Things not seen but very real — Joel Portman

Please turn with me to John chapter 20. John chapter 20, I'm just going to read briefly because of time's sake. Verse 29, verse 28,. And Thomas said, answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God,. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me thou hast believed.

Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. Keep that verse in mind and turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 2. Chapter 2 and we'll just read very briefly in verse 9. Verse 8 says,. Which none of the princes of this world knew, or had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

But as it is written, I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, say the thing spirit of man which is in him. Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we receive not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things which are freely given to us of God.

2nd Corinthians chapter 4. Chapter 4 and verse 16,. For which cause we faint not, but though our outward man perisheth, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

For we look not of the things which are seen, but of the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. Last of all, one more scripture, 1st Peter chapter 1.

1st Peter chapter 1, reading from verse 7. At the trial that is the proving of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, ye love.

In whom though now you see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. You know, it's really been said that a believer, a Christian, is really a strange sort of a person, because they're living in the good of things that they can't see, and they're willing to suffer and die for even things that are invisible.

And yet they live with the absolute certainty that they are real. They're genuine. Yesterday we were looking at 1st John chapter 1, and the Apostle John reminds his readers that they have never touched, they'd never seen, they'd never heard, they'd never handled the Lord Jesus, but he wants them to know he was a very real person.

And their experience with him was a reality. I want to just touch on these four things without wasting time. I want to speak to you about things not seen, and yet things that are very real. We read in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 that faith is the substance of things hoped for.

The evidence for the certainty of things not seen. Some people have said that, you know, believing is seeing. I say no. Believing is not seeing, but knowing. And a believer doesn't have to see to know, because we have it from the Word of God.

John chapter 20, very briefly, by little headings, you might say, I want to speak about believing without seeing. Thomas is an example. I want to think with you in 1st Corinthians chapter 2, learning without seeing.

And in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4, expecting without seeing. Then obviously in 1st Peter chapter 1, loving without ever seeing. These are things that we embrace with all of our hearts and without a question, without even the possibility of any doubt in our souls.

A Christian is convinced, absolutely convinced with certainty that the things that we cannot see them with the eye, we cannot perceive them with the senses. We don't depend on emotions. We don't depend on feelings.

We don't depend on things that we see visibly. We depend upon what the Word of God declares, of which we can rest upon with absolute certainty. And if there's nothing else we should take away from a conference, it's the absolute reassurance that we can depend upon the Word of God and depend upon the person that is brought before us in it.

Thomas really is an interesting person. We have here the second first day of the week. The first one, of course, he appeared after his resurrection to the disciples. And they were in the upper room, but Thomas was not there.

And you find him hearing from the disciples that we have seen the Lord. Sadly, of course, sadly, of course, Philip, I mean Thomas rather, as he seems to represent the unbelieving essence of the nation of Israel today.

Except I see him, I won't believe. They'll see him one day. On that day they'll believe in him. They shall see him, the Word of God says, they shall see me whom they have pierced. They shall see him whom they have pierced.

So their eyes shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son. Zechariah clearly points it forward to that day when that unbelieving nation will see him and to see him in his glory and power. But here we have Thomas and he says except I see him, except I put my finger in the front of his nails, the nails, except I thrust my hand to his side, I will not believe.

Thomas says I've got to see in order to believe. You might ask the question just what does he have to believe? Is it believing in Christ? I'm not convinced of that because he was already one who had followed Christ.

He'd already been one who like Peter could say, Lord to whom shall we go? That was the words of eternal life and we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God. I don't believe it's that at all.

Thomas was saying I won't believe your report. I won't believe what you're telling me. I won't believe you've really seen the Lord until I actually see him and see the tangible evidence of it. Remember of course the second eighth day, the second week, the Lord's Day, the eighth day after we find him in the upper room with the disciples, the Lord appeared again, how gracious.

And there he shows Thomas, behold my hands and the print of the nail in hand, thrust thy hand to my side, be not faithless, but believe him. And remember what the Lord Jesus says following that as we just read it, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed.

Blessed are they that have not seen and yet believed. Remarkable really how the word of God sometimes speaks to people. Brother Elliot and I one time were having meetings up in Humber, Wisconsin and there was a woman coming, I won't go into the description of her, but she was coming to those meetings, she had a Roman Catholic background, but she was searching.

