All right, the Isaiah text, 53
and 11, and in the middle of that verse, it says this, by
his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many. And in John chapter 6 and verse
45, it is written in the prophets, and they shall be all taught
of God. Every man, therefore, that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father comes unto me. Then Colossians 3 and verse 10. And have put on the new man which
is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created
him. I especially want to start with
Isaiah 53 and verse 11. by his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many." Now, in the first part of our study last
Sunday, we dwelt upon the other side of this matter, and that
is spiritual ignorance of its nature, of its cause, and of
its consequences, that it is indwelling in our makeup, that
it is native unto our being, that that understanding is darkened
by nature and until regeneration. and that such cannot know, and
they cannot understand, and they cannot discern the things of
God, because as we saw, they are spiritually discerned from
that great passage from Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and
verse 7, through verse 16. There Paul contrasts two kinds
of wisdom, that of the world and that that is revealed in
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The hidden from some
and revealed unto others. God hides it from the wise and
prudent and reveals it And there are two kinds of people that
are involved in this, that is the natural man and the spiritual
man, one having only the faculties of nature and the other being
renewed in regeneration and endowed with the revelation of the knowledge
of Jesus Christ. Now, as we said of ignorance,
it is mentioned very often in the scripture. On the other hand,
so is spiritual knowledge or understanding. It too is mentioned
very often in the scripture and in connection with salvation. And this is like ignorance of
great influence and great importance in the life of the children of
God. I want to say that this knowledge
plays a leading part or a leading role in our initial conversion
and also in the subsequent Christian life that we attempt to live,
as we hope to show during the course of our study and sermon
today. Now, we have reached back, to
begin with, to that greatest of all prophecies, perhaps in
the Old Testament, Isaiah chapter 52, and verse 13 through the
end of chapter 53. One great prophecy from Isaiah. Here is one of the strongest,
one of the clearest in the Old Testament passages and prophecies
of our Lord beyond question applicable unto Jesus because it is mentioned
so often in the New Testament and therefore is applied unto
him in many places therein. We have lifted that one phrase
out of verse 11, consisting of but nine words, and they are
this, By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many. And the key point of emphasis
here, and the connection between knowledge and justification. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many. Now when we look at the bare
words, My servant by knowledge shall justify many. The words
as they stand in the prophecy, especially that word knowledge
that we must deal with, there can be only two meanings of what
the prophet has said in this particular place. By his knowledge
shall my righteous servant justify many. We can think of only two
meanings to give under that. Number one, is it by the exercise
of God's knowledge or the wisdom that God and Christ possess? Is it his wisdom in designing
and then directing all things under their proper end, that
he knows all and that he makes all things to work together to
the good of them who are the called in Christ Jesus and are
actually justified. Now, this is a very strong truth
in the scripture, but the question is this. Is this the truth that
these words are meant to convey in Isaiah 53 and verse 11? By my knowledge, by the knowledge
that he possesses and that he exercises to do all things right
and proper. Or the second meaning could be
it is to impart are to convey a saving knowledge unto them
that he died for and that are the elect in Jesus Christ. John Brown was of this opinion,
and he made this quote, by bringing those whom he justified to both
know and believe the truth, respecting himself, unquote. 2nd Corinthians
chapter 4 and verse 6. For God, who has caused the light
to shine in creation, has shined in our hearts to give the light
of the glory of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ. that kind of knowledge. It is
imparted knowledge, a knowledge of him. Calvin rendered those
words in Isaiah this way, by his doctrine or by the knowledge
of him, unquote. Gil also favored this view, that
by the knowledge of Christ is part and partial of faith in
Him as our Savior, by which He is known and by which He is believed
in, by which He is known by this knowledge and by which we therefore
believe in Him. John Gil wrote this on Isaiah
53 and verse 11 and those nine words that we are considering
this morning. Quote, this agrees with the New
Testament doctrine of justification by faith, which is none other
than a manifestation, knowledge, sense, or perception of it by
faith, end quote. Matthew Henry was of the same
opinion. The knowledge of him and faith
in and of him. Now, knowledge cannot be separated
from faith in the application of redemption and the great mercy
of God. As true and saving faith, real
faith is grounded the knowledge or in the truth as it is in Jesus
Christ our Lord. Nor can knowledge be separated
from justification. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many. And that's the truth that we're
looking at this morning. Now, if you'll endure a short
digression, many, most of those that we meet with in the world,
particularly those of an Arminian persuasion, those churches that
preach the feeling and the squealing gospel, as we call it, that pure,
that gospel that they put out among their people, they are
of the mind that knowledge, sound teaching, and pure gospel truth
is not a very relative or important thing in the conversion of a
sinner. They favor what they call simple. You don't have to know much.
