Early In My Christian Life
In my Christian journey I’ve learned that the Spirit of God has moved within my heart in ways that have gone unnoticed. There are times when I really notice the move and inward work of the Spirit when I’m praying or reading the Bible. Often these “moves” of the Spirit have been times when Christ was made real to me and in me with the use of some truth from the Bible or verse before me.
I remember first discovering this experience. I didn’t what it was called. I was reading one verse about Jesus, and dwelling on it, thoughts were coming, and it’s like my heart opened like a flower at some point in that train of thoughts. It felt sort like an emotional high or something, I felt the love of Christ for me. I believe it, but I seemed to really sense it. I went about my day, and I couldn’t help bringing myself back to the same verse, and when I did, I felt it all again! And so, I remember bringing my mind back to that verse again and again, it happened again and again.
I thought it was just me. I later learned in my Chrisitan studies, seminary training, that this was called the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit.
How About You?
I am sure you’ve had this moment where something you already knew about Jesus, just clicked in you and it’s like a light turned on inside your mind and heart about Him. Now, of course this happens first when we become Christians, we conscious believe Christ is Savior but then at some point the Spirit took that knowledge about Him brightened in us and we then we said, “He’s not just Savior, He’s my Savior!”
I know you desire more of this…where your understanding is opened up to grasp him and His work of salvation, where your heart grasps His loving nature more!
What you’ve experienced and want more of is this thing called the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit—it’s a thing that happens within us—we’re talking in the realm of spiritual experience now. This is not relaying information in this message; this is describing an inward operation of God’s Spirit that is available to us who believe.
Take a look at John 14:18-21,
18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
What is ‘Illuminate’?
I realize this word is perhaps not understood as it’s not used in normal conversation. What is this word illumine or illuminate? It simply means to bring clarity, insight or understanding. It’s like enlightening someone. This is what the Spirit does for us, and He does this by shining a light on something we already know, so that we see more clearly.
So, what does the Holy Spirit illumine then?
WHAT HOLY SPIRIT ILLUMINES
Person of Christ: Look at verse 18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” This refers to Christ’s resurrection, His outpouring of His Spirit which is Him as well, and His Second Coming. More contextually, this sentence because Christ is speaking specifically about the Spirit, refers to the Spirit’s coming and that is how Christ comes, He comes to us first by His Spirit indwelling us, baptising us and filling us repeatedly.
This is how the disciples would know Christ and be near Christ, via His Spirit—the Spirit given to help the disciples of Christ be near and know Christ.
Verse 19,
“Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live.”
So, Christ comes and appears to—not the world—but His people! We know the Spirit of God only fills and re-fills the people of God in the sense of dwelling and residing in them.
Look at verse 20 now, 20 “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
On that day. We’re talking a moment in time. What happens in a moment in time? You will realize…here is the illuminating work of the Spirit, when He reveals something to us, when we come to a realize…what does He reveal? Jesus says, “you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.”
There is this inward realization within the heart of a person when the light is shining upon Christ. When the Spirit shines His light upon Christ and shines the light in our hearts, we capture different sides of Christ, here in John 14 it’s particularly the union between man and the Trinity of God. When Christ is seen within the soul, we may be enlightened about many things regarding Him.
But the idea here in John 14 is that the Spirit given to us is to help us realize Christ—to have our souls grasp Him in a very deep-down sense.
Realize
That word realize, in verse 20, is the best way to capture this strange inward thing that happens when the Spirit illumines. It’s ginosko, which is a personal knowledge, a personal perceiving, a personal experience. Like Adam and Eve knew, ginosko, each other, personal intimate relationship, or Mary who retorted to the Angel upon hearing she’ll bear the Christ child, “How will this be since I do not know a man” same word, ginosko, know, here is John using the word realize is used to best capture this idea.
This is what the Spirit does within us, He helps us not just believe Jesus Christ, but also perceive Jesus Christ. I like to say simply, the Spirit makes Christ real to us.
How does He do this? His illuminating ministry, He shines a spotlight on Christ.
John 16:14 spells this out further for us, speaking again of the Spirit He says,
14 “He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you..”
The Spirit glorifies Christ and His teachings and His work of salvation He worked for us on the Cross, death, and resurrection. The Spirit glorifies, or magnifies Jesus to a believer, makes Him big, makes Him bright, so that we realize or know Him in a way He hadn’t before. This is how we grow in the knowledge of Christ!
This is a biblical teaching, that the Spirit illumines Jesus to the believers,
Ephesians 1:17-18, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
Ephesians 3:18-19, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Now, go back to John 14. Jesus advances this further. Verse 21,
“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
Again, the Spirit illumines Christ to us and in us or here its show or manifest Him to us, and in that moment.
Take it Heart
Now, we all know things about Jesus, but are those things real to us, has some light been cast on that information about Christ in such a way that Christ seems real now to us, and His Cross is something real to us? Are we led progressively along in further realizations of Jesus, His life’s work, His sufferings, His promises, His Kingdom, and His reign?
Well, let’s look at the process, how does the Spirit illumine Christ, what are the things He uses to make this happen?
HOW HE ILLUMINES CHRIST TO US
First, my friend, you and I are darkened in our ability to see a holy God.
So, what do we do? We lean upon Spirit and say, ‘Make Christ real to my heart! Spirit, show me how He loved me on the Cross! Spirit, teach me His nature that I would love Him more! Spirit, communicate His holiness and His warm heart to me so that my heart would be moved to obey Him as my Lord!’