That was evident for the first time I met her. And she came to those meetings and then one night she wasn't there, wasn't there. Of course you know our hearts sank because we thought, does she have no interest anymore?

But she didn't come to the meeting. The next time we saw her she told us how she had gotten saved. And she said that she was, that was during the time when the television was showing this documentary or something about the Shroud of Turin.

And she saw that, she stayed home so she'd see that. But as she was watching that, I don't know the details at all, but I know as she was watching that, this verse came to her mind. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.

And she said that's exactly me. I don't have to see him. I don't have to be like Thomas and say I won't believe unless I see. And that moment she trusted Christ based upon what the Word of God told her.

You know you and I, brethren and sisters, are those that have believed and we've never seen him. And yet we have the absolute confidence that we're eternally secure in what he's accomplished for us at Calvary.

We've never seen Calvary. We've never seen him, the one that died at the cross. We've never seen him buried or risen again. We've never seen him. I'll tell you one thing, I know a living Savior. And you and I know him, the one who is dear to our hearts and the assurance to our souls.

We've trusted him. He's our Savior the Lord. We can say like Thomas did, my Lord and my God. When we look at 1st Corinthians chapter 2, chapter 2 rather, the context of it very clearly indicates that the wise men, chapter 1, of the world who received knowledge and truth by means of the eye, by means of study, by means of hearing it, he says they don't know.

They've never received, it's never entered into their heart the things that God has prepared for them that love him. They are excluded because they go about it in a natural way as men that do not have the Spirit of God.

The wise men of this world, he says, they don't know. In the first part of chapter 2 he says these great men of the world, the princes of the world, had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

So they didn't know either. But he says those things that are revealed to the heart of the believer are not revealed by means of the physical elements of sight, feeling, experience. But the Spirit of God delights to reveal the truth of God first of all to the Apostles and then to you and me.

Learning Through Divine Revelation

Some people would say well these are the things that God has a view for in heaven. This has to do with heaven. The context indicates it's the revealed Word of God and it's revealed to us by spiritual means through the Spirit of God, inspiring men to write the Word of God and unfolding its truth to the hearts of those who they could explain it to us and giving the spiritual ability to comprehend it.

And brothers and sisters you and I while we study the Word of God taking advantage of every possible means to do so and we recommend that. Ultimately it's the reception of truth by means of the Spirit of God opening up the things of Christ to us, giving us the ability that corresponds with his desires and or that we might embrace it, we might enjoy it, we might comprehend it, and though we might live in the good of it.

And yet I wonder sometimes if we really appreciate God's faithful revelation of truth or do we take this book as if it's something just carelessly casually put together. I apply it to the Word of God and here we are enjoying the fullness of all God's revelation to mankind.

And he's revealed it he says, Paul could say is an apostle to us by the Spirit. Spirit searcheth all the things of a man, he knows the things of a man. It corresponds with our spirit knowing that which man needs.

He says he's revealed them to us by his Spirit. And it makes me appreciate in a great sense the value of the Word of God, the value of the one who is as the as the revealer of truth as the Lord could say he is the one who is going to reveal the truth to your hearts.

Bringing the things of Christ back to their mind and refreshing them and giving the ability to write them. He says here you and I have been made the recipients of divine revelation. And as our brother has been saying it's only an unbelieving man, a fleshly man, a carnal man that cannot possibly comprehend or appreciate the preciousness of the Word of God.

Listen dear brothers and sisters, value God's Word with all your heart. It's the channel the means by which the Spirit of God would impart truth to you and me. Desires for us to take it in and to receive it in a spiritual way.

Expecting Eternal Glory

Second Corinthians chapter 4, Paul is reminding them that in this present day he was speaking to them about the afflictions of the vessel. That treasure that has been put into earthen vessels. What is the vessel in comparison with the treasure?

And that vessel represented that body that was experiencing affliction, trials, and all the difficulties connected with this service. But he says listen, these things that we experience, death working in us and all the things that were connected with this faithful service.

He says for those things we do not faint. We faint not. We don't give up. We're not dismayed, we're not disheartened, we're not cast down. He says it's only a light affliction in comparison with the eternal weight of glory.

It's only a temporary experience in comparison with that which will go on for eternity. He says what is it in comparison with that that lies before? And so as a result Paul could say we don't look at those things.

