Heavenly Mindedness (70)

 

“I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb are the temple thereof. And that city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God lightens it, and the throne of God and the Lamb are therein: and his servants shall do Him service, and they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads.”  [G. Vos using excerpts from Revelation chapters 21 & 22]

 

“…and they shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads.”  

 

Now we come to the third passage in our trio of passages consisting of 2 Corinthians 3:17 – 18, Colossians 3:1 – 4, and 1 John 3:1 -3. All three of these passages demonstrate that as we behold Jesus Christ, that as our lives are orientated toward Him, centered in Him, devoted to Him; that we are transformed into His image and that His Name and the Father’s Name are written on our foreheads – that is, our minds are made new – new heavens dwelling within tabernacles that will one Day become new earth. Even as our inner persons are made alive, a Day will come when our bodies will also be made alive (Romans 8:23; Philippians 3:21).

 

“See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:1 – 3.

 

Note that in Colossians 3:3 that Paul says that our lives are “hidden with Christ in God,” and that in 1 John 3:1 we are told that “the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.” While I think there are differences between our lives being hidden in Christ and the world not knowing us, the similarity is important – we are identified with Jesus Christ, we are “in” Jesus Christ, and it is the recognition of Jesus Christ that is important, we are to seek to make Jesus known, not ourselves.

 

 When Jesus appears we will be like Him. We can also say that, “When Jesus appears we become like Him.” Or, “As Jesus appears we become like Him.” That is, the more we see Jesus the more we take on His image. This resonates with 2 Corinthians 3:17 – 18 and Colossians 3:1 – 4; as our eyes seek Jesus, as they are fixed on Jesus, as they behold Jesus…we become like Jesus – both as individuals and as His People. As we become like Jesus the Name of the Father and of the Lamb is placed in us.

 

“And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” As we behold the Lamb of God the glory of His holiness, purity, love, and truth, the radiance of His Being, cleanses and purifies our spirits, souls, hearts, and minds. That is, His Presence burns away our dross, purges our self-centeredness, casts the idols out of our temples, and expels impurities – so that “the Lord whom we seek, comes suddenly into His Temple.” We may also say that He also comes progressively into His Temple and that He will do so until that Perfect Day arrives. (Thomas Chalmers focused on this dynamic in his sermon, The Expulsive Power of a New Affection).

 

You see, my dear friends, the only long-term hope we have for our healing and transformation is Jesus Christ and deep relationship with Him. All other hopes and healings, including those of the so-called social “sciences,” even when given Christian trappings, fall short. Do we seriously not think that the Son of God cannot bring holistic healing to His People? Of course, such healing is meant to be found within the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11 – 16) and this can be a problem if we are not living as His Body, “growing up into Him in all things.” But is it not better to acknowledge our deficiencies and seek His Face for our growth and transformation and healing? Is it not better to throw ourselves at His feet and plead for His mercy and grace? Might we not believe His promise that “everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure”?

 

I hope you will meditate on this trio of transformative passages and that they will be woven into the fabric of your soul; for dear, dear friends, we were born to know Jesus, to love Jesus, to seek Jesus, to be hidden in Jesus, identified with Jesus…true Christianity is Jesus Christ, the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ – Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last; He is the Author and Completer of our faith, of our lives – Jesus Christ is our destiny. To be heavenly – minded is to be seeking Jesus Christ, transformed into His image; O what a glorious Day awaits us, let us allow the grace of God to draw us deeper and deeper, closer and closer, to that Day as the Name of the Father and of the Lamb is written on our foreheads.