Man’s Sinful Ascent to God

Introduction

We can thank the difficulty of learning languages to the sinfulness of man in building the tower of Babel. Think about how wonderful it must have been to not have to memorize a bunch of articles for nouns, which change depending on the gender, if they are plural, or if they are in the accusative, dative, nominative, or genitive. I didn’t even know these categories existed until I began my first semester of Greek at RTS Jackson. There was no Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Duolingo, or aptly named Babel apps to aid in our understanding. The world shared unity in language and speech.

After seeing the manner in which God providentially oversees the dispersement of people groups from Genesis 10:1-32, which serves as an introduction to Genesis 11, we now come to the very reason for their demise. In fact, the contrast between the character and nature of those peoples who decided to make a name for themselves by ascending to God in contrast to the humble demeanor of Noah, strikes at the heart of all religious experience. Michael Morales comments, “The broad movement from Genesis 1 to 11, then, is a descent from the heights of the mountain of God down to the depths of exile, from Eden to Babylon. Similarly, the history of Israel will parallel that of the Gentiles, ending in exile—Israel being scattered away from the divine Presence.”

[L. Michael Morales, Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Leviticus, ed. D. A. Carson, vol. 37, New Studies in Biblical Theology (England; Downers Grove, IL: Apollos; InterVarsity Press, 2015), 61.]

Either man is the object of worship, or God is. There is no in between. There is no gray area. Either one loves the deeds of darkness or the deeds of the light. Embedded in this brief narrative of the dispersing nations in Genesis 11:1-9, we get a small seed planted. The small seed of redemption and God’s grand design in saving from every tribe, tongue, and nation, reaches its absolute epoch in the New Testament. But more on that later. For now, we will see two primary points from the text.

(1) man’s pride in ascending (vv. 1-4)

(2) God’s judgment in descending (vv. 5-9)

In light of the doctrine this text brings forth, it will be more addressed through the lens of biblical theology, that is, how the entirety of redemptive history is layered upon itself through the ages. The doctrine therefore is looking at judgment and restoration through division and unity. As said, this will be expressed in detail later and become evermore clear.

In terms of application, we will look at the overarching theme of “Recognizing the Holiness of God.”

(1) man’s pride in ascending (vv. 1-4)

We are told in the opening verses that the whole world as they knew it, was comprised of one language with the same words. In fact, the Hebrew for “one language” is literally translated as “one tongue” for the tongue is the central character on the stage of speech. Here, we see how the world was united by one common ability, namely, to communicate. They were to be of one mind, one purpose, one idea, in hopes that as the Flood wiped away the increasing depravity of the daughters of man and sons of God intermingling.

Second, we are told in verse 2 that “as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.” The land of Shinar refers to what is now known as southern Iraq. Shinar is derived from two Hebrew words, the first (Shi), meaning “two”, and the second, (Nahar), meaning river. Quite simply put, it is the land of two rivers where both the Tigris and Euphrates rivers meet. Pragmatically, it was a wonderful and suitable location to be. It would have been considered an oasis in the desert, with enough water supply for sustenance, and building, as indicated in verse 3. Likewise, archaeology efforts in southern Iraq have discovered similar ziggurat structures as identified in the tower of Babel.

From our perspective, nothing out of the ordinary, initially, should strike us. However, we have see the importance of eastward direction in light of redemptive history. In the first instance, Adam and Eve were pushed east from the Garden of Eden. The very place where they enjoyed blessed union and fellowship with the Lord their God. The entrance to enter back into the “holy of holies” or the Garden of Eden, was blocked by the flaming sword moving to and fro.

In the same way, the entrance to the tabernacle and temple of God faced eastward, with the curtain separating the holy place from the holy of holies facing the east. To Adam and Eve, death was not merely loss of life but also loss of fellowship with God in the Garden. Hence, their drift eastward.

Not only were Adam and Eve driven eastward but so also was Cain. Cain’s murderous heart which led to murderous action in killing Abel left him as a wanderer of the earth. In fact, he settled in the land of Nod (4:16), which in Hebrew indicates one who is aimless or homeless, one without place of safety and security, the place of wilderness wandering. The location is less relevant to the actual effect of this drift further away from the presence of God as Cain settles “east of Eden” (4:16).

