CHRIST RIGHTEOUSNESS SHINES THROUGH HIS CHURCH
January 15, 2006 -- Epiphany 2 -- ISAIAH 62:1-5
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Dear Fellow-Redeemed & Saints in the Lord:
Believers, Christians, are now the ones to lives as lights in this world. We are the ones responsible and given the blessed privilege of making sure that others who sit in darkness see the righteousness of Christ. It is a righteousness that does not condemn mankind, but it is Christ’s righteousness that saves mankind. Sometimes in our life it is not easy to be a shining light, is it? We don’t always feel like glowing, shining, blazing lights of Christ’s righteousness and joy. The Lord tells us that we ought to. Isaiah describes for us why we are lights in our text today. We are reminded Christ righteousness shines through his church. The Psalm writer tells us how we can do this: "Commit your way unto the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun" (Psalm 37:5,6). We consider what God has placed before us in his word with that theme and thought:
Christ Righteousness Shines through His Church.
Isaiah describes the church in two ways:
I. That it is a royal crown of splendor, and;
II. It also is a joyful and blessed marriage.
I. A ROYAL CROWN OF SPLENDOR
Isaiah, as you heard these words in chapter 62, could hardly restrain himself. Even the Lord could not restrain himself concerning the great joy that he was going to tell his people. In the first half of verse 1 of chapter 62: "For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet." The Lord was going to let the world know that his church is here on earth to stay. God’s church is here on earth to bless mankind. The terms "Zion" and "Jerusalem" simply refers to God’s church. Isaiah writes the sentiment of the Lord God almighty: "For the sake of the church, I will not be silent and I am not going to remain quiet."
Then begins that description of how the righteousness of Christ will shine through the church. "I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch." Now there are two different comparisons of light, but both unstoppable. We think of the dawn. When we get up early enough, we wait for that morning dawn. At last the sun comes up. Now, in the daytime hours we sit in the brightness of the day. We cannot stop the sun from rising, and we cannot change it. The Lord says his righteousness be as unstoppable as the morning dawn. Next comes the blazing torch comparison. The children of Israel didn’t have flashlights with million-watt powered light bulbs. But they did have torches. The blazing torch could be seen a long ways away. Our text states that salvation, Christ’s righteousness, is going to shine through God’s church. Christ’s righteousness is going to brightly shine.
There is even more to this description. The Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, says to them and to us today: "You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." God himself would hold on to his church. God would (and does) treat his church with loving respect and honor as a crown and a diadem.
Today’s verse (verse 3) is very interesting. This is one of those special places that if we didn’t know what the words meant, God tells us. In verse 3, in the second phrase is the word "diadem". We don’t hear this term very often. We might have to get out our dictionary. If we don’t want to, the first phrase in verse 3 also uses the noun, "crown." A crown and a diadem that sit on the head of a king are both the same things. In splendor and glory as the crown, God’s people would in a sense be on top of the world. When a king or anyone wearing a crown walks into a room, that person is noticed. God’s people are also to be noticed. Isaiah writes: "the nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory."
You may recall that when Jesus came on earth, nations saw his righteousness and kings his glory. In our Gospel Lesson (John 1:43-51) when Jesus called Nathaniel and Philip, they said, "What good can come of Nazareth?" We know by the end of his life Jesus stood before Pilate and Pilate confessed that Jesus was a king. Jesus’ righteousness, the righteousness of Christ was shown to kings. Later on the apostle Paul testified before governors and kings and even Caesar himself that Christ was the light of the world. God had chosen Paul for this purpose of testimony. God had held him safely in his hand as a royal crown, as a blazing torch, as the dawning sun.
