There is one more phrase in these three verses which I cannot leave unexplored. They provide a little key-hole through which we can peek into Heaven. It is not that I have access to special information or revelation about these words or about Heaven. I wish that I did. The fact is: It is unlikely that I will not do this subject justice. But still, I hope that the Saviour will be glorified in these few moments of congregational meditation.
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” In whichever way He comes for us, by death or otherwise, we shall see the Lord Jesus. And when we see our Saviour, that sight will be transformative: We shall be changed into what we shall see… “from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” – II Corinthians 3:18. Please don’t ask me how this change will take place, because I don’t understand the details. But I am sure; I am positive: “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” That is what the Bible tells us.
Before we get to our theme: “as he is,” consider briefly what we know about our “seeing” of Christ.
There is nothing mysterious or magical about this word: “to SEE him.” By our usual definition, sight requires the use of one of God’s most marvelous creations: the eye. Again I will say: only a blind man can study the eye without seeing the handiwork of the infinite Creator. There is no way, and no amount of time, that could successfully bring all the necessary parts of the eye and sight together. In regard to the Second Advent – the return – of Christ, there are several scriptures which speak of people seeing Him, and those scriptures involve physical eye-sight. For example there is Revelation 1:7: “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pieced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail became of him. Even so, Amen.” “Every eye shall see Him,” but is our transformation into Christ’s image dependent on our physical sight? What about the blind Christian? Must he have his sight restored before he can see Christ in order to have the rest of his body transformed?
Perhaps this Greek word “to see” speaks of a bit more than physical vision. Was the Lord Jesus speaking of natural eyesight in Matthew 5:8 when He said, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” Will anyone ever see, even with glorified eyes, a physical form of God the Father? Is it possible to “see” God without actually “seeing” Him? This same Greek word is used in John 3:36: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” I suppose that it is possible to see eternal life, but my mind and heart harbor some doubts about that. Then there is Pilate’s declaration after he examined the Lord Jesus, finding Him innocent. He symbolically washed his hands and said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.” I don’t think Pilate was referring to the Jews’ physical eyes. All I am trying to say is that there may be a difference between doing, seeing and perceiving. “Beloved… we know that, when (Christ) shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see (and perceive) him as he is.” Some day, probably soon, we shall recognize what and Who Christ truly is. We shall see Him “as He is.”
If we could see the Son of God at this moment, what is it we’d see?
In thinking about this question, I started jotting down words like: “glorified,” “worshipped” and “intercessing.” These and others may answer my question, and I’ll come back to them in a minute. But it occurred to me that they are aspects of a couple more general thoughts.
May I assume that the Christ we see in the Book of Revelation is Christ as He is today? Was John given a revelation of a future form of the Lord, or is that Jesus “as He is” at this moment? Perhaps it isn’t an important question. But let’s assume for the sake of argument that the form of Christ which John saw in the future heaven, is the same form He has today.
Please turn to Revelation 1. In verse 10, John says, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” The voice he heard was that of the Son of God, the Second Person of the God head; the Lord Jesus. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.” John says, “I turned to see the voice that spake with me. and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” When John says “Son of man,” he was using the same words that Christ Jesus used of himself. John saw the Lord Jesus, but He was so magnificent that John couldn’t bring himself to say “Jesus.” “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. What John saw was his Master magnified, glorified and empowered; transformed. This was who Christ was as He became on the Mount of Transfiguration, but supersized. “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
For the sake of this message, and for an explanation of our text in John’s letter, this is the Christ whom we shall see when He returns. He will be so glorious… Christ is at this moment so glorious… that our fleshly eyes will not be capable of taking Him in. Even the great saints of God will fall as dead men before Him. He carries at this moment the keys of death and hell. But praise God for His gracious hand and the words: “Christian, fear not.” We shall see Christ as He is – as John saw Him – in His glory, and we shall be changed.