Etymologically, the word “east” resonated with the Hebrew people. The word not only refers to the cardinal direction but also is related to the “ancient time” or the “aforetime.” Meaning, to go back from the east (directionally moving westward) meant that they were moving back to Eden. The whole of humanity is doing all it can to come back to the state of Edenic paradise. When, in the Garden, as Adam and Eve joined religious fellowship with the Lord their God, they knew not death, disease, toil, tribulation, tears, or terrors. They knew only the blissful joy of the Lord God who walked continuously among them.

The migration of the people from the east implies they were looking to find a way to enter into eternal rest. As Adam would have been granted eternal rest upon the condition of perfect, perpetual obedience of the law of God written upon his heart and also in the form of a covenant dictation, so also is the assumption that man’s efforts, man’s works, man’s attempts to satisfy such demands would bring about Sabbath rest.

This disposition is seen in the peoples’ declaration in verse 4. They say, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” In this verse alone, we see 5 fundamental elements of man’s sinfulness on display.

(1) Sinful action is a communal effort.

The first is in the imperative “Come.” Suggested by nature of an imperative is the idea of immanency. This was not a suggestion in hopes that all people would be convinced of a common goal. Rather, it was the declaration of the union everyone shared with one tongue, one set of words, and one sinful disposition. Remember, though the Lord rightly judged all the earth with the Great Deluge in Noah’s day, He still recognized the sinful state of mankind, declaring Genesis 8:21 “the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”

They did not merely share a common tongue but they shared a common ancestor, Adam. And as we are reminded in Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” Sinful action is a communal effort because all are born in sin, dead in sin, and break God’s law daily in thought, word, and deed.

(2) Sinful action is self-gratifying.

The second element of man’s sinfulness on display is that sinful action is self-gratifying. “Let us build [for] ourselves a city.” Now it would be redundant in English to say, “Let us build for ourselves a city” yet that is precisely what is being articulated by the Hebrew preposition lamed (ל). The intent of the unity man shared amongst themselves was not to be equated with what the Westminster Divines declare first answer in the Shorter Catechism, that “man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.” Instead, man’s intent was to make himself to be a god so as to gratify his worldly pleasures.

This is precisely the same action employed by Cain back in Genesis 4:17 wherein we are told, “Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. When he built a city, he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.” Cain, the murderer, built for himself a city in the image of his own son, Enoch. The reputation of Enoch was inseparable from the city. As the seed of the serpent (Cain’s descendants) multiply, we see just how far the image of self-gratification brings itself. In Genesis 4:23–24, we are instructed of the nature of depravity amongst Cain’s ungodly line. Not only in the irreverent violation of the covenant of marriage but also in the nature of justice in God’s law. Moses writes, “Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”” 

Cain was gratified in his desire to murder his own brother. Lamech was gratified for his abuse of marriage and justice. Mankind in Genesis 11:1-4 were gratified in their desire to seemingly wall themselves up in their own city, of their own doing, in hopes that all would behold the marvelous work of mankind.

(3) Sinful action is an irreverent ascent.

The intent of the city was one thing, the intent of a tower was another. We see in the construction of the tower man’s desire to ascend up to God, as if he could possibly break the barriers of sin and depravity in his ascent. The third proclamation of the people was to build “a tower with its top in the heavens.” This is in contrast to seeing the Lord as their tower. As the Psalmist declares in Psalm 61:4 “Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah”  and also in Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

In fact, the sons of Adam thought nothing of the worship of God and instead sought themselves as the pinnacle of worship. The tower’s “top” comes from the Hebrew word “head” or even “beginning” or “chief.” We think of the prominence of the head. Insofar as Christ is the head of the church, so the Lord is head over all that dwells below His heavenly kingdom. Yet the primary aim of the sons of Adam was to place themselves as the head, as the priority, as the chief.

