By Dr. Don Bierle, FaithSearch President
The disciple Mark, in his Gospel, recorded an incident when Jesus healed a blind man (8:23-25). It is apropos to the theme of this article:
And taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes, and laying His hands upon him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” And he looked up and said, “I see men, for I am seeing them like trees, walking about.” Then again, He laid His hands upon his eyes; and he looked intently and was restored, and began to see everything clearly(emphasis added).
That was an example of Jesus healing physical blindness. There also exists a spiritual blindness:
The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14, NIV).
What can Jesus do about that?
The Only Way to See Clearly
We all come into the world with a handicap: we cannot see what God sees. The apostle Paul identified the cause:
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).
For this reason, when Jesus came into history, John the Baptist introduced Him as the one who “baptizes in the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33). The apostle Paul explains why:
For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God… (1 Corinthians 2:11-12).
Indeed, after His resurrection, Jesus met with His disciples and “…breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (John 20:22).
All believers in Jesus, then, have His gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). Jesus said it is the Spirit’s ministry to “take of Mine and disclose it to you” (John 16:24). Furthermore, Jesus promised He was not withholding anything from His followers, saying “…I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you” (John 15:15). Thus, the apostle Paul concluded that believers “have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Seeing God
Having our eyes healed by the creative power of the Holy Spirit, we are now able to see the evidence of God’s existence. Suddenly God’s presence is everywhere!
- Seeing God in Nature (Creation; Natural revelation – Romans 1:18-20)
Perfectly created; Intelligently designed; Humanly corrupted; Divinely judged; to be Ideally re-created - Seeing God in Jesus Christ (Incarnation: Personal revelation – Colossians 1:15; 2:9)
Eternally sinless; Historical God-man; Only Savior; Resurrected redeemer - Seeing God in Bible History (Inspiration: Special revelation – John 1:1-4,14,18; 2 Timothy 3:14-17) Eternal; All-knowing; All-powerful; Loving; Infinite; Personal and Triune; Creator; Miraculously and providentially sustaining the universe and guiding history.
Seeing As God Sees… ME! (And YOU!)
- My new freedom – “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
- My new identity – “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
- My new destiny – “…and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ…”
(Romans 8:1-2, 16-17)
For God so loved the world [including Don, and you], that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever [Don and you] believes in Him [Don and you] should not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).
I (and perhaps you) have been enabled to see everything clearly. Praise God!
