Isaiah 6:6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin atoned for.”
We have been considering in Isaiah 6 the basics of Evangelism. We’ve been asking, “What truths do we seek to convey, when talking to unbelievers and believers alike when we are seeking to impress upon them the central truths of belonging in the Christian faith.”
We started this mini-series the the Kingliness of God. We have spoken of God’s Kingliness in a myriad of ways. We have used synonyms like God’s transcendence, His sublimity, His splendor, His Royalness, His Regalness, His sovereignty, His Holiness… all in a feeble attempt to communicate the greatness and grandness of God. We saw that in Isaiah 6:1f where Isaiah enters into the Temple and see’s God high and lifted up. We saw it in the screeching Seraphim crying out the God is HOLY, HOLY. HOLY. We saw it in how God’s train filled the temple. We saw it with the smoke filling the temple.
We said that we must try to communicate as much as we can God in His Kingliness to folks. We said in order to do that we have to be convinced ourselves and the way to be convinced ourselves is read, meditate and pray in concert with the passages that deal with God’s transcendence. We see we can get this into our marrow by reading the greats who wrote on the subject and we said that one way to communicate the sublimity of God when talking to folks is to return the outshining of God’s greatness as located in God’s law.
We then moved on to Isaiah conviction. Isaiah sees God’s Kingliness and the result is his conviction of sin. Isaiah’s conviction of sin is seen in the fact that he is unmanned. He cries out in desperation that he is undone for He has seen the Kingliness of God. He doesn’t need to be convinced of His sin because Isaiah has seen the standard of Holiness and seeing his sin there is only one solution.
That is where we plow new ground today.
Isaiah has seen God in all His Kingliness. He does not need to be pounded with how sinful he is because in seeing God he sees his sin. He sees the distance between himself as a sinner and God’s righteousness and holiness to which he is called. There is no need to lead him in the sinner’s prayer because the sinner’s prayer falls instantly from his lips.
“Woe is me, for I am [a]undone!
Because 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.”
No man can apprehend the character of God and not understand his or her sinfulness and subsequent need for cleansing. If you’re interested in homiletical precision you’ll note we have moved from the Kingliness of God, to Isaiah conviction of sin, and now we speak of Isaiah’s cleansing and we will finally briefly consider Isaiah’s commission.
Isaiah is distraught. He has seen the Transcendence of God as well a few men ever see God’s Transcendence. This vision elicited Isaiah’s confession
“Woe is me for I am undone
For I am a man of unclean lips
And I have live among a people of unclean lips
And my eyes have seen the Lord Almighty.”
God is gracious though and He does not leave Isaiah in his nervous breakdown. Instead, one of the Holy attendant seraphim goes to the altar where sacrifices would be offered and takes a coal from that altar of sacrifice and places it upon the very place that Isaiah had said was unclean — his lips.
Let us note several truths from this passage about Isaiah’s cleansing.
First, note that what is happening in this scene is all of grace. The only thing Isaiah is contributing is his sin and even that would never have been confessed if God had not opened Isaiah’s eyes to God’s Kingliness. So, the first thing we want to see here is that all of what we see here in Isaiah 6 is sola de gloria… to God alone be the glory. God opened Isaiah’s eyes to see God high and lifted up. God is the reason Isaiah confessed his sin. God is the one who cleanses and cures Isaiah of His sin. Isaiah’s confession, conversion, and commissioning is all of God’s grace.
Second, note that God takes the initiative. Isaiah is in a puddle having seen the majesty of God. Finally, it is one of God’s Holy attendant Seraphim who serves in the presence of God that flies to Isaiah. This act communicates divine intervention to relieve Isaiah of his madness. When it comes to grace whether in conversion or commissioning it is God who does all the doing. To God alone be the glory. Isaiah does not ask for some help. God graciously commissions His Holy messenger to relieve Isaiah. Here we see again the sovereignty of God emphasized.