This is befitting considering the disposition discussed previously on Nimrod. We are told “Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord” (10:9). Often it is assumed that Nimrod possessed a level of piety to come before the presence of the Lord. However, the ambiguity of the Hebrew preposition “lah-med” (ל) can also mean against. In fact, in Genesis 3:16  the ESV has vacillated between whether or not the desire of the woman should be “for” or “contrary” to her husband, (Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you). It is properly assumed that her desire is set “against” or “contrary” to her husband. Likewise, we see Nimrod, the individual who establishes the city of Babel is the progenitor of irreverent ascent by placing himself above, or in prominence “before” the Lord God.

The sons of Adam’s irreverent ascent seems plain that they are seeking the very heights where God often communes with His people. For on the Mountain of Eden, God communed in close fellowship and communion with Adam and Eve. On Mount Sinai, Moses was in the presence of the Lord for 40 days and 40 nights. God meets His people upon a mountain, for if He were to condescend to the lowest depths of the earth, man would not be able to stand amidst His holiness. Rather, God must find the high places, where those whom He chooses to reveal Himself to are able to stand before His presence in wonderful awe and worship.  

(4) Sinful action is placing yourself as God.

Ultimately, the cause of the self-gratification and irreverent ascent is grounded in man’s sinful constitution, as being born in Adam, spiritual depraved and dead. When we consider what transpired in the Garden, the “sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit” (WSC 15). And so as identified in the text, man was less concerned about disobedience; rather, he was concerned with placing himself as God.

Satan, the ultimate tempter, did not necessarily appeal to the physical senses but the spiritual disposition of Eve in the temptation. In Genesis 3:4–5 we are told, “But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”” (emphasis added). Satan’s main thrust of his antichrist argumentation was that the true thing Adam and Eve were seeking was to be like God. It was not sufficient that they were created in the image of God. Nor was it sufficient they enjoyed the panoply of fruits, vegetation, and communion with the Triune God. They lacked being like God Himself. And in that sin, they fell.

Hence, the people of Adam’s chief end was not to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, but rather, as they state, “let us make a name for ourselves.” What blasphemy?! The assumption that man possesses the capability to bring himself to equal repute as the Triune God, the Creator of all things, the sovereign over all things, the great “I AM.” Name, in Hebrew, means much more than the association of what one is called. Name means reputation. In fact, the children of Adam declare “let us make a reputation for ourselves” by this splendid ziggurat.

What is ironic about this entire ordeal, is the fact that their sole purpose in building this was to escape the judgment and wrath of God. Which brings us to our last sub-point, “sinful action recognizes judgment.”

(5) Sinful action recognizes judgment.

This is almost reminiscent of Jonah’s narrative. Jonah was called by God to preach to the people of Ninevah. Because of Israel’s history and distaste for paganism, Jonah attempts to hide from God to avoid this calling. Yet, in Jonah’s avoidance of God’s wrath for disobedience, he is swiftly swallowed up by a large fish and thrown into the region of Ninevah, where he still, reluctantly, preaches to the people.

The last thing we hear of the sons of Adam is, “lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” They thought they were sovereign enough to halt the wrath of God. In fact, this is even resemblant of the people during Noah’s day. Remember, Noah preached the judgment to come. Peter describes this in 1 Peter 3:20 “because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water” and also in 2 Peter 2:5 “if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly.” Similarly, Jesus tells of the same situation it will be for those in the last day in Matthew 24:37–39 “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

We wonder though, how did the people here recognize God’s judgment as a possibility? When we turn to Romans 1, the fundamental issue of the human condition is that they exchange the truth about God for a lie. God has made Himself known in the created order (1:20), yet man refuses to honor God as such (1:21). Therefore, God gives them over to a debased mind (1:24-25, 28). Man knows that sin deserves punishment. But, in order to avert judgment, in the folly of unbelief, they suppress the truth (1:18).    

On the last day, man will be without excuse. Though unbelievers today are able to hide behind their pride, worldly wisdom, and idols, they will all be burned away. What is left of man without the righteousness of Christ imputed to them is exposure and nakedness to the fury and wrath of God. Even today, we see how unbelievers have a knowledge of the category of justice. Recent events that have shocked the globe with the assassination of Christian leader Charlie Kirk, have exposed the folly of unbelief in a tangible way. Those who do not have Christ often assert that Charlie Kirk deserved to be murdered because he was a “fascist” or “bigot.” See even from the world’s perspective, though their application if far from the truth, they still recognize a sense of justice.

