Last week Miles pointed to Romans 8:6 (For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace) to encourage us to “Look for the lesson.”
The Holy Spirit has been counseling me in a similar way, and I want to share and encourage you again to look to the Spirit.
(Romans 1:20) “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead…”
Do you get that? God’s invisible attributes are clearly seen. Invisible. Clearly seen.
That doesn’t make sense unless we can think about physical representations of spiritual realities. God’s eternal power is invisible. Picture in your mind: eternal power. We can’t. We cannot see it.
But, we can picture a pillar of fire and volcanic eruptions; roaring waves and rolling thunder; an earthquake; a man praising Jesus while having his body and skull smashed by stones; ourselves once imprisoned by an addiction, now joyfully sharing the story of triumph by God’s power. These physical impressions testify to God’s power. So while we cannot see God’s power itself, we can know that God is full of power.
And these representations are all imperfect. They’re just glimpses of God’s eternal, sovereign Power.
Consider John 4:24 – God is spirit.
So in trying to see God, we need to look beyond what is physically there and consider the spiritual significance. We can see Him with eyes of faith. It’s important to see Him because Scripture associates seeing Jesus with becoming like Jesus, which is the goal of every disciple.
Now, don’t forget that Jesus was fully man (as well as fully God). Don’t abandon the physical or belittle it. Jesus had flesh and bones; He suffered as his body was broken and blood poured out. And when He appeared to the hundreds who saw Him after He died on the cross, He ate. And He told them to touch His hands and His side. So don’t be deceived into thinking that the physical doesn’t matter.
But also don’t stop at mere observation of the physical. The Bible says that Jesus is the image of the invisible God. Jesus is the Ultimate Physical Representation of a Spiritual Reality. God is Real, and He took on flesh to show us who He Is.
The Bible goes on to say that by Jesus all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Jesus created all things. All things were created through Him and for Him. And everything exists for His glory.
This is a lot, but try to hold it all together. What I’m trying to get at is the idea that everything we see with our physical eyes exists because Jesus is holding it together. And He’s doing so for His glory. So I encourage you to slow down as you look at the world in order to see God’s glory.
Start with the physical representations of spiritual realities that Jesus points to in the beginning of John’s gospel: destroying a temple; being born again; living water; living bread; healing sickness; light.
Just think about these things, and ask yourself what they are pointing to spiritually. Slow down, and think about everything you see; and ask yourself how it points to God. Ask yourself why Jesus would hold that thing together. Ask yourself how God is glorified by it. Do this throughout the day, and you’ll see a lot more of God–and you’ll love Him more and more as He reveals Himself to you by faith. Set your mind on the Spirit and you will have life and peace.
