HOW TO HAVE A HAPPIER A NEW YEAR

We always like say Happy New Year to other folks and have them say it back to us.  But how can a person really have a happier New Year?  Let’s take a look at some things that we can get from God’s Word to actually help us do this.

 “¹⁵ I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.”  John 13:15-17.

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples after He had washed their feet. In order that they not forget the example of humility that He had given them, the disciples were told that happiness is not found in merely knowing these things but in doing them.

Let us look at four things Believers can do to ensure having a happier new year.

I. BELIEVE

A powerful, active faith will enable us to defeat discouragement and give us the strength to live victoriously in Christ Jesus. Our faith in His power to supply every need that we will have in this New Year will give us every reason to rejoice. Let us rejoice in the following evidences of His power to bless His children.

His power to save: “Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.”  Hebrews 7:25

His power to strengthen: “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”   Philippians 4:13

His power to protect:
“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

His power to provide:

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.”  Matthew 6:25-34

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…”   Psalms 23:1

“And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”  Philippians 4:19

II. BEHAVE

Someone once said: "What we do speaks so loud that others cannot hear what we say."  And another true saying is “we may be the only Bible a person ever “sees”.  For this reason, the Word of God places great emphasis on the believer living a Godly and Holy life. Our behavior should demonstrate Christ in the following areas.

In our daily life:

² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”   Romans 12:2

In our witness before the world:

“…let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”  Matthew 5:16

In our church fellowship:
“so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.” Timothy 3:15

III. BEWARE

To be fore-warned is to be fore-armed. The Word of God gives us ample warning to beware of certain and real dangers that confront us in our daily Christian life.

(See recent lesson: Spiritual Deceivers and Other Biblical Truths)

Of the deception of men:
“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.” Colossians 2:8-10

Of the trap of the devil:
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8

Of our own self:

"Then he (Jesus) said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”  Luke 12:15

IV. BELONG

It is impossible for anyone to be genuinely happy without a sense of "belonging". It has been said that "a man is not an island unto himself."

Every child of God can rejoice in the blessing of belonging to Christ and His church.

To Christ/God:

 “because you belong to Christ…” Mark 9:41

“God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.” 1 Corinthians 7:23

And maybe the greatest thing the Bible tells us about “belonging”:  “….we are the children of God:  ¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.  Romans 8:16-18

To the church:

^“20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. ²¹ We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. ²² Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit”.  Ephesians 2:20-22

“⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.”  Acts 2:46-47

And finally do as Paul tells us: “¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying. ¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

WHO DIED AND MADE YOU MY JUDGE?

Hayward’s Note:  So many people seem to misunderstand, in my opinion, of what judging really means.  Sooo, I did some research and came up with this lesson.

 

Did you know that Matthew 7:1 (“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.”) is quickly replacing John 3:16 as the most memorized and quoted verse in the Bible?  It is true!

 

For instance, let’s look at a few statements.  Let’s see if you agree with them.

1.   Pre-marital sex is wrong.  Two people living together out of wedlock are living in adultery.

2.  Homosexuality is a sin. Homosexuals need to repent of this sin in order to be right with God.

3.   Abortion is murder. It is the taking innocent human life.

4.  Lying in order to get a job or a promotion is a sin.

And the list goes on and on of things that are not “grey”. Paul tells us that “⁹ Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. ¹¹ Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”  (1 Corinthians 6:9-12)

Today when these sins are even mentioned, the “world” will immediately say the Bible says  “Do not judge others” . Then they will say something like this, “Well, who died and made you judge?”

 

That brings up this question: is it ever right to pass judgment on the actions of others?  We need to be very careful how we answer that question!  We might think that Jesus would have said “No! It is never right to judge another.”  Instead, Jesus said, “It depends! There are times when you can judge and times when you cannot judge.”

 

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.  “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5)

 

These verses spoke by Jesus have something very important to say about the matter of judging one another.  Whether we admit it or not, we all engage in judging from time to time.  Some people have even made it their lifestyle to judge others by their standards.  Let’s look at what Jesus has to say about this vital matter.

 

Judge means “to pronounce judgment; to expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism.”  It refers to “act the part of a judge; or to pass judgment on the words and deeds of another.”

 

In this scripture in Matthew, Jesus says “Do not judge others”.  Does this mean that all judgment is wrong?  No!  There are some occasions mentioned in the Bible where Christians are called on the exercise judgment over others. SO is there a time to judge “actions”, yes - but we have a very short leash!

In Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth, he writes “I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother.”  (2 Corinthians 5: 1b) He condemns the man and his actions and calls on the church to do the same. He writes “¹² It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. ¹³ God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”  (2 Corinthians 5:12-13)  Jesus said, ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions. (Matthew 7:20)  As we can see here, there is some judging of actions going on in these verses.

 

There are times when the church must exercise discipline against a wayward member. This will require judging their fruits according to the Word of God.

¹⁵ “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. ¹⁶ But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. ¹⁷ If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-17)

So, what is Jesus talking when he says “Do not judge others.”?  Jesus is talking about looking at people and attempting to judge their motives and their real spiritual condition (in other words, questioning their salvation) based on what we see in their lives. The idea here is that the judge presumes to know the condition of another person’s heart.  He sets himself up as judge and jury and proclaims the guilt and innocence of all those around him.  This is the attitude that Jesus condemns!

 

Anyone who sets himself up as the judge of others will himself face judgment someday! “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged …… The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.^”  The critic forgets that he will also face God in judgment, “Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God.”  (Romans 14:12)  One day God will use the same yardstick to judge the critic that he used to judge others!  That is a scary thought!  We should consider these verses the next time we think about sitting in judgment of another person.  Luke writes these words spoken by Jesus: ³⁷ “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you.”  (Luke 6:37-38)  By the way, for every person we watch and criticize, there is someone else watching us and criticizing our life!

 

Here is the bottom line: We have no right to judge and criticize the lives of those around us.  There are a few good reasons why we should really strive to do this. Here is a few:

 

 We shouldn’t criticize because we don’t always know all the facts:

 A check-out person at a store once wrote to an advice-columnist to complain that she had seen people buy "luxury" food items—like expensive birthday cakes and bags of shrimp—with their food stamps. The writer went on to say that she thought all those people on welfare who treated themselves to such non-necessities were "lazy and wasteful."

A few weeks later the columnist devoted an entire column to people who had responded to the check-out chick. One woman wrote:

“I didn’t buy a cake, but I did buy a big bag of shrimp with food stamps. So what? My husband had been working at a plant for fifteen years when it shut down. The prawn casserole I made was for our wedding anniversary dinner and lasted us three days. Perhaps the checkout person who criticized that woman would have a different view of life after walking a mile in my shoes.”

Another woman wrote:
“I’m the woman who bought the $17 cake and paid for it with food stamps. I thought the check-out woman in the store would burn a hole through me with her eyes. What she didn’t know is the cake was for my little girl’s birthday. It will be her last. She has bone cancer and will probably be gone within six to eight months.”

There is no way any of us can know exactly why someone is doing something. We can save ourselves - and other people - a lot of grief by quitting altogether trying to figure out people’s hidden motives for behavior - and instead love and accept them.

 

2.  Don’t criticize because we all fail God and sin, (1 John 1:8-10).

3.  Don’t criticize because we do not know the content of the other person’s heart.

4.  Don’t criticize because, when we do, we are attempting to assume the authority of God, ⁴ Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall”.  (Rom. 14:4)  “If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law.” (James 4:11-12)

 

The problem with judging others is that we are often guilty of the same or worse sins ourselves, 2 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. (Rom. 2:1). None of us are anything to brag about!  While we look at the way some people dress, act, and at the outward signs of sin in their lives; we are often blind to the prejudices, hypocritical spirit and other sins that lurk within our own heart! What makes me think that I am in any position to straighten anyone out when I am in such a mess myself? Here is the hard part.  Here is the truth that is so hard to swallow.  Jesus is saying that the sin of the critic is often greater than the sin of the person being judged!  And we are revealing a heart that lacks genuine love for our neighbor.  Jesus said , ³⁹ “….. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Matt. 22:39) That ought to make us stop and think before we tear another person down, just because they don’t live up to our standards!

       

When our own heart has been fixed; when our own vision has been cleared up, we will able to reach out to a fallen brother or sister, or a lost sinner in the right spirit.  We will not approach them with a spirit of judgment, reproach and condemnation; but we will be able to come to them with a spirit of compassion and restoration.  That is the way it should be done. “6 Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. ² Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” (Gal. 6:1-2) There ought to be a desire to help a wayward brother/sister and to win a lost sinner.  Neither is possible as long as we have a judgmental, critical attitude.  When we walk in love one with another, we will be in the business of building up and not tearing down!