When Scripture speaks testimony and Isaiah speaks of testifying, we are reminded that we are the apostle Pauls of our day and age. There are many even in our country that sit in darkness and feel comfortable there. They don’t care to look to the true light of the world. They would rather look to light in this world, the accumulation of wealth and possessions. By God’s grace and purely and simply out of God’s grace he has made us his blazing torches, his royal crown. That any believe, that we believe is a divine miracle. "For God who said, ’Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Corinthians 4:6). God who created the heaven and the earth made his light shine in our hearts. That too is Epiphany: the appearing of the light of God in our hearts, then the appearing of the light of God in our lives.
As this world sits in darkness, many are content to put up their feet and relax and take care of themselves and no one else. It is all the more important that you and I as believers, as God’s light, show our love and concern for others. What would happen if this world only had all selfish people? What if everybody only took care of him or herself and didn’t care about their neighbor or their friends or even their family? Today, it is only because of believers that there is some shining light in this sin-darkened world. Why does it happen? It happens because we are only a step away from the unbeliever by God’s grace. Everyone is born into this world in the same condition: as enemies of God. In the Gospel of John in the first chapter, John tells how the Light came into this world. In chapter 3 he says: "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19). That is the challenge of the church. All around the church it is surround by the evil deeds of mankind. Many times our deeds are evil and our thoughts are not so good and our actions are wicked. The Lord has given us his light to know the difference between what is right and what is wrong. By grace can walk in the path that is right. What do people recognize you as? How do they see you in this life? They see you, first of all, by your name and they know you by that name. Secondly, they know you by your occupation or they know you by your family; how well they were raised or how well they weren’t raised. Maybe they know you by other associations. Hopefully, always, continually, they see you as the light of Christ. Christ’s righteousness shines in you and then through you. Then people around will see in you the reason for your living is the fact that Christ lived and died and rose again. Jesus said this in Matthew: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16). The world is not to praise your deeds, not praise your good life, but praise your Father. What a blessing to have others say of you (whether you hear it or not) that they know who you are because of your Christian faith. Then Christ’s righteousness shines through His church through you, because you are a splendid royal crown held fast in the hand of God. Then you are united with Christ in a joyful and blessed marriage.
II. A JOYFUL AND BLESSED MARRIAGE
We have already heard part of that, didn’t we? In our Second Lesson (1 Corinthians 6:12-20) we heard that he who is united with Christ is one in body with him. Isaiah continues with the change that would take place for these believers. They are not going to sit around in ashes and sadness and mourning. Instead, they are going to have joy and rejoicing because the Lord has chosen them as the blazing torch, the splendid crown. Then Isaiah even says: "You will be called by a new name, that the mouth of the LORD will bestow." These people knew a lot about new names, didn’t they? Abram was changed to Abraham, the father of many nations. Jacob was changed to Israel, and his twelve sons are still known as the twelve tribes of Israel. The list goes on. Isaiah states the new name is going to be important. God describes this new name so that there would be no mistake: "No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate." Probably at this time in their history the children of Israel were not thinking the Promised Land was going to be deserted or desolate. It was the land that they had inherited because God had promised to them, a land flowing with milk and honey. But we also know, because of their disobedience and repeated disobedience and their rejection of God, God rejected them. Time after time, they were defeated by their enemies and dragged out of the Promised Land. The land was deserted and desolate. Jerusalem was torn down and the temple was destroyed. Today’s temple in Jerusalem hardly can compare with its past glory.
So what is the new name? These are names we do not hear very often: "But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah." If you have a Bible with footnotes, Hephzibah and Beulah are explained. But these names are also defined in these verses. In this same verse, God says: "You will be called Hephzibah for the LORD will take delight in you, and Beulah, and your land will be married. Hephzibah means "the Lord will delight in you;" and Beulah means "the land will be married." It is not going to be an orphan. It is not going to be by itself. This land, nation, is not going to be desolate on this earth. It is going to be part of the Lord.