Next note the relation between the coal, the altar, and forgiveness. The altar in Israel’s worship was the place where sacrifice for sin was made. The coal was taken from that altar. There on that altar were the animals brought forth for sacrifice that brought proleptic forgiveness that was both real and yet promissory. That altar and those sacrifices were proleptic and symbolic of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for sinners…. that is to say that the altar and those sacrifices were anticipations of what was going to be done by Christ and a speaking of those future things yet to be done as being presently done.
The altar was the place where atonement was made in Israel. Atonement was when the barrier of sin between God and man is set aside and peace w/ God is found. Atonement bespeaks reconciliation between God and man. Again note it is God who does the reconciling. He awakens Isaiah to his sin, and he provides the only solution to Isaiah’s sin. All Isaiah contributes to atonement is his sin.
When Isaiah has the coal from the altar placed upon His lips Jesus Christ and His forgiveness is being communicated as real and yet future to Isaiah. The coal in Isaiah 6 cleanses from sin and points forward to Christ’s sacrifice which is a unrepeatable cleansing from sin. Note that the hot coal … that is the forgiveness is placed on the very part of Isaiah that Isaiah insists is unclean … his lips. All of this reminds us that the OT is the cradle where Christ is found. None of what is going on here makes any sense unless it is all pointing to Christ. Christ is our altar of atonement and is the alone place where sin can be taken away and reconciliation between God and man found.
Now before we push on, lets pause to collect what we have learned thus far in this series
We have spoken of how glorious God is and by implication we have pushed the idea that we dishonor God by thinking of Him in ways that belittle Him. We have suggested that it might be fitting to pray for a good bit more of the awe-struck in us that we see here in Isaiah 6. The Majesty of God lays so lightly on the 21st century Christian.
We have spoken of how a true understanding of man’s sinfulness only comes in an ever increasing understanding of God’s Holiness and we have mentioned how our culture pushes us towards thinking that man is big and God is small.
We have spoken for the need of cleansing. If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We have spoken that Christ is our altar … our forgiveness and that in Christ our sin is taken away and our guilt is relieved. There is therefore no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.
We have spoken of how this passage communicates that in salvation God does all the saving. God opens our eyes to our sin. God provides the relief for our sin. God fills us with a gratitude for our salvation to compels us to service. (Here, I am send me.)
We have spoken of the symbolism of the altar here and the coal taken from the altar and how that communicates Christ in all His redeeming power. We have emphasized that once we are touched with the forgiveness found in Jesus Christ there is therefore now no condemnation. Once forgiven our sin, misery, and guilt are forever removed.
We should have spoken of how ready God is to forgive. Isaiah laments and repents of his sin and God immediately provides deliverance by sending forth His Holy footmen to provide relief. We should never despair that we can out sin God’s readiness to forgive repentant sinners.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
And saves such as [a]have a contrite spirit. Ps. 34:18
When it comes to forgiveness it should be said in some translations the passage in Isaiah instead of saying your sins are atoned for instead say “your sins are covered.” The word in the Hebrew comes from the Kippur word group. What is communicated here is the idea of expiation. The translation here could as easily say… “and your sins are expiated.” But of course we don’t use that word any more.
Still, as Christians we should gain an idea of this important word. When God says to Isaiah that your sins are atoned for or covered what God is say is that your sins are expiated. To have sins expiated is to have them covered or removed/taken away from us. Our sins are removed from God’s sight and so we can have peace with God.
Another important truth that is not explicitly stated here is a word related to expiation. It is also a word that we won’t find used much in our english language. That word is propitiation. As we said, expiation is to cover or remove sin. However even if sin is removed/covered we still have to have a remedy for God’s just wrath against sin. Here is where the word propitiation enters. Propitiation has to do with the satisfaction of God’s just wrath against us.
Of course, in the OT the sacrifice in the OT on the day of atonement was both a expiation and a propitiation. In the OT sacrifices sin was covered proleptically and God was propitiated … that is to say the sacrifice satisfied the wrath of God.
