To Us a Child is Born

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” 

                                                                                                                                 -Isaiah 9:6-7

My reading plan (very appropriately) has me in the early chapters of Isaiah right now  This morning I came across the verses listed above, and what struck me wasn’t the richness (I’ve always been struck by it), but instead all that led up to these verses in the preceding chapters.  There is so much here about what the Messianic figure will accomplish in coming to the earth.  

I thought thus that it’d be helpful to give a quick synopsis of the Christ-figure’s work according to Isaiah 1-12.  I hope this blesses you and helps you to truly remember the "reason for the season." 

Isaiah 1a(:1-20) – Among God's people, religious practice hasn’t worked, because it hasn’t changed the heart.  The people have been given the Law, which, if they’ll keep it, will be righteousness for them (Dt. 6:25).  But they haven’t kept it, and indeed this inability serves to prove the fallenness of man in Adam (cf. Rom. 3:20).  Therefore, the Lord is going to have to atone for the people Himself (1:18).  The offended will have to become the offense.

-1b(:21-31) – Because of the lack of godliness among the people of God, the nation, symbolized as a “city,” is entirely evil, and living in a different paradigm entirely than what is God's purpose for them.  This city exemplifies what Augustine called the “City of Man,” which was being built ever since Cain went in his sinful pride away from God's seed to build cities (Gen. 4:17ff). Thus there is a need for a new godly city to be established, and God will build it.

-2a(:1-5) – God will establish this new glorious city up on a mountain, higher than all the other mountains.  Moses gave the Word of God to the people from a mountain (Ex. 20ff), and later, the city of God in the world, with the Temple in the middle, was founded on a mountain (in Jerusalem). Now, a new spiritual city with a new Temple is said to be built, out of which will flow the Word of God, drawing people from all nations to come hear from God and live with Him (2:2-5).  Their song as they draw near to God will be like the songs of ascents in Psalms 120-135.

-2b(:6)-3 – In this day, God’s people will be known as those who see how counterfeit the idols of their hearts are, and repent from them to serve Him.  Thus they cast them away to follow God (cf. Ac 14:17, 1 Thes. 1:10).

-4-5a(:7) – The “branch” of the Lord – personifying the source of life in God’s creation – will be established, since the first vineyard of the Lord (Israel) has been proven as fallen and lifeless.  (Thus Jesus later says He’s the Vine and His disciples are branches – all spiritual life in the world comes from Him alone, Jn. 15:1ff).

-5b(:8-30) – God will judge the pride of man.  Indeed, he does judge it – where there is pride, there will always be judgment and hardship. (cf. Rom. 1:18ff)

-6a(:1-7) – Isaiah the prophet is brought in a vision to God’s throne and is struck down in his own eyes as a man in desperate need for salvation.  This witness of God’s glory and the reality of man’s sin is a picture of what all people must undergo to be “saved”: They must see that they’re made for God’s glory, that they have fallen short of the glory, and that in Christ alone, they can be brought near through God’s atonement (Rom. 3:21ff).

-6b(:8-13) – Isaiah then is sent as a messenger to take this message to the world. Of course people won’t listen, but that doesn’t change Isaiah’s mission.  Thus sometimes God’s Word doesn’t save but instead condemns (which is what exactly Jesus says at Mark. 4:11-12).  But a remnant will hear.

-7-8a(:10) -  This miraculous inbreaking of God’s grace into the world (not to suggest He’s never been gracious) will be accompanied by another miracle: a baby being born to a Virgin (7:14), who will be called “God with us” (Immanuel).  Apparently this impossible act will be possible because the child is divine.  But then a child is born to Isaiah, as a miraculous event nonetheless (named "Mahershalalhashbaz"), with this purpose: to show that the coming “God with us” child will also be a human.  In essence, Isaiah is saying “He’ll be 'God-with-us,' but He’ll be a human child.” 

-8b(:11-22) – The one coming is identified with God, and he will become a) a stone of stumbling, b) a sanctuary, and c) a rock of offense (8:14). That is, 

a) He’ll be seen as the Law of God personified (thus righteousness - conformity to God's truth - will be tied up with him, cf. Jn. 1:1ff, and all will one day be judged up next to Him, Ac. 17:31). 

b) He Himself will become the spiritual house of God, so that people come to God through Him as the Mediator and Way to heaven (cf. Jn. 14:6, Heb. 4:15-16).  The Temple will thus fall later and never be reconstructed because He is the Temple (Jn. 2:20-22).

c) He’ll offend many people, but only because He reveals fully the pride and sin of man, and their need thus to be atoned for by God’s grace.  Therefore, “Blessed are those who aren’t offended by me” (Matt. 11:6).

Ch. 9 – The Divine child born to the people, will rule, counsel, and work peace, even Fathering the people; and nations will come inquire of Him.  His rule will fulfill the promise to David to have a Kingly descendent whose Kingdom never ends (cf. 2 Sam. 7:11-14, Dan. 2, 4, 7:13-14).  

