Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 29:1-11, Romans 8:12-17, John 3:1-17.
(A). WHERE HEAVEN AND EARTH MEET.
Isaiah 6:1-8
1. The Awesomeness and Majesty of God (Isaiah 6:1-4).
It was the year that King Uzziah, king of Judah, died (Isaiah 6:1).
In Jerusalem, the prophet Isaiah was in the Temple, the place where the LORD God had set His tabernacle amongst His people (Leviticus 26:11-12). Here heaven and earth met, and the Temple below merged with the Temple above - of which it was a type and symbol. It was an awesome event.
Isaiah saw the LORD, enthroned in heaven, “high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1), and His train filled the Temple. Here the LORD was seen to be above the manipulation that hypocritical worshippers were offering (Isaiah 1:12-17; Isaiah 2:22). “The King, the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:5) is set in stark contrast to the presumptuousness of King Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:16).
The word “seraph” (Isaiah 6:2) comes from the Hebrew verb for burning. Burning was a sign of divine holiness, as had been seen at Mount Sinai (Exodus 3:2; Deuteronomy 5:23-24). The same word is used of the serpents which bit the Israelites in the wilderness (Numbers 21:6), and is echoed in Isaiah 14:29; Isaiah 30:6.
One of the seraphim sang the praises of the thrice holy God (Isaiah 6:3). This is a variation on the song of heaven (Revelation 4:8). To be “holy” is to be separate: the LORD is totally Other.
“Glory” speaks of heaviness: He ‘carries weight’ in the world. “The earth is full of His glory” - and at the cry of the voice the posts of the door moved, and the house filled with smoke (Isaiah 6:4).
Manifestations of God’s ‘glory’ is evidence of His presence (Ezekiel 10:18; Ezekiel 43:4-5).
2. A Sense of Inadequacy (Isaiah 6:5).
Isaiah’s awareness of his own sin, and that of his nation, set him apart from his unrepentant contemporaries. Against a background of ‘woes’ (Isaiah 5:8; Isaiah 5:11; Isaiah 5:18; Isaiah 5:20-22), his “Woe!” is a confession of being “undone” - lost, utterly ruined. Isaiah sees two reasons for his ruin:
(a) “Unclean lips.” The ‘lips’ stands for the whole person, but ‘unclean’ lips is set against the background of King Uzziah’s leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:21; Leviticus 13:45). Isaiah stands as a representative of his people.
(b) Isaiah has seen the LORD. The LORD had told Moses, ‘there shall no man see me, and live’ (Exodus 33:20). The children of Israel also perceived this to be true (Deuteronomy 5:25). This was what was in the mind of Samson’s father when he said to his wife, ‘We shall surely die, because we have seen God’ (Judges 13:22).
Now Isaiah pronounces “woe” upon himself, because he has “seen God” (Isaiah 6:5). Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50) - yet faith can (Job 19:25-27). Amazingly, we are told in the last book of the Bible that the servants of ‘God and the Lamb’ - ‘shall see His (singular) face; and His name is upon their foreheads’ (Revelation 22:4).
3. Equipped by Grace (Isaiah 6:6-7).
No sooner had Isaiah confessed his sin and sinfulness, than one of the seraphim took a “live coal” from the altar with a pair of tongs. A coal too hot for even a fiery seraph to handle! The “live coal” had the effect of:
(a) Cleansing Isaiah. No mere man, no angel, no seraph could hope to cleanse a man of the leprosy of sin. This was from beginning to end an act of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8).
(b) Preparing his “lips” to speak for God.
4. An Attitude of Gratitude (Isaiah 6:8).
- gives rise to a willingness to serve.
Isaiah recognised the gift in him, and responded to God’s call.
In the temple of our experience, where the LORD makes His dwelling amongst men, the cry still goes forth:
“Whom shall I send?”
What will be the response of our hearts to the call of God?
(B). THE SONG OF THE THUNDERSTORM.
Psalm 29:1-11 - “The voice of the LORD”.
