Spiritual Seeing I — Stephen Kaung

Ephesians chapter 1 We will read from verse 15 through verse 23. I will read it through in English and then I will ask my brother to read it through in Chinese. Wherefore I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is in you, and the love which ye have towards all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you at my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him, being enlightened in the eyes of your heart, so that you should know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what the surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe, according to the working of the might of His strength, in which He wrought in the Christ, in raising Him from among the dead, and He set Him down at His right hand in the heavenlies, above every principality and authority, and power and dominion, and every name named, not only in this age, but also in that to come, and has put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Therefore, I have heard that you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and love the saints, so I thank God for your helplessness. When I pray, I often mention you. I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, would give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, in the full knowledge of Him, being enlightened in the eyes of your heart, so that you should know what is the hope of His calling, what is the glory of the foundation He has obtained in the Holy Way, and how great is the ability He has shown to us believers.

It is the great power and ability that He has run in Christ, that He has resurrected from the dead, and has set Him down at His right hand in the heavenlies, above every principality and authority, and power and dominion, and every name named, not only of this world, but also of the world to come.

And He has placed thousands of friends at His feet, so that He may be the head of thousands of friends for the Church. The Church is His body, and the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Let's have a word of prayer.

Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee again for gathering us together this time. Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee again for gathering us together this time. We truly gather in Thy precious Name, and we believe that Your Presence is here with us.

We pray that Thou will open Thy Word to our hearts, because Thy Word is living and operative. We pray, Lord, that Thy Word will not just pass us by, but by Thy Holy Spirit, Thy Word will plant into our hearts, that we may be transformed and conformed to Thy own image, to the praise of Thy glory.

Paul's Prayers and the Need for Spiritual Seeing

We ask in Thy precious Name. Amen. The theme of this conference is spiritual seeing. We would like to approach this theme with the two prayers of the Apostle Paul. We know that in his letter to the Philippines, he prayed twice.

The first time it is recorded in the first chapter, and the second time is recorded in the third chapter. Now we know that prayer is the voice of the heart. Therefore you find that Paul, out of his heart, he prayed for the saints in Ephesus.

And his prayers are according to his own experiences. He has experienced the Lord in this way. And he prayed for the efficient believers that today too will experience the same. Now this morning we will consider together the first prayer.

It is the prayer for the spirit of wisdom and revelation. Now we know Paul when he was a young man. His name was Saul, which means asked for. Because he was named after the first king of Israel. He was a most unusual youth.

He was brilliant, capable, and most young people of that sort will seek after the world and the things of the world. But he was different. He saw through the world, and he sought for things spiritual.

He saw that the world was temporary. And he sought for the eternal. So when he was a young man, he studied the law. And he became a Pharisee. He was more advanced than his contemporaries. He was a very zealous young man.

And he really had a heart to serve God. But unfortunately he was trained according to the teaching, the tradition of the fathers. Even though the tradition of the fathers of Judaism is the best tradition in the world.

And according to the tradition of the fathers, he persecuted the church. Because they considered our Lord Jesus as an imposter of Judaism. And therefore he must be persecuted and wiped out. And Paul became a leader in such persecution.

He thought he was serving God. But he was spiritually blind. But thank God, God looked upon the heart. God saw that this young man was sincere. Because he really wanted things eternal. And he really thought he was serving God.

Paul's Conversion and the Opening of His Inner Eyes

So God looked upon his heart. And showed mercy to him. While he was on the way to Damascus, because he persecuted the Christians not only in Jewish cities. He persecuted Christians even into the Gentile cities.

So he got the documents from the priests. To go to Damascus to seize upon those who believed in the Lord Jesus. And to bring them to Jerusalem to be condemned. While he was nearing the city of Damascus.

Suddenly, a brilliant light, brighter than the nonday sun, shone upon him. He was smitten by that light upon the ground. That light was so bright that it blinded his naked eyes. But thank God, the same light opened his inner eyes.

He saw the righteous one. He thought that Jesus was an imposter. He was unrighteous. But now he saw the same Jesus is the righteous one. Jesus was the only righteous one who could return to heaven and see God.

Because no one could stand before God. Because we were not righteous. But here you'll find that Jesus is the righteous one. He recognized that he is the son of God. Because God was pleased to reveal his son in him.

We find that in Galatians chapter 1 verse 16. And he heard a voice from heaven. Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the God. It was not an angry voice. It was a voice full of sympathy.

You don't know what you are doing. You are hurting yourself. Why do you kick against the God? Don't you understand that you had a master? Don't you understand that you are like an ox? Don't you understand that you are a yoke?

You are supposed to do the work of your master. But you were stubborn. You were naughty. You kicked against the God. You wanted to go your own way. I tried to touch you with the God. Just to remind you that you had a master.

