1 Jn 3.2,3: Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
From the above text, a two-fold truth can be shown: 1) our likeness to Jesus depends on how clearly we are able to see Him; and 2) the clarity of our sight is in direct relationship to our purity.
The grace which is associated with a sight of Jesus is a true gift of God. It cannot be presumed. It cannot be bought by any work or effort on our part. Jesus told Nicodemus that we must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God; and that birth must be by the Spirit. “That which is born of flesh is flesh.” We can’t see Jesus with our natural eyes, not at this time. We must be born of the Spirit to see the things which only the Spirit can show us. We must have eyes opened to look upon the “things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal [ 2 Cor 4.18].”
Men of faith have always seen things that others could not. Moses endured because he saw Him who is invisible, and was able to forsakeEgypt while he was yet called the son of Pharaoh. Elisha saw countless fiery angels when his young servant saw only the host of the Syrians.Abraham saw the day of Christ. Noah was moved by fear, because he was warned of God of things “not seen as yet.” The list goes on.According to the writer to the Hebrews, we are encompassed by a great cloud of witnesses; and, therefore, we are admonished to “look unto Jesus.” We must be born again in order to see; and the eyes of our understanding must be enlightened that we may see more clearly the hope of His calling, and the riches of His glory [Ep 1].
The text quoted above in 1 John is a great promise: we know that when he appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.Do you believe this? You must, or you cannot endure. This is a critical hour, and, like Moses, our eyes must be focused on Him for strength and courage, mercy and grace.
John is not talking about everyone here. On some glorious day, not long hence, Jesus will appear, and many will not be able to abide the sight. They will look upon Him whom they have pierced, and shall wail because of Him. We have all been momentarily blinded because a light to which our eyes have not yet become accustomed has been turned on, or because we have gone into bright sunlight out of a darkened room. And yet this does not begin to describe the agony of unprepared eyes at the appearance of the Lord of Glory, where one white-hot glimpse must blind and seal the beholder to everlasting darkness. But we must believe that His appearing means wonderful salvation, because we are being prepared to see Him.
What is the nature of this preparation? It is this: that He is constantly appearing to us in the realm of the Spirit, and we are learning to see Him clearly. We do not see Him in the flesh, but we look unto Him, and hope to the end for grace which can only come by the revelation of Him to our hearts [1 Pe 1.13]. That word “revelation” is the same as the “appear” in 1 Jn 3. We are to see Him now, whether or not others around us see Him. To this end Paul prayed, and to this end we must also pray.
We must be qualified to see Him. And what is the qualification? It is simply this: heart purity! “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!” Why blessed? Because they are like Him, for they see Him as He is. Our text makes it clear that we are to be very active in pursuing purity. We are offered a wonderful hope: that of being made like Him. But we must read on. John says that those that have this hope will purify themselves, even as He is pure. This is not merely passive belief, as many take verse 2 to mean. We must long for it, cry for it, pray for it, seek it. We do not purify ourselves apart from God, or by our works of righteousness. But we have a responsibility to present ourselves to God for the working of a purity which only He can accomplish.
You and I need to enter into the presence of God: we have boldness to enter into the holiest by the Blood of Jesus. We need to have our sins covered; how gloriously they are covered by that Blood, taking away both the guilt and the power of the sin. Our consciences need purging; the Blood of Christ purges from dead works to serve the living God.We need grace; we boldly approach the Throne of Grace, and there find grace in abundance, and mercy, too. In every way, we are lacking; in every way He spills over unto abundance. But we must be very active in coming into His presence, in order that we might receive heart purity. We need to spend time in that abundant Presence, because there He will show Himself faithful.
Beloved, do you want to see God? He wants even more to show Himself to you. Do you want to come forth in His image? He wants it more. Do you want to know Him? He wants it more, and to know you as well. Is this hope in you? Undertake to be purified, and you will find that He undertakes for you. As never before, in this hour, present yourself in prayer, and by the Precious Blood, and prove Him in your life.
– GHS
Bethlehem Christian Work 