1. The Thunderstorm.
Storm clouds gather over the Mediterranean. The thunder rolls inland over the cedars of Lebanon, and lightning strikes strip the cedars bare. Even the mountains of the North seem to be shaken to their very foundations. The storm turns, travelling the whole length of Israel, and seems to shake the wilderness. The sand cannot remain still, and anything loose is driven like tumbleweed across the plain. The red deer calves early, and all creation stands in awe at the might of the storm.
The claps of thunder are not the sound of the mighty Thor of Norse mythology, who was said to be riding his chariot across the sky. Nor are they the voice of the Canaanites’ storm god Baal, who allegedly dwelt ‘in’ the storm (and if he was not there, he was on vacation - or maybe sleeping - cf. 1 Kings 18:27). Nor is this the beginning of yet another disaster movie, but a metaphor of the awesome might of the LORD, who sits “above” the storms of life (Psalm 29:10).
Repetition drives the momentum of the storm in this song. This is not the ‘repeat, ad lib, and fade’ of popular music, but a powerful push towards peace. Three times the “sons of God” (Hebrew), the ‘mighty ones’ or ‘heavenly beings’ are called to give - or “ascribe” - glory to the LORD (Psalm 29:1-2). Seven times the thunderclaps are identified with “the voice of the LORD” (Psalm 29:3-9). “The LORD” is named four times in the closing verses (Psalm 29:10-11), reminding us that the Psalm is not about the storm, but about the LORD who sits above the storm. Nothing is outside His power.
2. Thunder from Heaven.
There was thunder at Sinai when the LORD appeared to Moses and the children of Israel (Exodus 20:18). On one occasion the LORD Himself - in rebuking His prophet - described His voice as thunder (Job 40:9). When the Father spoke of His glory in answer to Jesus’ prayer, some of the people said it thundered: others said it was an angel (John 12:27-29). More than once the Apostle John uses the motif of thunder in describing what he heard in heaven (Revelation 6:1; Revelation 14:2; Revelation 19:6).
3. “The Voice of the LORD” is not confined to the thunderstorm.
There was an earthquake at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 27:50-51), and the Talmud tells us that in that year the Sanhedrin was “banished” from its favoured site to a less favourable site within the Temple - perhaps, I suggest, on account of earthquake damage. (Yes, God does sometimes speak through temporal judgements!) There was another earthquake also at the resurrection of Jesus, whereby God spoke His final word on the finished work of Christ (Matthew 28:2).
Certainly, the LORD sent fire from heaven to consume Elijah’s saturated sacrifice, and then sent an abundance of rain (1 Kings 18:38, 1 Kings 18:45). In the next scene, however, Elijah sought the LORD in the wind, earthquake, and fire - but the LORD merely passed by. Only then did the prophet hear “the still small voice” (1 Kings 19:11-12).
Our psalm moves in the same direction: from “Glory to God in the highest” (Psalm 29:1) to “Peace to His people on earth” (Psalm 29:11). When the storm-tossed disciples - experienced seamen though they were - were in fear of their lives in the storm-tossed sea, Jesus arose and said, “Peace be still” (Mark 4:39). The Lord calms the storms of life, and gives us a peace which the world cannot give.
Peter, James, and John heard an audible voice in the mountain of transfiguration, telling them to listen to Jesus (Mark 9:7). Paul also heard an audible voice: this time it was that of the risen Lord Jesus (Acts 9:3-7). We hear the voice of the LORD when we read the Bible, the Word of God.
We hear the voice of the Lord also in the whispers of the night. Before the lamp went out in God’s house, young Samuel laid himself down to sleep. Three times the LORD called him, and three times the boy ran to his master. The fourth time he answered according to the old priest’s instruction: “Speak, LORD; for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:3-10).
We hear the voice of the LORD when we worship Him, and offer Him the praise and glory due to His name (Psalm 29:2). This is not horizontal worship, aimed at giving us a ‘buzz’ in His presence - but true worship, aimed at honouring God: offered in the name of Jesus, and through the Holy Spirit. In contrasting the worship of Sinai and that of the heavenly Jerusalem, one writer exhorts us: “See that you refuse not the One who speaks… from heaven” (Hebrews 12:25).
(C) DRAWN INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD.
Romans 8:12-17.