You could not do your own will. You should do my will. But you kick against the God. And you hurt yourself. How many times you want to do that? Is it not time that you should recognize me? And surrender your life to me.

And this heavenly vision on the road of Damascus. Deliver him from spiritual blindness. He saw the Lord. And that seeing transformed his life. Instead of being sold the Pharisee. He became Paul the Apostle.

And we know Paul means little. He formerly was the one who was asked for by the world. But now he recognizes himself as little as nothing. His whole life was transformed. And this was his own experience.

And out of that experience. He prayed this prayer for the Ephesian believers. Dear brothers and sisters. There is one thing that we must recognize. That when we come to spiritual things. We were blind.

Spiritual Blindness and the Natural Man

No matter how brilliant you are. No matter how intellectual you are. You may be able to understand many many things. When you are faced with things spiritual. You are totally blind. Do not think that you are able to understand spiritual things.

Do not think that you can experience spiritual things. Because the word of God tells us very clearly. If you turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God.

For they are folly to him. And he cannot know them. Because they are spiritually discerned. Here the word of God tells us very clearly. The natural man. Now the natural man is the psychic man. The natural man refers to an unregenerated man.

You remember after man sinned. On the day the Lord said. On the day that you should eat the forbidden fruit. You shall die. But we find that Adam and Eve lived hundreds and hundreds of years. And they become sons and daughters.

But the Lord said on the day that you should eat thereof you shall surely die. What was dead on that day? The spirit in man was dead. The spirit of man was cut off from communication with God. Man had fallen into his soul and body.

He became a natural man. Lived by his soul and his body. Lived by his lust and passions. He became a man of the flesh. Motivated by that unregenerated created life. Fallen life. Without the spirit. And this refers to the unregenerated people.

But you find in the Bible it sometimes refers even to believers. Because a believer who do not walk after the spirit. Do not walk according to the mind of the spirit. He still live according to the natural.

He still live according to himself. As if he had no spirit. So brothers and sisters. Even in 1 Corinthians. Even in 1 Corinthians. We see that when Apostle Paul said you were still carnal. Even though you have been saved.

But you do not live by that new life. By that new life in your spirit. You still live by your own life. Your natural life in your soul. So you are still carnal. And being carnal you are still natural.

So brothers and sisters. Do not think that the natural man refers only to the unbelievers. If you do not live according to the spirit of God. Do not live according to the new life in your spirit. And you still live in the natural life.

Then you are still carnal, the natural man. And the natural man does not receive the things of the Holy Spirit. He cannot receive it. Because they are folly to him. Things spiritual become folly to them.

Things of this world become wise. And therefore they still seek for the things of the world. And they look down upon things spiritual. They cannot receive things spiritual. Not only they cannot receive it.

They cannot know it. Because spiritual things have to be discerned spiritually. Now dear brothers and sisters. I want to make this a point. Because lots of God's people do not understand this. They think that because they are saved.

Therefore the whole spiritual world is open. But dear brothers and sisters. If you do not live according to the spirit. Do not live in the spirit. You are no different from the people of this world. You will look down upon things spiritual.

You think that those who seek for spiritual things are foolish. And you think you are wise by seeking things of this earth. So dear brothers and sisters. When we are faced with spiritual things. No matter how small that is.

When we are faced with things spiritual. We are completely blind in our natural life. I hope this will really sink deep into our understanding. Do not think that because you are brilliant. Do not think that you can grasp spiritual things quickly.

You may grasp them intellectually. You think that you understand. But you do not understand. You are still outside of the spiritual realm. Unless there is revelation. Brothers and sisters. Think back to the days when you are saved.

Personal Conversion and the Necessity of Revelation

You may be brought up in a Christian family. That's what I was. I was brought up in a Christian family. My father was a pastor. He loved the Lord. And we have family altar every evening. Our father would gather us children.

We would gather together in the drawing room. And our father would read us from the word of God. Then we all kneel down and he would pray for us. I was brought up in that kind of atmosphere. From my kindergarten up.

I always studied in Christian schools. I read the Bible myself. I prayed too. I attended the church. Very faithfully. But dear brothers and sisters. I knew all about the gospel. But I did not receive it.

I believed that the gospel of Jesus Christ was true. He came to save sinners. But I am no sinner. So let Christ save sinners. I was too good to be saved. But dear brothers and sisters. That was my condition before I was saved.

I was totally blind to things spiritual. I was completely shut out from heaven. People looked at me and thought I was a Christian. But I wasn't. And I could tell you more. I even served God during those days.