You don't have to believe much. Just exercise of faith in what
you do know and what you do believe. I've heard them say, perhaps
you have too. You don't have to know anything
to be saved. You don't have to know theology. You don't have to know the Bible
or doctrine or anything like that. And so they argue something
like this. They say unto us, Just believe. Just believe. And we say unto
them in return, believe what? They say, just believe. And we
would ask, believe what? And they say, well, just believe
on Jesus. Just a simple believing faith. on the Lord Jesus. Then we ask
them, as I have done, what Jesus? Which Jesus do you have in mind? Do you have in mind that peccable
Jesus or that impeccable Jesus? Jesus, the personal Savior, or
Jesus, the anointed Lord, and Christ. Once I said to a man,
are you talking about that Jesus who loses none that the Father
gave unto him? Or that Jesus that loses more
than he saved as he has come into the world? Now these kind
of people, and I've met them, make fun of doctrine. They make fun and they mock people
who love to study doctrine. They mock serious Bible study
as being unnecessary and above their head. One preacher once
scolded me for my doctrinal preaching and he said to me, doctrine,
doctrine, doctrine. That's all you ever preach. Well,
what is there to preach but doctrine? For doctrine is teaching. But let's go back to those nine
words. I jumped down off of the soapbox
of Isaiah. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many. Now with this agree the words
of the Lord in prayer. in John chapter 17 and verse
3, where he describes the essence and the nature of eternal life. He described the nature and the
essence of eternal life as knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ,
whom has been sent. Thus, here is another way to
distinguish between the saved and the lost. between the children
of the world and the children of God. Number one, those that
know not God nor Jesus Christ, and that is many. They know not
God, and that's biblical terminology. Then secondly, there are those
who do know God, and they do know the Lord Jesus Christ. and under one or the other of
these pass all through this world and it determines their end or
their fate. Number one, they know not God
as the case was of the Gentiles in Ephesians 4 and verse 18 and
Galatians 4 and verse 8 when Paul said when you knew not God. There was a time when those Gentiles
in that church knew not God. They did not know Him as God,
as the true God, as the one and only God. But number two, those
that know God. And by this we mean that they
savingly know Him. not a rational or a notional
or an historical knowing, but that they know Him savingly. They have a saving knowledge
of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now in that passage in John chapter
17, the prayer of the Lord, we notice something there in the
second and the third verse. In the second verse, that the
Son has been given power. It is the word exousia, it is
the word authority, or right, or privilege. He has been given
authority over all flesh, that is over all mankind. over all of the human family,
and that without exception. He has authority over them. And this authority, or this power,
or this right, is described by a Puritan, Thomas Manton, quote,
this way, a judiciary power to dispose of them according to
his pleasure and will." He has been given power over all of
the human family to dispose of them according to the determinate
counsel of God. And it extends beyond just their
life and their time in this world. It concerns the coming eternal
state and eternal life. And the reason why this authority
over all mankind has been given unto him, he says here in John
17. That he may give eternal life
to as many as the Father hath given him. That he is the bestower
of eternal life. And the Lord lays claim to this
as part of his work. His authority in John 10 28 member
the sheep this statement and I give unto them eternal life
in 1st John 5 11 and 12 God has given to us an eternal life and
this life is in His Son. He that has the Son has life. He that has not the Son has not
life. Then we note that this eternal
life is the blessed privilege of those that were given unto
Him by the Father. And this giving of some unto
Christ was not at the time of their conversion. but was in
the eternal purpose of God before the foundation of the world. But John 17 and 3, having mentioned,
in verse 2, the bestowal of eternal life, then he, in verse 3, amplifies
the way of the experience of eternal life. That they, that
is the ones given to Christ and ordained on the eternal life. Acts 13, 48, this is eternal
life, to know the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom you have
sent. To know. And this knowing is
not speculation. And it is not as much knowing
as comes with the light of nature. It is not from the sermons that
