The Holy One
Isaiah 6:1-8,
I think every one of us sooner or later has what you could call a mountain like experience or event or encounter. For example, I don't think David ever forgot that encounter he had with Goliath on that battlefield and I don't think Elijah ever forgot that time he went up against the false prophets of Baal and ended up slaughtering 300 of them with a sword.
And here in Isaiah 6, I don't think Isaiah ever forgot the day in which he had this close-up encounter with God sitting on a throne. It was a breathtaking sight of the Holy One. It's very clear that it impacted him from a number of perspectives. But if you read through the whole of Isaiah, you will find that he references God in this way at least 30 times, “The holy one, The holy one, The holy one.” So this obviously impacted him in terms of his understanding of who God is.
If you're familiar with Dr. R. C. Sproul, probably the series of messages I think he's most famous for is the series preached on The Holiness of God, and he deals with the holiness of God. He uses the passage here in Isaiah chapter 6 as the premise for arguing for God's holiness. But he gives some clarity in terms of what holiness means. Listen to what he says, “It's customary to think of God's holiness in terms of purity; purity from every stain, immaculate in every detail.” But the idea of purity or moral perfection is at best secondary. Not primary, secondary. And here's what's primary when you hear that word holy. The primary meaning is separate, literally a cut above. Holiness recognizes that God is wonderfully different from us. He's so, so far above it. It emphasizes his supremacy, his majesty, as well as his purity.
But his greatness, what makes him so different from us? There's none like him and none we can compare. So holiness has really been called the master attribute. It defines God in holy love, holy wisdom, holy justice. Even the Lord Jesus, when he tells us to come into God's presence, doesn't want us to forget that God is the Holy One. That very first petition, “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be your name.” He wants us to recognize the greatness of our God.
But going back to Isaiah chapter 6, there is what you could call here a 3D impact, I think that's what Dr. Ferguson calls it, a 3D impact on Isaiah. First, it gives the sight of God, God's holiness. He sees how gloriously transcendent God is, far above. But secondly, he gets a sight of himself and it's not flattering. It's not a Facebook look at me kind of picture. He sees himself as an undone sinner, verse 5, or as a lost sinner, I think that's the way it's translated in the ESV, “Woe is me, I am lost or I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips.” It has a devastating effect upon him. He feels like he's disintegrating, imploding. “I am shattered,” as one modern translation puts it. If you have watched Isaiah from a distance, if you could have watched this, if it could ever have been put on camera, you would have thought the man was about to die.
But he doesn't die. You know why? Well, it's a seraphim who takes that one coal and brings it and touches his lips. One of those creatures, they had six swings and one of those seraphim takes the burning coal from the altar, touches his mouth and takes away his sin. The man experiences forgiveness. Notice a change in the man, a third D, you could say. The man is humbled and submissive. He's no longer shattered, he's no longer devastated because he's now a forgiven man. And notice his response to God's question. Verse 8, again, “And I heard the voice of the Lord say, ‘Whom shall I send or who will go for us?’ And then I said. ‘Here am I send me.’” See his response, it's immediate submission and obedience to God. And that's good news for all of us. When you think of forgiveness, I think our brother prayed that, we are now justified, we are now cleansed from all of our sin.
How should that impact us? Humble service to the Lord, a humble submission and obedience to obey him. Every forgiven man and woman has free access into God's immediate presence. We can know him, we can love him and we can serve him. One way we serve and obey him is by praying. Praying is a command, it's a privilege, but it's also a command. But what a change. All because of grace, because of forgiveness, because of that one sacrifice we can now draw near to God at any time and any place. As we think back over the last year and as we think again of the New Year coming, let's take stock regularly of our forgiven status. That should motivate us and drive us to the throne of grace. And we have seen the holy one, we have seen Christ by faith. Let's take advantage of our forgiven status and draw near to God.
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. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 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 thresholds 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 in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” And 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.”
I think every one of us sooner or later has what you could call a mountain like experience or event or encounter. For example, I don't think David ever forgot that encounter he had with Goliath on that battlefield and I don't think Elijah ever forgot that time he went up against the false prophets of Baal and ended up slaughtering 300 of them with a sword.
And here in Isaiah 6, I don't think Isaiah ever forgot the day in which he had this close-up encounter with God sitting on a throne. It was a breathtaking sight of the Holy One. It's very clear that it impacted him from a number of perspectives. But if you read through the whole of Isaiah, you will find that he references God in this way at least 30 times, “The holy one, The holy one, The holy one.” So this obviously impacted him in terms of his understanding of who God is.
If you're familiar with Dr. R. C. Sproul, probably the series of messages I think he's most famous for is the series preached on The Holiness of God, and he deals with the holiness of God. He uses the passage here in Isaiah chapter 6 as the premise for arguing for God's holiness. But he gives some clarity in terms of what holiness means. Listen to what he says, “It's customary to think of God's holiness in terms of purity; purity from every stain, immaculate in every detail.” But the idea of purity or moral perfection is at best secondary. Not primary, secondary. And here's what's primary when you hear that word holy. The primary meaning is separate, literally a cut above. Holiness recognizes that God is wonderfully different from us. He's so, so far above it. It emphasizes his supremacy, his majesty, as well as his purity.
But his greatness, what makes him so different from us? There's none like him and none we can compare. So holiness has really been called the master attribute. It defines God in holy love, holy wisdom, holy justice. Even the Lord Jesus, when he tells us to come into God's presence, doesn't want us to forget that God is the Holy One. That very first petition, “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be your name.” He wants us to recognize the greatness of our God.
But going back to Isaiah chapter 6, there is what you could call here a 3D impact, I think that's what Dr. Ferguson calls it, a 3D impact on Isaiah. First, it gives the sight of God, God's holiness. He sees how gloriously transcendent God is, far above. But secondly, he gets a sight of himself and it's not flattering. It's not a Facebook look at me kind of picture. He sees himself as an undone sinner, verse 5, or as a lost sinner, I think that's the way it's translated in the ESV, “Woe is me, I am lost or I am undone, I am a man of unclean lips.” It has a devastating effect upon him. He feels like he's disintegrating, imploding. “I am shattered,” as one modern translation puts it. If you have watched Isaiah from a distance, if you could have watched this, if it could ever have been put on camera, you would have thought the man was about to die.
But he doesn't die. You know why? Well, it's a seraphim who takes that one coal and brings it and touches his lips. One of those creatures, they had six swings and one of those seraphim takes the burning coal from the altar, touches his mouth and takes away his sin. The man experiences forgiveness. Notice a change in the man, a third D, you could say. The man is humbled and submissive. He's no longer shattered, he's no longer devastated because he's now a forgiven man. And notice his response to God's question. Verse 8, again, “And I heard the voice of the Lord say, ‘Whom shall I send or who will go for us?’ And then I said. ‘Here am I send me.’” See his response, it's immediate submission and obedience to God. And that's good news for all of us. When you think of forgiveness, I think our brother prayed that, we are now justified, we are now cleansed from all of our sin.
How should that impact us? Humble service to the Lord, a humble submission and obedience to obey him. Every forgiven man and woman has free access into God's immediate presence. We can know him, we can love him and we can serve him. One way we serve and obey him is by praying. Praying is a command, it's a privilege, but it's also a command. But what a change. All because of grace, because of forgiveness, because of that one sacrifice we can now draw near to God at any time and any place. As we think back over the last year and as we think again of the New Year coming, let's take stock regularly of our forgiven status. That should motivate us and drive us to the throne of grace. And we have seen the holy one, we have seen Christ by faith. Let's take advantage of our forgiven status and draw near to God.
Posted in Pastor Devotional