Seeing God
Today's Verse:
Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: ~Hebrews 12:14
Is it possible to see God? Jesus tells us that "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." Jesus further tells us that “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” God reveals Himself to us through His Word. Through His Word, we are told of His attributes and His mighty power. In Hebrews 12:14, we are told that it is possible to see the Lord. This morning, we will see how we can see the Lord.
We see the pursuit of holiness.
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness.” The great priority of the Christian life is that we become more like the Lord Jesus. We are called upon to be conformed to the image of Christ. Spiritual perfection is having Christlikeness. This is loving like Jesus loves, thinking as Jesus would think, and having a life that is victorious over sin and temptation. In pursuing peace with all men, we are to embody strength with beauty. This will include being a Christian who resolves conflicts rather than makes them. It means being forgiving to the unforgivable. It means praying for our enemies and doing good to them who despitefully use us. It means to heap coals of fire on the heads of those who are adverse to us. Are you following peace with all men and holiness?
We see the purity of holiness.
Holiness is a spiritual distinction that identifies us as sons of God and disciples of Jesus Christ. It indicates that we have been in His presence for a period of time. Holiness is purifying and pure. The closer we are to God, the purer our life will be. Being holy indicates that we are not allowing our life to be soiled and dirtied by sin. It means we are striving to stay as close as we can to the Lord. When holiness is apparent in our life, our speech is pure, our thoughts are pure, our motives are pure, our service is pure, and our relationships are pure.
We see the possibility in holiness.
We are told, “And holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” In Isaiah 6, Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne, high and lifted up. He saw how the Lord’s train filled the temple of God in Heaven. He saw the magnificence of the seraphim who surrounded the throne of God and said, “Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” As he looked, he came under deep conviction of his sinfulness and spiritual inadequacy. Is it possible to see the Lord? Yes! We know that we have seen Him when we are convicted about our sin, and, as a result, we make a full confession. We have seen the Lord when our character has been transformed. We know that we have seen Him when our vision for God’s work is clear. We know that we have seen Him when we are endued with power from on high to do the work of God and see results that can only be explained by the fact that God was the One Who did it.
We see the performance for holiness.
So, how do we follow holiness? There must be separation from associations, attractions, and ambition for anything that will corrupt, defile, or ruin us. We are told to “come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.” Light cannot have fellowship with darkness. Christ cannot be comingled with Belial. We are commanded to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
Yes, we can see the Lord! “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:"
Have a holy God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Isaiah 49-53
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