Kempsey Baptist - Vision of God and the Hope of Humanity

Kempsey Baptist Church NSW
Sunday 16 Feb 2014

1 John 3:2 "we shall see him as he is"

Prelude

What an adventure we had nationally?

1.  We saw the federal government announced a royal commission into the construction industry with focus on union governance and corruption.

2.  We witness a multinational automotive company their short term plans which will see the collapsed of the automotive industry.

3.  A parole release of a convicted Australian drug smuggler from Indonesia prison.

4.  Locally the shire announced water restriction due to the flow of the Macleay River.

But are you aware other news items from the Global InterAction mission field that are affected by vision.

1.  Bill and Pauline serving in Outback Australia, for peace for the family and friends of a 14 year old girl that drowned at Dagaragu this week.

2.  The 50^th Anniversary of the Joyramkura Hospital Bangladesh being handed over to the Garo Baptist Church.

All around us, our vision is constantly being compromise by other events but there is one vision, the vision of God will not be affected by events because God the Father is in control.

 

Introduction

The redemption story of God is about reuniting himself with his creation, humanity. Restoring the daily walks he had with Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. God made humanity males & females to enjoy his provision and daily chat face to face with him in a personal intimate relationship. God desire that his creation commune with him to hear the ups and downs that they are experiencing.

The Garden of Eden is the backdrop that set the stage for the Vision of God but before I go any further, let me introduce myself.

I am married to Maria and were married on the 6th October 1986 on the north west plains of Narrabri where I was stationed with NSW Government Railways. I was in fellowship at Narrabri Uniting Church where I serve as an Elder. 

Before I moved to Narrabri, I was a member of Petersham Baptist and before that at Kogarah Baptist Church. It was at Petersham that I meet Maria at Flo Harris Lodge, an activity of Petersham Baptist.

Being employed in the railways, saw us moved around the state, Narrabri to Lithgow, Bass Hill, Cabramatta, Broken Hill, Minto, Ingleburn, Minto, Brighton-le-sands, Bexley, Earlwood, Campbelltown and Bradbury.  Those were the places we lived and our fellowship was either the Baptist or Uniting Church but over last few years we have been attending Pentecostal (Inspire & C3MA) and St Peters Anglican.

One story I will relate because it does deal with the message, while living at Bexley and searching for a church to attend. While having lunch one Sunday at a St George Leagues club, we bump into a couple, John & Dieske. John was our minister at Narrabri Uniting Church who officiates at our wedding. He was then the minister at Hurstville Uniting Church and invited us to attend. Over a period of time & conversation, we were discussing vision & desires that I need to equip myself theological, biblical and pastoral for a rural setting. As John was the minister when I was an elder, he was aware of my gifts. From there I began my studies with Uniting College for Leadership & Theology by distant education, a member of Adelaide College of Divinity, which is attach to Flinders University SA. So far I have completed 3 units, the Gospels, the Christian Scriptures and the Christian Faith (Theology). In March I will be tackling Culturally Appropriate Mission and currently working towards Cert IV in Christian Life & Ministry.

Vision of God

What do we mean by "Vision of God" or as in the first epistle of 1 John 3:2 "we shall see him as he is"?

The early church at the Council of Florence in 1439 prior to reformation tried to come to terms with this aspect of scripture. In Christian theology, the term "Vision of God" is referred as the "Beatific Vision". The concept has been termed by theologians of the Catholic & Eastern Orthodox belief, as well as various Protestant denominations. The Beatific Vision according to Wikipedia, "is the ultimate direct communication of God to the individual person" or as I would consider in Genesis 3:8-9, the Garden of Eden where Adam & Eve had direct relationship with God with walking & chatting face to face ^{8 "}Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”"

or in Exodus 24: 9-11, seventy-four Israelite climbed Mount Sinai.

 ⁹ "Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up ¹⁰ and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of lapis lazuli, as bright blue as the sky. ¹¹ But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank". (NIV)

Most of the time, we commune with God indirect by prayer, singing and hearing the word of God being proclaim.

The Apostle Paul's final instruction to Timothy we have these words in 1 Timothy 6:12-16;

¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.

Paul decried in verse 16 to Timothy, that God lives "in unapproachable light, which no one has seen or can seen" but man redemption hope, the resurrection life is God reveals himself face to face.

The following scriptures draw out 'face-to-face" with God in the future.

1 Cor 13:12^{12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. (NIV)}

Our understanding of which God or Jesus looks like is a mystery, here "a reflection as in a mirror". A mirror in Corinth day was best a polish metal and not everyone had them. A reflection that most people of the day would be aware of when staring into water, not very clear, as Rev Leon Morris, Vice-Principal, Ridley College, Melbourne points out; "In the nature of the case the reflection would not usually been very good, which gives point to the statement that we see, darkly." ^{(Morris 1988)}

The Apostle Paul expresses "we can see and understand only a little about God now" but in the future life, "face-to-face".

