His time upon this earth. Beginning with His baptism Jesus was filled with the Spirit (Luke 3:21-22), and led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1). After His temptation in the wilderness He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit (Luke 4:14). It is at this point He enters the synagogue and reads from Isaiah 61:1-2,

     The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. 

This He applied to Himself (Luke 4:18-21). Now the crowd did not react to well to this statement and they tried to kill Him. However he next taught in Capernaum, and the people there were amazed at His teaching, For it was with Authority (Luke 4:32). The crowd had the same reaction to His sermon on the mount (Matt 7:29).

      Behold My servant whom I have chosen; My beloved in whom I am well pleased; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the Gentiles (Matt 12:18 NASB, Isaiah 42:1 NASB). 

     Reading these verses brings one to the baptism of Jesus as the Holy Spirit descends upon Him, and the voice from heaven proclaims, "This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." (Matt 3:16-17)

     In Luke 5:17 we see that the power of the Lord (The Holy Spirit) was present for Jesus to Heal. As concerning casting out demons Jesus states in Matthew 12:28, "If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you."

     So we see that as the God-Man, Jesus lived and ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit. He spent time alone in prayer as He "recharged" for another day. even in His arrest and crucifixion He relied upon the Holy Spirit for the strength to go through it (Heb 9:14).

     We read these final words Jesus shared with His disciples as He prepared to ascend, "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on High." (Luke 24:49 NASB)

     Just as Jesus operated in the power of the Holy Spirit in His days on the earth, so we also are dependent upon this very same power as we also go forth to advance His kingdom! 

     

Who is God? Part 5

The Deity of the Spirit 

     In this post I would like to take a further look at the Holy Spirit, and in particular His divinity.  

     First, He is called the Spirit of God (Rom 8:9), the Spirit of the LORD (Isaiah 11:2, Acts 5:9), and the Spirit of Christ (1Peter 1:11, Gal 4:6).  

     In the account of Annanias and Sapphira, Peter asked him why he lied to the Holy Spirit, and then tells him that he has not lied to men but to God (Acts 5:3-4).In Hebrews 3:7-11 we see the Holy Spirit was provoked by the Israelites in the wilderness. In Numbers 14 we read of the refusal to enter the promised land, and how the LORD was the one angered by this (Numbers 14:11), and His subsequent refusal to allow them to enter in. Compare also Isaiah 6:8-10 with Acts 28:25-27, where it is shown that the LORD in Isaiah's passage is the Spirit in the Acts quotation.  Likewise we read that the Scriptures are inspired by God, but we also see that it is the Holy Spirit who moved men in this process, equating the Spirit with God (2Tim 3:16, 2Peter 1:20-21). These accounts serve to show us that the Holy Spirit is indeed equated with God in the scriptures.

     As Christians we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of the presence of God. This is true of us as individuals, and also corporately as the body of Christ when we come together. Who but God can claim a temple to be worshipped in? Likewise we believe that Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, but in truth this is accomplished by the presence of the Holy Spirit filling the temple's of those who believe (1Cor 6:19, Eph 2:19-22, 2Tim 1:14) 1Peter 2:4-5, Eph 3:16-17). 

     As further proof of the Holy Spirit's divinity we see that He shares the attributes of God in that He is omnipresent (Psalm 139:7-10), omniscience (1Cor 2:9-16), omnipotence ( Luke 5:17, Eph 3:16-20, Romans 8:11), was at creation (Gen 1:2, Job 33:4), and is eternal (Hebrews 9:14). 

     And finally the Holy Spirit's work in regeneration or the new birth as seen in John 3:5-7, and Titus 3:4-7.

     

A Cry For Revival: The Fear Of The Lord.

A Cry For Revival: The Fear Of The Lord.:     The fear of the Lord.      We are told in the scriptures, that the fear of the Lord is the begnining of wisdom ( Prov 1:7 ). The...