He wants to do this, is sent to do this, and loves to do it…for the Son’s glory and your own happiness.
What activity should we do for this to happen?
First, read the Bible and specifically verses and passages that speak plainly about Jesus. And then expect the Spirit to take it and illumine them in your heart. This is the way Bible reading comes to life, the way Bible reading becomes a supernatural exercise, an exercise where we get to encounter God.
It happens this way, a person sits down and says, ‘It’s time to read the Bible, and I will read with my mind, and the Bible pages will be turned, BUT, the Spirit is also here with me and He will take this and illumine my Savior to me, making me realize Him and be drawn to Him, and love Him, and worship Him!’ Activate the supernatural side of Bible reading by participating and expecting the Spirit to illumine the Jesus in some way to us.
We ask, “What will happen? How will I know when the Spirit has done this?”
When people saw Christ, the human response was varied. Peter jumped out of the boat to see Him on the beach. John fell down in fear. Moses was drawn in curiosity and wonderment. Many bow their knee and confess Christ’s Lordship. Others worship with hands held high with great joy. Some are silenced with power.
So, when Christ is revealed in your heart to you, just a little more, and He’s realized in your mind and heart in some way, it will be different for each person.
The Spirit also has a will of His own, so if He illumines Christ to one person the Spirit flashes the royal crown of Christ and they sense the Kingliness and lay on the ground sobbing, in other believer He may turn a nightlight on by the feet of the Savior, so you see something of Him with a dimmer light. None of us have earned these illuminations. They’re all gifts, we take what we get, we’re grateful and ask for more!
We all want these illuminations, just because it’s amazing to realize and perceive Jesus more with our minds and hearts. But, aside from the tantalizing experience of looking at something that shines, there’s something that happens to us when we realize Christ by the Spirit.
WHEN CHRIST IS ILLUMINED WITHIN US
You come back to your first love:
Spouses remember the dating and honeymoon phase, so when Christ is illumined to us, our love is awakened again, we notice Him more and are fascinated with Him more.
Spirit illumined Christ to Paul bit by bit, and listen to Paul’s words,
“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.
I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death”
You become all about Him! You’re moved to think about Him, live for Him, spend time with Him, talk to about Him, die to go and see Him! This is the Pauline spirit, with is a Spirit-led life.
It like my wife’s wedding ring. When I take it in it get it shined, it’s shines. It’s illumined, it’s light dances and flashes around. And her eyes gaze at it. I catch her looking at it in the middle of conversation, or when we’re out eating for dinner, because it’s illumined to her! There is Christ, He is our precious diamond ring from Heaven, when the Spirit who is the Jeweller makes Christ shine to us and our eyes, we will look and look again and enjoy looking.
We will look at Him and steal looks toward Him even throughout the day. You will be driving, and you will look for a second. This is the work of the Spirit in your spirit. Let Him illumine Christ and let Him keep showing you Christ and His Cross and His throne and His face.
What else happens?
You become more certain: In John 9, a blind man was healed by Jesus. And the Pharisees did an investigation about this miracle and inquired with the now-seeing man, and he said, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.” He knew he could see, there was certainty about that. When someone see Christ, they know and are certain about Christ.
John Wesley, Illuminating Story
“In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading [Martin] Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
There are some of you here who may need that sureness too, when Christ is made real, you are on a secure, steady, comforting place. Not a feeling, but a heart grasp of the Scripture which reveals Christ. The heart is calmed, and even made certain. If that’s you, let the Spirit take you by the hand and lead you to the nail-pierced hand and let Him join your hands together and feel the love of Christ, sense it so it flows up to your heart and fills your heart. Then you’ll struggle to even say, “I’m not sure about Jesus”.
The last thing I want to mention to you that happens when Christ is illumined in us, is that we are changed in real time:
Changed In Real Time!
2 Corinthians 3:16-18,
16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”
In contemplating the character of Jesus, and pondering His life and His death for us, we are looking right into the face of Jesus, and the Spirit then shines a light onto the face of Jesus for us and opens the eyes of our heart to see Him, and in that moment, in real time, as we are gazing and beholding and contemplating, we’re spiritually looking at a glorious being and His glory reflects to our face, as we’re TRANSFORMED into His image!
Believer, you may have tried a dozen strategies to fix something about yourself, or force a particular Christian virtue into your life without success—can I write a prescription for you? Try this bottle and take one of these everyday—take a verse on Christ, read and ponder, and gaze with your imagination upon Him, until the Spirit illumines Christ, and you’ll see! In the illuminating work, we are transformed, from one degree to the next, the more we light we catch.
Imagine sitting in a dark room…this is the experience when you are reading the Bible without the Spirit shining His light! You’ve made some progress you feel, but the lifegiving, inward change hasn’t really occurred for you. It’s like reading a textbook or history book.
And sitting in a dark room may be the experience for some who come to church and listen to message and haven’t caught a glimpse of the light the Spirit shining on Christ. In the dark…there you are praying about Christ and to Christ.
In the dark….there you are hearing a friend share something about Christ to you. And your heart is just seeing nothing, no light, just nothing, dark.
Until…there is light which pierces into the room and you begin to see dimly and gradually!
it is then…the Spirit illumines the Savior, the Shepherd, His Cross, His crown, His garments, His miracles, His works of service, His prayers, His teachings, His glory, His humanity, His divinity, His love for you…His face!
Glory to the Spirit of God who illumines the Son of God that we might be joined to the Father, who is God. Amen.