 

It is not wrong to confront a person with his sin.  It is wrong if you don’t.  Listen to these verses: “⁵ An open rebuke is better than hidden love!”  (Proverbs 27:5)  “³ So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive.”  (Luke 17:3)  Refusing to confront a person about his sin is just as wrong as a doctor refusing to confront a patient about his sickness.  If you want to understand what Jesus said in Matthew 7:1, you must put right beside it what he said in John 7:24, “²⁴ Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”  Now that says it all. You cannot judge a tree by its leaves.  But you can judge a tree by its fruit.  You cannot judge a book by its cover.  But you can judge a book by its contents.  The key is not to judge by appearance.

 

In conclusion, we see that it is not only our right to judge the behavior of fellow Christians, but it is our loving responsibility to do so.

But always in love - and with restoration, not punishment, as the goal. That is the way God wants it to happen.

        

 

Spiritual Deceivers and Other Biblical Truths

Spiritual Deceivers and Other Biblical Truths

 

If we read what Apostle John writes in 2 John, we will be reminded us of just how many "spiritual deceivers" there are out there.  John was writing to a local congregation in this letter, telling them to be careful to walk in "truth and love" and to not be taken in by the deceivers or false teachers of the world.

 

⁷ I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. ⁸ Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. ⁹ Anyone who wanders away from this teaching has no relationship with God. But anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.

¹⁰ If anyone comes to your meeting and does not teach the truth about Christ, don’t invite that person into your home or give any kind of encouragement. ¹¹ Anyone who encourages such people becomes a partner in their evil work.

 

What is a spiritual deceiver?  It is anybody who teaches other than what the Bible says is true.  It could be a religion that says we can only get to heaven by doing good works.  Or that says there is any other way to Heaven other than through Christ. Jesus said “No one can come to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6b) It is any false teaching that does not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh, or who doesn't abide in the teaching of Christ.  Such a person does not know God. 

 

Anyone who claims to be a Christian, yet doesn't believe fully in what the Bible says is a spiritual deceiver; we cannot trust their words to be true.  There are many of them out in the world.  Even those "name it and claim it" pastors that we see on TV can be a spiritual deceiver and sadly, a lot of them are.  

 

There is only one way to be assured of the truth, and that is to be familiar with God's Word and to know what it says.  It is by studying it every day, by ourselves, through a small-group Bible study and through worship at a Bible teaching church.   We need to be very careful whom we allow to be our "spiritual teachers", as there are many "seducing spirits" out there, determined to keep us away from Jesus and His truth.  The saying "the devil wants our soul" is fully true, and we must be careful to protect ourselves from the lies that abound concerning our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

The Truth Shall Set Us Free

 

³¹ Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. ³² And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³ “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?” ⁴ Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. ³⁵ A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (John 8:31-36)

 

The truth has been under attack since the very beginning of time. We look back at creation and see that Adam and Eve lived in a perfect world and had only one prohibition. That one thing they were prohibited to do was to not eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Of course, Satan came along and said, "Is that really true? Did God really mean that you shouldn’t eat from that fruit which is pleasing to the eye and certainly would taste very good?" Satan attacked God’s truth.

We go down through history and we see that “truth” question comes up time and again. When Jesus stood before Pilate, ³⁷ Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” ³⁸ “What is truth?” Pilate asked. (John 18:37-38)

 

Pilate acted as if he did not know the truth. In our day and age God’s truth is daily assaulted and attacked. In fact we are told that society today no longer accepts or believes in an absolute truth. Everything is “grey” and it depends on the “circumstances” on how the truth is interpreted. Truth depends on how a person determines it is relevant in his or her life.

 

Today, we need to learn again that there is a truth. There is an absolute truth of God and Scriptures. When the Lord tells us there is sin, there is sin. When the Lord tells us there is forgiveness, there is also forgiveness. The Psalm writer says: ¹⁰ For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God. ¹¹ Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth!  Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you. (Psalm 86:10-11).

 

We can’t trust our mind to tell us the truth…. We have to trust in the truth. And Jesus is the truth!  He stated this when old “doubting” Thomas asked, “how can we know the way?”  ⁶ Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. (John 14:5-6)

 

Even though the world might disagree, even though Satan would assault the fact that there is truth, there is truth. Jesus is the Truth, and THE TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE!

 

This was the truth then and is the truth now.

