Fellowship With God / Part 3

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In our day we cannot see Him with our physical eyes, but we can see Him with the eye of faith. The Apostle Peter told us, “Whom, having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:8, 9).

And the Lord Jesus said to Thomas, who would not believe He had been resurrected until he could see and handle Him, “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed” (John 20:29). May I say, He’s talking about you and me. We today are walking by faith, and the Lord Jesus Christ can be made as real to us as He was to Thomas. We haven’t seen Him, but, “whom, having not seen, we love.”

Someone has said that it is the look that saves, but it’s the gaze that sanctifies. It was John who wrote, “And, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up” (John 3:14). During the wilderness march, the people who had been bitten by serpents and were in need of healing were told to look to a brass serpent which had been lifted up on a pole. John applied that to the Lord Jesus and said that we are to look to Him in faith for salvation. After we have done that, we are to gaze upon Him. To look saves; to gaze sanctifies. The Son of man must be lifted up “that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The look saves; it’s the gaze that sanctifies.

Many of us need to do more than simply look to Him for salvation. We need to spend time gazing upon Him with the eye of faith. Because I was a pastor a long time, I am a little weary of methods, and I am a little weary of gimmicks. Somebody always comes along with a new approach to something. I’m convinced that the one thing we need is more occupation with the person of Jesus Christ. I was a busy pastor too long, and it’s too bad I didn’t spend more time with Him.

John said that they did more than merely gaze on Jesus from a distance; they handled Him. There are those who believe that when He appeared after His resurrection and said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see” (Luke 24:39) that they didn’t actually touch Him. I think they did. John said, “I know that He’s God manifest in the flesh, because when He came back from the dead I handled Him. I know what I’m talking about. Our hands have handled of the Word of life.” Feeling Jesus’ hands and those nailprints in them convinced them that He was indeed man, God manifest in the flesh.

For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us. (1 John 1:2)

He was eternal life – God, the Ancient of Days – who came down and was robed in the flesh of our humanity that He might not only reveal God but also redeem man.

What comes next is quite wonderful. John tells us that we can have fellowship with God! One of the most glorious prospects before us today is that we can have fellowship with the Father, with the Son, and with one another.

That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)