Listen to the Story of Jesus and See the Glory of God...Continued from page 1

The Apostle Paul knew that he was sent to open the eyes of people who could not see Jesus physically, but who could see him spiritually and be saved. Jesus said to him, “I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins” (Acts 26:17-18).

Paul knew that Satan was blinding the eyes of unbelievers to keep them from seeing divine glory in the portrait of Jesus. “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4).

How do we see Jesus as compellingly, self-authenticatingly, beautifully, divinely glorious and true? We read or hear the story of his incarnation and life and death and resurrection and what it means. In that hearing, we watch him speak and act. We consider the purpose and plan of God in this story.

As we listen and watch, the mighty grace of God opens the eyes of our heart. That is what the connection between John 1:14 and 1:16 says: “We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . [For] from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” Grace opened our eyes to see.

Another way to say it is that we see and know the truth and glory of Jesus because of the work of the Holy Spirit. “By this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us” (1 John 3:24). “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 4:2). In other words, the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to see that this person we are hearing and watching in the story of the gospel is “from God.”

When this happens we say, “Jesus [that is, the incarnate one that we are seeing in the gospel story] is Lord!” And then Paul adds, “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except in the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3). This means that our seeing that Jesus is Lord is the work of the Holy Spirit, and our seeing it is the witness of the Spirit in our lives.

I am praying that God would move among us in power during our so journ in the Gospel of John. O that he might open our eyes more and more to the fullness of his glory. May the Lord remove all blindness. May the Lord grant that we would see him and be changed into his image from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).