The Church Triumphant

Isaiah 25:1 – “O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee; I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.”

The emperor Diocletian set up a stone pillar on which was inscribed these words: For Having Exterminated The Name Christian From the Earth. If he could see that monument today, how embarrassed he would be! Another Roman leader made a coffin, symbolizing his intention "to bury the Galilean" by killing His followers. He soon learned that he could not "put the Master in it". He finally surrendered his heart to the Savior, realizing that the corporate body of Christ and its living Head, the Lord Jesus, cannot be destroyed by the onslaught of mortal men.  But men have tried for centuries to silence the church and they will continue to try.

This is what the prophet Isaiah is trying to tell us in Isaiah 25.  This entire chapter, directed to the Jews of pre-Babylonian captivity days, speaks to them of the age when the throne of David will ultimately usher in the kingdom age.  The prophets of the Old Testament told of this kingdom age in great detail as the days of triumph for God’s chosen people, the Jews.  But since Paul in Romans 11 describes at great length how we Gentiles as wild olive branches are grafted into the tree, then we too are the chosen people of God.  In fact, during the present church age, we are THE chosen people of God, because in Romans 11:25 Paul tells how “blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in,” and, speaking of Israel, “the branches were broken off (v. 19),” and “because of unbelief they were broken off (v. 20),” and “God spared not the natural branches (v. 21).”  So all these kingdom-age prmises extend also to the church of the living God – we gentiles – who “wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree (v. 17).”

Isaiah tells us first of all in 25:1 that we need to extol the name of God for His goodness to us.  He has done “great and wonderful things” for us.  What has He done for us, you may ask?  He saved us – He keeps us – He safeguards us – He teaches us – He guides us – He directs us – He fills us with love – He fills us with joy – He fills us with peace – He comforts us – He shields us from our enemies – need I go on?  Isaiah continues, “thy counsels are faithfulness and truth.”  1 John 1:9 tells us, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.”  John 1:17 says, “For the law was given my Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”  In John 14:6 Christ says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”  So in Him is faithfulness and truth abounding.

Secondly, Isaiah tells us in verse 4 that we need to extol the name of God because He is our refuge and our strength, “strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm.”  David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, tells us in Psalm 62:7, “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.”  In Him we always have a place to run and hide – a place of refuge from the onslaughts of the world – a place of peace and comfort.

Then, in verse 8, Isaiah tells us to extol the name of God for the victory we have in Him, “He will swallow up death in victory.”  Paul quotes the verse in 1 Corinthians 15:54, in the great resurrection chapter, “Death is swallowed up in victory.”  We don’t have to fear, for as the song says, “I’ve read the back of the book and we win.”  Yes victory is ours – so He promises and so He will deliver.  Man may try to stamp out the church, but according to His precious Word, victory is ours. 

Quote – “There’s no “The End” in the Bible, only an “Amen.” – Lavon Boatner

"Lord, Thank you for the church triumphant.  No matter how often the world and the devil try to tell us the church is going down, she will be victorious through your power. Amen."