See Jesus!

“See Jesus!” was a phrase that caught my attention when I attended an evangelistic rally held at the National Stadium many years ago. As a young boy, I remembered that I tried very hard to perceive God with my naked eyes. “You will receive a touch from God if you are able to see Jesus,” exclaimed the preacher (paraphrased). My heart was pumping fast and my eyes were roving around the stadium yearning to see Jesus but to no avail. All I could see were masses of people hungering to experience the reality of God.

All of a sudden, I saw people screaming, people were healed of physical infirmities and many people started weeping. That was the first time I saw the manifestations of the Holy Spirit. I was awed by the reality of God. Although I did not experience any manifestation of the Holy Spirit that night, the phrase “See Jesus!” has always lingered in my mind even though I didn’t know what it meant then.

Later as I grew in my faith, I began to understand that seeing Jesus is to see Him (The Divine One), His character, His finished work on the Cross and His promises with the eyes of faith for without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Heb 11: 6). Recently, the phrase “See Jesus!” has surfaced in my mind again…

Last Sunday, Pastor Khong taught us that to be victorious is to be like Christ, more than having success in the things we do or overcoming the odds in our lives or even feeling a sense of victory. A question that came to my mind was “How then can I be more and more like Christ?” Prior to answering that question, a precursor to that is this question, “Why do we need to be like Christ?” In my devotion today, I came across some verses in the Bible that talk about this.

1) Matt 3:17, 17:5, Mark 9:7, 2 Peter 1: 17 - “This is My beloved Son in/with whom I am well-pleased.”
Only Jesus Christ can please God perfectly.

2) Rom 8:29a –“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…”
1 John 3:2b – “…We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we see Him just as He is.”
In His creation and redemption plans, He has intended for us to be like His Son.

3) Eph 5:1-2a – “Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ loved you and gave Himself up for us…”
It is a command in the bible.

To please God, we need to embrace and internalize Christ’s character. And when we become more like Him, we will draw people to Him.


How then can we be more and more like Christ?

2 Cor. 3: 18 – “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

The mirror is the word of God. As we read about Jesus in the Bible, we are occupied with the glory of the risen, ascended, exalted Lord Jesus Christ. William MacDonald said that the secret of Christian holiness is occupation with Christ. Not by occupation with self; that brings defeat. Not by occupation with others; that brings disappointment. But by occupation with the glory of the Lord, we become more and more like Him.

This transformation work is a process (from glory to glory) and it does not happen instantly. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. As we behold the Lord of glory, study Him, contemplate Him, gaze on Him adoringly, the Holy Spirit causes our character to take on the features of the character of Christ.

Many times I find myself rushing through my quiet time, failing to spend sufficient time gazing at Him contemplatively. My application is that I need to slow down and take time to see Jesus as I read the Bible so that His character can rub off on mine.

Have you rushed into the presence of God just to have your needs met or to clock the time you spend with Him (i.e. just going through the motion)?

Take time to see Jesus as you read the Bible (OT and NT, in the laws, poetry, prophecy, history, letters). Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to you.
See Jesus!


Andrew Koh