Isaiah 65
Gospel According to Isaiah • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro
Group Intro
- Goal
We are to eagerly hunger for spiritual nutrition in greater degrees - Spiritually mature
Regardless of your background or where you are in your relationship with Jesus, you are called to grow
- What we do
Scripture
Prayer
Community
Review
Book So Far
The mystery of glorification and suffering of the servant
The servant’s life of suffering
The purpose of suffering -
Substitutionary atonement
Resolves the tension of the OT - God is Just and the Justifier
The servant’s death of suffering - No complaint, willing
Mystery revealed
This was God’s plan - Not just an angry old man
Sin was taken, but righteousness is also given
Leads to this restored people
Out of His unique, ultimate suffering, Christ is uniquely, ultimately glorified
Lesson Intro
With a wondrous truth like this, what is left to be said? We have seen the core of the gospel, why Jesus came, how to be made right with God. Is that not enough?
In some ways it is hard to imagine what more needs to be said after ch.55 concludes. Why did Isaiah add anything more? What more could be added to the promises of return to the land and the forgiveness of sin by the pure grace of God? ... Something about the theology of chs. 1-55 is not complete. - Oswalt
Last Lesson
Particularly in the reformed tradition, it is easy to focus exclusively on justification in the chain of salvation. But that is one link.
Questions brought up and addressed in 56-66
How should we now live? In what way and by what power?
Who receives this grace?
Will it extend past the traditional recipients? How will it reach them?
Will this grace mean it is ok to be apathetic?
In historical terms, what was the purpose of the exile and return?
We saw that people who would typically be kept away from the temple worship (Eunuchs & foreigners) be welcomed with extravagant blessing
The great temptation of the return will be to rest in the glories of unconditional election and strong hope. But to do that would be to miss the point of election and to frustrate the hope. Oswalt
There is ultimately a tension in the book that needs to be resolved
7-39 - Live a righteous life because sin brings destruction
Not all, but those who are characterized as keeping the Sabbath
40-55 - You will receive grace that depends on nothing
Wrong answers to this problem
We see how justification, God’s work on the cross, impacts our lives as believers (sanctification)
Can I be elect and then live however I want?
Am I back to square one?
Lesson Intro
Are those who have been delivered from their sins by the grace of God simply doomed to profane God's name again? Oswalt
To bring back the starting question of
, How will this sinful, broken Israel be that holy Israel fulfilling God's mission?
Characteristics of a waiting people (Motyer) in 56-66
Positive characteristics -
This is the year of the Lord's favor - the year of Jubilee
Good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, comfort all who mourn - bad situations will be made good
Called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified - we will stand like 300yr old live oaks as a testimony to God
Strangers shall tend your flocks, but you shall be called the priests of the Lord - We will have our needs met and we will focus on God and doing his work, fulfilling our purpose
Negative characteristics -
Thoughts
Your hand are defiled with blood, your lips have spoken lies
Human inability for holiness is contrasted with God’s ability to glorify them
There is a final glory in the future in
, 62
, & 65
The mixed life of God’s people now
The Christian life has more tensions, more gray areas, seeming contradictions
This comes from living between the already and not yet
To be more precise, it is not so much gray as it is black and white mixed together
Truth mixed with error
WCF 25.5 The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error: and some have so degenerated, as to become no Churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on earth, to worship God according to His will.
Not endorsing or accepting error, but acknowledging its presence
Intro Question
It is not just churches, but denominations, our grasp of theology, our lives and relationships
Comes from two sources
Some is false teachers
Wolves in sheep’s clothing -
Nearly every NT book addresses false teachers
Some is immaturity and the nature of living in between Calvary and Zion
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Do you feel this tension inside you? Do you see this tension in the church? So what are we called to do as wait for heaven in the middle of this tension? What will God do?
We would indeed be blind not to observe that 56:1 reflects precisely where the church stands today: looking back to the once-for-all redemption at Calvary (52:13–53:12) and awaiting a final divine act which will rescue the church from sin, failure and opposition and deal finally with any and every counterforce. Motyer
Read ,
The Climax of History
Isaiah has been working through three streams of thought since out last passage of 56
The worldwide extension of God’s people
Judgment on false worshippers in and out of God’s people
Salvation of the faithful remnant of God’s people
He is building up this concept of an ultimate judgment
There are two groups of people separating out
It used to be those who were Israelite and those who were not
Now it is a different criteria
Where is your loyalty
There are those who rebel, who have false worship, who oppose God
And those who seek God and are His chosen servants
These groups sometimes are outwardly similar
We are used to nominal Christians, or short term imitating christians
But there is not underlying life of repentance or life of service
We get used to this mixing, this confusion, this uncertainty
How do you handle this?