are preached every day and every night in creation. For in neither
of those is there a revelation of the salvation in Jesus Christ,
nor is it a discovery made through personal diligence and research. For to know God in his spiritual
being requires a revelation of the Father unto that individual. and the Son must therefore be
revealed unto us, and this in turn requires regeneration, that
we might have eyes to see and ears to hear and an understanding. And then the Father reveals the
gospel, reveals Christ rather, unto us in the gospel. So as
the prophet wrote, By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many. So to repeat this, knowing here
is a saving knowledge of God and of Christ, as in John 17
and 3, and that this saving knowledge has the double object. God the Father and Christ the
Son, both of them are objects of our knowledge and of our faith. God is known through Christ and
Christ reveals the Father. It is such knowledge as we receive
that God is reconciled and is propitiated in Christ. for we hear that in the gospel
of our Lord. And such knowledge begets faith
and trust and assurance in him the father and him the son. Now John Gill called this and
evangelical knowledge of God, that is, that which is proclaimed
in the gospel and is open and applied unto us by the Spirit. It is knowledge of and in harmony
with the gospel and salvation. Now a practical and experimental
knowledge it is that is given unto us by which that one taught
of God then comes and embraces the Lord Jesus Christ. John chapter 6 and verse 45. What we read, it is written in
the prophet, and they shall all be taught of God. Everyone, therefore,
that hath heard and hath learned of the Father comes unto me."
Now the question might be, where is that written? What Old Testament
passage is the Lord and John referring to this particular
place. It is written they shall be taught
and they shall learn. Well one place is Isaiah chapter
54 and verse 13 and you might and it's a shortened version
of what we have here but it it says this And all thy children
shall be taught of the Lord. And Christ had that in mind as
he spoke. But then Jeremiah chapter 31
and verse 34. They shall all know me from the
least of them to the greatest of them. the leader on the throne
and the peasant in the street. They shall all know me from least
unto greatest. 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 9,
Paul said, you are taught of God. You have been taught, instructed
of God. Here's one, 1 John chapter 2
and verse 20. We'll be back here later. It
says you have an unction from the Holy One and know all things. An unction is an anointing. And by the way, let us not miss
the connection that exists between John 6, 45 and that which goes
before as the Lord had just spoken of the sovereignty of God salvation. So if you want to turn to John
chapter 6 we'll be here for a bit. First thing we notice is that
it is one of the strongest places where our Lord speaks of divine
sovereignty in salvation. You can't beat John chapter 6
for the sovereignty in salvation. For example, in verse 37 of John
6, I think you have three of the
doctrines of grace mentioned in that one verse. First of all,
there is election, all that the Father giveth me. There is irresistible
grace. They shall come to me. And then thirdly, there is the
preservation of the saints. I will in no wise cast them out. So there, in a nutshell, the
three doctrines in one verse. And the Lord had just claimed
in John chapter 6 to have come down from the Father out of heaven
to do the Lord's work. And he strongly hinted that he
was the Son of God. And the Jews took strong offense
to that saying from the one They knew as the son of Joseph and
Jesus of Nazareth. They knew his family. They knew
his brother and his sister. He'd lived among them for some
time. And how does he therefore claim
to have come down from heaven and out from the Father? If you
look in verse 43 and following, at the reaction of the Lord to
their murmuring and their complaints. How did they gain nothing by
such thing? Rather, it was proof of their
blindness, that they had seen so many miracles at the hands
of the Lord, and yet they believed not and followed Him not. Now the Lord here does not enter
into a long debate with them. He does not give them a philosophical
or even a logical argument. He does not try to convince them. After all, they had long been
around and long had heard of him. He did not try to teach
them or to correct their error, for they were hostile to his
person and unto his teaching. And he disputed, or they disputed,
that he had come down from heaven or that he could be the Son of
God. He makes no attempt to win them
over on this particular occasion. Heeding his very own advice,
do not cast your pearl before swine. In Matthew chapter 7 and
verse 6. For they saw him and believed
not. John 6 and 36. What they've just