We find in the Beatitudes, that if our hearts are pure, we can see God.

Matt 5:8

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (NRSV)

In the Psalm of King David, chapter 17 v 15, we see David response to seeing God.

^{15 "}But as for me, my contentment is not in wealth but in seeing you and knowing all is well between us. And when I awake in heaven, I will be fully satisfied, for I will see you face-to-face". (Living Bible) 

Augustine (354-430) wrestles with the meaning of biblical references to "seeing God" in the resurrected life, such as 1 John 3:2. As Augustine (City of God XXII.29) well recognised, "in the new creation all things and people will reflect God's glory and he will be seen in all". (New Dictionary of Theology, IVP 1988)

² "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is". (NIV)

At this point, I am going to jump or time travel to the pew of New Park Street Chapel, Southwark on Jan 20, 1856, a British Baptist Preacher in delivering a sermon on "The Beatific Vision" based on the tail end of a scripture verse, the same as Augustine was wrestling with 1 John 3:2 "...We shall see him as he is." That preacher is Rev Charles Spurgeon.

Spurgeon opens the sermon that we have a natural desire, "that when we hear of a great and a good man, we should wish to see his person" Out of our desire, we want to see God, the source of our salvation through Jesus.

Spurgeon identify 4 components, 

1. the glorious position - "AS HE IS"

2. his personal identity - "HIM"

3. the positive vision - "WE SHALL SEE"

4. the actual person - "WE"

I will only deal with the first component today, "as he is".   

The Glorious Position

We have a natural tenderness to see Jesus, as a babe in Bethlehem, talking to the woman at the well, the healing of a woman, who touch Jesus when he was walking through the crowd, walking on the water to his apostles, carrying the cross to his Crucifixion and hanging on the cross. These are real events in the life of Jesus that we are invited to partake in. But Spurgeon exclaims, "We shall never see him thus; Bethlehem's glories are gone forever; Calvary's glooms are swept away; Gethsemane's scene is dissolved".

Spurgeon encourages us to consider that Jesus is "exalted in his glory" and "we shall see the hand, and the nail-prints too, but not the nail; it has been once drawn out and forever". The resurrected Christ with his scar pierced wound body as a reminded of the sacrifice.

During Thursday evening while watching Sherlock Holmes, my mind was shifted in thought to my early childhood days in a Reformed Protestant home run by the Presbyterian Church. For all intended purpose, my father deems my religion as Presbyterian. I was 6 years old when I enter Burnside and remember the Apostle's Creed. It was here that my knowledge about God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost was learned with the stories of the Old Testament. Back to the Apostle's Creed states the death, burial, resurrection and assention of Jesus.

I shall read out the full creed, some may not have heard it before but it worthwhile to remind ourselves the basic tenets of belief.

I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. 

And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 

I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. AMEN.

The creed gives me assurance in my faith of Jesus and subscribe to me the action of baptism by immersion, the glorious position of Jesus in heaven with his hands of where the nails where driven through and taken out, his side was pierce by a Roman spear. This was his body after being crucified, dead and buried. 

My Jesus assures that he rose victorious over death, he descended into hell and the very thing he was saying prior, he would rose again on the third day. This speak of a conqueror, no longer wrestling with pain. The sin of the world was upon his shoulder, his hands bearing the weight of sin, once for all. Jesus becomes the victor.

Thirdly the Apostle's Creed speaks of a risen Christ, now glorified in heaven, seated at the right hand of God the Father. In Acts 1:9-11, we find the early apostles looking up into heaven as Jesus ascended from their presence. 

I am reminded of an old hymn, written by Edmond Budry (1854-1932) and translated by Richard Hoyle (1873-1939)

Thine Be The Glory

Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son,
Endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won
Angels in bright raiment rolled the stone away
Kept the folded grave-clothes, where Thy body lay.

Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son,
Endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won.

Lo Jesus meets us, risen from the tomb;
Lovingly He greets us, scatters fear and gloom;
Let the Church with gladness hymns of triumph sing,
For her Lord now liveth; death hath lost its sting.

Thine be the glory,  risen conquering Son,
Endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won.

No more we doubt Thee, glorious Prince of life;
Life is nought without Thee: aid us in our strife;
Make us more than conquerors, through Thy deathless love:
Bring us safe through Jordan to Thy home above.

Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son,
Endless is the victory Thou o’er death hast won.

Conclusion

The scene at the Garden of Eden, where God is enjoying his creation by walking and converse with humanity face to face is the triumph restoration through the redemption work of Jesus of the resurrection.

In the words of John Stott, Rector All Saints Church, London. "We know this, that, when he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. The order of events is clear. First, he will appear; then, we shall see him as he is; and finally, we shall be like him." (p119 Tyndale New Testament Commentaries - The Epistles of John, reprinted 1981)