Ponder and meditate on these texts with added emphasis:
"Look unto me, and be ye saved..." (Isaiah 45:22, KJV, emphasis added).
"... 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world'" (John 1:29, KJV, emphasis added).
"Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: and thereby good shall come unto thee" (Job 21:22, KJV).
When Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole in the wilderness in Numbers 21, all that was required was an act of faith to be healed from the bite of the venomous snakes. Just look at the bronze serpent! Later people turned it into a fetish and worshiped it so that King Hezekiah had to destroy it--they missed the point! We just need to look unto Jesus! 1 Peter 1:8, emphasis added, says the following: "...[And] though you have not seen Him you love Him."
How can you keep your eyes on Jesus according to Hebrews 12:2 if you don't see Him? It wasn't faith in the offer, but faith in God and obeying Him. It is imperative that we look unto Jesus to be saved and get our eyes off ourselves (our merit). Paul rejoiced in Galatians 1:16 that God "was pleased to reveal His Son in [him]." He prayed "that the eyes of [hearts] may be enlightened' (cf. Eph. 1:18, NASB).
We believe in spite of the fact that we don't know Him after the flesh, or are eyewitnesses to His resurrection. Jesus said in John 20:29 (ESV): "...Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." We don't need to be empiricists relying on experience, nor rationalists, relying on our reasoning faculties either. God makes Jesus real to us just like being there--the Holy Spirit convicts: this means that having the Holy Spirit's inner witness is greater assurance that if we had been there and seen Jesus for ourselves. It is much more vital that we learn to see Jesus with our hearts than our eyes and God can indeed open the eyes of our hearts, that He does become real to us.
The Greeks inquired: "Sir, we wish to see Jesus" (John 12:19, NASB, emphasis added). The point is that "we do see Him" (cf. Hebrews 2:9). I would love to say to my brother: "I see Jesus in you!" Or: "He's got his Father's eyes!" We are the icons of Christ and represent Him to the lost. We all bear the image and likeness of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work. God works on us till He sees Christ in us and until then we are a work in progress--the final sanctification and glorification won't happen till our resurrection.
God wants to open our spiritual eyes to beware of what He is doing in the world through Jesus. We are the hands of Jesus that lends a helping hand; the ears that hear people's needs; the voice that speaks up for Him; the heart through which Christ loves and that spreads compassion; the feet that are welcome to spread the good news; and the mind that thinks Christlike ideas to share with a lost world, and through which Christ thinks.
Love sees better than any eye could ever hope to--just look at Helen Keller, exhibit A! The trouble with some Christians, and we all believe, having not literally seen, is that they think their faith will be strengthened if they had a vision of Jesus or personal encounter with the Almighty of some kind, or revelation to share. The fact is that God doesn't exist to grant our whims and wishes and provide us with experiences. All we need to know and experience is in the Word--we can have an existential encounter in the Word itself! The Word is sufficient, clear, and simple enough for the child to understand its main message of salvation (cf. Matt. 11:25 where Jesus commends the Father for revealing the truth to infants). God does want us to have a genuine experience and relationship with Christ but on His terms, not ours.
Everything He has to say to us is in the Word; we don't need any manuals, commentaries, lexicons, etc., to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit--that His job description. Though God has not retired dreams or visions or audible communications, He has promised to speak through the Word. Like the psalmist said in Psalm 119;18 to God: "Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law." (This refers specifically to the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit.) It is with man's heart that he disbelieves and doesn't see. Jesus said to the unbelievers: "You are slow of heart to believe..." "The fool has said in his heart, that there is no God" (cf. Psalm 14:1, emphasis mine).
Jesus proclaimed Himself the Word of God and John called Him the Logos or the Word which became flesh or incarnate (cf. John 1:1, 14). How can anyone claim to know Jesus if He is unfamiliar with the Word (John 5:39, ESV, says plainly: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me"). Jesus is the theme of the entirety of the Word, on every page, in some prototype, analogy, parallel, etc. He is like a scarlet thread running the course of Scripture to be seen by the believer--the key to unlocking the mysteries, understanding its message, and knowing God. personally.
