22/04/2016 – Ronnie had been reading up on Isaiah 53 and felt he needed to explore…so we sat down and as he read and reflected, these are some of the thoughts that came…
[As we read, it is evident that…] God doesn’t speak to us in our time. He looks at us how HE sees we will become in the future. It is as though He is looking at us from two different points in time: The chapter speaks about the future, even though it is written in the past tense it is as though it has already happened.
Isaiah 53:1 – “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed?
(John 12:30-38) Isaiah was speaking from a point of already having met Jesus.
(Romans 10:16) Just believing in Him, the arm [strength] of the Lord is revealed; faith comes from hearing.
“Who has believed [believing in the message is the key to His power] in our message,
which [if you have] therefore, can you see the strength of the Lord?”
“If you have believed in our message then the power of God has been revealed to you.”
Reconciling something ‘imperfect’ to something with a ‘perfect standard’ is impossible.
BUT…
Because God is able to do all things, the act of Christ allowed there to be a relationship between man and God. This act was powerful because it didn’t compromise on anything. God didn’t lower His standards or force us to into becoming a perfect standard; Christ was the mediator, our intercessor.
This meant that we, as ‘imperfect creatures’, were able to approach the perfect being by just believing in the act of Christ and His unfinished power to reconcile the imperfect to the perfect = the miracle in itself.
Isaiah 51:5-9 KJV
5 My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.
6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.
8 For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
9 Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?
These verses show the running dialogue between Spirit and man. Christ speaking through Isaiah then Isaiah’s reply, spurring him into action.
“If you do what is right, you will be accepted. But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door and it desires to have you but you must rule over it.” – Gen 4:7
The power was reconciliation = acceptance. Therefore, not having the right attitude allows sin to come in, it gives room for sin. The only way to overcome it, (and you CAN, otherwise we wouldn’t be instructed to rule over it) is by accepting the right attitude and believing – [the sacrifice of the only son].
Faith [believing in what is unseen], sacrifice [relationship, the ultimate expression of the epitome of love] and righteousness [acting in accordance with what you believe, with the correct attitude].
TheReadyWriter 