I Create New!

June 23, 2013

Isaiah 65:17–25

Key Verse: Isaiah 65:17

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Introduction

The disciples sat listening to their Master on the night of the Passover in that upper room. He would instruct their hearts for the last time before His death and resurrection. His redeeming work on His cross would accomplish much for their salvation and newness of life. Their new life would be seen as they lived and served Him on earth, and on into eternity. For His Kingdom on earth is an everlasting Kingdom.

After Judas had left the upper room to do what he thought was good, Jesus spoke to His disciples, saying, “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him” (John 13:31). Both the Father and the Son have been revealed as they were meant to be. We include the Holy Spirit in this, for it is the Godhead who has called a people to salvation. To be glorified means to be revealed as one truly is, in nature, character, and works. God is glorified in the Son because He reveals the true character of the fullness of the Godhead. The Son is revealed as the Messiah, the anointed one who would save His people from their sins.

The Savior would now go to His cross. He spoke to His disciples, for whom He would die, saying, “Whither I go, ye cannot come, so now I say to you. A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:33–34). They could not die with Christ, for He must bear the sins alone that they should be redeemed. However, a new relationship would be established between Him and them, and between each other. The sacrificial unconditional love would permeate their lives.

The ‘new’ commandment does not negate a previous commandment, but makes it a reality. ‘New’ refers to the quality or virtue of the command. Therefore, the new commandment is the fulfillment of the moral law of God in the heart of the Christian, that we should love the Lord our God with all our hearts, and our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus expresses the efficacy of His shed blood on the cross by referring to the new covenant: “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28). The same Greek word for ‘new’ is used in 2 Cor. 5:17, referring to our new birth in Christ, “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” We are of more value qualitatively than we were before with the old nature.

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Discussion: What does it mean to be made new?

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Rejoice Forever!—Isaiah 65:17–19

It is the Lord who has the authority to make things new, to create something qualitatively better than anyone else. He has the authority and the power to raise up His people from the ashes of darkness. It is the Lord who restores His church. “The former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.” The restoration of His people is complete. The unrepentant sinner dwells upon his sin. In Christ we are able to put the past to rest. As God will not bring it up to us again, neither shall we have to remember the sins, as if we had to repent of them again. For Christ “was once offered to bear the sins of many; . . . For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 9:28, 10:14).

We are to be glad and rejoice forever in that which our Lord has created; “for behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy.” We have great grounds for joy. For we have a Savior who is our Intercessor as well; for he who “searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom. 8:27–28). God Himself is a partaker of this joy. For He has said, “I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy in my people; and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” We are a people who look to Jesus the “author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:2). He has accomplished the will of the Father for us. For His name was called Joshua (Jesus) for He would save His people from their sins. Our Lord’s prayer to the Father on our behalf was, “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves” (John 17:13). We are a new creation, having the joy of Christ in us, in our character, and in our works.

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Discussion: What does it mean for a Christian to rejoice?

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Built for Eternity—Isaiah 65:20–25

The maturity of the Christian is assured in Christ. We look for the building not made with hands, but by the grace and power of God. The Lord promises that there “shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days.” The infant shall not remain an infant but grow in grace to maturity, in righteousness, justice, and truth. The older man shall accomplish many things, and will also not be wanting in holiness. We are reminded by Moses that “For all our days are passed away in thy wrath; we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away” (Ps. 90:9–10). Sin and its consequences produce suffering and affliction. However, “Christ comes to repair our strength, and to restore and preserve our original condition” (Calvin).

Restored to a precious position before his Creator and Redeemer, the child of God begins to build. He is now an obedient servant of the Most High. He is now a true disciple. He understands the words of the Master, who said, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock” (Matt. 7:34). No longer is he a slave, laboring that others may be fat; “for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.” In Christ we “shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with them.” We no longer will “bring forth trouble,” be in sudden terror brought about by disobedience. There is a new relationship between us and the Father in Christ Jesus. It has come to pass “that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” We have become the seed of the covenant in Christ. We now belong to Father because of the work of Christ upon His cross. His covenant is established in His words, “I will set my tabernacle among you; and my soul shall not abhor you. I will walk among you, and shall be your God, and ye shall be my people” (Lev. 26:11–12). Thus we are made able to “come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). Grace is that unmerited kindness, the beneficial loving-kindness of our Father in Christ Jesus.

The Lord has redeemed us from the wrath to come by taking upon Himself our guilt and sin. He has restored us to our Father as His very own children. He preserves us by His grace. And, to make our faith surer, He convinces us by His Spirit that we shall be perfectly, wholly restored in our new redeemed nature and fellowship with Him. For, the “wolf and the lamb shall feed together.” Our old nature will eternally pass away. All will be made new. And he who is like the serpent, having “taken crafty counsel” against God’s people (Ps. 83:3), shall have as their food the dust of the earth. Until that day of full restoration, let us come, with our labors and burdens, to Christ. Let us hear and obey Him who speaks to us today, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:29–30).

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Discussion: What does it mean to be restored to God?

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Lessons are based on the International Sunday School Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright © 2013 by the Committee on the Uniform Series.