After all, Christianity is about "the God who is there" (for us) and is a relationship with the living God, not just a philosophy or school of thought, though this is important. It is not a list of dos and don'ts, a catalog of rules, collection of pious sayings, but a methodology for getting to know the living God and enjoying this relationship. The better we know God, the more we will learn to see Him; just like His fingerprints are in every living creature under heaven and the skies show His handiwork. The most tragic thing is that there are those who think they see and are blind; a much worse state than knowing you're blind and acknowledging this to God.
We can progress like John Wesley, who said he read the newspaper daily "to see what God is doing in His world." We need people today who have eyes to see and ears to hear what God wants a man to do in these desperate times that seem to bear the signs of the times (the coming of our great Savior in glory for us).
As Christians we must realize that we represent Christ to the lost world and the only Jesus they may see is the one we show them; you could ask the question: What is the gospel according to you? Your brother may know Jesus in a different way or manifestation than you from an entirely different experience and background, but never get tired of learning about the Jesus you don't know or never knew. Don't limit the Jesus you know putting Him in a box and being a spiritual Lone Ranger out of fellowship; after all, we are to teach and edify each other about Christ. One person may be the ear and the other the hand of Christ to the lost. God works in each of us in a unique way. The whole point is to keep focused on Christ and get our eyes off ourselves and our own little world, thinking primarily of His will and His kingdom, not ours.
The final judgment of God is a hardening of the already confirmed and hardened will in defiance and is mentioned in Acts 28:27 and Isaiah 29:13 in the NASB as follows: "For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would hear them." God has blinded Israel in part that the Gentiles may be grafted into the Olive Tree. Just like Paul says: "... [B]ut the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded" (Romans 11:7, NKJV). The sole qualification for seeing is to come to Jesus admitting you cannot see! Soli Deo Gloria!
"Look unto me, and be ye saved..." (Isaiah 45:22, KJV, emphasis added).
"... 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world'" (John 1:29, KJV, emphasis added).
"Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: and thereby good shall come unto thee" (Job 21:22, KJV).
When Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole in the wilderness in Numbers 21, all that was required was an act of faith to be healed from the bite of the venomous snakes. Just look at the bronze serpent! Later people turned it into a fetish and worshiped it so that King Hezekiah had to destroy it--they missed the point! We just need to look unto Jesus! 1 Peter 1:8, emphasis added, says the following: "...[And] though you have not seen Him you love Him."
How can you keep your eyes on Jesus according to Hebrews 12:2 if you don't see Him? It wasn't faith in the offer, but faith in God and obeying Him. It is imperative that we look unto Jesus to be saved and get our eyes off ourselves (our merit). Paul rejoiced in Galatians 1:16 that God "was pleased to reveal His Son in [him]." He prayed "that the eyes of [hearts] may be enlightened' (cf. Eph. 1:18, NASB).
We believe in spite of the fact that we don't know Him after the flesh, or are eyewitnesses to His resurrection. Jesus said in John 20:29 (ESV): "...Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed." We don't need to be empiricists relying on experience, nor rationalists, relying on our reasoning faculties either. God makes Jesus real to us just like being there--the Holy Spirit convicts: this means that having the Holy Spirit's inner witness is greater assurance that if we had been there and seen Jesus for ourselves. It is much more vital that we learn to see Jesus with our hearts than our eyes and God can indeed open the eyes of our hearts, that He does become real to us.
The Greeks inquired: "Sir, we wish to see Jesus" (John 12:19, NASB, emphasis added). The point is that "we do see Him" (cf. Hebrews 2:9). I would love to say to my brother: "I see Jesus in you!" Or: "He's got his Father's eyes!" We are the icons of Christ and represent Him to the lost. We all bear the image and likeness of Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work. God works on us till He sees Christ in us and until then we are a work in progress--the final sanctification and glorification won't happen till our resurrection.