Interestingly, in nearly every other reference to Christ in the Book of Revelation, He is depicted differently.
And when those who are among God’s saints shall see Him it will be in another form. In Revelation 4 John sees a heavenly throne with an indescribable being on that throne. “And out of the throne proceeded lightning and thunderings and voices.” And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal. Revelation 4:10: “The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Revelation 5:6: “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a LAMB as it had been slain…”
This is the first of twenty-six references to the “Lamb of God” in the Book of Revelation. I am not sure we see Christ in any other form for the rest of that Book. Some of those references speak of “the BLOOD of the Lamb.” One says that this Lamb had been slain in the plan of God before the foundation of the world. And then there is the “Lamb’s book of life.”
If John is given a glimpse into the future… if he was permitted to look into heaven… And other than in chapter one, every other reference to God’s Son is as “the lamb of God…” Might we say that Jesus “as he is” is still and will always be “as our Saviour?” Yes, He is the King of kings and Lord of lords; He will sit as the judge; He will be much, much more. But for the saved, whatever else He is, He will always be our Lord and Saviour.
Let the thought sink in for a moment: The infinite and eternal Son of God, who was with the Father before the existence and creation of anything, is quite willing to be remembered as the lamb sacrificed to save my wretched soul. The Second Person of the Trinity, who will one day judge every man, woman and child of Adam, is still today the Saviour. The One who will once again rightly rule and reign over His nearly infinite universe is seen at this moment as a dying lamb. Going back to I John, Who is Christ at this moment? What shall we see when He comes? At least for us who are saved, we shall see our Saviour.
And what is the Lamb doing right now? He is interceding on our behalf, still applying His shed blood. Brethren, “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” – Hebrews 7:25. Christ Jesus, at this moment is pleading His sacrificial blood on our behalf. Despite today’s sin against His grace and authority, the Lamb of God is still our Saviour. Our salvation cannot be lost; our heavenly citizenship cannot be revoked, because the Lord Jesus is still maintaining the application of His salvation to us.
Is there someone accusing the brethren? Yes, there is. Satan is constantly dredging up our sinfulness. “Who is he that condemneth?” There is only one person, qualified and holy enough to condemn us, and that is the Lord Jesus. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yet rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” – Romans 8:34. Discouraged Christian – defeated Christian – don’t look at your failures; don’t listen to your accusers. See Jesus as He is at this moment, pleading His blood for your eternal salvation.
As I have said in earlier lessons, Christ Jesus is glorious even in His wounds. After His resurrection, He was happy to show to the disciples the gaping holes in His hands. We may be able to see the glorified scars in His forehead and even on His back if that was necessary. And with those wounds still visible, Christ is at this moment receiving the worship of saints in Heaven. “As he is” He is being worshipped, honored and adored.
At times, the Bible depicts our Saviour as seated, indicating that His work on our behalf is finished. But then at other times, we see him as Stephen did: “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” Why was Christ standing and not sitting on His glorious throne? Because one for whom he died was leaving this world on his way home to Heaven. “We shall see him as he is” standing with His arms apart in an open invitation
The Bible says that we shall see Him face to face. I Corinthians 13:12: “Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” In that day when we shall see him as He is, will we see a face that is all business? Is the Lord today so focused on the completion of our salvation that He doesn’t look at who He is saving? I don’t know if I have scriptural proof, but I believe that at this moment there is a smile of love and joy on the face of the Lord Jesus. This is “as He is.” His work is not just about getting the job done, or finalizing His own glory. Today, Christ is AS interested in you as an individual as He was on the day that He died specifically to save you. There is no way that His face will not be beaming as He welcomes you into His presence.
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” If you have humbled yourself before the Holy God, and if your faith for salvation is firmly planted in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are one of God’s children. And as such, you should know that your time in this world is short; we are moving on. And at the time of our death or our translation, we shall be changed. “When he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see Him as He is.” “Even so, come Lord Jesus.” “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”