THE SALVATION OF OUR GOD #2
Isaiah 52:9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. 12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rereward.
This and some other passages of Isaiah have been greatly used of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament age. For it is the book from which our Lord stood up to read in his first recorded public reading in the synagogue at Nazareth. He turned to the 61st chapter of Isaiah and read the first two verses informing his listeners that this referred to, and was fulfilled in Himself! You can read the account in Luke 4:16-21. And this goes along with his instructions to his disciples at the end of his ministry as recorded in Luke 24. Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: He clearly lets us know that all the scriptures speak of Him. John 5:39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
Then this is also the book from which the eunuch was reading when Philip was sent to his chariot. For he was reading the 53rd chapter of Isaiah and could not understand of whom the prophet spoke. And that marvelous thirty-fifth verse of the eighth chapter of Acts tells the whole story! Acts 8:35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. So we are in good company as we are attempting to do the same. For we have the same scriptures, and we have the same Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit shall always act the same as he has always done! John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
And we see both the Holy Spirit and the Incarnate Son referred to in verse nine of our text. For the Lord speaks of comforting his people as well as redeeming Jerusalem. And we know that the Comforter of the true people of the Lord is the Holy Spirit. John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. And there can be no redemption of the former “waste places” of Jerusalem apart from the redemption provided by the sacrifice of the Son of God! Colossians 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
And we absolutely must take serious notice that the emphasis here is that the Lord God alone shall provide this comfort and redemption!For all that those who are redeemed are called on to do is to respond to this sovereign mercy and grace, freely bestowed upon them. John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
For as the Lord God is the most blessed, and most glorious, it falls upon Him to have the more blessed part. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
And this was done before the world was! Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: 4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
Revelation 13:8 speaks of “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Has it ever occurred to you that nothing has ever occurred to God? Acts 15:18 Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world. Redemption and it’s accompanying salvation has to be by God alone! For the sinner is dead in trespasses and sins! And a dead man can do nothing but be acted upon! Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; (To “quicken” is to make alive.)
The latest vestiges of modern day religion are nothing but the proclamation of justification by man’s works. That is, we are saved because of our own religious works. And that gives men opportunity to boast in the provision of their own salvation. But that is no salvation at all. For God-provided salvation alone gives all glory to the Lord God; not to man! Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Therefore true salvation is “not of works,” but it is “unto good works.” Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Neither one’s physical birth, nor his spiritual birth are accomplished by the one being born. He does not provide the act of either conception, nor birth! He is acted upon. But now that he has been born, he is required to learn proper conduct in the acting out of that life provided. Therefore in like manner, the sinner’s new spiritual life is “not of works,” but it is “unto good works.”
Some would say that we must have faith and repentance in order to be saved. But these two things are the evidences of salvation, not the causes! The Lord first opened the heart of Lydia in order that she might believe the gospel. Acts 16:14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
The Apostle Peter informs us that there are things which must be “added” to one’s faith in order to reveal his true salvation. – even to the assuring of their calling and election! 2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
And this is the reason that the modern day church member has no cause of spiritual rejoicing! For the greatest cause of rejoicing is found in the knowledge that the Lord alone has written our names in heaven! Luke 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
And now we come to see in verse ten of our text that once the LORD has made bare his holy arm, (the Incarnation of the Eternal Son of God), in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. And that began to occur on the day of Pentecost. For if you will take notice of the record of Acts chapter two, there are some seventeen different nationalities of Jews who are come back to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost. And on that day some three thousand souls were borned of the Spirit.
Acts 2:5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
And of these thousands of spiritual new born, they went back to their seventeen different nations declaring all that happened to them as personal witnesses of the mighty works of God. Just in that one surge of gospel evangelism, there is no telling of the re-occurring waves of witness from that first tide of gospel preaching which the Spirit began at Jerusalem to go throughout the whole world!
For as that one Ethiopian eunuch could be used to fulfill the prophesy of his nation being brought to true spiritual worship, just how much would all these declare God’s salvation to all the ends of the earth? Isaiah 45:14 Thus saith the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. Zephaniah 3:10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offering.
Listen to this one man’s faith as he journey’s back to his hight position in Ethiopia. Acts 8:27 And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, 37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. 39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
He had made, possibly this once in a lifetime journey to Jerusalem, and had found but a bewildered priesthood attending a torn curtain separating the holy place. They had lost the strength of their formal religion. But as he sadly journeyed back home he sought the comfort of the Book of Isaiah. And even in that he could obtain no inner peace. For in his own admission he could not understand unless some man showed him. Therefore the Holy Spirit, exacting His authority in this new age of completed redemption, sent a minister of the true gospel to be used in the opening of his heart and mind. Therefore he came back home with far more than he had ever expected. He came back home as a new born child of God! And here we are in “the regions beyond,” (2 Corin. 10:16), reading the very same scriptures, along with the addition of the complete revelation of the Spirit’s word to give us greater light.
John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Here we are in our good day of God’s mercies, in these “isles afar off” having a servant of God preaching to us the very same passages which our Lord first read in his synagogue in Nazareth; the very same passages which the eunuch held in his lap; which the same Holy Spirit caused Philip to expound to him! It is the same LORD; the same scriptures; the same Holy Spirit! Isaiah 66:19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.
The Lord God is still doing all that needs to be done; all that he has ever done, to bring a people to see “The salvation of our God!” It is our time! It is our moment of opportunity! Hebrews 4:7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Pastor Gene Breed
April 07, 2021