You probably have heard it shouted from pulpit’s before “The grass withers, the flower fades, but God’s word is forever” – and while that proclamation is absolutely true, the manner in which it is typically spoken, is not. It is usually uttered in a negative way and with the implication of God’s judgment. It may surprise you to learn then that the context in which these words were spoken in the Bible was not the judgment of God, but His promises of redemption and blessing. The enduring word of God is not one of condemnation, but words of restoration and salvation.
In this study today, we will see that what is truly center focus in the Bible is actually a desire of God to redeem and restore that which sin has so utterly corrupted. It is sin that God must judge, not necessarily man. God’s true desire is to punish the sin but spare the sinner… just as our desire is to destroy a cancerous tumor, but spare the one that the cancer is destroying. So if you have been struggling with a wrong idea or belief about the nature and the character of God, then this study will give you a fresh revelation of His grace today.
Let’s begin by reading Isaiah 40:1-8:
“Comfort you, comfort you my people, said your God.
Speak you comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry to her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she has received of the LORD’s hand double for all her sins.
The voice of him that cries in the wilderness, Prepare you the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.
The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
The grass wither, the flower fades: because the spirit of the LORD blows on it: surely the people is grass.
The grass wither, the flower fades: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”
Right in verse 1, we see that God is emphasizing comfort. In the Hebrew language, when you want to bring emphasis to something, you will mention it at the start of a sentence, or you will repeat the thing to be emphasized. Here, we see both of those things being done – this is a double emphasis. Comfort, comfort!
Following this, we see the object of the comfort, we see who God is speaking to: you, who are His people. Today, if you are a born again believer in Christ Jesus, then you are His and He is speaking these words to you personally.
In verse 2 is the reason why we can have comfort: our warfare is accomplished. Our iniquity is pardoned. And not only pardoned, but overpaid! Notice that we have received of the LORD’s hand, double for all of our sins! Legalistic preachers tend to misrepresent this verse as speaking of judgment or punishment being rendered double for sin, but that is not the context we are reading here. The context here is not condemnation, but comfort! The context here is not judgment, but peace! The hand of the LORD being spoken of here is not a hand of judgment, but a hand of salvation, just as Jesus reached out His hand of salvation to Peter who was drowning in the waters of doubt and fear, so also we were drowning in our murky waters of sin and sickness and the LORD is reaching out His hand of mercy to save and rescue us, and His words to us are not words of judgment, condemnation or fear, but He is saying to us stop struggling! The warfare is accomplished! Your iniquities are pardoned! Jesus is victorious!
Jesus is the double portion of Grace from the Hand of the LORD that is an absolute overpayment for the sins of our entire life! This is a life-changing, liberating truth. People do not understand that Grace is liberating; and that it does not liberate you to be free to sin, but it liberates you to to be free from sin. Free from the power and bondage that sin once had in your life. Free from the jail cell of sin that you used to be in, into the palace of almighty God where we can take our rightful place in His Kingdom in the righteousness of Christ Jesus.
Verse 3, is not only a prophecy of John the Baptist who preceded Jesus Christ’s first coming to the earth, but also a reality for each of us. One of the jobs of the Holy Spirit is to prepare the way personally for each person to receive Jesus. And what a wonderful reception to prepare for. The Holy Spirit doesn’t prepare with fear-mongering, or scare-tactics, but by revealing the true heart and character of God’s Grace – no-one can be scared into a loving relationship. If you are in terror or dread of your spouse, you can’t really love them… and the perfect love of God casts out all fear. (1st John 4:18)
Verse 4 states that for all time, God has leveled the spiritual field. All valleys have been risen up and all mountains have been brought low. Everyone is on equal-footing with God in Christ. The priest has no special advantage over the pauper any moor. The man who is rich in worldly goods has no privilege over the homeless person when it comes to God. Everyone has the same choice and the same Savior. There is no work that can earn God’s favor and no qualification for His blessing and acceptance other than simply accepting, believing and receiving Jesus.