 

Often unbelievers say that they know the Bible better than most Christians. Have you ever run into a person like this? Just because people say they've read the Bible doesn't mean they really understand it.  Simply said, they can't.  It is impossible to understand what the Bible says and means without being filled with the Holy Spirit.  If we don't believe in Jesus, we don't have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of you, and the Holy Spirit is what directs us in the knowledge of the Bible.

 

 Jesus tells his followers that “⁹ The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me.” (John 16:9)  And that “¹³ When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13)

 

Non-believers don't know the spiritual meaning of the Bible, which is a big book with a big picture.  So when they quote a verse without knowing the context, (Unfortunately many Christians take some scriptures out of context.) it becomes somewhat garbled and vague in the meaning.  The Apostle Paul writes to the church in Corinth, telling them that; “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing.  In their case the god of the world (Satan) has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”  (2 Corinthians 4:3-4)  So we see that they really can't help it!

 

Funny thing about the Bible, it wasn't written for unbelievers, but as a guide for a believer’s life.  And the Holy Spirit is a Christian's ultimate guide to all truth.  So, next time you get into a discussion with a non-believer over the Bible, remember, they don't and can't understand it, it is just words to them, so we can't take it personally when they want to argue with us or call us stupid over it. 

A story was told to show the “truth” of other religions and their main “man” compared to Christians.  A man became lost in his travels and wandered into a bed of quicksand.

Confucius saw the man’s predicament and said, “It is evident that men should stay out of places such as this.” Next, Buddha observed the situation and said, “Let that man’s plight be a lesson to the rest of the world.” Then Mohammed came by and said to the sinking man, “Alas, it is the will of Allah.” Finally, Jesus appeared on the scene and said, “Take my hand, brother. I will save you. The truth is Jesus is the one who can meet our needs this Christmas season and forever.

Dwight L. Moody said “If you want to prove a stick is crooked put it next to one that is straight.”

Jesus is the truth…. What will we do with Him?  Let us not be deceived by the world.

Will We Know One Another in Heaven?

Had a question this week about this topic, so here is a lesson on this subject. Hayward

 

A lot of discussions and probably a lot of misinformation have been going on for a long time about this topic.  And it is still going on today.  But we should have a good feeling on this subject.  

 

A great preacher of the South, must have felt this way when he said: “I believe in recognition in Heaven as surely as I believe there is a God. If consciousness, character, love, memory, fellowship, are in that life, why should there be any question about it? May God help me for your sakes to take the doctrine of Heavenly Recognition out of the area of surmise and speculation into the region of absolute certainty?”

 

The belief in recognition and reunion in the afterlife is a universal one. It prevailed among very educated philosophers and poets of old, among uneducated pagans, and it is voiced by the peoples of the world in our own day. The universal, instinctive belief is that we shall know each other in the future life. Someone has expressed the yearning of his heart in the following verse:

 

When the holy angels meet us
As we join their happy band,
We shall know the friends that greet us
In that glorious spirit-land.
We shall see the same eyes shining
On us as in days of yore.
We shall feel the dear arms twining
Fondly, round us as before.

Heavenly Recognition in the Old Testament

 

An encouraging theme repeated in the Old Testament supports the concept of Heavenly Recognition:

“Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah near Mamre,” (Genesis 25:8).

 

When Abraham died, he was buried in a cave in the land of he had travelled to after to leaving his birth place at the request of God. He purchased the field to be certain he had a burying place at his death, but it was not the in the land of his ancestors. Therefore,  this Scripture does not mean that his body was gathered/taken to the place of his ancestors for burial  that he had left many years before.  We notice also that Abraham was gathered to his people before his body was buried.

 

“Ishmael lived a hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died, and he was gathered to his people.” (Genesis 25:17).

 

 ^“Then he (Isaac) breathed his last and died and was gathered to his people…….. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.” (Genesis 35:29).

 

“When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.” (Genesis 49:33).

 

“Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.” (Numbers 20:24).

 

^“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up this mountain in the Abarim Range and see the land I have given the Israelites.  After you have seen it, you too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was,…” (Numbers 27:12, 13).

 

We can see here that the scriptures say the same about Aaron’s’ death as it did about  Abraham’s.

The same is true also of Moses.  Scripture says both were gathered to their people.  And later in Deuteronomy  we see Moses was buried “….  in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.” (Deuteronomy34:6). As we study the lives of other Old Testament characters where scriptures say they were “gathered” to their people, we will find that it meant more than merely being buried with them. They were gathered to their loved ones in the home of departed spirits with not one moment of loneliness between their memories on earth and their joining them in Heaven. A blessed recognition! A hallowed reunion!

