HF126 - Not One Is Missing
To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Wed, July 21, 2004
Subject: Bible Study HF126 - Not One Is Missing
Hebraics,
God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, saying, "Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing." (Isa40:26)
It is interesting how the Lord makes the statement, "Not one of them is missing," in the midst of a prophecy concerning the first coming of Christ, concerning the church, and concerning the second coming of Christ. In fact the entire Isaiah prophecy in chapter 40 is soteriological. (Pardon the long word. Soteriological is defined as the theological doctrine of salvation as effected by Jesus.)
What I want to do in this study is show how this statement, "not one of them is missing," is brought over into the new covenant with a view to the salvation of the cross.
This is Bible Study HF126 - Not One Is Missing.
The entire chapter of Isaiah 40 concerns itself with prophetic history. John the Baptist alludes to it. The Apostle Peter quotes directly from it. It is surely part of the good Shepherd teaching that Jesus gave us. Let's pick up a little more from Isaiah 40:
"Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, 'Here is your God.' Behold the Lord will come with might, with His arm ruling for Him and His recompense before Him. Like a shepherd He will tend His flock. In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes."
This portion includes the beginning of the gospel message as preached by Peter on Pentecost, 33 a.d. It directs attention to Jesus Himself in saying, "Here is your God." Then it gives us a picture of the good Shepherd caring for His flock. But the crux brings us forward to the Lord's statement, "Not one of them is missing."
Although this statement is directed to the stars of the universe, its underlying purpose points to God's very own people. Therefore the language is metaphorical. Did not the Lord say to Abraham, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them. So shall your descendants be." (Gen15:5)
The language of stars is often used as a Hebraism for the people that belong to the Lord. The book of Daniel also includes this where the Lord says to Daniel, "Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." (Dan12:3)
Let's come back to the statement "not one of them is missing." The doctrine that some folk struggle with the most is the doctrine of the sovereignty of God, yet it is this very doctrine that is the bedrock for a true Biblical faith walk. Believers need to know that God is much more in control of their lives than they think possible.
What does this have to do with the statement, "Not one is missing"? It has everything to do with it. The Isaiah language is carried over into the new covenant with a special view to our redemption in Christ. For example, as the soldiers sought to apprehend Jesus, He said, "I am He," and they fell to the ground. The next statement the Lord makes ties into the Isaiah passage.
The soldiers regained their composure, and the Lord said to them again, "Whom do you seek?" They said, "Jesus the Nazarene." Now follow closely --- "Jesus answered, 'I told you that I am He; so if you seek Me, let these go their way." Then it says this was "to fulfill the word which He had spoke, 'Of those whom You have given Me I lost not one." (Cf. John18:4-9)
It is earlier in the book of John that we hear Jesus speak of His not losing anyone that the Father gives to Him. We hear this in John 6:37-40: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all He has given me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I myself will raise him up on the last day."
Believers should meditate on this passage until its message rings true in their heart. The message here encapsulates the whole of our salvation in Christ. Also keep in mind the Isaiah passage, which says, "Like a shepherd He will tend His flock."
And then tie all this together with the varied statements we hear Jesus make in John chapter 10. Listen....
"When He puts forth all his own, He goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow Him because they know His voice. A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers." (vv4,5.)
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they [His sheep] may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." (vv10,11)
"I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me." (v14)
"I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd." (v16 - the church mystical and universal.)
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, AND THEY WILL NEVER PERISH; and no one will snatch them out of My hand." (v27,28 - Caps for emphasis only.)
Let's bring all this into our present life in this world. In the teaching of "not one is missing," we need to understand the connection between God's sovereignty and the freedom that every believer has in Christ Jesus. They work together.
In the case of God's sovereignty, we know just enough to make us ask questions. But we will also have to concur with Paul, who said, "Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!" (Rom11:33) If we can accept that God's ways are unfathomable, and yet He is no respecter of persons, then we are on good ground for our faith walk.
The point is that God knows all things, from the distant past into all eternity future. Thus He can write in His book the names of all who will be saved, long before any of us made our appearance on the earth. In fact the Bible says that He knew us intimately long before we were formed in our mother's womb. Such knowledge this!
Perhaps David said it best, "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You." (Psa139:17,18)
David assures us that the Lord is intimately acquainted with all our ways, with all our thoughts - even before we think them - and that He is involved in every aspect of our lives. This brings us back to our life in this world.
In the case of the redeemed, the Lord, as the good Shepherd, sets perimeters for our time on earth. Perimeters simply mean, "This far. No more." It is within these set perimeters we find our great liberty of life. If we seek to go beyond the perimeters, we find ourselves in a quagmire. (A difficult or precarious predicament. Paul speaks of corrective judgments.)
But the Lord goes a step further. This is where another wonder of the believer's life can be seen. To keep us from the quagmires, the Lord established new covenant rules of the Spirit. Since we are sheep - when we are born from above- and not goats, we are given a nature for righteousness. This is why no true child of God will ever be comfortable in unrighteousness. Our nature will not allow it. John said that which is born of God cannot "practice" sin as a way of life. (It hurts too much. It defiles our spirit.)
The second rule of the Spirit is the Spirit Himself. Rather than leave us simply to our new nature only, the Lord decided that He would place His own Spirit in us to help us maintain a true walk of faith. This is what the "Abba! Father!" expression refers to. Paul said, "Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!'" (Gal4:6)
Of course all this brings us back to the statement, "Not one is missing." There is one other aspect of this statement that we need to realize. When Jesus went to the cross, He exchanged lives with us. This means that He took the total of our lives to Himself in judgment, and gave us the total of His life to assure our not being lost. Thus we hear John say, "As He is so also are we in this world."
And so we have some awesome new covenant doctrines weaving themselves together, including but not limited to, the doctrine of substitution, the doctrine of identification, and especially the doctrine of the new creation. Paul said there is only one rule --- either a person is born again or he is not.
Think about it. The study is open. Feel free to share your thoughts.
Blessings,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)