1. The mortification of sin (Romans 8:12-14).
Paul has just commented that “if Christ is in you the body is dead on account of sin” (Romans 8:10). And that “the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead will also quicken (revivify, make alive) your mortal bodies by His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11).
On account of this we have an obligation - a debt of gratitude - “not to live according to the flesh” but (by inference) according to the Spirit (Romans 8:12). This is a process known as ‘the mortification of sin in our bodies.’ This is a “putting to death” of sin - a handing it over to be executed (Romans 8:13).
Jesus was handed over into the hands of evil men, and crucified (Luke 24:7), and we are instructed to ‘take up the cross daily and follow Him’ (Luke 9:23). The execution of our fleshly nature has taken place (Galatians 5:24), but it is the responsibility of each of us to go on mortifying the misdeeds of the body. It is a life choice (Deuteronomy 30:19).
The only way to put our sins to death is through the empowering of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:13), and by His leading (Romans 8:14). However, if we really are Christians, then the Holy Spirit has already taken up residence within us (Romans 8:9). This is a powerful resource, which we are obliged to tap into.
The idea of being “led by the Spirit” (Romans 8:14) is a yielding to His guidance. It may or may not include the idea of being ‘driven’ (Matthew 4:1; cf. Mark 1:12), but could be as tender an operation as removing the speck from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:4). As the Holy Spirit enlightens us in relation to the sins which we commit, so He persuades us to deal with them - and our submission to His control is, in the final analysis, voluntary.
One of the proofs of our interest in this matter is a holy abhorrence toward sin, especially within ourselves. As we deal with this (Romans 8:13) we enter into the fullness that Jesus promises (John 10:10). It is only those who are led by the Spirit of God who are thus manifested to be “the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
2. The witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:15-17).
Not everybody receives Jesus, nor believes in His name (John 1:11-12). Our inclusion in the family of God is on account of our faith (Galatians 3:26). So - although Paul said elsewhere, quoting the Greek poets, ‘we are all His offspring’ (Acts 17:28) - it is not the so-called and somewhat overstated ‘universal Fatherhood of God’ that the Apostle is speaking about here.
As children of God we have been translated from an area of bondage to fear (Galatians 4:3), into the freedom of a loving relationship with God (Romans 8:15). In Roman times to be ‘adopted’ was to be brought into the father’s family to inherit his estate and perpetuate his name. We have, on this analogy, been hand-picked to bear the Father’s name and reproduce His character in our lives - not on account of any worthiness on our own part, but out of His love (1 John 3:1).
We have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry: “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). This is a combination of the Aramaic and Greek words for ‘father’ and is a formula used by Jesus Himself when addressing God (Mark 14:36). The Cross stands between us and Gethsemane, and now we are enabled to address God in the same intimate manner (Galatians 4:6).
When we are thus enabled to pray, it is the Spirit Himself “bearing witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). This is the Holy Spirit’s ministry of inward assurance, whereby He has poured out the love of God in our hearts (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit gives us assurance of both God’s love, and our son-ship.
Paul also affirms that if we are the children of God then we are also heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). The Holy Spirit is the first fruits of our inheritance (Romans 8:23), the down-payment (Ephesians 1:13-14). Our inheritance is not only what God has to offer, but God Himself (1 John 3:2).
Jesus prayed that those whom the Father has given to Him will be with Him where He is, and behold His glory (John 17:24). The path to glory was not without its sufferings for Jesus (Luke 24:26). But if indeed we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified together with Him (Romans 8:17).
(D) YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN.
John 3:1-17.
Nicodemus was a member of the strictest sect of the Jews: the Pharisees. No doubt he sought to keep all the man-made rules of his religion, as well as the law of God which was given to Moses. Nicodemus was a religious man; an upright man; a leader; a teacher; respected in society: yet Nicodemus knew within himself that something was missing in his life.
1. UNTIL WE COME TO FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THERE IS INDEED SOMETHING MISSING IN OUR LIVES.
Because of his position, fearing what people may think of him seeking advice from Jesus, Nicodemus made his approach to our Lord secretly, and at night. Better that than not at all!