-10-11 – Only a remnant of the proud nations (including Israel) will embrace this King and come under His rule (10: 20-23, 11:11).  But there will be a profound wisdom and excellence to His rule (11:1-5), such that the world has never seen.  Thus, though only a remnant will come, people will continually be coming to Him, so that the number of those coming to Him increases.  

Ch. 12 – Those under His rule will never spiritually thirst, but will rest satisfied and happy in Him.  “With joy” they will “draw water from the wells of salvation” (12:3).  Thus Jesus said at the Feast of Tabernacles, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said” (likely referring to Isaiah 12:3, Ezekiel 47, Zechariah 13 & 14, and perhaps many others), “’Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (Jn. 7:37-38).   

Upon reading Isaiah 1-12, I’m struck at how beautifully the whole story of the Bible is contained here. The preeminence of God’s glory as the backdrop of man’s existence is perfectly contained in His anger over sin alongside His desire to bless and bring life to people.  The sin and fallenness of man is seen in Israel’s history and the historical situation that they’re under that thus makes them ripe for promises of the coming of a Messiah.  The temporary nature of the city of Jerusalem, the Temple, the sacrificial system, and the fact that these things are merely meant to show outwardly what God wants to become inward, is all depicted vividly.  Thus this teaching opens up the door to understanding that the Messiah’s work will be to fulfill righteousness in Himself (Matt. 3:15), become Himself the spiritual city and Kingdom of God (Heb. 12:22), and satisfy those who are over life and themselves enough to long for and thus see His glory (Matt. 5:6).  Very few will embrace Him.  But some will; and those who do will be captivated by His wisdom and perfection, such that, if ever presented with the option to leave him, can only respond, "Where else can we go?  You have the words of eternal life!" (cf. Jn. 6:68)

Thus we see why the New Testament Christians were so captivated by Christ’s glory: What a glory to behold indeed!  And we also see why the Christmas season is so joyful: With joy, in Jesus, we draw water from the wells of salvation, and it satisfies us eternally.

So come and drink! 

Lauren Daigle, and Biblical Clarity

Lauren Daigle has been on the scene for several years as an extremely talented (and now accomplished) contemporary Christian singer.  Her first songs a couple of years ago were immediately attention grabbing because she has a voice that is so unique and of such a high quality that it’s hard to ignore when she comes on.  She’s drawn some comparisons to Adele, and I think these are warranted comparisons. (Note, a comparison isn’t an equivocation – it just means that there are similarities.)

Daigle has come under fire recently for her statements regarding whether or not homosexuality is a sin.  In an interview with iHeart radio, she said, 

“In a sense, I have too many people that I love that they are homosexual. I don't know. I actually had a conversation with someone last night about it. I can't say one way or the other. I'm not God. So when people ask questions like that, that's what my go-to is. I just say read the Bible and find out for yourself. And when you find out, let me know, because I'm learning, too."

It is hard to imagine that she really doesn’t know what the Bible says about homosexuality.  But since no one has omniscience, one could say that it is fair to give her the benefit of the doubt.  Perhaps she doesn’t know.  After all, she did say to read the Bible and let her know, since she is apparently still learning.  But maybe she does, and she doesn’t want to give an opinion that could lose fans (although, this opinion has lost her some fans as well.)

Let’s consider the two possibilities: Either she does know and she’s afraid to take a definite stand, or she doesn’t know, being a Bible-belt-raised Christian who doesn’t know the basics of Biblical sexual ethics.  Either option provides somewhat of a snapshot of problems with American evangelicalism. 

Maybe she knows

The former possibility (that she knows Scripture and won’t take a stand) snapshots the problem of Christians claiming the Christian name but not being committed to the authority of the Christian sacred text, which we call the Bible.  Instead, one of the primary teachings of the sacred text - love - has grown to usurp the authority of the very text from which it came.*  Since love is the authority (as a listener to Christian radio, Lauren Daigle’s workplace, may conclude), propositional truth concepts that could be potentially challenging to another person’s lifestyle or beliefs quickly become no-nos.  

This is why Daigle said elsewhere, 

“I think the second we start drawing lines around which people are able to be approached and which aren't, we've already completely missed the heart of God.”  

But no one is saying a homosexual can’t be approached.  In fact, Christians think that all people – homosexual, heterosexual, etc. – need Jesus.  But embracing Jesus means embracing His opinions about what is right and wrong.  “Why do you call me Lord but don’t do what I tell you?” (Lk. 6:46)  If Daigle knows what the Scripture says and is afraid to confront what Scripture confronts, then she apparently doesn’t understand how one can simultaneously love someone and disagree with them.  

The real issue, as it appears to me, is that there is some other authority over our cultural conscience, and perhaps there are many varying authorities over our own personal consciences, instead of God’s truth as He has revealed it in His Word.  Daigle is not the first professing Christian who has publically claimed that she can’t say one way or another whether something is wrong because she’s not God, implying that we need to leave all judgments to God.  