 

The attitude of David at the death of his child shows that Israel’s King believed in Heavenly Recognition. He had fasted and wept in the hope that God would be gracious to him and allow the child to live. But when final word was received that he was dead, David ate food, wiped the tears away from his eyes, and found comfort in a hope that he expressed in these words: “But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:23). Would there be any comfort for David if he had to go to his child whom he would not know?

 

Here we need to note the writer here says that he does not believe there will be infants in Heaven as such. All bodies in Heaven will be perfect. There will be no old age or infancy in the home of the blessed. In an earlier writing the author of this lesson said that no infant who dies will be lost and sent to Hell. However, he goes on to say, they will not appear in their resurrected bodies as infants, for infancy is an immature stage and an imperfect state of existence. Adam and Eve were not infants when made, but adults. What a tragedy if weak and helpless infants were to be doomed to an eternal state of weakness and infirmity! We encounter no problem here in a parent recognizing its child in Heaven. When we think of Christian mothers who have died giving birth to a child, and the child growing to full maturity and becoming a Christian, we still believe that the mother shall recognize her son or daughter even though her last view of the child was in its infancy.

 

Heavenly Recognition in the New Testament

 

The scene on the Mount of Transfiguration is generally accepted as strong evidence of Heavenly Recognition. After death the spirit is “clothed” with a spirit body that is recognizable. This fact was in evidence when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into the Holy Mount known as the mountain of transfiguration. “There he (Jesus) was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light.  Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.   (Matthew 17:2-3). These two Old Testament saints did not appear as angels or ghosts, but, Luke says: “Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus.” (Luke 9:30). Not only were Moses and Elijah recognizable by our Lord, but they were also recognized by the apostles. Peter certainly knew them, for he said: “…… Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (Matthew 17:4) When we recall how the disciples with earthly, limited vision could recognize the two saints from Heaven, certainly when we arrive there in our glorified bodies and with heavenly vision, we will be able to recognize people we associated with on earth.

 

In Luke Jesus tells of a rich man and a poor beggar. “….the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side.  The rich man also died and was buried.  (Luke 16:22) The rich man went to Hell, “….  he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.” (Luke 16:23). Here is a case that proves both recognition and remembrance in the future life. If, in the eternal residence of the lost with its limitations of spiritual wisdom and perception, there is feeling for and recognition of loved ones, how much greater will be the perception and knowledge of our loved ones in the eternal Home of Believers where awareness is not limited!

 

Heaven is revealed as a social place, where enjoyment and fellowship are explained as the example of a feast. Jesus said: “I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 8:11). So if Jesus said this about these great patriarchs knowing each other at this holy feast, then so will the saved from all ends of the earth.

 

The Apostle Paul believed and taught that Heaven was a place of mutual recognition for the children of God. Paul wrote: “After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you!  Yes, you are our pride and joy.” (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20). There is no mistaking what Paul had in mind. He fully expected to meet the converts from Thessalonica in Heaven, and furthermore, he looked forward to being able to distinguish them from others who had found Christ during the years of his ministry. By the Holy Spirit, Paul taught also that those who were saved under his teaching and preaching would know him. He says, “even if you don’t understand us now. Then on the day when the Lord Jesus returns, you will be proud of us in the same way we are proud of you.” (2 Corinthians 1:14).  Heaven is our home, and all who go there are one family with God as their Father. How sad if we had to live throughout eternity as strangers! It would not be home.

Paul also writes, “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” (1 Corinthians 13:12). Today our knowledge is confined to what God has given us in His Bible, and how we do praise Him for that marvelous revelation in His Word! In Revelation 22:3-4, we read “his servants will worship him. And they will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads. they will see His face, …..” This is very special scripture.  It is the culmination of the revelation of God. 

 

To “see the face of God” will be an incredible moment and experience, and it is not unreasonable to suggest that this is more than what man has experienced in the past. It is first important to understand the context of Revelation 22:4.  This experience will take place in the New Heaven and New Earth.  This means that the verse is for believers, and that the believers will be in their resurrected bodies.  So we will all be “different”.  Paul calls this “the change”.  ^“What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever.   But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.  For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.  (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). 

 

But, as the following verse from the old hymn “Face to face with Christ, my Savior”, syas, what we will be really excited about is seeing our Jesus “face to face”

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Face to face! O blissful moment!
Face to face--to see and know;
Face to face with my Redeemer
Jesus Christ Who loves me so.