Declaring His Generation

Isaiah 53:8  He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

Those of us who grew up in orthodox religion are very familiar with Isaiah 53, the chapter of Scripture which pictures Jesus dying on the cross for our sins so that we can go to heaven when we die —or so we thought.

It is quite true that Jesus did die on that cross, but AS our sin —our mistaken identity which thought we were separate beings from God trying to appease the wrath of that God who was judging us for our wrongdoings and sending us to hell (unless, of course, we accepted His sacrifice of His only begotten Son, the sacrifice which satisfied His righteous anger against us).

This belief in a god of judgment, reward and punishment which produced this mistaken identity (and also this doctrine) is what both Jesus and John the Baptist called the generation of a viper (serpent) (Matthew 3:7; 12:24; 23:33; Luke 3:7; John 8:44). This god that the Jews believed was their father Jesus called the devil, the father of lies (John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.). And that is why Jesus was lifted up on a pole as Moses lifted up the serpent [viper] in the wilderness (John 3:14)—that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 2:14).

So we see that Jesus died on the cross not to appease God’s wrath against our sin, but rather to destroy that mistaken identity (the devil) which was our sin. He, who knew no sin, was actually made to be sin [that mistaken identity] for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2Corinthians 5:21).

In truth, we have never been separated from God. He begat us out of Himself, and we are creatures of Himself (James 1:18). He is the Father of us all (Ephesians 4:6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.); we are His offspring (Acts 17:28 ) For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.), and we are not to call any man on earth our father (Matthew 23:9  And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.).

In other words, WE ARE GENERATED OUT OF GOD —WE ARE HIS GENERATION.

To bring us back to this realization, God Himself, in the form of Jesus, descended into this earth and Himself partook of that sinful flesh (Romans 8:3)–thinking He was born of a woman, born a Jew, the descendant of David. But He increased in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52) until He came into the recognition that He and His Father were one (John 10:30  I and my Father are one. John 14:9-10 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?) and that He, in his true identity, was not born, but was before Abraham (John 8:58  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.)–before there was a Jew.

In other words, He realized that He was GENERATED out of God, not out of the serpent man. And we are instructed by Paul to let this same mind which was in Christ Jesus be also in us —who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation (Philippians 2:5-7). Likewise, we are to know that we are generated out of God and that our humanity is merely the generation of a viper.

Jesus died as the last Adam (1Corinthians 15:45), the serpent man (the body of sin —Romans 6:6) which was generated out of the fear-filled mind of humanity. And when that one died for all, then were all dead (2Corinthians 5:14). God was in Christ reconciling the whole world unto Himself; Jesus became that mistaken identity that we might be made the righteousness of God (2Corinthians 5:17-21). After He rose from the dead, He ascended on high —to the place where He was before He descended, taking our captivity with Him, that we might again be the dwelling place of God (Psalms 68:18  Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive: thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the LORD God might dwell among them. See also Ephesians 4:8-10).

And we are to follow Jesus in this RE-GENERATION (Matthew 19:28). As He is, so are we to be in this world —right now (1John 4:17).

And this is what we are to declare! We are born not of flesh and blood, but of God (John 3:3-7).

John the Baptist was the first voice to cry in this wilderness of humanity, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Sad to say, we have not listened to that voice, nor to the voice of Jesus, but rather to so many kinds of voices in the world (1Corinthians 14:10), the generation of a viper.

Now we hear Isaiah calling to us Who can declare His generation? (Isaiah 53:8). It does take courage to declare it. The cost is high (see Cost of Knowing Truth ). It cost Jesus His humanity:

John 5:18

Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

John 10:33

The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

And it will also cost us our humanity. But we have this assurance:

Titus 3:5-7  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

So let us go forth declaring His generation (and ours), always taking encouragement from these words from Isaiah:

Isaiah 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.