Christ’s death on the cross both paid for the debt of our sins and reconciled us to God by satisfying God’s wrath. Jesus was both the expiation for our sin (He took it away … or covered it) and Jesus is the propitiation satisfying God’s just anger against the sinner. His death on the cross supplied the necessary sacrifice to bring us from enemies to children of God (Galatians 4:3-7).
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. – Romans 5:6-11
The consequence of all this is that Isaiah had forgiveness and all have forgiveness who trust in Christ alone.
Something we should be quick to note in this passage. Please pay attention to all the legal categories. We have sin and guilt. This is not only existentially true but it is legally true. Isaiah was legally a sinner and guilty before God and therefore this legal sin and guilt could only be dealt with legally. Sin and guilt are legal. Forgiveness and the removal of condemnation are legal. There had to be satisfaction made. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. In the OT that blood was shed on the Altar and consumed by the fire. In the NT what was anticipated in the OT finds fulfillment in the atoning death of Christ.
God does not just say to Isaiah … “Well, I see you’re really sorry and that you mean it, therefore I forgive you.” No, a price had to be paid. In the OT the price was the blood of bulls and goats. However that was only anticipatory of the blood satisfaction that Christ would render up as eternal satisfaction for our sin.
Christianity is a religion … a faith that can not be understood or embraced apart from an appreciation and understanding of how our culpability before the law was relieved by the one who saved us from our sin as a legal liability against us.
Much of the Church does not want to understand their Christian faith in these categories. And as such, they do not understand what Christianity is. They prefer the talk of “relationship,” or the subjective existential warm fuzzies of the Christian faith, or the idea of Jesus as our exemplar. But any Christianity that doesn’t understand the legal aspect as required and fulfilled by Jesus the Christ is a Christianity not worthy of the name.” Isaiah’s forgiveness points to Christ for us, the hope of glory.
A few more words to round off.
First, keep in mind that the atonement spoken of in Isaiah and throughout Scripture is objective… that is it removes our sin and guilt before God. However, the atonement does not make us subjectively perfect. We still sin. It is the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit that works in us to increasingly become what we have been freely declared to be due to the work of Christ’s atonement. There is a two-fold work in the cross. One is to reconcile us to God because of expiation and propitiation. The other is the ongoing work wherein the Spirit of Christ because we are God’s Cross redeemed people work in us sanctification — Christ-likeness.
All of this explains why Isaiah is left to demonstrate his gratitude by saying “Here I am, O Lord, send me.” Isaiah understood that his atonement was complete. There was nothing he needed to add or could add to the forgiveness of that coal being placed upon his lips. The only response Isaiah could offer up is a gratitude that would take him on a task that could only be borne out of a ongoing sense of gratitude for his forgiveness.
Isaiah was told his ministry would be barren in terms of results. If he was going to keep going on the stamina would have to be provided by his gratitude to God for so great a forgiveness.
Do we understand how much we have been forgiven?
A very timely post. I’ve been taken aback by the Witherspoon diary entry, but was reminded at my church yesterday when we sang Martin Luther’s “From the Depths of Woe” (p. 461 in the Baptist Trinity Hymnal) that “in much the best life faileth.”
Hello Ron
I guess I should have said so in my Witherspoon post … but that was all intended as satire. I thought it was obvious with the last line about the Devil being a gentlemen but I guess we have slipped so far that anything seems reasonable.
I am sorry. I really wasn’t trying to deceive.
The bit about the devil being a gentleman made me want to research further whether this was AI Kabbalah revisionism or something Witherspoon actually said in his diary. This is reassuring.
“Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” (Luke 7:47)
I’m the ultimate sense we are all forgiven the same. We are forgiven from being traitors against God and made into His friends by the reconciliation of Christ. But some of us perceive the magnitude of this more than others. This is what Christ is pointing towards.