An essental facet of faith.
A Christian Guidebook: What Is Faith? (2)
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.Hebrews 12.22-24
Eyes in our hearts
A. W. Tozer explained that the beginning of full faith is in looking beyond the things we can see to that realm of unseen things, where Jesus rules at the right hand of God. We must “see” Jesus as both Savior and Lord to embrace and receive Him, and to do that we must look on what is unseen with a heart of faith (Eph. 1.15-23). Unless we learn to live with a view to the then-and-there, we’ll never experience the power and joy of full faith now and here.
The writer of Hebrews says that this, after all, is where we have come to, if indeed, we have come to true saving faith. Because of our faith in Jesus, we can see beyond the veil that separates the material from the spiritual world (2 Cor. 3.12-18). We have an “eye” in our heart, Paul insisted (Eph. 1.18), by which, through faith, we may see realities beyond the material world which we know to exist because we know the Lord Jesus Christ, and He dwells there.
So real is this spiritual realm, and so vital to full faith, that the apostle Paul instructs us to “set our minds” on unseen things and to let these be the defining landmarks and guideposts of our faith (Col. 3.1-3). In Hebrews 12.2 the writer uses a participle—“fixing your eyes”—to describe what should be the characteristic orientation of our every waking moment.
True and full faith wants to say with David, “I have set the Lord always before me” (Ps. 16.8)
The unseen world
We will not know full faith in Christ, or the full and abundant life to which He has called us by grace through faith, if spiritual life consists of merely inward understandings and assurances, apart from the outward evidence of true saving faith. And that evidence will be impossible to realize to any extent until we fix the eye of our heart on Jesus Christ exalted in glory.
The unseen world of Jesus Christ, exalted at the Father’s right hand, is filled with angels celebrating and serving His every command, saints assembled before the throne of Christ, precious and magnificent promises, and a glorious City to Come. This is the world to which all have come who truly believe in Jesus Christ. This is our homeland and our destination. Our citizenship is lodged in this realm. Our lives are formed and shaped by the standards of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit which emanate from the glory of God and Christ.
If we are living full faith, having the eye of our heart fixed on the world of unseen things, the reality of that world and all its beauty, goodness, and truth will begin to be evident in our daily lives, filling our lives with the overflowing Presence of Jesus Christ (Jn. 7.37-39).
And especially of Jesus, exalted and ruling and exuding the glory of God and transforming us into His own image (2 Cor. 4.6; 2 Cor. 3.12-18).
Seeing the unseen
So what does this entail? How do we set our minds on this unseen realm and keep the eye of our heart focused there throughout the day? Let me suggest three critical components of a life fixed on unseen things.
First, we must gain a better understanding of the landscape of unseen things—the true nature and composition of that realm to which we’ve come and into which God has conveyed us (Col. 1.13), especially the vision of Jesus exalted and reigning in glory. The writer of Hebrews sketches this in outline form in our text. Many other passages of Scripture—especially in the Psalms and Revelation—flesh out this landscape of unseen things. It is our duty to study and meditate and set these images, in particular the glory of God in the face of Jesus, as the backdrop for all our thinking and living (2 Cor. 4.6).
Second, we must labor to carry this vista with us throughout the day. This will require a different approach to the time of our lives. We may need to schedule new activities at various times of the day: brief retreats for prayer and learning the songs of saints past and present which celebrate this glorious realm and our place in it.
Ancient chants, great hymns of the past, spirituals, and even many contemporary praise songs can help, when coupled with intermittent prayer throughout the day, to keep us focused on our true provenance and citizenship. Learning to pray the psalms can be an especially helpful means of fixing our eyes on the unseen world to which we have come in Jesus Christ. Meditating on and memorizing passages that speak directly into this heavenly vista can also be important to help set our minds there.
We must take more seriously the disciplines of praying without ceasing and singing to the Lord and one another as ways of experiencing and expressing the fact that our lives are hidden in an unseen realm with Christ in God, and we are seated there with Him (Col. 3.3; Eph. 4.6).
Finally, seek opportunities to talk with other believers about the glories of this unseen realm—how it appears to you, how you experience and seek it, how thinking on the landscape of unseen things lends strength to your daily walk with the Lord.
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We will not make progress in realizing more mature faith unless we first begin to set our minds on the things that are above.
Search the Scriptures
1. What do you understand by “unseen” things? What Scriptures have guided your thinking about this realm?
2. Why should we expect looking on such “unseen” things to bring forth “evidence” in our lives? How do 2 Corinthians 4.6 and 16-18 lead us to think about this?
3. Meditate on 2 Kings 6.8-19. What’s the difference between those who can “see” the unseen world and those who cannot? Which are you?
Next steps—Preparation: Prepare a list of the “unseen things” that we should be “looking to” in order to develop a full faith. Talk with some Christian friends: To what extent, and in what ways, do these unseen things factor in their own lives?
T. M. Moore
Additional Resources
If you have found this study helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
For a more complete study of this subject, order the workbook, The Landscape of Unseen Things, by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from theNew King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