But to imply this is to say that we therefore should stop reading the Bible, because it so emphatically confronts and condemns so many things as wrong and in need of forsaking.  Perhaps this is the greater reason for Biblical illiteracy in the 21^st century church: Fear of becoming as judgmental as God is.  After all, Jesus said that we shouldn’t judge because we’ll be judged with our own standard, right? (Matt .7:1-6).   But in the same passage Jesus said to remove the log from our eyes (judge ourselves) so that we can remove the speck from our brother’s eyes (judge your brother)!  Further, Jesus very clearly told His followers that they need to learn to judge rightly (Jn.7:24).  In short, where does Jesus stand on being judgmental?  Learn to judge rightly, but be careful because it’ll be turned around on you in the end.  And we need Scripture to straighten out our standard so that we can discern what is righteous and what isn’t.**  Therefore Paul says that only by being transformed in our minds can we learn to discern what pleases God (Rom. 12:2).

But maybe she doesn’t know 

The latter option – that Daigle doesn’t know what the Bible says – snapshots a problem I’ve already alluded to: Christians today don’t know the Bible.  And this apparently applies to Christians in the public sphere as well.  It just seems like the church is at an post-Reformation all-time low when it comes to Biblical literacy. 

But if this is so, it begs a question: What then makes a person a Christian?  

-Is it “believing in Jesus”?  Then what does it mean to believe in Jesus – just in his existence, or even further, in his power?  That qualifies us as demons (Jms. 2:19, cf. Lk. 4:34).  Or is to believe in his life, death, and resurrection, and what it means for me?  Most Christians would say, “That’s the one.”  But you can’t have this without the Bible, and you can’t have the Bible without the Bible’s morality, too. 

-Is it having grown up in the church?  It can’t just be that – the Bible quite clearly says that one isn’t a child of God just by being born as a human.  One must be reborn as a Christian (see John 1:12-13).  Again, we need the Bible to understand this. 

-Is it being an American?  Does being an American make a person a Christian?  No, and it never has.  A Christian is a citizen of heaven first (Phil. 3:20).  One must embrace the Biblical message of Jesus, His Kingdom, and His atoning work at the cross.  Further, Jesus’ kingdom is to intentionally span across every tribe, tongue, and nation (Rev. 5:9).

A Pillar of Truth 

The Apostle Paul said that the church is the pillar of truth in the world (1 Tim. 3:15).  This means that if the whole world continues to morph in its understanding of what is true and absolute or right and wrong (or, in our case today, in its recategorizing of ethics so that “right and wrong” is thought of as the wrong paradigm all together, being too “binary”), then those who are inevitably worn out by the shifting shades of grey should be able to look at the church to find truth.  And if truth can’t be found in the church, the church is no longer the church.  Thus the apostle writes, “I rejoice to find you walking in the truth” (2 Jn. 4), and Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth (see John 14-16).  It is a sad day when people claim Christ but don't think Christ's thoughts after Him, especially when we are supposed to "have the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2:15).  But if we don't think the Bible is clear enough or trustworthy enough, how can we have the mind of Christ in the least? 

Post-modern Christian tension

You may notice by now that I don’t want to throw Lauren Daigle out as not being a Christian because of what she said.  Perhaps she doesn’t know what the Bible says. Or perhaps she does, and she, like many today, doesn’t understand how to love Jesus’ truth and love her friends well.  My prayer is that she’ll love Jesus enough to abide in His Word (Jn. 14:15, 15:5f).  In this way her love for her homosexual friends will be a love that shares with them the love and truth of Jesus, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” (Is. 30:21).  She may then add, “If you don’t walk in Jesus’ way, I still love you, will pray for you, and will be there for you. But if I have to choose between you and Jesus, I’m going to choose Jesus, because He loved me, and gave Himself for me.  And I’m only really being your friend if I want you to know him, too.  But I only really know Him if I accept His standard of righteousness.  So come, let’s repent and follow Jesus together.” 

This tension – how to slay sin and follow Jesus while loving our friends who aren’t slaying sin and following Jesus – is a difficult place for the Christian.  But this is what it means to be the church, the pillar truth: In the midst of the shifting opinions of men, we are to stand firm on Christ’s word, prayerfully seeking to radiate Christ’s warmth to a cold world that is dead in sin, and totally unaware of it.  And in being steadfast and faithful this way, we’ll be fruitful too. 

*Further, the Bible defines love:

-1 Corinthians 13: Love is patient, kind, slow to anger, hoping all things, etc.  See there.

-John 14:15: obeying Christ, which, extrapolated, means treating a person how they should be treated, like Jesus, being the Son of man, should be obeyed.

-1 John 5:1-2: we only love others when we love God and walk in His way (2 Jn. 6)

-Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus says that to love God with your whole self and love your neighbor IS the Law, whereas at Matt. 7:12 He says treating others how you’d want to be treated is the Law.  Apparently love for others means treating them how you’d want to be.  And since Jesus speaks in Matt. 7 during the sermon on the mount to Christians who are striving for perfection (5:45), love does not exclude sharing God’s standard so people will know what He wants from them.

Thus, our definition of love today is significantly different than God's.

**For the record, I believe this to be the singular cause when any branch of Christianity veils or forsakes the absolute authority of the Bible over all of life.