Scripture Reading: Gal. 1:15a, Gal. 1:16a; 2 Cor. 3:14-17; 4:3-6
As a living Person, Christ is spiritual and mysterious. Apart from God’s revelation of His Son in us, no human being would be able to see this living Person. Due to the shortage of revelation, millions of people have not realized anything of this Person, even though He is living, real, active, and aggressive. Hence, the problem today is the lack of revelation.
Christians may read the Bible and study it carefully, but see very little of Christ. This also may be our situation even in the Lord’s recovery. From the beginning of the Bible to the end, especially in the New Testament, Christ occupies the central place. God’s revelation throughout the Scriptures is altogether focused on Christ. Nevertheless, as we review our past experience, we shall have to admit that in our reading of the Bible we did not see much of Christ.
For seven and a half years, I sat under some teachers among the Brethren. Although I heard many messages and took note of the important points, I saw virtually nothing as far as Christ is concerned. I saw a vivid picture of the great image in Daniel 2, a picture I can easily recall today. However, during my years with the Brethren, I did not see Christ.
Concerning the revelation of God’s Son in us, Paul covers two cases in 2 Corinthians 3 and 4, the case of the Jews in particular and the case of the unbelievers in general. When the Jews read the Old Testament, they read it with their understanding veiled. In 2 Corinthians 3:15 Paul says, “But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the veil is upon their heart.” Do you know what this veil is? It is the religion of Judaism. If you contact orthodox Jews today and speak to them about Christ, you will realize that they are covered with a thick, strong veil. The same is true of Moslems and even of many Christians. For example, many of those in the Catholic Church who truly believe in Christ are covered with a veil of many layers, perhaps dozens of layers. One of these veils concerns the superstition that Mary is the mother of God. These believers persist in saying that they must continue to pray to Mary, the so-called mother of God, because they think their experience proves that prayers to the so-called holy mother are heard and answered. What a veil this is!
Seventh-Day Adventists are veiled by their observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. As you speak to them concerning Christ, you will find what a thick veil this ordinance is to them.
As you contact Christians today, you will find that virtually all Christians are veiled in some way. These veils keep them from seeing Christ.
Although Christ is spiritual and mysterious, God has created within us an organ by which we can know Christ. This organ is the human spirit. In his subtlety, Satan has blinded people to the fact that they have a spirit, or has otherwise kept them from using their spirit. Instead, he entices them to use their fallen mentality, which is blinded, darkened, and hardened. In 2 Corinthians 3:14 Paul says that the Jewish religionists are hardened in their thoughts (Gk.). To be hardened in this way is also to be blind and in darkness. Many Christians also are blinded, hardened, and darkened because they are covered with so many veils. These veils not only frustrate them from knowing Christ, but often keep them from recognizing the church people as genuine Christians. Some persist in considering us as a cult.
Furthermore, the veils that cover today’s Christians make them very touchy. If they are touched even slightly, they are offended. The reason for this touchiness is that Satan, the subtle one, the touchy one, is crouching in their minds. Satan is lurking in the mentality of today’s veiled Christians. What a pitiful situation that so many genuine believers in Christ are still veiled!
We need to apply this word about veils to ourselves. It is crucial that we be on the alert, for it is possible for anything that is not Christ Himself to be used as a veil by the subtle one. Satan may use even the Scriptures or the law given by God as veils. In Romans 7 Paul says that the law is good, holy, and spiritual. But even such a good, holy, and spiritual thing in the hands of Satan can become a veil. This indicates that Satan can use even the highest spiritual gift to veil our understanding. Thus, it is possible for anything that is not Christ Himself to be a veil.
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul gives us the general case. In verse 4 he says that the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of those who do not believe (Gk.). The god of this age is Satan. Those who are blinded or veiled think that they do not worship anything. Actually, their god is Satan. Atheists worship Satan without knowing what they are doing. All people today, whether primitive or highly cultured, have been blinded by the god of this age. Consider all those you see on the street or in the supermarkets. How few of them know God! This is true even among a vast number of those who go to today’s chapels, cathedrals, and denominational buildings. There is little revelation of the Son of God, and there is veil upon veil to keep people from knowing Christ. In their blindness, many condemn those who have seen the vision of the living Person of the Son of God.
If we would receive the revelation of the Son of God, we need to drop our concepts. Every concept, whether spiritual or carnal, is a veil. I have spent many years groping in my search to learn how to have revelation. Eventually I discovered that to have revelation we need to drop our concepts.
God today is shining everywhere. This age of grace is an age of light. God is shining, and the Bible is shining also. The Bible is full of light, and it has been printed in hundreds of languages. Moreover, the all-inclusive Spirit moving on earth is full of grace. But although the Bible is shining and the Spirit is moving, many still do not receive revelation. The reason is that they hold to certain concepts and are veiled by these concepts. As you contact people from various nationalities, you will find that all of them are strong in their concepts. This is also true among us in the Lord’s recovery. On the one hand, I worship the Lord for all the growth and improvement among us. On the other hand, I realize that many veils still remain. These veils are the concepts that blind us.
With respect to receiving revelation, there is no problem on God’s side. On His side everything is ready. The problem is altogether on our side. We need to drop the veils, that is, to drop our concepts. It is important for us to pray, “Lord, help me to drop everything that is a veil.” If you hold on to your concepts while reading the Bible, you will be like the ancient Jews who had a veil on their mind whenever the Scriptures were read. But if you drop your concepts as you read the Word, you will read it with an unveiled face. Then the light will shine into you subjectively.
I was born into Christianity, and from childhood I heard about Christ. However, I was not saved until I was nineteen years old. I knew about Jesus, and I was in favor of Christianity. But I was not saved until the Son of God was revealed in me. One day, when I was nineteen, God shined into me, and I received a revelation of the Lord Jesus. At that time I began to have direct personal contact with Him and to know Him as a living Person. I touched Him, and I was touched by Him. Between Him and me there was a living transaction, a living contact. We all need a direct, personal, living contact with the living Person of the Son of God.