Verse 5 continues this thought, that the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. Again, this is not only a prophecy for the return of Christ Jesus, but also a reality for us now as well. After the Spirit has prepared the way in our lives, then comes the true revelation of God’s glory, and when His salvation comes, all of your flesh shall see it. And connected with verses 6 through 8, all of the glory of man’s self-effort and pride (grass and flower) will pale and wither in comparison to God’s divine glory.
Now notice something else in verse 6, something very important… The voice of God said “Cry.” and then a question was asked; a question which every pastor, leader and minister of God should ask: what shall I cry? There are quite a number of people on platforms, podiums and pulpits today who have never asked this question, but proceeded to speak their own words, ideas and experiences, apart from God, and are spiritually killing the people instead of feeding them – and they are doing it under the guise of God, but have never known what He actually wants them to speak. The verses make it clear that the glory of man fades, and the self-effort and pride of man withers away, only the Word of God endures and lasts. If someone preaches, teaches or builds a ministry from their own effort, it will not endure and it will be burned up (1st Corinthians 3:10-17), so it is imperative to know what the enduring Word of God is. Turn to 1st Peter 1:24-25:
“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass wither, and the flower thereof falls away:
But the word of the Lord endures for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached to you.”
Here, Peter translates our verse from Isaiah 40:8, and he makes a point to tell us that the enduring Word of the LORD is what was preached to you by the Gospel. The Good News of Jesus Christ, that He died for your sins, in your place, was raised on the third day, and now you live in Him – as defined in 1st Corinthians 15:1-4.
Today we have ministers doing the opposite, preaching from a different spirit of fear and legalism, perverting the grace of God by mixing it with law, or somehow turning it into a merit-system as if we could ever earn God’s grace, and it is killing people (2nd Corinthians 3:6)
Turn with me now to Acts 20:24:
“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”
The ministry that Paul received of the Lord Jesus was to testify the Gospel of the Grace of God. Today we have people claiming that the Gospel of Grace is demonic. Or they try to mix Grace and the Law, which Jesus said could not and should not be done. (Matthew 9:16-17).
There are people railing against the Gospel of Grace saying that “we must preach the whole counsel of God!”, but they do not seem to understand what the whole counsel of God is… look at verse 27 of the same chapter of Acts 20:
“For I have not shunned to declare to you all the counsel of God.”
Paul, the very same Paul who just finished stating in verse 24 that he received the ministry of Grace directly from the Lord Jesus, now declares with confidence that he has not neglected to share the whole counsel of God. Then in verses 28 through 31, he proceeds to warn the people to watch for and guard against those who would come into the church and teach anything other than grace! He says in verse 31 that he warned the people night and day with tears!
He says in verse 28 that ministers are to feed the church of God, not to flog it and bring it under condemnation.
Also in verse 29, he says that grievous wolves will come in, not sparing the flock… so obviously God wants the flock spared. And in verse 30 we see that out of yourselves men will arise, speaking perverse things and drawing disciples away. These are those who still cling to the Law. And that is exactly what happened in Galatians 2:14 and Galatians 4:9; and even previously in Acts 15.
Lastly, if that wasn’t enough, look now at verse 32:
“And now, brothers, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”
Pastors and leaders, this message is for you. Paul says that he commends you to God, and to the word of His Grace. The word which is able to build up – not beat down. To the word which is able to give you an inheritance. That is Grace, pure, unadulterated Grace. The ministry given by the LORD Jesus Christ who paid for it with His own broken body and shed blood.
God is a Grace God… The Gospel is a Grace Gospel and the enduring Word of God is His Word of Grace. Why? Because it is all centered around His Beloved Son Jesus, in whom the Father is well pleased. (Matthew 17:5). The Law was given by Moses, but Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (John 1:17) and there is no comparison between the two. The Law puts the burden on man to perform; Grace relies completely on the LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, and places man in the position to simply receive from God.
The Law says, “if you have sin, don’t come near” (Exodus 34:3), but Grace says “Come all that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Jesus completely fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17), God nailed it to the cross with Christ (Colossians 2:14), and moved mountains from Sinai which represents the Law, to Zion which represents Grace. (Hebrews 12:18-24).
This is the Gospel, this is the Good News of Jesus Christ. And this is what changes lives. The truth of Jesus, the eternal, enduring Word of God.
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