seen, the feeding of the multitude with a small lunch. They saw
his works, but they did not believe. This is to be expected from the
people of the world for the blindness, for the ignorance that is in
them, because of their unbelief flowing out of their natural
makeup. Nothing will convince them apart
from an internal work of the grace of God. In John 6, 36 and
37, you saw me and believe not. Now, what's the connection? You
saw me and you believed not. You did not believe, you did
not come, you did not follow me. But verse 37, all that the
Father giveth me shall come unto me. It's the same thing in John
6. 43 and 44, you murmur, you complain,
you oppose, you reject my doctrine, for no man can come unto me unless
the Father draw him, and so forth. Now note this, we have two of
the Lord's accepts In the New Testament, you'll find some very
pointed and important accepts that are put forth by our Lord. No man can come except or unless
the Father draw him. There are some more. Verse 44,
no man can come except drawn. Verse 65, no man can come except
it be given unto him of my Father. Some others are. John 3.3, except
you be born again. Luke 13 and 3, except you repent,
you shall perish. Matthew 5 and 20, except your
righteousness exceed that of the scribe and the Pharisees,
you shall in no wise enter into heaven. And Matthew 18 and 3,
except you be converted. and all of those divine exceptions. Now, this turning to Christ,
this coming unto him and believing on him, is not the result of
human ability. And it is not the result of the
power of persuasion. And it is certainly not an act
of man's free will. For listen again, no man can
come Except. No man can come except. Now, the word is used in those
verses that we have just mentioned. Except, in the King James Version,
can be expressed by other words as well. It can mean unless,
it can mean but, it can mean until, and it can mean without. No man can come without the Father
drawing him. So the word is at least six times
in the New Testament. It's the same word in John chapter
18 and verse 10 when Peter drew his sword out of its scabbard. Except the Father draw, no man
can come. It is that same word in Acts
16 and verse 19 when they drew Paul into the court of trial. Some explain this word to be
from the root meaning to take for oneself. or to possess, or
to take possession of. So there must be more than oral
hearing. You can hear the gospel, hear
it every Sunday, and not believe and perish. It is more than moral
suasion. It is more than the hearing of
the ear or the seeing of the eye. It is more than miracles
having been observed. And yet we resist that distorted
view of irresistible grace put forth by the Armenians, by which
they think to mock Calvinism and put it in disrespute. They
make it to appear absurd that God would draw in this manner,
that God forces some to become Christian against their will,
violating their, quote, right to choose, unquote. And this
is the caricature, the straw man, that Armenians so often
set up. Because, you see, Armenians,
as to this matter, are pro-choice. They are deciding their own,
quote, spiritual reproductive health, unquote. They can choose
either heaven or hell. It's within their power, is their
doctrine. But let's go back to John 6 and
verse 45 as we can glean more here from it. This tells us much
about the ones who come to Christ through the drawing of the Father. It has to do with knowledge. And I don't think that we often
make that connection or association. It has to do with knowledge. John states an obvious fact. is written in the prophet and
then they shall be taught of God. Then he draws a conclusion,
and he makes an application from what is written in the prophet. Every man, therefore, that hath
heard and hath learned, that is, by or from God, comes unto
me. Now notice, not learned about
the Father, but learned from Him, that is, having been taught
of God. the father being the teacher
or the revelator. Now, I want to make a statement,
and then you think upon it and consider it. And that is this,
that there is a strand of scripture. There is a string of truth. There
is a truth woven and running throughout the Old Testament.
There is this truth and prophecy. that a time would come. There would be a time when the
people of God would have direct teaching from God. We've already
referenced Isaiah 54 and verse 13. All thy children shall be
taught of God. But John mentions Prophets in
the plural. Hear these words again, penned
by Jeremiah, chapter 31, 33, and 34, concerning the covenant,
the covenant that God would make. Quote, I will put my law in their
inward parts, and write it in their heart, and will be their
God, and they shall be my people, and they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them
unto the greatest of them." Now, particularly that part. that
shall no more say to neighbors, know the Lord, know the Lord.
