Bible Studies

Colossians 1:15-20. Today we are going to take a look at a cross-section of the way on which we are called to go. The goal of our sojourn on earth is that God can present us like the goal that He has set for Himself—not as we think, but to become the children He wants us to be. We understand the things that are close at hand, but we should seek one thing that is with God, and that is the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. It is rare that we even attach much importance to this matter, but it is absolutely essential. Eph. 1:17-18. We can see how much the Ephesians had received (v. 15)—faith, and love for all the saints; but they lacked the deep spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We pray for strength to testify, but if we pray for wisdom, we will receive strength to be quiet at the right time; then we will also receive strength to live according to His will. Pray for that! If you behold His glory, you will be transformed according to the image you see from glory to glory. There is one simple way in which to receive this spirit. We read of this way in James 1:5, but there is one condition: we must pray in faith, and then we will receive what we have prayed for. Someone who doubts is unstable. It is so beautifully written in Jesus the son of Sirach’s book: “Wisdom sits by the door and waits—in the morning.”

It is written that Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God. How can we understand that? If we were to paint a picture of Him, how would we do it? Would we be able to do it by setting up a camera and aiming it at heaven? No, we would certainly not get anything on the plate that way. How can Jesus be an image? Take note! He is the image of God’s nature. How can you describe God’s nature? Long before the time of creation, when God was an inexplicable Being, one could not have found an expression that could explain it. But when He began to move, to act, His nature found expression so that we could understand His characteristics of love, mercy, compassion, and faithfulness. We do not understand more of Him than we receive of His nature. Jesus is the express image of the person of God. The more we get to see Jesus, the more we get to see the Father. John 17:6. What is God’s name? In Exodus 3:14 we read, “I AM.” It is good to know God’s name, because it is an image—an expression of His nature. You can put everything you want into this name “I AM.” If you need wisdom, see 1 Corinthians 1:30; comfort, see 2 Corinthians 1:3—the Father of mercies and God of all comfort. These names are expressions of His nature. Everything is manifested in Jesus. Col. 1:15. But now let us see how Jesus became an image of the invisible. We know what happened first: He came down to earth. Then we read in Hebrews 10:9 what happened next: “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God!” “In the volume of the book it is written of Me.” V. 7.

Jesus is identical with God’s will; He became one with God’s will. He is God’s will, which is why He became an expression of God. God’s entire plan was compressed in Jesus. If you say “Yes” to God’s will, you will be an expression of God’s nature. Your life will manifest God’s love, an express image of God’s nature, just like Jesus. How? 2 Corinthians 3:18. Now Jesus is the express image of God, the invisible. How can this nature enter into us? How can we partake of God’s nature? By the Spirit of God. How does this work transpire? We can imagine a painter or a sculptor who contemplates a model, then he takes clay and molds it accordingly—a copy of the model. The work is to be as close to the original as possible. The Spirit has been sent by God to mold us according to God’s image. He takes our eyes and rivets them on Jesus, as if on a mirror. If He sees something that is askew or wrong, He cuts it away and fills it in with something that Jesus has. Eph. 4:23-24. This is how the Spirit deals with a person. This image that is being created in us shall grow to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Eph. 4:13; Col. 3:10.

We can see that the goal of our walk is to be like Christ—His image in us. Looking at the entire development and the inner growth in the heart, we can see God’s entire plan with us in light of Romans 8:29-30. We can imagine God from eternity; there He looks out through time and over everything where His goal is raised up like a beautiful building. God elected us in the dawn of eternity, so that we would be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. Eph. 1:4-5. God looks ahead to the goal—He sees us as glorified in Christ. Our nature is totally corrupt, but now He molds us according to Jesus; He molds us into the image of the Bridegroom—by the Spirit. Therefore it is essential that we turn our face to where this image (this pattern) is. We will notice that our mind is distracted, turned outward; we are restless instead of being turned inward—away from the outside and into the prayer closet where Jesus is Lord. Would it be right if we went in there for one hour, two or three hours, and then pointed to a time of blessing that we experienced at some time in the past? No, we should never leave the prayer closet of the heart. When we are there, we will never suffer any lack. We will always live before the countenance of His glory. We read in Acts 2:25, “I [Jesus] foresaw the Lord always before my face . . . .” We must also be in that state so we can live such a life. Can we do that? Yes! If we let everything else go—feelings, emotional states, etc.—then we will look to Him and behold His glory. Can this state last for one hour, for two or several hours? Can it last for a longer period of time; can it last into eternity? We must live in the prayer closet together with Him if we want to have an abundant entrance in Jesus. Nothing can trouble us then. Deliver the key to Him, and then close the door.

We will bear the imprint of His glory when we behold it in our prayer chamber. We can rest assured that the express image of the Father will then be transferred to us; yet there is one condition. John 17:10. When we have Jesus as Lord in our life, we must give Him everything and not just surrender to Him with our feelings—not only our heart, but also realities, such as money—not just the tithe, but everything—our resources, our body, our soul power, our will, our thoughts, our time—everything. He shall possess it, for He is Lord of all. John 1:3; Col. 1:16-17. Only after we have said to Jesus “Everything that is mine, is Yours,” have we met the condition for receiving everything from Jesus. When we say it, that means that we keep nothing for ourselves; it is a voluntary dying to everything. Not many people will say this; not many people will agree to this dying. Wisdom is revealed to those who have nothing, to the babes. We will receive His strength when we have no strength in ourselves. The more we enter into self-acknowledgment and become nothing in ourselves, the more room there is in us for God’s glory, for His nature. God will give you as much as you give to Him. We die to make room for God’s nature. This is how we can receive it. But we must not gather light to be admired; Christ wants us to be lights. Is it so that our face will radiate? When Jesus said in John 17:10, “And all Mine are Yours,” He looked like Isaiah described Him in Chapter 53: despised, with no form, someone, from whom, as it were, we hid our faces, and He had no beauty that we should desire Him. Vs. 2-3. The tabernacle was plain on the outside, but glorious on the inside.

2 Corinthians 4:6. The knowledge of Jesus’ glory shall radiate from us. When you enter into your prayer closet and by the Spirit contemplate Jesus’ glory, you cannot show it to each and every one. But you can speak about it—what God has said to you in there. The bride says, “I am dark, but lovely.” Song of Sol. 1:5. We have to receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation so we can proclaim His nature.

Jesus says, “I have manifested Your name.” John 17:6. We should also manifest Jesus’ name, as far as we have come—proclaim His virtues and all the good things we can see in God. We should not just relate how good we have it, but what He looks like. Take note and consider this: If we behold His glory daily, then we will also have a new word to speak about in regards to what we have seen and heard from Him. We shall not just go back to the time of our conversion or the baptism of the Spirit, or speak about this or that blessing, but we shall constantly receive something new. I [A.S.] became afraid when I did not receive anything new from God for a whole month. Then I went to God and cleansed myself.