People may have all sorts of reasons for coming to church. It may be to give praise and thanks, or to ask for divine help in the troubles and crises of life; it may be out of obedience to parents, or to accompany friends; it may be out of curiosity, or to assure themselves that there cannot really be anything so vastly different about Christianity; it may be to seek after God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever reason brings you here, as with Nicodemus, God is already working in your life!
Nicodemus did not come asking what he must do to be saved, like another man in the Bible, because as a good Pharisee he probably thought he was guaranteed a place in heaven anyway. However, having seen or heard about Jesus, what He was doing and the impact He was having on the people, Nicodemus’s conscience was troubled. “What if I am missing something here?”
“Rabbi,” he said, addressing Jesus with the respect due to a teacher and to a holy man. “We know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2). In reply Jesus declared:
2. “NO ONE CAN SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD UNLESS HE IS BORN AGAIN” (John 3:3).
So Nicodemus was missing something. With the generality of mankind, he was presuming upon his own ability to qualify for heaven. Do not be misled: if you think you can get to heaven by your own good works you will surely fail: “You must be born again.”
Still this teacher of the Jews faltered: "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!" (John 3:4). Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit” (John 3:5).
“That which is born of flesh is flesh”, says Jesus (John 3:6), but we must also be born of the Holy Spirit. To be born again, or born anew, is to be born from above, to be born of God. It is a spiritual birth in which God’s Holy Spirit bears us into the family of God, male and female individuals becoming heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
In a play on words that works in both the Greek and Hebrew languages, Jesus says, “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit” (John 3:6-8). The same word means both WIND and SPIRIT, and is also used to signify the BREATH of God!
So just as God first breathed the breath of life into the clay which He had fashioned into man, and just as He is said to out-breathe the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments [which is the literal meaning of inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16)], so God breathes into His people the breath of the new life in Christ Jesus. This is not to the credit of the preacher, nor of the convert to Christianity. It is all to the praise of God Himself!
Poor Nicodemus was still struggling:
3. “HOW CAN THIS BE?” (John 3:9).
Man cannot easily concede that heaven is attained not by his own merit, but only by the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. We love to think that we are good enough, and no-one, we imagine, should say otherwise.
Let us get away from the notion that we are good enough for God, or that we can co-operate with Him in the mighty work of our salvation from our sins. Let us rather learn to turn to Him, wholeheartedly, relying on Him alone for our salvation, trusting not in our own righteousness, but in the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray that we may have faith to believe these things, and to put our trust in Him: without Him we can do nothing!
Jesus wanted to tell Nicodemus more things but, like us, Nicodemus was dull of sense. Mere man cannot grasp the realities represented to him in “earthly” things, as Jesus put it (John 3:12). Jesus wanted to speak of heavenly things, of heaven itself from where he had come (John 3:13).
4. JESUS POINTED TO THE BASIS OF FAITH:
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:14-17).
Jesus was “lifted up” in the crucifixion, so that everyone who believes in Him, trusting not in themselves but trusting in His sacrificial blood, would have eternal life. This was, and is, the supreme act of God’s love.
5. SO WHAT HAPPENED TO NICODEMUS?
After this first encounter with Jesus, Nicodemus went away. We cannot tell what turmoil his mind might have been in, what doubts in his own position as a holy man of Israel were awakened within him.
The second appearance of Nicodemus in the Gospel of John was when those of his own party, the Pharisees, wanted to condemn Jesus. It was Nicodemus who stood up for Him (John 7:50-51): so from a secret admirer of Jesus, Nicodemus became a fearless upholder of justice on His behalf. We too must move beyond a mere admiration of Jesus to a public declaration of faith in Him.
Then, at a time when the inner circle of disciples had all but one deserted their Lord, Nicodemus joined Joseph of Arimathea in bearing away the body of Jesus after the crucifixion (John 19:38-42). These two secret disciples together were making public their adherence to Jesus, and all that He stands for. It is safe to conclude that Nicodemus is born again.
6. HOW ABOUT YOU?
Are you willing to submit to the work of God in your heart through the Lord Jesus Christ? Will you make your stand, and proclaim your faith in Him alone for your salvation?