I would be hard pressed to find any true atheist who does not hold to justice in some way, shape, or form. R. C. Sproul was once asked a question about unbelievers and the act of justice as it relates to the punishment of sin. Granted, I cannot remember the exact question, but Sproul retorts to the idea of one rejecting injustice or sin by sarcastically saying, “steal their wallet.” Now, Sproul was not condoning theft. Rather, he was explaining the fact that the idea of universal truth and punishment is a fact of life.

As we looked at man’s pride in ascending to God, we’ve seen five elements of their sinful actions, (1) a communal effort, (2) self-gratifying, (3) irreverent ascent, (4) placing yourself as God, and (5) recognizing judgment. Let us now turn to see God’s response as He descends upon man and acts.

(2) God’s judgment in descending (vv. 5-9)

As a child, you probably remember a time or two, or many, when you did something you shouldn’t have and your parents found out about it. They come and see what has been done and often you are punished for your error. In the same way, in verses 5-9, we see the Lord coming down in judgment against the sinfulness of man.

I think it is appropriate to subdivide these verses into three distinct characteristics of the Lord and His interaction with “the sons of Adam.” First, the Lord is active in His creation. Second, the Lord does not leave sin unpunished. And third, the Lord is Triune. These will be taken more holistically in light of verses 5-9 and not necessarily that one verse means one characteristic.

(1) the Lord is active in His creation

In verse 5, we are told “the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.” There are some who assume that God is merely a Creator who began the work of creation but has ceased to be active since then. It should be quite obvious from how we have seen the Lord’s interaction throughout the first eleven chapters of Genesis that this is certainly not the case. He remains active in His creation. Further, we see three primary ways the Lord is active in His creation, in His descent, declaration, and decision.

The Lord’s descent. When we read that the “Lord came down,” the Hebrew here is really stating that the Lord “descended.” The Lord descends from His heavenly abode with the purpose of seeing all that man has thus far been doing. It is not to say that the Lord is unaware, nor is he aloof to the work of man. Instead, Moses accomodates to our own understanding of the Lord’s activity as we would view it. From our perspective, the Lord descends, sees, and acts. From Scripture’s point of view, the Lord is always active.

The Lord’s declaration. He is not only active in the act of descending but also in declaration. In verse 6, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do.” We have looked at the nuance of the Hebrew word “beginning” from Genesis 6, 9, and 10. The Hebrew word used for “begin” can also be translated as “to profane” or “to defile.” In fact, in each instance, the act of man is a defiling act.

Genesis 6:1 “When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them.” Now multiplication and obeying the Lord’s mandate is not in an of itself sinful. But as the rest of Genesis 6 unfolds, the beginning of their multiplication is with defiling intent, namely, the sons of God and daughters of man begin to intermingle. The godly and ungodly line becomes blurred. This is articulated in the “Nephilim” which in Hebrew means “the fallen ones.”

Genesis 9:20 “Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard.” Once again, Noah’s action of planting a vineyard and being a man of the soil is not sinful. Rather, the effect of him partaking of his vineyard to the point of drunkenness leads to the defilement of his wife, as his son Ham sexually violates her. The act itself is defiling which leads to another “Nephilim” if you will, or the fallen ones from the line of Canaan.

Similarly, we see this brought to bear on Canaan’s offspring Nimrod. In Genesis 10:8 “Cush fathered Nimrod; he was the first on earth to be a mighty man” or “he began on the earth to be a mighty man.” In light of the Hebrew word used for begin, Nimrod’s actions are a form of defilement as he is the founder of the city of Babel.

Thus, it seems clear that the Lord is witnessing a further defiling from the people in Genesis 11.6. The building of the city and tower is “the defiling of what they will do.” As looked at above, the defilement was self-gratifying, self-exalting, false worship.

The remainder of verse 6 is quite curious. The Lord declares “nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.” Once again, the nuance of Hebrew is important in understanding what is being articulated by the Lord. The emphasis is not so much that they are able to ascend to the heavens and overthrow the Kingdom of God. Rather, their proposal, or plan, has been made up in their own minds. “Impossible” here can mean “to make inaccessible.”

