THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ISAIAH
By Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel
2 Peter 1: 21 “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; where unto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”
The above scripture is a reminder that the written word of God is not from men. The Bible is not just a book; it is the voice of God in written form. The Scriptures call it the “Word of His Power”. The Bible is the only book that God wrote Himself. It does not need improvement. We do not add to it and we do not remove from it. It is the truth for eternity. It is settled in heaven forever and does not change. You don’t need human intellect to understand the Bible because human intellectual capacity cannot fathom the wisdom of God. Salvation will always remain foolish to those who rely on their intellect to interpret the Bible. The word of God is spirit and life and so it is beyond what man can articulate in his finite intellect. Therefore you cannot give the Bible your own interpretation. The wisdom of God is beyond human wisdom. The Holy Spirit uses His word to teach you and we can only know to the extent we are taught by Him and to the extent, we are prepared to listen and learn.
Luke 16: 29-31 “Abraham saith unto him, they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”
Here is what this scripture means if we do not read the scripture and allow the Spirit of God to reveal it to us, we will not believe even if someone comes back from the dead to preach to us. This scripture is all about Jesus. The only plan God has for mankind is consummated in Christ Jesus alone!! The Scriptures always point us to Christ.
John 5:39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40 Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life.”
The Scripture points us to Christ. The role of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the truth in Christ to us.
Luke 24:45 “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures”
It is very important to read the scriptures with the desire to know The Truth (Christ) and not just as a mere religious duty or obligation. When we don’t seek wholeheartedly, we won’t receive the revelation of Christ. As a result, many read the bible with their human intellect and try to figure it out. They end up getting confused and instead of walking in the light of revelation, they walk in total confusion and make up things that are not true as they go along.
Jesus said in Matthew 22:29 “Jesus answered them, “You are deluded, because your hearts are not filled with the revelation of the Scriptures or the power of God.”
HOW TO RECEIVE THE GOSPEL AS PROPHESIED BY ISAIAH
Prophet Isaiah was one of the greatest prophets. He prophesied about God’s plan of salvation through Christ Jesus. He wrote about the gospel thereby confirming the writings of our Lord Jesus. He started by making us know how to receive the Gospel. It is received by faith only. NOT BY WORKS!
Isa 53: 1 “Who has believed our message ?To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?”
The salvation of God through the powerful arm of the Lord,who is Christ Jesus; the power of God, the deliverer, and savior can only be experienced by faith. First, you must believe that this is true for you personally and then you own the truth in the gospel.
Eph 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast”
THE BENEFITS OF CHRIST’S DEATH AS REVEALED BY ISAIAH
- God laid all of our sins on Jesus. As a result, Jesus paid all the penalties of our sins in our place, so we do not pay them again. By so doing, He provided us forgiveness and righteousness before God.
John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”
1 John 2:2 “He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”
- Christ’s death on the cross was simply an act of love and grace.
1 John 4:10 “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”
While we were yet sinners, this work of grace was done for us.
Rom 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Prophet Isaiah wrote about this as well in the verse below.
Isa 53:5 “And he is pierced for our transgressions, Bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace [is] on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us.6 All of us like sheep have wandered, Each to his own way we have turned, And Jehovah hath caused to meet on him, The punishment of us all.7 It hath been exacted, and he hath answered, And he openeth not his mouth, As a lamb to the slaughter he is brought, And as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, And he openeth not his mouth.” YLT
Isaiah said that Jesus was pierced, bruised, afflicted, and gave His life as a substitute for us. Our sins are forgiven since Christ bore all our sins and washed us with His blood.
Eph 1: 7 “He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”
Isaiah also wrote that through the suffering of our Lord, it is now possible for us to be counted righteous before God.
Isa 53:11 “When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,he will be satisfied.And because of his experience,my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous,for he will bear all their sins.”
As Christians, we now have to preach forgiveness of sins to all. Those who receive it benefit and those who reject it pay the price for their sins in hell.
Acts 13:38 “Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is declared right with God—something the law of Moses could never do.”
- Through Christ’s death, Healing was made available to us.
Isa 53:4 “Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains — he hath carried them, And we — we have esteemed him plagued, Smitten of God, and afflicted.5 And he is pierced for our transgressions, Bruised for our iniquities, The chastisement of our peace [is] on him, And by his bruise there is healing to us.”
This is very self-explanatory. Jesus bore and carried our sickness and pain. Peter also wrote about this. 1 Peter 2:24 “Who his own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins,should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
Much like the old-time Jews, many churchgoers today do not believe in the full gospel. They insist on producing their own righteousness. Some even go to God with their own righteousness and of course, they fail. Then they feel the need to afflict and debase themselves further. Yet, they continue to fail.
Rom 10 “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.”
Romans 9:30-33 “So then, what does all this mean? Here’s the irony: The non-Jewish people, who weren’t even pursuing righteousness, were the ones who seized it—a perfect righteousness that is transferred by faith. Yet Israel, even though pursuing a legal righteousness, did not attain to it. And why was that? Because they did not pursue the path of faith but insisted on pursuing righteousness by works, as if it could be seized another way. They were offended by the means of obtaining it and stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written: “Be careful! I am setting in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble, a rock of offense that will make them fall, but believers in him will not experience shame.”
A lot of believers are ignorant of the righteousness that Christ confers through faith in Christ alone.
Rom 10:3 “For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.”
Paul declared his own choice in the verse below. We too need to decide for ourselves.
Phil 3: 9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”
Just like Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 53:1, “the arm of the Lord is revealed to those who believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This means those that believe the full gospel not part of it. Do you believe your sins are forgiven? Do you preach as Paul did that our sins are forgiven or do you condemn people, count their sins and prescribe your one condition for salvation? Ponder over this Scripture below and make sure you are teaching the right doctrine to others. But first, make sure you believe for yourself.
2 Cor 5:18 “And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ”
Pastor Chinedu Emmanuel is the Senior Pastor at Fountain Of The Living Word Church, New Jersey.
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