On Day 62, we established that Jesus Christ, the Image of God Himself, tells us in Scripture that if we’ve seen Him, we’ve seen Father God, and if we know Him, we know the Father (John 14:7-9). So we posed the following questions:
How do we, in the 21st century, see/look at/behold Jesus?
And how do we know God by seeing Jesus?
“He is the image of the invisible God,
Colossians 1:15-16 (NIV84)
the firstborn over all creation.
For by Him all things were created:
things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities;
all things were created by Him and for Him.”
Jesus Came as a Light so We Could See God
“Then Jesus cried out, ‘Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me only, but in the One who sent Me. 45The one who looks at Me is seeing the One who sent me. 46I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness.”
John 12:44-46 (NIV)
Look closely at what Jesus said in v.45:
“The one who looks at Me is seeing the One who sent Me.”
Jesus is the True Light through Whom We Can Know God
Below I have posted 18 verses of Scripture for you to read. Since these are the first 18 verses of the gospel of John, I found I could not leave any of them out! Please take the time to read every word and let it sink in, but pay particular attention to the references to Jesus (the Word) as the Light.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6There was a man sent from God whose name was John [the baptizer]. 7He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. 11He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him. 12Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15(John testified concerning Him. He cried out, saying, ‘This is the One I spoke about when I said, “He who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me”.’) 16Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made Him known.”
John 1:1-18 (NIV)
Read v.18 again:
“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relation-ship with the Father, has made Him known.”
Christ has made God known.
Through the Son we can know the Father as fully as our limited human capabilities allow… with the Spirit’s enabling.
We Can See Jesus in the Scriptures
Maybe this heading sounds too simple, but one of our questions at the outset of this post was, “How do we, in the 21st century, see/look at/behold Jesus?”
Answer: The testimony of the Holy Spirit and the apostles.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
John 15:26-27 (NKJV)
We cannot look on Jesus’ physical face with our physical eyes at this present time; however, His Spirit indwells us believers and the Spirit-inspired words of His apostles are before us in Scripture.
In this context, Spirit + Scripture -> Sight.
The Testimony of the Apostles
At the very beginning of the letter of I John, the apostle John describes the witness behind the testimony of the apostles:
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our joy complete.”
I John 1:1-4 (NIV)
In the New Testament Scriptures, the apostles proclaim and testify of what they heard, saw, looked at, and touched. What they experienced with their physical senses they are sharing with us, the ones Jesus prays for in John 17:20: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message…”
Recognizing the Holy Spirit
In I John 4, John tells us how to recognize whether something is inspired by the Holy Spirit or not. Many proclaim and testify to things, but not all are truthful. Here are some ways to tell the difference:
v.2-3: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God.”
v.6: “We [the New Testament apostles who physically lived with, experienced, and observed Jesus] are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.”
v.13-15: “This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.”
And in I John 5:6: “And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.”
- If someone denies that Jesus came in the flesh, do not listen to them.
- If someone does not take the writings of the New Testament apostles seriously and literally, do not listen to them.
- If someone denies that Jesus is God’s Son, do not listen to them.
I encourage you to read the New Testament with renewed vigor! Read the testimony of the apostles who physically witnessed Jesus! Get to know the Savior and Lord they knew, see Jesus through their eyes, and you will get to know and to see the Father.
What’s the point?
So what is the point of all this?
Why is it so important to see Jesus to know God?
“Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”
John 17:3 (NIV)
It’s everything!!! Jesus Himself says it’s “eternal life!”
Why do we need to be forgiven in Christ?
Is it simply so we’ll feel better? No!
The point is a restored relationship with God (II Cor. 5:16-20).
When we say we want to look more Christ-like, is it for self-righteousness’ sake (to glorify ourselves before men) or because God created us to bear His image and we want to live out that purpose (of glorifying Him)? The point is to glorify Him (Psalm 115:1).
What makes heaven a place we want to live for eternity?
Is it just the “no tears, no pain” part? The avoiding hell part? The (nonbiblical) possibility of eating all the ice-cream we want without getting sick or gaining weight? Those are pretty great benefits (the ice-cream one is a joke 😉 ), but the point is living in God’s very presence forever (Rev. 21:3).
WARNING: Harsh Heart-evaluation Question:
Do I seek God to know Him, or do I seek only His blessings?
Consider these truths from the Psalms:
“The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God” (14:2).
- God is looking for those who will seek Him.
“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple (27:4).
- Do I seek Him? (Or do I seek my comfort, my pleasure, my success, my reputation, my convenience, my stuff, my accomplishments — in short, what makes me feel good and look good?)
“My heart says of you, ‘Seek His face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek (27:8).
- Is this my heart? Am I willing to say this to God?
“But may all who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who long for Your saving help always say,
‘The Lord is great!’ (40:16; 70:4).”
- Do I rejoice in God Himself? Am I glad in Him?
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek You; I thirst for You, my whole being longs for You, in a dry and parched land where there is no water” (63:1).
- Do I thirst for Him? Does my whole being long for God?
But there are benefits!
Don’t seek Him only for the benefits; but when you seek Him, there are benefits!
“You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand” (16:11).
- In His presence is fullness of joy and eternal pleasure! God makes the path of life known to us.
“The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing” (34:10).
- When we seek Him, Himself, we will lack no good thing.
“Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice” (105:3).
- When we seek God, a rejoicing heart will surely result.
“You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
DAY 63 PRAYER:
Father God,
Help us seek You because You are the Person most worth knowing.
May we not simply seek You just for what we can get.
Teach us, Lord, to care more about Your glory than we care about anything else.
Make us more like Christ who did not seek His glory but Your own.
Renew our minds and transform our hearts.
In Jesus’ Name, the Name above all names,
Amen.
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