The Lord is declaring that if their mind is so bent on self-gratification, then they will do nothing more than set the world on a trajectory similar to the days of Noah, before the Flood. Therefore, the Lord must act to ensure sin does not run as rampant as it did in the Pre-Flood days.

Thus, the Lord makes a decision. His decision is to scatter the people’s by separating their ability to communicate. In fact, the word “Babel” in Hebrew means to disperse or to scatter. It is a play on words. The tower and city as a means for self-exaltation becomes the means of God’s chastisement and punishment where they are scattered. Even more ironic, is the way the Babylonians viewed this great city. Babylon, for them, meant the city of the gods. The place they thought would mean they could be gods, from the Hebrew perspective, was the place of disorganization and chaos. In light of the Lord’s descent, declaration, and decision, he ensures that their sin is not left unpunished.

(2) the Lord does not leave sin unpunished

The prophet Isaiah alludes to this very instance. Isaiah 14:13–15 “You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.”

Look at the purposes of  man in conflict to the purposes of God. They said in their own heart, that they would ascend into the throne room of the Most High. However, in doing so, they are brought down, not just back to earth itself, but the lower depths of the earth, Sheol. The very place of punishment and God’s wrath.

This is in fact the important aspect of their falling. It is not merely that the Lord sees, descends, and declares. But rather, that He does not leave sin unpunished. We see this grounded in the character of God, as in Exodus 34:7  “who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And also, reaffirmed in Numbers 14:18 “‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’” 

Just as in the time of the tower of Babel, so also is the character and nature of God the same. He remains unmovable, unchangeable. And though man attempts in his greatest efforts to ascend to the place of God, the Lord still punishes the guilty. Yet, we also see the steadfast love and grace of God manifest in His wrath. Romans 5:8–9 “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

That God does not leave sin unpunished should be a terrifying truth. It means that despite your personal, subjective opinion about God, or who He is, your sin will be punished. You were born in sin and deserve death. You continue to sin and deserve death. Yet the Lord God declares that if you would place your hope, faith, and love in the Lord Jesus Christ, He would forgive you of your sins. All a work of the Triune God.

(3) the Lord is Triune

Your mind should be driven instantly to God’s creation of man in Genesis 1:26 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”” Here as well, the Lord intervenes in His intra-Trinitarian discourse in stating, “let us go down.”

This act of judgment is a Trinitarian act. God the Father descends and sees, the Holy Spirit confuses the languages, and the Son of God, the Word incarnate, the Word which they should have had upon their lips is further separated from their presence. However, despite this great act of righteous judgment by the powerful hand and word of the Lord, there is still hope.

Doctrine – The Reversal of Babel in the New Testament

Just as the dispersing of the language was an act of the Triune God so also is the reversal in the New Testament. Acts 2 supplies us with this very reversal. We will look briefly at Acts 2:1–11.

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”” 

There are some important elements on display in this very act. And it resembles some characteristics of the tower of Babel narrative.

First, the people were there for worship. Granted, this form of worship was intended for God, not for self. Yet, at the same time, we see how irreverent worship had become in the New Testament era. Jesus gives us a parable that the Pharisaic worship could easily be equated with that of the Babylonians, in contrast to what true worship looks like. This is expressed in Luke 18:9–14

“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”” 

Two men entered the temple, yet one left righteous and justified, the one who truly worshipped the Lord God. In the same way, in Acts 2, there were many gathered around. Those whom the Holy Spirit poured out upon were recipients of the steadfast love of God, whereas though who assumed these men were “drunk” remained separated from God, just as the “sons of Adam” in Genesis 11:1-9 remained separated from God.

Second, the people were there from among the nations. All of Noah’s descendants were represented in Genesis 11:1-9 and Acts 2:1-11. We have Japhethites, from the Medes. We have Canaanites, from the Arabs. And we have Shemites, from Judea. Now here, something incredible happens. You remember that God descends upon the people in judgment in Genesis 11 by dispersing the nations. And we have seen how throughout Genesis 1, God created by separation, the sun from the moon, the land from the water, etc. Yet, the most important part of creation was that of man. The only act of creation where God takes two created beings that are separate and joins them together is the covenant of marriage.

