I Can See Jesus

John 3:3

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God;

What do you see? Do you really see the Kingdom of God now that you are born again? If not, I sincerely hope that by the end of this lesson you will at least have a glimpse of it. First, let me try to explain what the Lord revealed to me as the present church. Jesus Christ is the literal example of a Son of God. According to scripture, as He is, so are we in this world. Well, let us have a closer look at the author and finisher of our faith.

John 14:6-14

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?

This is the mystery of God revealed. God was in the man called Jesus; of that we all agree. However, this passage also explains how this was done. In the Father I live and have my being. My life is hidden in the Father and the Father dwells in my body. It is His temple; therefore I must not allow it to be defiled. Because I am in the Father, I am able to fellowship with Him. Beloved, this is the mystery that has been hidden from generations, but is now manifest to His saints. We are the ones to whom God has revealed this mystery; which is Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:26-27).

Hebrews 10:5

15 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared me

God prepared the body of Christ Jesus to be a holy temple in which He could dwell. His desire was to walk among men and declare Himself to them. He wanted us to know Him and His righteousness. He wanted man to understand the true character of His Creator.

John 14:10-14

10 ...the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Again Jesus is declaring that He can do nothing of Himself, but it is the Father who speaks to you. They are His words.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Now we have referred to this passage many times in the past. But let us for a moment examine it from another perspective. If Christ is in us, which is the fullness of the Godhead bodily, then the question is, “What is He doing?” My question is not, “What are we doing, now that we are born again; but rather what is Jesus doing now that He lives in us?” The question deserves an answer. John said, we came to declare unto you that life which was from the beginning. The Word, which is the Spirit of Life, was made flesh, and dwelt among men. It maintained and declared the righteousness of God, but it also performed the works of God.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

The purpose for Jesus being in these earthen vessels today is so that the Father can be glorified in the Son. The purpose never changed. God is continuing to walk among men, declaring His righteousness and His love for them. If men do not believe our spoken testimony of God, then they certainly should not be able to deny the works of God. But again, the question is, “Is He working? What are His works done in the presence of men that identify Him as God?” He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do. This is the testimony of our Lord.

The flesh He dwells in today has many different names, but He does the work in them all. It is by the works of Christ done in human vessels that we will be able to see evidence of the Kingdom of God. We live in the Kingdom. We live in the righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Ghost. But if the truth be told, the church itself has trouble seeing the Kingdom if it is indeed righteousness, peace and joy. And it continues to look for a greater works ministry in a household that has merged with the world. Nevertheless, there is a mindset in the church that will not allow it to flourish in the knowledge of God. That which it thinks to know is error and the philosophy of men. I speak regarding the Body of Christ as a whole and not of those sons of God who have indeed sanctified themselves to the truth.

The mystery of Christ was given to the apostles of the faith and it was their responsibility to install that revelation in the church. But over the years, the church abandoned apostolic order; and churches began to spring up based on the diversity of beliefs, wantonness, greed and offenses. The Body of Christ became fragmented; and the revelation of salvation itself was lost in the chaos. Again, identification is 99% of deliverance. Let us hear what the Spirit has to say about the Church. Salvation is a revelation and a manifestation of the mystery of God. Jesus gave us a very good detailed account of the mystery.

John 17:20-23

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

I believe the Church has come to a basic understanding and agreement that Christ is in us. But I also think it has not understood what it means to be made perfect in one. Nevertheless, the Father is the creator of the Body of Christ. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

Furthermore, He created us sinless and perfect in Christ. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Now if we are made the righteousness of God, then the sin issue has been dealt with. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14).

The Body of Christ spends most of its time striving to stay out of sin. It is constantly battling unforgiveness and iniquity. Its primary focus is on sanctifying the mind and abstaining from worldly lusts. But, for the most part, these battles are often lost. Therefore, the Body of Christ finds itself vacillating in and out of sin. Thus it follows that the Church cannot see the Kingdom. Saints are unable to see the Kingdom of God operating within their own lives. They do not see the righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Ghost in their own lives, therefore it is certain that they are unable to do the works of God.

Beloved, this is not the way God intended the Body of Christ to operate. He dealt with the sin issue at the cross. We are new creatures; old things are passed away and all that we are is of God. So why are we still struggling with sin and iniquity? Well, once again, we must go back to apostolic order and the revelation of the mystery of Christ that was given to the apostles. When that knowledge is absent, the Church has no complete revelation of itself. Like a vehicle stuck in the mud, the Church is stuck in doctrines that forbid it to mature and grow into the fullness of Christ. These doctrines deny the sinless nature of the new creature, and places him back in the bondage of what is supposed to be the satanic nature of the flesh. All this is ludicrous. Our God circumcised the flesh (Colossians 2:10-13).