God wants to open our spiritual eyes to beware of what He is doing in the world through Jesus. We are the hands of Jesus that lends a helping hand; the ears that hear people's needs; the voice that speaks up for Him; the heart through which Christ loves and that spreads compassion; the feet that are welcome to spread the good news; and the mind that thinks Christlike ideas to share with a lost world, and through which Christ thinks.
Love sees better than any eye could ever hope to--just look at Helen Keller, exhibit A! The trouble with some Christians, and we all believe, having not literally seen, is that they think their faith will be strengthened if they had a vision of Jesus or personal encounter with the Almighty of some kind, or revelation to share. The fact is that God doesn't exist to grant our whims and wishes and provide us with experiences. All we need to know and experience is in the Word--we can have an existential encounter in the Word itself! The Word is sufficient, clear, and simple enough for the child to understand its main message of salvation (cf. Matt. 11:25 where Jesus commends the Father for revealing the truth to infants). God does want us to have a genuine experience and relationship with Christ but on His terms, not ours.
Everything He has to say to us is in the Word; we don't need any manuals, commentaries, lexicons, etc., to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit--that His job description. Though God has not retired dreams or visions or audible communications, He has promised to speak through the Word. Like the psalmist said in Psalm 119;18 to God: "Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law." (This refers specifically to the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit.) It is with man's heart that he disbelieves and doesn't see. Jesus said to the unbelievers: "You are slow of heart to believe..." "The fool has said in his heart, that there is no God" (cf. Psalm 14:1, emphasis mine).
Jesus proclaimed Himself the Word of God and John called Him the Logos or the Word which became flesh or incarnate (cf. John 1:1, 14). How can anyone claim to know Jesus if He is unfamiliar with the Word (John 5:39, ESV, says plainly: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me"). Jesus is the theme of the entirety of the Word, on every page, in some prototype, analogy, parallel, etc. He is like a scarlet thread running the course of Scripture to be seen by the believer--the key to unlocking the mysteries, understanding its message, and knowing God. personally.
After all, Christianity is about "the God who is there" (for us) and is a relationship with the living God, not just a philosophy or school of thought, though this is important. It is not a list of dos and don'ts, a catalog of rules, collection of pious sayings, but a methodology for getting to know the living God and enjoying this relationship. The better we know God, the more we will learn to see Him; just like His fingerprints are in every living creature under heaven and the skies show His handiwork. The most tragic thing is that there are those who think they see and are blind; a much worse state than knowing you're blind and acknowledging this to God.
We can progress like John Wesley, who said he read the newspaper daily "to see what God is doing in His world." We need people today who have eyes to see and ears to hear what God wants a man to do in these desperate times that seem to bear the signs of the times (the coming of our great Savior in glory for us).
As Christians we must realize that we represent Christ to the lost world and the only Jesus they may see is the one we show them; you could ask the question: What is the gospel according to you? Your brother may know Jesus in a different way or manifestation than you from an entirely different experience and background, but never get tired of learning about the Jesus you don't know or never knew. Don't limit the Jesus you know putting Him in a box and being a spiritual Lone Ranger out of fellowship; after all, we are to teach and edify each other about Christ. One person may be the ear and the other the hand of Christ to the lost. God works in each of us in a unique way. The whole point is to keep focused on Christ and get our eyes off ourselves and our own little world, thinking primarily of His will and His kingdom, not ours.
The final judgment of God is a hardening of the already confirmed and hardened will in defiance and is mentioned in Acts 28:27 and Isaiah 29:13 in the NASB as follows: "For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would hear them." God has blinded Israel in part that the Gentiles may be grafted into the Olive Tree. Just like Paul says: "... [B]ut the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded" (Romans 11:7, NKJV). The sole qualification for seeing is to come to Jesus admitting you cannot see! Soli Deo Gloria!
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