But there is a coming separation where this confusion will end. The identities of people will be made clear
Jesus says that when He comes in glory, then He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. -
There is a different destiny for each
My servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry
My servants shall sing for gladness of heart, but you shall cry our for pain
& 41
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Isaiah (and the OT) is filled with temporary judgment and blessing, but here we see that there is a permanent destiny
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
The Lord’s people are set alongside others who are either compromisers or outright pagans. But it will not always be so, for the Lord will bring his servants into a new heaven, a new earth and a new Zion, while a dreadful judgment awaits the rest. Undeniable grimness sits alongside unimaginable glories; both alike are the word of the Lord. We have before us as plain a forecast of the implications of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as chapters 1–37 offered of his birth and chapters 40–55 of his cross. - Motyer
And in light of this building climax, God is about to reveal the final conclusion
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Abrahamic connections - This is fulfilling the promises given to Abraham
A new name is given - v. 15
This is fulfilling the promises given to Abraham
Blessing is brought - v. 16
Tied to a land promises - v. 16
This is the ultimate point
Not just of Isaiah but of everything
The Bible, of Eden, Abraham, Israel, It is the point of the church, your life, and all of creation
Motyer, J. A. (1996). The prophecy of Isaiah: an introduction & commentary (p. 522). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
For Behold!! - v. 17-18
What? - New heavens and a new earth
Cross references - all very similar to Isaiah or borrow the imagery
- The skies shall roll up like a scroll
v. 10 - it will come like a theif
The heavens will pass away with a roar, the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved
v. 13 - We are waiting for new heavens and a new earth
Rev
20:11 - On the judgment day The earth and sky fled away
21:1 - There is A new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away
21:2 - There is a Holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, like a bride adorned for her husband
The rest of the book describes this new Jerusalem
It is massive - essentially covers the earth
God will dwell with man
No more tears or death
Mankind bringing their wealth and glory to the city
The curse of is revoked and the garden of Eden fulfilled - Tree of life restored for example
It is a new creation
Just as God made everything, He is remaking everything
New heavens & a new earth
Totality of the universe
Heavens not equal to God’s throne room - what we would call space or the universe
This new creation isnt a spiritual realm
This world is called an earth
This is a New Jerusalem coming down from heaven
We will see more characteristics below
Pattern of total renewal
Behold I am making all things new - Rev 21:5
Old things will be forgotten
Matches God’s forgetting in v. 16
Implies that is not an incapability to remember, but an overshadowing by a greater truth
New things will be rejoiced over
Will see in the next section
So what is this world like?
Isaiah 34 - The skies shall roll up like a scroll
v. 10 - it will come like a theif
I “‘think” that it is not the same creation (not just a renewal or sanctification of this world)
The heavens will pass away with a roar, the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved
v. 13 - We are waiting for new heavens and a new earth
But it is a physical world in some way
Parallels to our bodies
Rev
It is what the garden of Eden should have become
God dwelling with an earth full of His people
God’s people ruling peacefully over creation with work and relationships
What will this look like?
Grand and poetic language is used here, but is also vague and limited
Isaiah will talk through characteristics, but be careful not to press details too hard
Thing we have no real capacity to understand can be expressed only through things we know and experience - Motyer
Isaiah will talk through characteristics, but be careful not to press details too hard
The Curse Unraveled and Blessing Restored
20:11 - On the judgment day The earth and sky fled away
21:1 - There is A new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away
21:2 - There is a Holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, like a bride adorned for her husband
The rest of the book describes this new Jerusalem
It is massive - essentially covers the earth
God will dwell with man
No more tears or death
Mankind bringing their wealth and glory to the city
The curse of is revoked and the garden of Eden fulfilled - Tree of life restored for example
The Curse Unraveled and Blessing Restored
Lord of the Rings
Sam awakes after the final battle and the ring is destroyed
“Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What's happened to the world?"
“A great Shadow has departed," said Gandalf, and then he laughed and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days upon days without count.”
“Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What's happened to the world?"
