Enlightened Eyes #2295

17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (Ephesians 1:17–19, NKJV).

Paul’s prayer for the Ephesian Christians was specific, praying God would give them “the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (v. 17). Paul wanted them to have insight (“the spirit of wisdom”) and understanding in knowing God by His revelation of truth (cf. Eph. 3:3-4). Paul prayed that they would grasp an appreciation of the spiritual blessings derived through the wisdom of knowing God and His revelation. He describes this as “the eyes of your understanding being enlightened (v. 18). Divine revelation lights our way with truth (John 8:12, 31-32). With a spirit or mind of wisdom to follow His revelation, we obtain spiritual blessings that include: (1) Knowing the hope of His calling (v. 18). The gospel hope of rest and resurrection is central to the gospel (Matt. 11:28; 1 Cor. 15:19-20). (2) Knowing the riches of God’s inheritance in the saints (v. 18). In Christ, we share present spiritual riches and, finally, eternal life (cf. Mark 10:29-30; 1 Pet. 1:4-5). (3) Knowing the exceeding greatness of God’s power toward believers (v. 19). God’s power raised Jesus and works in us, His church, to achieve God’s purposes when we do His will (Eph. 1:20-23; 3:17, 20; Phil. 2:12-13). May God be glorified “in the church by Christ Jesus” for such wonderful spiritual blessings (Eph. 3:21; 1:3).

“He Put Clay On My Eyes, And I Washed, And I See” #2069

13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” (John 9:13–15, NKJV)

The healed man had already told the Pharisees how he received his sight (Jno. 9:10-11). Their interest in Jesus and His miracle was not to believe in Him; it was to accuse Him as a Sabbath-breaker (Jno. 9:16). Let’s draw our attention to the particulars of this event. 1) The man said Jesus did something (“put clay on my eyes”), then 2) Jesus told him to do something (“I washed”), and then 3) The man received his sight (“I see”), John 9:6-7. A similar sequence occurs when God saves sinners. 1) Jesus did something (died for our sins and arose from death). 2) Jesus tells us to do something (“arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins” (Acts 22:16). 3) When we believe and do what He tells us to do, we are saved (Mk. 16:15-16). Like the faithless Pharisees, many religious leaders reject and deny this God-revealed sequence of salvation. Yet, like the blind man’s healing, receiving God’s gift of salvation blends God’s grace and our faith (Eph. 2:8). The blind man did not merit his gift of sight when he obeyed Jesus. Neither do we merit our gift of salvation when we obey Him (Eph. 2:8-9; Heb. 5:9; Rom. 6:3-5, 17). But unless we have the faith to obey, we remain blind, lost in sin. So, will we choose to have faith like the blind man and obey Jesus? Or will we join the Pharisees and faithlessly resist Jesus and His salvation?

Do Not Love the World #1907

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17, NKJV)

The “world” of which John writes is the system of evil that opposes God. The world is the dominion of Satan and is antagonistic toward the Father, His will, and His love. Many stiffen their necks against God’s commands not to sin (like the command in verse 15, “Do not love the world…”). But, God has a reason for giving us “thou shalt nots” – He wants us to love Him instead of loving the world. God wants us to have eternal life instead of living under the control of Satan, and then dying eternally. Loving the world is set in motion by the things of the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Therefore, we must arrest the cravings of the flesh, the eyes, and the pride of life. From godly sorrow, let us repent of loving the world (2 Cor. 7:10). Let us redirect our hearts toward heaven (Col. 3:1-4). Loving the world gives momentary pleasure (Heb. 11:25). But, the things of the world will never satisfy the heart’s yearning for completeness, contentment, and comfort. Ultimately, the world brings desolation, despair, and death.

“All that is in the world” #1675

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15–17, NKJV)

The universe is an arranged system of celestial bodies we call the cosmos. Here, John speaks of another world or “kosmos” – the system of evil that is in opposition to God and His will. This arrangement of evil – the world – consists of the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (v. 16). The god of this world, the devil, uses these three avenues to deceive and entice souls to their eternal demise. At least one of these three elements is at the heart of every sin and false doctrine that exists. Cleverly disguised as pleasure, success, fulfillment, joy, and self-satisfaction, and many other things, Satan uses them to lure people away from God. The world offers a counterfeit love. We must love God genuinely. That means we must not love the world. It is fading away, but life everlasting is for those who do the will of God.

“Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things” #1644

36 Incline my heart to Your testimonies, and not to covetousness. 37 Turn away my eyes from looking at worthless things, and revive me in Your way. 38 Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You. (Psalm 119:36–38, NKJV)

God’s word is the treasure upon which we must set our hearts. Longing for things that can never satisfy our souls is futile. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, and by it many souls are destroyed (1 Timothy 6:10). The world sets many things before our eyes to entice us to devote our hearts to worthless things instead of fearing God with full devotion. For example, pornography is wreaking havoc upon our society. It is a monetary driver on the internet, and it is being normalized by the entertainment industry. Young people are watching it in droves, and their concepts of moral purity are being drastically distorted. We must turn our eyes away from such defiling things by embedding God’s word into our hearts. God’s word says do not look lustfully with our eyes (Job 31:1; Matthew 5:28; 1 John 2:16). We must devote ourselves to fearing God instead of indulging the flesh. Lord, “revive me in Your way” and lead me not into temptation.

“The arm of the Lord” #1229

37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (John 12:37–38, NKJV)

The powerful arm of the Lord was revealed to Israel by the many signs (miracles) Jesus did before the people. His miracles were heaven’s testimony that He is the Christ, the Son of God (John 5:36; 20:30-31; Acts 2:22). Yet, despite His marvelous works, they did not believe in Him. Why not? John answers that question with another quote from Isaiah: “He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them” (John 12:40; Isaiah 6:9-10). It has been said there are none so blind as he who will not see. When we willfully harden our hearts against God and His Son, His testimony of truth will not penetrate it. We will remain lost in our unbelief. The strength of the Lord (His “arm”) has been revealed to the world through Jesus Christ. We must humble our hearts and open our eyes and ears to God’s powerful truth. By doing so, we can understand His will, turn back to God, and be healed of our sins.

A Covenant With My Eyes #723

I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman? (Job 31:1, NKJV)

Sin begins in the heart. For example, Jesus said “whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). We must guard and condition our hearts to refuse sin immediately. To do so, Job made an agreement with his eyes (himself) not to gaze intently upon a young woman. He pledged not to look lustfully upon a woman. Job’s protection against the lust of the eyes was to refuse to closely examination a woman’s form. We must fix our eyes on Jesus in order to be pure in heart (Heb. 12:2). We live in a provocative world that is intent on drawing our eyes away from Jesus. Make an agreement with your eyes not to indulge in lustful looking, for such is of the world and not of God (1 Jno. 2:16).