GRACE FOR TODAY Radio Message #429 -430
“HE SHALL SEE HIS
SEED”
Pastor
Don Fortner
Grace Baptist Church of Danville
2734 Old Stanford Road
Danville,
Kentucky 40422-9438
“He shall see his seed.” Beginning with this sentence and going through the
rest of the chapter, Isaiah shows us what the certain, just, and inevitable
results of Christ’s death must be. Do not ever think that the results of our
Lord’s death are uncertain. The Arminian, the freewiller, must say, “There are
no sure and certain results of Christ’s death. Everything is left to chance.
Everything depends upon what man will do. Everything is determined by man’s
will.” Blasphemy! In these lines of inspiration God the Holy Spirit tells us
exactly what the results of Christ’s death shall be. It is written, “He shall not fail!” Our Lord’s death
was not a gamble, a crap-shoot. He effectually accomplished all that he came
here to do. Here we see the infallible efficacy of Christ’s atonement.
“He shall see his seed.”
We do
not have to guess who his seed are. His seed is the generation (Ps. 22:30) that
shall serve him, the whole body of God’s elect. He shall see them, everyone
of them, forgiven, justified, regenerated, sanctified, and glorified (John
12:24, 32). “He shall prolong his days.” That simply means that,
once he has by his death fully satisfied the justice of God and put away the
sins of his people, he will be raised from the dead to declare in the most
public, undeniable manner possible that all for whom he died are forever
justified (Rom. 4:25). Being raised from the dead, he shall then be exalted and
glorified to give eternal life to all his redeemed ones (John 17:2; Rom. 14:9;
Phil. 2:8-11). “And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” Do
not fail to notice that word shall. Everything that God wants
done shall
be done by the risen, exalted, glorified Christ. All the pleasure of
God’s eternal purpose is being and shall fully be accomplished by King Jesus
(Rom. 8:28-39). “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.”
There is that word shall again. Twice it is given in
this sentence. The Holy Spirit intends for us to understand that there is
absolutely no uncertainty about what the consequences of Christ’s atonement
are. This text is talking about a satisfied Savior, not a frustrated assistant!
When the Word of God talks about the satisfaction of Christ, it is talking
about two things: Christ making satisfaction and Christ being satisfied. By his
one offering for sin, our Redeemer has completely satisfied the law and justice
of God (Gal 3:13; 1 John 1:9). By his sin-atoning death, as our Substitute, our
Savior satisfied all types, shadows, and prophecies of the Old Testament
Scriptures (Genesis 3:15 - Psalm 22 - Isaiah 53 - Noah’s Ark - The Ram Caught
in the Thicket - The Paschal Lamb - The Scapegoat - The Brazen Serpent - The
Smitten Rock). The crucified Christ presented to sinners in the gospel
satisfies all the demands of a guilty conscience, all the needs of a convicted
sinner, and all the desires of a renewed heart (Heb. 9:12-14; 1 Cor. 1:30; Ps.
73:25-26; Phil. 3:7-14).
And the Son of God shall be
satisfied with his ransomed people. I mean that our Redeemer shall be satisfied
with the results of his sin-atoning work as our Substitute. He shall be
satisfied because they all shall be perfectly saved (Eph. 5:25-27; Isa. 62:5).
He was satisfied with his work when it was done (John 17:4; 19:30). He is
satisfied with the reward of his obedience - His Exaltation and Glory (Phil.
2:8-12). He is satisfied with his present position and work as our great High
Priest (I John 2:1-2). And the Son of God shall be satisfied when he sees his
seed, all his seed saved, completely saved (John 6:37-40): called by his
Spirit, converted by his grace, and conformed to his image. He shall be
satisfied in that day of the great and glorious resurrection. When time shall
be no more, the Lord Jesus shall raise his redeemed up to glory (1 Cor.
15:51-58), declare and display the perfection of their everlasting
righteousness in him (Matt. 25:31-34), present to his Father the whole number
given to him in election, redeemed by him at Calvary, called by him in grace,
and preserved by him in mercy (I Cor. 15:24-28), and, at the Marriage Supper of
the Lamb, he shall bring us into everlasting blessedness and enjoy everlasting
praise from his redeemed ones (Rev. 4:11-12; 5:9-14). Nothing will satisfy
Christ short of the complete salvation of his people (Matt. 1:21). Nothing will
satisfy the believer’s heart short of perfect, complete conformity to Christ
(Phil. 3:10). And both Christ and his saints shall be satisfied. I am certain
that this is the meaning of the phrase “He
shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied”, because that
is what the next phrase declares.
“By his knowledge shall
my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” All the many whose
iniquities Christ bore on the tree shall be (There’s that word again - “shall!”)
justified, and they shall be justified by his knowledge. Perhaps that means by
the knowledge of him; but I prefer to stick with our translation. Christ shall
justify his elect according to his knowledge of those for whom he died (John
10:14, 27-28).
Now look at verse 12. Here the prophet
summarizes all that he has said concerning the glorious, infallible efficacy of
Christ’s redeeming work as our Substitute. Here is a declaration of Christ
exaltation and glory. - "Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.”
Here are the reasons for his exaltation and glory. The Lord Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the majesty
on high because his work is finished and his work was and is a complete
success, “because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered
with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for
the transgressors." Concerning our Lord’s intercession, John Gill explains that he did this “not
merely in a petionary way, but by presenting himself, his blood, righteousness,
and sacrifice, pleading the merits of these and calling for, in a way of
justice and legal demand, all the blessings which were stipulated in the
everlasting covenant, between him and the Father, to be given to his people in
consequence of his sufferings and death.” Read John 17:9, 20-24. Christ made
intercession for us before the world began. Christ made intercession for us in
the garden. Christ made intercession for us on the cross. Christ makes
intercession for us today in heaven (I John 2:1-2; Rom. 8:33-34; Heb. 7:24-25;
9:24). And our Redeemer’s intercession is effectual! Amen.