Isaiah now goes on to describe that blessing of the Lord and marriage and the union of the believers with in the church with God himself. "As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you." There is the main thought discovered in that last verse: God will rejoice over you. The Lord is going to rejoice over these people who time and again he had to chasten and punish with his severe, righteous rod of wrath. They would become slaves and foreigners in alien lands. But still the Lord would rejoice over them and their repentance. The Lord would rejoice over them and their faithfulness. The Lord would continue to rejoice over them, his creation.
It is no different today. Time and again, we turn our backs on God because of our sinfulness, because of our misplaced trust, because of our selfishness. Time and again, the Lord drags us back, so that we may repent. The Lord rejoices over us. Time and again, the Lord does not leave us deserted or desolate; but he calls us Hephzibah (the Lord delights in us), and he calls us Beulah (we are married to God by faith). Ephesians 5 talks about the relationship of Christ in marriage: "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word" (Ephesians 5:25,26). This is our God who loves us with a perfect love. This is our God who uses this illustration of marriage to reveal his blessings and joyfulness for every believer. It is hard to find a wedding, no matter the circumstances, that isn’t joyful and happy and filled with celebrating in one way or another.
This is our God who gave himself up for us. He is not an avenging Allah. He is not Buddha or some other false god that demands perfection and doesn’t give his followers anything except demands and orders. Rather this is the Lord God who loves us with a perfect love: more perfect than a husband that can ever love his wife, more perfect than a wife can ever love her husband, more perfect than we can love our children, more perfect than our children would love us, more perfect than we would love one another. Listen to this from Romans: "As he says in Hosea: ’I will call them ’my people’ who are not my people; and I will call her ’my loved one’ who is not my loved one’" (Romans 9:25). Our sins separate us from God, but God takes away that barrier of sin and makes us his loved ones. God paid the price for our sins, and calls us his people.
How is Christ righteousness going to shine through our church? How is Christ’s righteousness going to shine through us? As Isaiah says, with rejoicing and joy in our life. There are enough sad sacks in this world to go around. There are enough fear mongers who try to scare people. It is not that we live unconcerned in this life. But we can live with confidence because we have the surety of salvation. We know exactly what the future is for each and everyone of us. This faith knowledge brings great joy in our life. There are things that try to distract us on our way, things that cause concern and distress; but heaven is our home. God is our Bridegroom. The church is his bride. We are able to celebrate every day at the feast of the wedding of the Lamb, at the marriage of Christ and his church. John says in Revelation: "Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready" (Revelation 19:7). That is how Christ’s righteousness shines through us, as if we were celebrating every day as preparing to go to a wedding. The joy that is there on that day is our joy every day.
In this Epiphany season we are reminded of Christ’s righteousness. Christ’s light shines through his church. This is the only place it is going to shine through. We do see God’s glory in nature but not the righteousness of Christ that saves mankind. The righteousness of Christ only shines through his church. You and I and believers everywhere are members of that church, and we are placed in the crown of glory, in the hand of God, a diadem, a sign of splendor held fast in God’s hand. The Lord also says we are united with him in the most intimate way possible -- as people who are married. People, as they grow in faith, know what God wants and are anxious to do it. In this way Christ’s righteousness shines through us with a joyful life. It does take work and effort to live a joyful, Christian, light-shining life. What doesn’t take effort that is worthwhile in this life?
Daniel in the Old Testament sums it up: "Those who are wise (wise in faith, wise in the ways of the Lord, wise in the wisdom of God, wise in the knowledge of salvation) will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever" (Daniel 12:3). Daniel is not talking about the righteousness of a believer but leading others to Christ’s righteousness and then shining like the stars for ever and ever. Christ’s righteousness shines through the church. We are the church, and Christ righteousness shines through us as his royal crown. Christ’s righteousness shines through us as people who belong to him, the joyful marriage of bridegroom and bride.
During this Epiphany season, may Christ righteousness always shine brightly through us as unstoppable as the force of the dawning day, every day. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
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EPIPHANY 2 Readings: 1 SAMUEL 3:1-10; 1 CORINTHIANS 6:12-20; JOHN 1:43-51
