HEARING JESUS AND SEEING HIS WAYS TO ACHIEVE SALVATION
WE HEAR THE VOICE OF JESUS TO BE BORN AGAIN AND WE STRIVE TO SEE HIS WAYS
SO THAT WE CAN MATURE AND, THUS, TO SEE ALL OF THE CORRECT MODE.
·
“But their minds were blinded: for until
this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the
reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto
this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. Nevertheless
when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.” (2Corinthians 3.14-16).
Contrary to what many people think, conversion
does not happen because of what we see about Christ, but rather as a result of
what we hear:
·
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and
hearing by the word of God.” (Romans
10.17).
·
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a
robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the
shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and
the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his
own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth
before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a
stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the
voice of strangers.” (John 10.1-5).
·
“Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his
voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of
temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw
my works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart;
and they have not known my ways. So I sware in my
wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)” (Hebrews 3.7-11).
·
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3.20).
Notice how repentance and conversion come by
hearing the voice of Jesus and knowing His ways. And this is not a matter of
seeing. After all, faith is the certainty of things hoped for, the conviction
of facts that are not seen (Hebrews 11:1).
That is to say, the individual first hears Jesus
and His gospel. He who believes is cured of spiritual blindness (2Co 4.3-6) and becomes the son of the Eternal.
However, such an individual is a child in the
faith (Gal. 4: 1-3; 1 Peter 2: 1-2). While in this condition, the veil of the law
is placed on his face.
That is, such an individual can only see Jesus
and his neighbor in a carnal way:
·
“Wherefore henceforth know we no man
after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now
henceforth know we him no more.” (2Corinthians
5.16).
·
“And I, brethren, could not speak unto
you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have
fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it,
neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among
you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1Corinthians 3.1-3).
·
“For when for the time ye ought to be
teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which
be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need
of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth
milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for
he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that
are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews
5.12-14).
You may ask: but the Holy Scripture says that
when one is converted to Christ the veil is taken away.
When the individual is born again, he has, in
fact, converted to the Eternal (although by mental faith in Christ).
·
“All things are delivered unto me of my
Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father;
neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and
he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.” (Matthew
11.27).
However, the salvation of our souls depends on
two factors:
·
“And this is life eternal, that they
might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ,
whom thou hast sent.” (John
17.3).
The first step is to know the Father and be
treated by Him (see Titus 3:4-6). When, finally, time comes (see Ezekiel 16: 8), namely, when the individual is prepared to
receive true love within himself, then the Father presents the individual to
Jesus:
·
“No
man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will
raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And
they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath
learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” (John
6.44,45).
The individual then becomes the bride of the
Lamb. The Lamb then removes the veil that covers the face of the individual (remembering
Genesis 24.65-67) and the individual begins
to see Jesus and his neighbor spiritually.
To conclude, in relation to the restoration of
the spiritual vision, the individual needs to receive two touches of Jesus:
when he converts to the Eternal, he receives the first touch, seeing everything,
but in a blurred way (by the veil of the law).
When he attains maturity and marries Christ, the
individual receives the second touch, and then he is freed from the veil of the
law, beginning to see far and distinctly, as in this episode recorded by Mark:
·
“And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they
bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him. And he took the
blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his
eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw ought. And he looked
up, and said, I see men as trees, walking. After that he put his hands again
upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man
clearly.” (Mark 8.22-25).
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