以赛亚书40:3-8
愿恩惠、安慰和平安从父神和救主耶稣基督归于你们，不顺从血气，乃恒常遵守主道的人。阿们。
“凡有血气的尽都如草；他的美容都像野地的花。”（赛40:6-7）花草都是上帝的创造，都是美的，就像主耶稣也夸赞花朵说：“所罗门极荣华的时候，他所穿戴的，还不如这花一朵呢！”（太6:29；路12:27）被上帝创造的人也是美的，好多人都说小孩儿一岁两岁时最可爱，小鲜肉，皮肤光鲜靓丽，嫩嫩的，谁见了都想捏上一把。到了十八九岁，女孩儿亭亭玉立，男孩儿英俊潇洒，充满了生命活力。但到了中年就逐渐显出疲惫，到了晚年就越发衰残；躺在棺木里的那一刻就什么光鲜都没有了，如果不是冷藏或者遗体防腐处理，常温下也就三五天时间就腐烂了。
先知以赛亚接着说，“草必枯干，花必凋谢，”（赛40:7）这实在是人必走的路，凡有血气的都是如此。花草的枯萎、凋谢是“因为耶和华的气吹在其上，”（赛40:7）尤其是花，再漂亮鲜艳，都经不起狂风的吹打，一下子就散落一地。
这里“耶和华的气，”有双关的意思，除了字面意思是说自然空气的风，还在说耶和华的灵，就是圣灵。“耶和华的气吹在其上，百姓诚然是草。”人自从始祖亚当夏娃堕落之后，就失去了圣灵的内住，属灵上就是死的，也变得属血气而不是属神了。创世记6:3“耶和华说，人既属乎血气，我的灵就不永远住在他里面。”什么是属血气？就是属肉体和邪情私欲，行出不敬畏神、败坏、不让神喜悦的事，创世记6:12-13“神观看世界，见是败坏了；凡有血气的人在地上都败坏了行为。神对挪亚说，凡有血气的人，他的尽头已经来到我面前；因为地上满了他们的强暴，我要把他们和地一并毁灭。”
属血气的是没有圣灵，犹大书19节：“这就是那些引人结党、属乎血气、没有圣灵的人。”加拉太书4:29“那按着血气生的逼迫了那按着圣灵生的。就拿我们这必死、必凋残朽坏的身体来说，哥林多前书15:44“所种的是血气的身体，复活的是灵性的身体。若有血气的身体，也必有灵性的身体。”
“耶和华的荣耀必然显现，凡有血气的必一同看见。”（赛40:5）耶稣基督来了，在肉身当中显现，祂本是神，是永恒之道，是立定到永远的，是有极大的荣耀，如今在肉身中显现，取了我们这血气的身体，只是没有罪。上帝拯救人的方式是奇妙无比的，无罪的成为有罪的（林前5:21“神使那无罪的，替我们成为罪”），不会枯干的成为会枯干的，不会凋残的成为会凋残的，神成为人，为的是要人罪得赦免，脱去这取死的败坏，因着圣灵而重生，成为神的儿女，穿上永恒不会朽坏的，享受神的生命和永恒。
在这将临期等候的时候，我们再一次思想上帝成为人的奇妙和伟大。耶稣基督“本有神的形象，不以自己与神同等为强夺的；反倒虚己，取了奴仆的形象，成为人的样子，就自己卑微，存心顺服，以至于死，且死在十字架上。”（腓2:6-8）祂卑微如小草，被人践踏，甚至唾弃，承受了极大的羞辱。为叫我们这凡有血气看见祂十字架荣耀的能够被高举，“神又叫我们与基督耶稣一同复活，一同坐在天上”（以弗所书2:6）。
是的，我们按照血气的本性，作为亚当的后代，都是要凋谢衰残的，但因为我们有了耶稣基督，就是“神的话、神的道”——“惟有我们神的话必永远立定，我们就不属于血气”，而是属于圣灵了。主耶稣吹气在我们身上，让我们领受了圣灵，领受了罪得赦免。
主耶稣住在我们心里，在我们心中为自己铺平了道路。这本是沙漠干旱枯竭之地，如今有了生命和活力。“一切山洼都要填满，大小山岗都要削平；高高低低的要改为平坦，崎崎岖岖的必成为平原。”本来是不适宜播种的山洼之地，如今成了肥沃的土壤。让神的道播种在上面，结出丰盛的果实来。
当我们抛下今生的依靠、不被世上事缠累的时候，我们的心就成了好地，“撒在好地上的，就是人听道明白了，后来结实，有一百倍的，有六十倍的，有三十倍的”（太13:23）。不像那心里没有任何修理的工作，仍然是荆棘，“撒在荆棘里的，就是人听了道，后来有世上的思虑、钱财的迷惑把道挤住了，不能结实”（太13:22）。
加拉太书6:8“顺着情欲撒种的，必从情欲收败坏；顺着圣灵撒种的，必从圣灵收永生。”到我们的主耶稣基督再次带着荣耀和能力从天上降临的时候，我们就不至于羞愧，而是要与他一同作王。只是那不信这道，“在这淫乱罪恶的世代，把主和主的道当作可耻的，人子在祂父的荣耀里，同众天使降临的时候，也要把那人当作可耻的”（可8:38）。彼得引用以赛亚书的这段经文又说，“草必枯干，花必凋谢，惟有主的道是永存的。所传给你们的福音就是这道。”（彼前1:24-25）奉圣父、圣子、圣灵的名。阿们。
Isaish 40:3-8
May grace, comfort, and peace be yours from God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, to those who do not follow the flesh but constantly keep the Word of the Lord. Amen.
