"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim.....And one called 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 threshold shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: 'Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell among a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!'" ( Isaiah 6:1-5 )
In this well known passage, the epic details of the prophet Isaiah's call to ministry unfold in a glorious, if not terrifying scene. Isaiah sees the Lord in the temple sitting upon his throne as the very foundations of the sanctuary begin to shake encapsulated by a smoke filled atmosphere, and the seraphim, celestial beings, their name, interestingly, means "burning ones," - these creatures call out above the Lord "Holy, holy, holy... "
Not surprising, Isaiah is completely undone and overwhelmed by the sight. Anytime anyone in the Scriptures experiences the manifold presence of God, there was only one place to go: down.
Not to go down a rabbit trail, but one of the many differences between God and us, and there are many, between Creator and creature, is "the Simplicity of God." This doesn't mean God is simple, but unlike man, God can't be separated from any of his attributes. In other words, God isn't broken into parts. He is all of his divine attributes at once. On my best day, I forget kindness and embrace impatience when I encounter road construction. However, God doesn't stop being merciful so he can execute judgement or stop being love because he's angry at sin.
God is love, holy, sovereign, gracious, all-wise, all-powerful, all-knowing, kind, merciful, wrathful, just, majestic, and all of his other attributes, all at once, all the time.
In the American church today it seems we've lost our reverence for God and especially knowledge of his holiness, or maybe we never had a good grasp on it to begin with, and this truth is vital for us to come to faith in Christ "How so?"
Look at Isaiah. When he sees the Lord in the temple, in the light of God's holiness, he concludes, "I am lost." Isn't it interesting that those are the words Isaiah chooses in the midst of seeing God's holiness? From this lasting impression of God's infinite holiness, it's no wonder that Isaiah's specific title for God becomes the Holy One of Israel throughout the Book of Isaiah.
This entire scene is a picture pointing forward to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Before we come to faith in Christ, we must understand our true, sinful human condition, and this knowledge is revealed in the light of God's holiness
If we think we're born good or doing pretty well on our own in spite of a few, pesky vices that aren't as bad as some folks, we fail to understand the doctrine of original sin - aka the sin our first parents committed by breaking the one and only commandment God gave to them, and thus causing sin to come to all mankind. ( Romans 5:12 )
And if we don't understand this core doctrinal truth, then we won't come to Christ because we don't think we need him. There's a lot of self-help gospel that's taught from many pulpits today saying, "You're just fine the way you are. You are enough."
Friends, we are not enough - ( Psalm 14 & 53, Romas 3 ) that's why God sent his Son into the world. It would be the most unloving thing not to speak this truth. "This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." ( 1 Timothy 1:15 )
Only in Christ are we enough to stand before a holy God. We are accepted in God's eyes and adopted into his family ONLY in the Beloved. ( Ephesians 1:6 ) We do not need our ears tickled with false teaching - we need our hearts confronted with the truth of Scripture.
And if we think a little bit of morality is all we need to clean ourselves up, we haven't understood this passage in Isaiah or the entirety of God's redeeming story.
Only in the pure light of God's holiness, can we see our sin. Until we know we are lost, we can't be found. In his classic work Knowing God, J.I. Packer states "modern man's heart is pagan, make no mistake about that, he imagines God as a magnified image of himself."
"you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you." ( Psalm 50:21 )
In the light of God's holiness, Isaiah immediately sees his uncleanliness and the uncleanliness of his people.
Here in Isaiah unfolds the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the life of a believer. Some suppose the Gospel is not found in the Old Testament, but the Gospel is woven throughout the Scriptures starting in the Garden of Eden when God sovereignly chose not to abandon Adam and Eve after they sinned against him.
"But God"
God himself proclaimed in Genesis 3:15 what is known as the protoevangelium - the first proclamation of the Gospel found in the Scripture. God promises to send his Redeemer.
After Isaiah acknowledges his and his people's sin:
"Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: 'Behold this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.'"
"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here I am! Send me. And he said, 'Go....'"
Knowing God,
leads to knowing my true self, my sinful nature,
leads to repenting of my sins
leads to trusting in the sacrificial, atoning work of Jesus on my behalf as my Savior and my Lord for the forgiveness of my sins,
leads to wanting to go and tell everyone about the grace of God in Christ,
in conversations, in living, in preaching, in music, in blogs. 😁
One more thing:
God did not leave Adam and Eve in the Garden in condemnation, slaves to sin, no, because his will has always been to dwell with his people, and he went to the most costly lengths to bring his purpose about "By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh.." ( Romans 8:5 )
From the rescue out of slavery in Egypt to his presence residing in the Tabernacle and Temple to his living within the very life of the believer through Christ, God's redeeming narrative has always been to bring his children home.
"And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." ( John 17:3 )
Do you know him?
Is your life in Christ about knowing God or have you drifted? Is it about having fellowship with him?
Or is it about being comfortable, saved from hell, effective, or moral?
The Good News is that if you're not sure and this whole thing is causing you angst, that's a great sign. You can come now. The truth about our sin isn't to lead us to despair, but to Christ.
Repent and believe.
"For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ( Romans 10:13 )
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| Our family gathered in front of the blacksmithing shop where my late brother-in-law James taught his craft to students and children. We didn't say good-bye, but see you at the finish line as you cheer us on. At James's memorial service the Farmer asked if all those present would raise their hands if James ever talked to them about Jesus. He said it appeared every single hand went up. |
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