Knowing Your Place- Isaiah 6

Last night, I was watching some YouTube videos. As I was scrolling, a video from a famous televangelist by the name of Kenneth Copeland came up. In this video, Copeland made the erroneous and unfounded claim that we (mankind, humanity, etc.) are equal with God. He even said that “It does not take anything away from God to be equal with our Father.” When I heard this ridiculous claim from this televangelist, honestly, I did not know where to go with it. The only thing that could come to my mind in that moment was “This man must have forgotten who my God is!”

My God is powerful, my God is gracious and awesome. My God is superior to all. My God is perfect and holy in every way. God is my master, and I will never be able to compare to Him. One of the passages that I believe outlines this idea is Isaiah 6:1-5.

Isaiah 6:1-5: “1 In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.’ 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. 5 Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’”

 Isaiah here sees God, and he sees him as God should be seen by all of us. As royalty, as our master. God is on a throne, His royal robe and garments are so large that the outer edge of it fills up the entire temple. These magnificent angels surround his throne. They sing praises to Him saying “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory.”

When Isaiah sees this scene, he sees his iniquity. He sees his imperfections. Isaiah humbles himself before the throne of God and he realizes that he is nothing in comparison to what and who the almighty God is!

Isaiah knew his place. He knew that he could never count himself as equal with God. Jesus Himself knew this just as well (Philippians 2:6). We are not equal with God, and if you want to claim that we are or preach that we are, then you simply and completely do not know the God of the Bible! There was never a claim from Isaiah to be equal with God when he saw God first hand. He never claimed to even be close or paralleling God’s power, glory, majesty, wisdom, and honor. Isaiah knew his place. He did not lose sight of God.

Do not lose sight of the God that we serve. Humble yourself, know your place, and follow Him. Lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5), you are not enough. Believe in the mercy of God for your salvation. Pursue this salvation, which you could never attain on your own (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 3:20-21).

We are not equal with God, we were never meant to be equal with God, and that is okay. We have the perfect master to serve under. A master who loves, who provides, and who gives wisdom generously without reproach (James 1:5).

Knowing God’s place will put you in yours. He is superior in every way, let us rejoice in the truth and almighty reign of God.

By: Mason MacDonald

Bibliography:

New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)