I led prayer meetings. I even preached. And the way I preached was I took a good sermon from a famous preacher memorized it and repeated it. But I was cut off from heaven. God was a distant God to me.

There was no communication. Not until one day He opened my inner eyes. His living word spoken to my heart. If I confess my sins He is righteous and faithful to forgive my sins and to cleanse us from all my unrighteousness.

Suddenly all the burdens were gone. I was freed. I can look up to heaven and say Abba, Father. We need revelation. You remember when Peter confessed Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God? And what did our Lord say to him?

Simon Bar-Jonah. This is not something that the flesh can tell you. It is my Father in heaven who reveals it to you. Brothers and sisters, as you recall your conversion. Does it not happen this way? Even though the details are different.

The principle is the same. Naturally, we were blind to spiritual things. But it pleased God to reveal His Son in me. And when the spirit of wisdom and revelation was given then suddenly your eyes were opened.

You can testify just like the man born blind. Once I was blind. But now I see. And this is our testimony. But dear brothers and sisters remember what happened at that time is a principle that applies to your whole spiritual life.

In every step of your spiritual life. It begins with the spirit of wisdom and revelation be given by God. Without that spirit of wisdom and revelation we are completely blind shut off from things spiritual.

Wisdom, Revelation, and the Living Word

Now, what is the spirit of wisdom and revelation? Wisdom refers to the content of revelation. That is to say, God is wisdom. The wisdom of God. The purpose of God. The way of God. What is in God is now being revealed to us.

You know, our God is the greatest mystery in the whole universe. No one knows God naturally. You know, the Athenians, they were very clever. We know that the Athenians were very clever. But they have to have an auto-call to the unknown God.

But God is not unknowable. Because he reveals himself. To hide himself. No one will ever know God in any way. Because he is far beyond us. But we thank God. Because of his love for us. It pleases him to reveal himself.

To reveal his heart to us. To reveal his mind to us. To reveal his way to us. To reveal his beloved son to us. Dear brothers and sisters, so everything begins with wisdom, the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

When God reveals something happens in our spirit. He reveals himself in our spirit. Thank God, when we believe in the Lord Jesus, this dead spirit was being quickened, renewed into life. And the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit.

And there he is able to reveal himself to us. Brothers and sisters, you find that it is all in the image of God. In the most of our being. We thank God, because he gives us his word. This Bible gives us the whole revelation, full revelation of God.

Throughout the centuries, God revealed himself. And now we come to have in our hands the Bible. That is the full revelation of God. The wisdom of God is all there. But brothers and sisters, when you read the Bible, does it mean that because you read the Bible, therefore you got the whole revelation of God?

No. The Bible is the full revelation of God. Because it is God's breath. It is the breath of God. It is the spirit of God. And it is eternal truth. It never changes. It always works. It is not affected by time or space.

It is eternal truth. But brothers and sisters, this eternal truth has to become living and operative in each one of us. The same spirit that breathes into these words is the same spirit who will speak again to us by the words.

And when this happens, the world becomes living and operative. The eternal truth becomes your personal living experience. So that is what is meant by Logos has to become Raman. It is the same spirit. But he will bring this written word to become a living word in our heart.

And when this happens, you get a revelation. So revelation is not that something completely foreign to the word of God. If anyone should say that he got a revelation, but not outside of the word of God, is false.

But revelation is what has been written, is being quickened into our life. And in our spirit suddenly a light shines. And we can shout and say, this is true. Brothers and sisters, that is the spirit of wisdom and revelation.

So the whole thing begins within our spirit. And it is from God. God will grant you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of God. This is the only way to know God. But brothers and sisters, when we receive such revelation, something happens in our spirit.

There is light in our spirit. We know something has happened. What God has spoken is real. There is power there. We can say now we see. We can say now we see. But we cannot explain it. In our spirit we know.

The Enlightened Understanding and Christ's Resurrection

But our mind needs to be enlightened. So therefore you find in the prayer of Paul, he not only said that God will grant you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, and he said, be enlightened in the eyes of your heart so that you should know.

In other words, what you have seen in your spirit needs to be understood and know to explain it. First in your spirit there is a light. And then you'll find the Holy Spirit will work in the eyes of your heart.

Now what is the eyes of the heart? It is our mind. Our understanding. Because you remember our Lord Jesus after his resurrection. He appeared to his disciples and he tried to tell them how the Old Testament prophesied about him.

And then in Luke chapter 24 verse 45, our Lord opened their understanding and they began to understand the Bible. So brothers and sisters, to use an illustration, it is like you are taking a picture. You use a camera and you give a shot.

An impression was made on the film. But you will not be able to see it. You have to wash it with liquid and then the picture comes out. So this is the same way. Revelation is in your spirit. And then you'll find your understanding being enlightened.