The Flesh is Like Grass
“All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field” (Isaiah 40:6-7, ESV). Flowers and grass are all God’s creation; they are beautiful, just as the Lord Jesus also praised the flowers, saying, “not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed like one of these” (Matthew 6:29; Luke 12:27, ESV).
People created by God are also beautiful. Many say that children are most adorable at one or two years old, fresh, with bright and beautiful, tender skin that everyone wants to pinch. By the age of eighteen or nineteen, girls are graceful and elegant, and boys are handsome and spirited, full of the vitality of life. But in middle age, fatigue gradually sets in, and in old age, they become increasingly frail. The moment they lie in the coffin, all splendor is gone. If not refrigerated or embalmed, the body will decay within three to five days at room temperature.
The prophet Isaiah continues, “The grass withers, the flower fades” (Isaiah 40:7, ESV). This is truly the path all humanity must take; it is true of all flesh. The withering and fading of the grass and flowers occur “because the breath of the LORD blows on it” (Isaiah 40:7, ESV). Especially flowers, no matter how beautiful and vibrant, cannot withstand the beating of a fierce wind—they are scattered immediately.
Here, the “breath of the LORD” has a double meaning. In addition to the literal meaning of natural air/wind, it also refers to the Spirit of the LORD, the Holy Spirit. “The breath of the LORD blows on it; surely the people are grass.” Since the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, mankind has lost the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is spiritually dead, and has become fleshly, not belonging to God.
Genesis 6:3 says, “Then the LORD said, ‘My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh.’” What does it mean to be "fleshly" or "of the flesh"? It means belonging to the physical body and wicked desires, acting in ways that do not revere God, are corrupt, and do not please God. Genesis 6:12-13 says, “And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’”
Those who are of the flesh do not have the Holy Spirit. Jude 19 states, “It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit.” Galatians 4:29 says, “But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.” Take, for example, our body, which is destined to die, wither, and decay: 1 Corinthians 15:44 states, “It is sown a physical body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body.”
The Glory of the Lord Revealed
“And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:5, ESV). Jesus Christ came and was revealed in the flesh. He is God, the eternal Word, established forever, possessing great glory. Now, He was manifested in the flesh, taking on this body of flesh that is ours, yet without sin.
The way God saves people is wonderfully unique. The sinless one became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,” ESV). The one who would not wither became one who would wither. The one who would not fade became one who would fade. God became man so that humanity’s sins might be forgiven, to put off this corrupt nature that leads to death, to be born again through the Holy Spirit, to become children of God, and to put on the eternal and incorruptible clothe, enjoying God’s life and eternity.
In this season of Advent waiting, we once again contemplate the wonder and greatness of God becoming man. Jesus Christ, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6-8, ESV). He was as humble as grass, trampled upon and even spit on, enduring great shame. This was so that we, all flesh, seeing the glory of His cross, might be exalted, “and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6, ESV).
The Word Endures Forever
Yes, according to our fleshly nature, as descendants of Adam, we are all destined to fade and decay. But because we have Jesus Christ, who is “the Word of God”—“but the word of our God will stand forever”—we no longer belong to the flesh but to the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus breathed on us, allowing us to receive the Holy Spirit and receive the forgiveness of sins.
The Lord Jesus dwells in our hearts, leveling the path for Himself within us. What was originally a dry, withered desert now has life and vitality. “Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.” What was previously unsuitable for planting, the low valley, now becomes fertile ground. The Word of God is sown upon it, yielding abundant fruit.
When we cast aside reliance on this life and are not entangled by worldly matters, our hearts become good soil. “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:23, ESV). This is unlike the heart that has no preparatory work done and remains thorny. “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22, ESV).
Galatians 6:8 states, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” When our Lord Jesus Christ returns from heaven with glory and power, we will not be put to shame but will reign with Him. However, those who do not believe this Word, “For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels” (Mark 8:38, ESV). Peter, quoting this passage from Isaiah, says, “for ‘All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.’ And this word is the good news that was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:24-25, ESV).
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.