A great Shadow has departed," said Gandalf, and then he laughed and the sound was like music, or like water in a parched land; and as he listened the thought came to Sam that he had not heard laughter, the pure sound of merriment, for days upon days without count.”
This is what Isaiah begins to work through, each curse, one by one, will transformed into blessing
The curses
Covenant curses in
v. 30 - You shall build a house by you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard, but you shall not enjoy its fruit.
v. 33 - Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people
V. 39 -
The original curse in
The covenant curses are just a expansion of this original curse
Separation from God and His blessings - Adam and Eve were driven out of the gardeon
Separation in their relationships
Curse on the labor of man -
Work and the rebellion of nature
Cursed is the ground because of you; … thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; … By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Curse on the labor of woman
Family and relationships
I will multiply your pain in childbearing… Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.
But here we will see the curses one by one unraveled
Covenant intimacy - v. 19
God is going to rejoice in his people
Instead of the disgust and anger that Jersualem has brought him over and over
Covenant relationship - He will be their God, and they will be His people
No sorrow - v. 20
No weeping or distress - Internal turmoil of the curse
Broadly there will be no more cause for pain or sorrow
No tears, no death, no mourning, no pain, for the former things have passed away - Rev 21:4
No death - v. 20
All stages of life currently experience death, and it is always bitter
In the future, death will be no more
Note that this is poetic language
Fruitful work - v. 21-22
Note the breadth of economic stability and properity
Houses - domestic property/finances
Vineyards & their fruit - Work and fruitful labor
No longer futility in work
No more invasion sweeping it away
No more thorns and thistles
I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?
Instead enjoy the work of their hands
Family - v. 23
No death of children
Miscarriage/still born
Also carries the image of children who die later
All that work and physical and emotional investment ends up for naught
Instead there will be familial continuity
Not implying there will be more children born in the new earth
Instead it is all the family across generations united in body of Christ
This extends to all human relationships
There is no temporary christian relationships
All the brokenness of relationships and community will be restored
Spiritual blessing - v. 24
Instead of prayers going unheeded
They will be answered before being asked
Creation at rest - v. 25
Already seen creation is no longer rebelling against man’s effort to “tend the garden”
Predator and prey at peace and rest
In hope the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now - Rom 8:21-22
Fundamental reordering - Indeed there will be not hurt or destruction even among the animals
Yet one curse is not lifted - v. 25
One curse not lifted
The serpent’s curse from is not revoked - On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life
God’s redemption is a hostile victory over evil and sin, not weak acceptance of it
Why? - v. 25
Because now all of creation is God’s holy mountain
All of this language is picking up from imagery of Eden brought back
But whereas Eden was a small garden
Which Adam and eve were called to spread across the Earth to fill it with paradise (and obviously failed)
When Revelation picks up, the new Jerusalem is massive- like 1,400 miles wide and long
God has filled the new creation with this paradise
The Concluding Guarantee - 66:22-24
Ch 66 weaves hope and judgment
Hope - judgment - hope - judgment - hope
Endtimes like labor
God returning with vengance
God will bring all nations
Just like Revelation - putting judgment and glorification beside each other
Isaiah finishes weaving the three threads together in this final conclusion
This is the final conclusion
Here we see God’s people coming from all nations (previous few verses)
God’s permanent people dwell with God in worship
And the rebellious are punished
A guarantee that this is how things will turn out - v. 22
A guarantee that this is how things will turn out
Same destiny, Different fates
A promise to His people
A threat to those that are not
The new Heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me
This is the permanent world
That I make shall remain before me
And as permanent as that world will be, so will us, the church community, will be permanent
A promise to His people
A threat to those that are not
This will be a time of celebratory worship - v. 23
They will be a people of new moons and Sabbaths
They will be characterized by worship
This implies an ongoing, not a occasional worship
This is feasting worship, not fasting worship
All of God’s people will come to worship
The destiny of false worshippers - v. 24
This those slain by the Lord - v. 16
God has been bringing judgment, but the restores his people
But at some time it will be final. It will be just as permanent as glorification
This is the hope of those living in this life
Here is the gospel call - Even if you are in the middle of God’s judgment, it is not final until death. He welcomes any and all that repent
Nature of judgment
Passive
Active
This reveals the real nature of sin and its inevitable outcome
So why is this on display?
Why are the saved going out and looking upon it?
This is related to the question of why in the world is Isaiah ending the book with this verse?