That is, teach them, exhort them, and instruct them. Now, before
I get ahead of myself, let's recall what God, or God through
Moses, said unto the people of Israel, and you'll find it in
Deuteronomy chapter 18 and verse 18 and 19. God said, Moses said, I will
raise them up a prophet and put my words in his mouth and he
shall speak unto them of all that I shall command him. Whoso
does not hearken, I will require it of him. Now what is that but
a prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ? And the Lord himself
said in John chapter 17 and verse 8, I have given them the words which
you gave me. Now what did it say? I will put
my words in his mouth. He shall speak unto them all
that I shall command him. And the Lord, near the end of
his life, could say, I've given them the words which you gave
unto me. And think about the words of
that Notorious and uneducated Samaritan woman at the well who
said in John 4 and verse 25 I know or we know that Messiah come
and when he come he will tell us all all things. And so it
is that the Son revealed the Father, as when Philip said unto
the Lord, Show us the Father, and it will satisfy us. You'll
find that in John chapter 14 verse 8 and 9. And the Lord said
unto him, Philip, have I been so long with you and you've not
known me? He that has seen me has seen
the Father." Again, I and the Father are one. John 10, You
can read the testimony of John the Baptist on that in John chapter
3, 32 through verse 34. We won't turn there and read
it. But let me say more now about
this, quote, direct teaching, unquote, that we read about in
the Old Testament scripture, as we might call it. that all
thy children shall be taught of God. And everyone that has
heard and has learned of the Father comes unto Christ. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many." Now, notice that the Lord adds a caution
and a check in John chapter 6 and verse 46 concerning the hearing
and the learning in verse 45. He that heareth and taught of
my Father and hears and learns comes to me. But now the check
in verse 46. This does not mean, and it does
not require, that any actually look upon or see the Father with
their eye. In fact, if any mortal claim
to have seen God, we mark him as a liar. Only the Son fully
knows the Father, and He knows the Father not like us by learning
Him, But innately, the son knows the father innately. But all others of us must be
taught. They have not the same access
to the father that son has, we do not. Now how does this teaching,
how is this knowledge then communicated? Does God speak orally now unto
the children of God? I've never heard his voice, neither
have you. Are they caught up like Paul
into the third heaven? They hear unspeakable things. Was it in a dream? Was it like
Peter in a vision while he napped away? Was it writings on the
wall? like in the day of wicked Belshazzar? Or did an angel come and bring
a message unto us in person? No. And here is something that
I've noticed in preparing this study. It seems to me that John,
not John the Baptist, but the Apostle John it is, who speaks
more of this manner of knowledge in his gospel and also in the
first epistle than do the other authors. First John 2 and 20,
you have an unction from the Holy One. You know all things. Now that's taken with limitation,
of course. Then verse 27, the anointing
which you have received abides in you, and you need not that
any man teach you." He refers to those seducers and those antichrists
that were active among them. In previous verses, this anointing
is the Holy Spirit, which guides them into all truth. And this is given by the Lord
Jesus Christ, as a result of His death, entering into heaven,
receiving it, pouring it out upon His church. But something
else about it, it is permanent. It abides with you. One thing about this teaching,
It takes one always to Christ. He that had heard of the Father
and learned of the Father comes to Christ. It leads to Christ,
this knowledge. That is one of its chief purposes
and function. All of the elect, when taught
by God, then embrace Christ. Paul says, In Ephesians 4, 20,
you've learned Christ. You've learned Christ. You've
been taught Christ. Ephesians 4, 20, 21. He even
goes so far as to say in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 16, we have the mind
of Christ. Now, there are limitations on
that, of course, but our mind has been renewed. Now, with all
of that said, here are some points in application in closing. Number one, this does not mean,
nor should we draw the conclusion, that becoming a Christian is
only a matter of dry intellect, learning a set of rules or doctrine,
for one may be indoctrinated and not be spiritually knowledgeable
of the things of God. You can indoctrinate someone,
but that won't make them spiritual. Well, that requires spiritual
enlightenment. And regeneration enables one
to become a student of Christ, having hearing ears, seeing eyes,
the understanding being open, and they embrace Christ. by his call and by the preaching
when they hear his voice and see him in the gospel. And then
secondly, this is no justification for abolishing the gospel ministry. For all of those that wrote these
things in the Bible were actively engaged in the preaching of the
word of God and of the gospel. These were things that prophets
and apostles and preachers did as they ministered about the
things of Almighty God. So it's no way to say, well,
we don't need a teacher. We don't need anybody to instruct
us for God has ordained and instituted the church and ministers and
prophets and teachers and such like. So by his knowledge shall
my righteous servant justify many. This is the great truth
of scripture, of salvation, and of our experience. Was there
not a time when we could have sung that one verse of amazing
grace I once was blind, but now I see. I once was ignorant, but
now I know. And thank God for that amazing
grace.