Sir, We Would See Jesus
God’s Heavenly Vision
I believe the Lord has clearly revealed (through the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ and Scripture) the vision or purpose for His body or church, with Jesus being the complete and perfect physical manifestation of this vision on earth, and Scripture being the complete and perfect image or reflection of this vision. Therefore, as ambassadors for Christ, the body of Christ should be striving to fully and accurately represent the person, ministry, and message of God through Jesus Christ in this present world. This vision or purpose can be briefly stated in these few words: To reflect in word and deed, the love, character, wisdom, and supernatural power of Jesus Christ in whatever we do, wherever we are.
And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast. The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus. Philip came and told Andrew; and again Andrew and Philip told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it brings forth much fruit. —John 12:20-24
So God created man in his own image; in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. —Genesis 1:27-28
Even after sin entered the world through Adam, God’s vision of us did not change. Through another man—the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45) this vision would be fulfilled in Jesus Christ by:
- Destroying the works of the devil (Genesis 3:15, 1 John 3:8)
- Great Deliverance (typified in Joseph, Moses, Joshua, et al—Genesis 45:7, Acts 7: 25; Joshua 1: 2; 4: 14)
As ambassadors of God and Christ we share in the responsibility of continuing the finished work of Christ by:
- Turning people from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God (Isaiah 61: 1-2; Luke 4: 18-19; Acts 26: 16-20)
- Re-building cities (Nehemiah)
- Occupying Territory (Luke 19 “Occupy ‘til I come”)
How Is This Accomplished?
- Becoming disciples of the Lord Jesus (John 8: 30-32; 1 Timothy 2: 4)
- Revealing Jesus to the world (John 12: 21, 45; John 18: 37; 2 Corinthians 5: 20; Galatians 1: 16; Romans 6: 4-5; Romans 8: 28-29)
- Making disciples (Matthew 28: 18-20; Ephesians 4: 12)
As with the original 12 disciples and the early church, they revealed the living Christ to the world by doing what Jesus had done (as He commanded in John 14: 12; John 17: 18; John 20: 21) which was:
- Live and demonstrate the gospel of God’s grace and blessing of Abraham upon us as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8: 16-17; Galatians 3: 13; Luke 8: 1, 9: 1)
- Loving one another; following after love and desiring spiritual gifts (John 13: 35; 1 Corinthians 14: 1)
- Preach, teach, and heal (Matthew 4: 23; Matthew 10: 1, 7; Luke 9: 1; John 14: 12)
- Demonstrate God’s wisdom through problem solving (Daniel 5: 11-12)
- Providing for needs of people
God’s vision or purpose for mankind in Christ—to bear witness of the Light.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shone in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light, which lights every man that comes into the world. [John 1:4-9]
The life of God is the light of men. (Genesis 2:7; Ephesians 4:18; John 8:12)
Jesus said, No man, when he has lit a candle, puts it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they who come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye; therefore when your eye is single, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is evil, your body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in you be not darkness. If your whole body therefore is full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle does give you light. [Luke 11: 33-36]
The eye in this passage is referring to focus or mindedness. Being focused solely on bearing witness of the Light—being a revelation of Jesus Christ to the world—will result in your life being full of light (God’s life, blessing, power, health, success, etc.) so that the world, through your testimony, demonstration, and witness of God’s life, might believe in Jesus.
Being single-minded or focused on God and bearing witness to the Light will bring life and peace as it is written in Isaiah 26: 3 and Romans 8: 6. This single focus will also result in God’s provision being added to you as it is written in Matthew 6: 33 But seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
Being single-minded will also result in stability in your life as it is written in James 1: 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Single-mindedness will cause faith and God’s power to operate (James 1: 6-7).
This is the commitment Paul refers to as presenting your bodies a living sacrifice or being completely sold out to God’s vision and purpose, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12: 1). Then the instructions are to not conform yourself into the mold of this world, but become transformed (into the actual image or reflection of Christ—Romans 8: 28-29) by the renewing of your mind that you may prove that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12: 2)
God has given all of us various natural gifts and talents in order to place us in the world for the sole purpose of revealing His Son (bearing witness of the Light) to the world. God caused you to be born in a certain place, with a certain skin color, and under certain circumstances so that you could fulfill His vision of you being His ambassador in the world.
Therefore, wherever we are, whatever we are doing, hopefully, it is a result of what God has put in our hearts in order to position us to bear witness of the Light of the world. It goes back to first being born again, and then being completely committed to God’s vision through delighting yourself in the Lord and Him giving you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37: 4). Being in God’s perfect will will bring peace, joy, and complete fulfillment so that you can continue to be single-minded upon God’s vision of you bearing witness of the Light.
As a result of His blessing and our fruitfulness in making disciples, God is glorified as spoken by the Lord Jesus, If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples. [John 15: 7-8]
Let us remember that God primarily wants you—not your service, which is why relationship with God (eternal life and righteousness) is most important. God’s original purpose of Creation has not changed—to give God pleasure (Revelation 4). Because sin entered into the world, God’s purpose has been extended to us so that the byproduct of this relationship will bring revelation (bear witness) of the Light.
Therefore, as you get to know the Lord through relationship (continuing in His word) and becoming a disciple, you will begin to reflect His character, nature, love, and all the fruit of the Spirit. Our part is to immerse ourselves into Christ, His purpose, and through this, the light of the world will shine brightly among your sphere of influence (the candle will shine brightly).
Like an actor, who will actually “become” the person he is portraying so that he can be a true reflection of this person, God has given us the same ability to put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (the very nature of Christ). [Ephesians 4:24]
In this context, we know that most actors, when aspiring to portray a person whom has lived, will interview them, read their writings, and attempt to emulate their mannerisms to such a degree, that it is difficult to discern them from the real person, or that they are “playing a role”. This is what every Christian must do—this is what we will want to do, provided we endeavor to have and build upon this relationship whereby we will become transformed into “little Christs” and begin reproducing other “little Christs”.
The apostle Paul wrote:
- Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. [1 Corinthians 11:1]
- Be followers of God as dear children. [Ephesians 5:1]
The Greek word translated followers is mimetes, which is translated “an imitator:--follower.” (Strong’s Concordance)
Unlike the actor, whose motives are not sincere to the extent of complete and permanent transformation, this imitation is born first from having the nature and Spirit of Christ implanted in the Christian when he is born again. The transformation, like a seed, comes from growth as a result of continuing in relationship with God, and from the commitment to living out God’s vision and purpose. [We see the catastrophic results of insincerity in the Acts of the Apostles where the sons of Sceva attempted to imitate the Lord Jesus (Acts 19: 13-16).]
What first begins as a conscious decision to follow or imitate Christ, the influence of His word and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, actually results in the nature and character of Jesus being revealed super-naturally. This is not the same as conditioning an animal to respond to certain stimuli, or training a monkey to perform a trick on command. Rather, this transformation—first done in the spirit through the new birth—actually changes who you are.
Then, we can confidently say, “If you have seen me, you have seen Jesus. If you have heard me, you have heard Jesus. If I don’t do the works of Jesus, do not believe me. But if I do, though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that Jesus is in me, and I am in Him.” (John 12: 45; Luke 10: 16; John 10: 37-38)