Today many of us earnestly desire to live Christ. But to live Christ we need revelation. As we have pointed out again and again, the only way revelation can come to us is if we drop our concepts. We also need to pray, “Lord, I trust in You to defeat the god of this age. Apart from You, I do not worship anything. Lord, I turn my heart to You, and I drop all my concepts. I don’t want to worship anyone other than You.” If you pray in this way, the light will shine, and you will receive revelation. If you drop your concepts and turn your heart to the Lord, the veils will be taken away, and the god of this age will have no ground in your being.
The light is here, and it is shining. Our problem is that our heart is turned away to many other things, and therefore we are covered with layer upon layer of veils. This enables the god of this age to have ground in us. As a result, our thoughts are darkened, blinded, and hardened, and we cannot receive revelation, even though we may read the Bible and listen to messages. Oh, how we need revelation!
The Lord was very merciful to Saul of Tarsus. First, He knocked him down and then caused him to drop all the veils. Before the Lord appeared to him on the way to Damascus, Saul was altogether veiled. According to his opinion, Jesus the Nazarene had been terminated. He had been crucified and buried, and was in the tomb. But when Saul was on the way to Damascus, the Lord Jesus appeared to him from the heavens, and spontaneously Saul called, “Who art thou, Lord?” The Lord Jesus replied, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” The Lord’s answer took away a thick veil. The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ shined into Saul of Tarsus, and he saw the glory of God in the face of Christ.
If we would see such a revelation of the living Person, we must begin by dropping our veils, our concepts. Second, we need to turn our hearts to the Lord. According to 2 Corinthians 3:16, when the heart turns to the Lord, the veil will be taken away. The more you turn your heart to the Lord, the less ground the god of this age will have in your life and in your being. Then you will be under the shining of the heavenly light, and you will receive the revelation of the living Person.
I can testify that in the early years of my Christian life, I had little revelation. I was veiled. But one day the veils began to drop, and the light shined into me. Since that time, the light has been coming again and again. For this reason, it is not difficult for me to receive revelation. Let us all drop the veils and, by His mercy and grace, turn our hearts to Him.
In 1:15 and 16 Paul says that it pleased God to reveal His Son in him. This indicates that to reveal the Son of God brings pleasure to God. Nothing is more pleasing to God than the unveiling, the revelation, of the living Person of the Son of God.
Furthermore, this revelation is an inward revelation. Although I have never seen the Lord Jesus outwardly in a physical way, I have seen Him inwardly. I have received an inward revelation of this living Person. This inward revelation is in our spirit through our enlightened mind. Because the mind plays an important part, it is crucial that we drop our concepts, all of which are in the mind. If we hold on to concepts in our mind, the revelation may be in our spirit, but it will not be able to penetrate our veiled mentality. We need to drop our concepts so that our mind may be released and become transparent. Then when the Spirit shines in our spirit, this shining will come into our transparent mind. Then we shall receive an inward revelation.
This inward revelation of Christ is subjective. It is not objective like the so-called visions in the Pentecostal movement. I have been in meetings where people claimed to see a bright light in a certain corner of the room. The revelation about which we are speaking in this message is nothing of such an outward nature. Rather, it is altogether subjective.
This subjective revelation is given in our spirit by the Spirit (Eph. 1:17; 3:5). Our spirit and the Spirit of God both are realities. We cannot deny that within us we have a human spirit. Neither can we deny that the divine Spirit is in our spirit. In order to receive the revelation of the Son of God, we must first drop our concepts. Second, we must turn our hearts to the Lord and worship nothing other than Him. Third, we must take care of the depths of our being, that is, of our spirit. It is in our spirit that the Spirit is shining, revealing Christ in us and speaking to us concerning Christ. It is also helpful to pray-read the Word, especially verses from the Epistles of Paul. This will enable us to see Christ and to receive a subjective revelation of this living Person.
The subjective revelation about which we are speaking here is concerned only with the living Person of the Son of God. For the sake of receiving such a revelation, may we all learn to drop our concepts, to turn our heart to the Lord, to pay attention to our spirit, and to pray over verses from the writings of Paul. Then the Spirit will enlighten us and speak to us of Christ. As a result, we shall receive a subjective revelation of the Son of God.
The more revelation we receive of the Son of God, the more He will live in us. The more He lives in us, the more He will become to us the unique and central blessing of the gospel which God promised to Abraham. This means that He will be to us the all-inclusive land realized as the all-inclusive, processed, life-giving Spirit. This should not simply be a doctrine to us. If we drop our concepts, turn our heart to the Lord, pay attention to the spirit, and spend time in the Word, Christ will be revealed in us, He will live in us, and He will be formed in us. Day by day, He will become more of an enjoyment to us. As a result, this living Person will make us a new creation in a practical way. The book of Galatians eventually brings us to the new creation by way of the inward revelation of the living Person of the Son of God.
Let us daily practice receiving revelation by dropping our concepts and turning our hearts to the Lord. The way to receive an inward, subjective, spiritual revelation is always to drop our concepts, to turn our heart to the Lord, and to tell the Lord that we hold on to nothing besides Him and that our heart is wholly for Him. Then if we pay attention to our spirit and spend time in the Word, we shall receive revelation. The living Person will live in us and be formed in us. We shall enjoy Him more and more, and He will make us a new creation.
Paul’s burden in writing the book of Galatians, and our need today, is that we be brought into a state where we are full of the revelation of the Son of God and thereby become a new creation with Christ living in us, being formed in us, and being enjoyed by us continually as the all-inclusive Spirit.