And then you begin to know and understand. And you are able to explain it to other people. What is revealed? What is it that you have seen? And what is it that you begin to know, to understand? And then you'll find in the following, there are three things.

The Hope of God's Calling

The wisdom and revelation will begin to be understood in three ways. And that is what you'll find in verse 18. Being enlightened in the eyes of your heart so that you should know what is the hope of His calling.

That is the first thing. What the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, the second thing. What the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe, the third thing. What is the full knowledge of God?

How do we know what is in God's mind? How do we know what He is doing? Here you'll find our God is doing three things. Number one, what is the hope of His calling? Brothers and sisters, when we come to calling, we often think of my calling, your calling.

I'm called to be a doctor, I'm called to be an engineer. I'm called to be a housewife. And we always think of calling in terms of ourselves. And we always think of calling as doing something. And what are we to be occupied with?

But notice, when you have revelation, then you begin to see it is not your calling, it is His calling. God has called us. He has called us with a holy calling. A heavenly calling. An on high calling. He has called us not so much to do, but much to be.

God's calling is concerned with our being. He called us to be something. Brothers and sisters, what is it that God has called us to be? Called all of us to be. What is that calling? The supreme calling.

That calling that is far above our personal calling. There is His calling that we share together. According to Ephesians, we are called to be the body of Christ. Because as you read on to the end of the chapter, you will find it.

We are to be the church, the body of Christ. There is no higher calling than this calling. Even if you are called to be the president of the United States, what is that to be compared to be in the body of Christ?

We are called to be in that body. We are called to be the fullness of Christ. We are called to be His glory. Dear brothers and sisters, have we ever understood this? Is it not the calling that we should be occupied with?

And notice, what is the hope of our calling? What is the hope of being called to be the body of Christ? What is the hope of the body? When the body is fully matured, that body is to be the bride of Christ.

This is our blessed hope. This is what we are all looking forward to. This is why we need to be matured. Because if we are not matured, that body cannot be the bride. This is why we must pay every cost to see that it is done.

The Riches of God's Inheritance in the Saints

The hope of His calling. That is the first revealed thing. And then the second thing. What the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. You know, again, when we think of inheritance, we think of our inheritance in Christ.

Oh, how rich, how glorious is our inheritance in Christ. This is all true. But brothers and sisters, we have not been delivered from ourselves. We always think of ourselves. What do we have? He is for us.

We are self-centered. But when the heavenly light comes upon you, you are delivered from yourself. From your petty self. And you are delivered into that unmeasurable realm. You are thinking of His inheritance.

Don't you know that we are given by the Heavenly Father as gifts to His beloved Son? God gives His Son to us as a gift. At the same time, He gives us as His gift to His beloved Son. You find that in John chapter 17.

It is true that Christ is to be our inheritance. He is the land flowing with milk and honey. But at the same time, God has made us His inheritance. God is to inherit us. And what the riches of the glory of His inheritance.

Can you imagine that? When we think of Christ our inheritance, that expression is true. The riches of the glory of our inheritance in Christ Jesus. But no. It says here. The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

How can it be? Can it be? Is it possible? With man it is impossible. With God it is possible. Therefore you find the third thing. Where is the power that will transform such poor desert wilderness into land flowing with milk and honey?

How can it be? Where is the power? And the third thing. So in the revelation He tells us. Verse 19. And what a surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe. He wants us to believe there is a power.

The Surpassing Greatness of God's Power

It is a surpassing power. It is a power greater than nuclear power. And that power has been demonstrated already. It was demonstrated in the life of our Lord Jesus. It is the power that raised Christ from the dead.

It is the power that put Him at the right side of God. In the heavenlies. It is the power above every principality, authorities, every name named. It is a power that put all things under His feet. It is the power that made Him head over all things.

We have already seen this power demonstrated in the life of our Lord Jesus. God has put all things under His feet. He has become head over all things. To the church which is His body. The fullness of Him who fills all in all.

What happened to the head is going to happen to the body. The body is to experience the same power. That delivers us from all the things that have control over us. Delivers us not only from sin, from the power of sin.

Delivers us from the world and the things of the world. Delivers us from the flesh and even our self-life. Delivers us from all the temptations and trials. Delivers us from all the temptations and trials.

And makes us be filled with Christ who fills all in all. So when God comes to see His inheritance in the saints. He saw Christ in His fullness. And that is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.

He who has called us is faithful. He who has called us is faithful. He will perform. Dear Lord, we bow ourselves before Thee. Realizing that Thou has done something far beyond that we ever think of. We are willing to lay ourselves at Thy feet.

And pray Thy will be done. In Thy precious name we pray. Amen.