I'm not occupied with that kind of thing. It's not really that important to me he says because we're not looking to the things which are seen. The physical present elements of life. But we're looking to the things that are not seen.

Because the things that are seen are only for time. The things which are not seen he says are for eternity. So here's a man that was living in the expectation of something he'd never seen. And yet he knew the reality of it.

And it goes on into chapter 5 to describe it. Brethren and sisters could we say at the conference like this that perhaps we put too much emphasis on the present life that is only for time. Perhaps we put too much emphasis on that which is only temporary.

Maybe dwelling too much on our little afflictions and not on the eternal weight of glory, the exceeding weight of glory. Perhaps we live too much in the present instead of being occupied with the future.

If we lived like the Apostle Paul did we would be willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of that which is eternal. We find that all we need in time in this present life is only enough to get us through.

Occupied with his service, seeking to devote our lives to him, to use this little time he has given us in view of that which lies before. Paul lived in the expectation that at any moment, I take that from this this chapter, that any moment he could have died in the service of Christ.

Death worked in him. But his purpose of living in that way was so that Christ might be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death, or only he, he knew it in a personal way, could say for me living is Christ.

And dying, the act of dying will be gained. What a tremendous motive to live, what a tremendous incentive for servants to think of expecting that which is unseen. And if we did that, if we truly expected it, it would diminish our occupation with that which we do see.

Brethren, may God help us to be occupied with that which lies beyond. To living for Christ, because oftentimes quoted, only one life will soon be passed, and only what's done for Christ will last. Well think of 1st Peter chapter, chapter 1.

Loving Christ Without Seeing

This has been perhaps on my heart more than any of these passages. Peter is addressing a suffering people. He's addressing a people that were passing through trials. We don't really know the extent of those trials.

We don't know how extreme they were. They have been, might have been simply the the ridicule and the buffets of neighbors and friends and those that were associated with them. We don't believe at this point perhaps that the persecutions instigated by the government of Rome had fully broken out, but yet they knew what it was to suffer.

And in fact, 1st Peter is an epistle that is occupied with encouragement to suffering saints, and certainly has a great application to many believers today in this world, far from here, that know what it is to suffer for the sake of Christ.

And so he's writing to them to encourage them, writing them, reminding them not to be taken by surprise by the experience of this life. And he's reminding them too that this proving of their faith, that proving is more precious than of gold that perisheth.

It's not the faith that's more precious, I believe it's the proving of it. It's valuable to God, it's essential to develop and refine that which is most precious to him. He says the proving of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be proven by fire, I be found under praise and honor and glory at the appearing at the presence of the Lord Jesus, our Lord Jesus Christ.

He says you're suffering for a man you never saw. You're willing to suffer the afflictions that surrounded him in his life and his pathway as he endured the ridicule and the blasphemy of men. He says you are suffering for a man and you've never seen him.

I would take it that Rebecca is an illustration of that. She was not suffering so much but certainly she was in love with a man that she had never seen. She was willing to go leaving behind all that was associated with her life.

She's going to meet a man she'd never seen. Dear brothers and sisters, you and I are going, we're going to meet a man we've never seen. More than once, laying in bed at night, I've asked myself, just what will it be like to see him?

I'm sure that whatever he is, in the glory of his person, the attractiveness of all that is connected with his loveliness will far exceed our ability even to imagine today. And yet our hearts are drawn out to him.

And those who have gone down through the pages of church history from the beginning to the present time, the reason they were willing to suffer what they did even to give their life was like Paul could say, the love of Christ constraineth me.

It's not so much our love for him but his love for us, but there's a reciprocal attraction. And how could we help but love him? John could say in 1st John chapter 4 that we love him because he first loved us.

And that love should constrain us. We should be motivated by love. We should obey his word because we love him. We should seek to carry out his commandments because we love him. We should expect his coming because we love him.

We should seek to be gathered in simplicity into his name because we love him. And motive, the motive for a Christian's life should definitely be love for a man we've never seen. But what will it be when we see him?

What will it be when, as the Word of God says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, presently we walk by faith, not by sight. But it says one day we'll be absent from the body and present with the Lord. And we'll see, we'll go to see and be with and like the man we've never seen.

So we believe in a man we've never seen. We learn truth in a way that we have never seen. We expect things in the future that we've never seen. We have a love for a man we've never seen.