Romans 8:3

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh;

Because the Father did indeed circumcise the flesh, it is no longer a body of sin. That body of sin was destroyed in the new birth. Thus: the Father sanctified the body and prepared it to be His temple. There are many false doctrines being preached to the Body of Christ; but these doctrines make provisions for sin in the flesh and are void of a revelation of Christ in the Church. Consider these facts:

1 Corinthians 6:20

20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Evangelist Peart and I were talking about this and she said the Lord gave her the example of being the owner of an automobile that you love but can’t afford to keep. A company comes along and buys the car from you, so you hand over the keys and the title. The car no longer belongs to you. She said, regardless of how much she might have loved the car, or even how much she might know about it, she no longer has access to it. It simply does not belong to her. I said that it is a very good illustration, but what if one day the same company hires you to work for them. Because the work they hire you to do will take you to various places in the city, they also provide you with a vehicle for transportation during the hours you are on the job.

However, their policy states that the vehicle is only to be used for company business and it is never to be taken across the state line. They also inform you that all their cars are equipped with tracking devices that allow them to always know the location of their vehicles. They give you the keys to the very car you used to own. Wow, you loved that car and now you have access to it again. On the way to a jobsite, you remember there’s a casino you used to frequent just 5 miles off your route. But you also remember the car has a tracking device and you just might lose your job if you get caught. You decide it’s too risky and go on to the jobsite. Though the desire to gamble and play the slot machines continues to grow, you can’t use the company’s time and vehicle to fulfill such a desire. Lo and behold, your faithfulness is rewarded.

The company allows you to keep the vehicle 24/7. You are able to take the car home with you. Although the vehicle still belongs to the company, you have complete control of it. You are the steward who must give account of its upkeep and use. Having access to your car makes it convenient to go places and do things you want to do. But you are also conscious of the tracking device on the vehicle. Eventually, you end up driving the company’s car to the casinos and nightclubs you once frequented. You have a lover who lives just over the state line. You decide to take the chance and make several visits. Your nightlife is good. But all during the day your mind is on going places and doings things that you now are able to do because you have the convenience of an automobile.

Therefore the work is lacking. But one night during one of your visits across the state line, something horrible happens. Just as you are pulling out of your lover’s driveway, an oncoming vehicle slams into you. The car is totaled. The company is going to want to see the police report. Now they will know you took the car across the state line. What are you going to do? What are you going to say? Will you tell the truth; or will you try to convince them someone stole the car and drove it across the state line; (the devil made me do it); or perhaps the car wanted to see its lover, or the car wanted to go to the casinos and gamble or to the nightclubs to party. It was the car that broke the rules. This may indeed sound ludicrous, but this is exactly how we entreat our stewardship over the flesh. Our life is hidden in the Holy Ghost, who in turn lives in the body of the believer. It is His temple. But we are given stewardship so that we may be a manifestation and a witness of the gospel of Christ. But we are warned that this manifestation of Christ in the flesh will only happen if our eye remains single.

Luke 11:34

34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

We are to love not the world, nor the things that are in the world. For all that is in the world, is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. Why does the church vacillate in and out of sin? Is it not because its eye is not single? But the church refuses to admit the truth. It is even offended when the oracle of God says we sin by choice. It refuses to accept the fact that any lust in the flesh is due to the desire of the soul (heart). If Lucifer was created perfect; would God create His own offspring any other way? But how did Lucifer make the transition from Anointed Cherub to Satan and Devil? Was it not because his eye did not remain single, but looked upon the things of God and coveted. Friends and brethren, we must be strong enough to admit that we want, and that want creates a struggle within. It is not the flesh rising up against us.

It is the spirit of our mind, (the soul) that desires to use the temple of God to fulfill its lusts. It is not the devil, nor the flesh, but the regenerated son of God that rebels against his Master. According to the scripture, this rebellion is a sin as witchcraft. Just as a witch gives herself over to Satan for his use, we do the same when we take the body of Christ and subject His members to uncleanness. He who yields the members of Christ to sin becomes a servant of the same. But because we are not willing to accept the truth and take full responsibility for our actions, we look for doctrines that accuse the flesh and make provisions for failure. Therefore, the church spends most of its time struggling with sin and iniquity, as if some unknown power is trying to overcome our will and bring us into captivity again. All of these doings are nothing more than distractions designed to take your focus off the truth.

•Your body belongs to God. (2 Corinthians 6:20)

•Your body has been sanctified and made a holy temple for the Holy Ghost. (2 Corinthians 6:19)

•Your testimony must be the same as Paul. The life you now live in the flesh, it is not I that liveth but Christ that liveth in me. (Galatians 2:20)

•You must reckon your body to be dead because of sin, but alive by the power of God. (Romans 6:12)

•God is to be glorified in your body by your obedience to His will. (Philippians 1: 20)

•If there be any darkness or wantonness in your flesh, you created it. (James 1:14)

Beloved, as long as our eye remains single, we will be faithful to the purpose and will of God. Christ will manifest Himself to us and through us. The greater works will flourish and we will see a manifestation of the Kingdom of God.