There is a great necessity in our day to see Christ as He is, to know Him experientially in our innermost being, and to perceive Him with our spirit. For only then can we behold His coming. Today, the appearing of Christ is being perceived by those who are watchful and awake to that realm. Being awake and watchful underscore the value of seeing. I’m sure every saint longs to see Him. The glorious purpose of Christ’s ministry during the days of His flesh was to manifest the Father that men may see God. Jesus boldly declared: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (Joh. 14:9).
But, how can man see God? The scriptures make clear that no man has seen God at any time (Joh. 1:18). God is Spirit and the reality of God exists in the eternal dimension of spirit. He is an invisible God “who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see” (1 Tim. 6:16). God told Moses: “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” But despite this, various men saw God and lived to tell about it. We read that “the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Exo. 33:11). Jacob also declared: “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved” (Gen. 32:20). These scriptures seem contradictory. However, they point us to two categories of seeing.
In this world there are only two types of men, each possessing different faculties of seeing. The first man is Adam. The second is Christ. “The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven” (1 Cor. 15:47). Adam is that nature man that can only see into the earth realm while Christ sees into all realms. The first man only sees with physical eyes and perceives with the natural mind. The second sees with spiritual eyes and perceives with the mind of the spirit. The first observes signs and seasons to determine the times. The second sets its mind on heavenly things and comprehends all that is in the eternal now of the Kingdom. I trust it’s clear to all that both these men reside in you and me.
Thus, it is Adam and his supremacy within that keeps man from beholding the invisible realities of the Spirit of God. For, the corruptible conceals the incorruptible, the flesh obscures the spirit, and the mortal covers the immortal. Jesus said to those who see with their Adamic eyes: “seeing they may see and not perceive” (Mar. 4:12). The Adamic man has never seen or can see God. And those who look to behold the coming Christ with these eyes will miss Him. Is it not to such a people that the Lord comes as a thief?
For centuries, religion has attempted to perceive the coming of the Lord through the eyes of the Adamic man. But, Adam only minds outward events and is incapable of beholding Christ. Many saints today who hold to the teachings of the “second coming” look to behold Him with natural eyes. Meanwhile, their spiritual eyes remain closed to the celestial realm. Tell them Christ has already come and is continuously coming, and they will not hear you because they do not see Him.
Throughout scripture, those who only see through their natural eyes are called blind. God indicates the blindness of Israel numerous times. Much like Israel, blindness is detrimental to our progression in the kingdom of God. A people who read the word of God with natural eyes have their spiritual eyes blindfolded. They look for a coming Jesus in the flesh failing to see Him in the spirit. They read the dead letter of the word refusing to lay hold of the spiritual substance therein. Jesus said: “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see” (Mat. 13:13). But to those who see Him in the spirit He declares: “blessed are your eyes for they see…for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it” (Mat. 13:16-17). How are you seeing today, through Adam or through Christ?
Philip once asked Jesus to show him the Father. Perhaps, He wanted the sky to open that he might see into the throne room. Jesus answered him: “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9). Some may assume that Jesus was referring to an outward seeing. However, multitudes saw Jesus and witnessed His mighty works and yet failed to believe. Not all who saw Him saw the Father. He Himself said: “But I said to you, that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe” (John 6:36).
Physical seeing will not transform man. Outward signs and events will not transform man. That which is of the flesh profits only the flesh. Any outward event that does not cause us to turn inward to behold in the spirit is irrelevant in the agenda of the kingdom. Only in seeing Christ with spiritual eyes will man behold the Father and be radically changed. This capacity to see is only available to those who are born again or are born from above (Joh. 3:3). To be born from above is to be birthed into the realm of the spirit that we may perceive and walk in the spirit. To be born from above is to see all things from the perspective of heaven right there in the deep recesses of our spirit.
All who have the gift of eyesight understand the value of seeing with physical eyes. But what does it mean to see the Kingdom and what is it to see God? Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment using light reflected by the things in the environment. Similarly, it is when the light of God’s illumination from the environment of heaven shines within, that men are enlightened to see into that realm of spirit.
Spiritually, seeing signifies knowing. When we come to know and understand something we commonly say: “I see”. Abraham by faith “saw Him who is invisible” (Heb. 11:27). That is to say, Abraham KNEW Him who is invisible. Only in knowing God can we see God. Jesus often mentioned seeing whenever He talked about knowing. He said: “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me” (Joh. 14:19). If indeed Jesus was referring to a physical seeing then those in the world should also be able to see Him. But, seeing Him requires a spiritual capacity which those in the world do not possess. Rather, Jesus was speaking of a spiritual seeing; a knowing and understanding of the life and nature of the Father by the inward man of the spirit.
Seeing is the faculty of the mind of our spirit. For this cause, Paul prayed that the EYES of our mind would be enlightened that we may KNOW (Eph. 1:18). Those who see Him right now, know the life and nature of the Father by the inward man of the spirit. Notice what Jesus said: “If you had KNOWN Me, you would have KNOWN My Father also; and from now on you KNOW Him and have SEEN Him” (Joh. 14:7). This knowing, in the biblical sense, is a lofty attainment which signifies an intimate union with the life, nature, and mind of the Father.
Do you see Him today? Do you know Him as He is? If you do, you will not only perceive His presence but also His coming in your present experience. But if you are waiting for a man of flesh or to be raptured or to die and go to a heaven somewhere in order to see Him, then the Lord says to you also: “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me” (Joh. 14:9)? Dear saint, God is calling us to an intimate knowing of Him who abides within us. He is continually revealing Himself from the heavens of our spirit. Let us look and see Him through the eyes of the inward man for behold He is coming.
Kingdom Truths 
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