Here, in Acts 2, God takes the disunity the nations experienced from tower of Babel and joins them together once again. God’s new creation is not by separation, but by union. And this is where we see the magnitude of God’s redemptive plan as believers are new creations joined together in Christ Jesus. In fact, the Church, which was scattered, disorganized, full of disunity from Genesis 11 onward has now been re-created anew, inseparably joined by the chief Cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ, wherein we particpate in union with Christ because He himself has torn the veil that separated us from the holiness of God and transferred us over into the Kingdom.

In fact, it is only through Christ that you are able to ascend to the heights of heaven. You do not need to build your own tower through your works-righteousness, nor through your own efforts, for you would be scattered. But instead, you are able to ascend to the heights of heaven because Christ has redeemed you from your sins. Though God’s holiness is inaccessible through our efforts, He enables us to partake of the glory of redemption through His blessed Son. Therefore, as we apply this text to our hearts, we must recognize just how holy God truly is.

Application – Recognizing the Holiness of God

(1) Recognize the wrath of God

My hope and prayer is that you sinner, without the love of God, without Christ, would come to a firm and faith-driven knowledge of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. You are without excuse. Even the “sons of Adam” were without excuse, as Genesis 11.4 so clearly tells us, “lest we be dispersed over the face of the earth.” Every sin deserves the wrath and punishment of God.

Therefore, turn to Christ Jesus lest you be dispersed into the depths of Sheol by your own human efforts and desires. God will not merely disperse you over the face of the earth, but God will disperse you into the place of eternal wrath and torment.

Turn to Christ Jesus lest you be dispersed even further into the depths of your own sin and depravity. Paul – inspired by the Spirit of God – clearly reminds us in Romans 1:18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” God will by no means clear the guilty. You will not be acquitted for your deeds, works, or anything. You are only acquitted on the basis of Christ’s righteousness.

(2) Recognize your inability to come to God

To recognize the holiness of God also means to recognize our inability to come to Him on our own efforts. Genesis 11:4 “Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.”” 

What was the Lord’s reaction? He thwarted their efforts. He did not say, “I will accept part of your effort and punish the rest.” Nor did He say, “You did your best, so please come up into heaven.” No. The Lord acts be dispersing and separating them.

What hope do we have then? You have hope that if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, you will be saved. Recognizing our inability to come to God is in fact a great comfort. Rather than worrying about what we must do to ascend upwards to God, we get to enjoy the benefits of Him descending upon us. Just as the Spirit of God descended upon the people in Acts 2 so also does the Spirit descend upon those who are in Christ.

You see, Christ – in the love that He has – is the one who “descended” or “came down.” He came in human flesh. He endured all the miseries of this life. Yet He did it, as the author of Hebrews tells us in Hebrews 12:2–3 “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” 

Recognizing your inability means that you can focus your efforts on the One who is willing and able to save to the uttermost. The One who laid down His own life for you. The One who in fact says in Matthew 11:28–30 “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”” All of which is an expression of the everlasting love of God.

(3) Recognize the lovingkindness of God

Just as God remains active in His creation so also does He remain active in His plan of redemption and salvation. God’s lovingkindness that He expressed to all peoples who call upon the name of the Lord is of great spiritual warmth and comfort. It means you serve a God who loves you and cares about you, when you were most unloving and when you cared nothing for Him. It means you serve a God who has blessed you with every good and perfect gift which comes from above, when you did not deserve or even want the gift.

As we reflect upon our study through John 4, the main problem with the woman of Samaria is that she could not truly identify her greatest need. It was not more fellowship or communion with her estranged friends. It was not to get married so as to not live in sin. It was not for a miracle of temporal water so she didn’t have to shamefully ascend the mountain to get to the well. It was none of those things. Her greatest need was the lovingkindness of God.

And Christ Himself, just as He offered Himself to her verbally, so He offered up Himself physically on your behalf. And though He ascended and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, we still eagerly anticipate the final descent of Christ. As the beautiful hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” concludes, “O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend; even so, it is well with my soul.”