Have You Seen the Heavenly Vision of Christ and the Church?
Are you living your Christian life under a heavenly vision?
Paul did. And the Lord set him as a pattern for us all (1 Tim. 1:16).
In Acts 26:19, Paul said,
“I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.”
But what was the heavenly vision that Paul saw? And how can you and I see this same life-changing vision and be governed by it today?
Let’s consider the heavenly vision revealed to Paul and how we also can experience the same our own Christian life.
What was the heavenly vision that the apostle Paul saw?
Before meeting the Lord Jesus, Paul’s name was Saul of Tarsus. Saul was a devoted Jew, strictly keeping the law of Moses. He was so zealous for his Jewish religion that he even persecuted his countrymen who believed in Christ, going even to distant cities to arrest and punish them.
However, one day, on his way to the city of Damascus, the Lord appeared to Saul, causing him to fall to the ground. Then the Lord spoke to him saying,
“Saul, Saul why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4).
Saul responded,
“Who are you, Lord?” (v.5a)
And the Lord replied,
“I am Jesus whom you persecute.” (v.5b)
The Lord then directed Saul to go into the city and that it would be told him what he must do. The Lord then sent a disciple named Ananias to visit Saul saying,
“Go, for this man is a chosen vessel unto Me…” (9:15)
Three key elements of the heavenly vision
The Lord’s word to Saul at his conversion contained three key elements of his heavenly vision, elements that governed his future ministry for the Lord:
1. “Chosen vessel”
First, Paul was referred to as a “chosen vessel” unto the Lord Jesus—a container to hold Christ as his priceless treasure (2 Cor. 4:7).
It was based on the Lord’s word through Ananias that Paul came to realize that man is a vessel to contain God.
In Romans, he said,
“God willed to make know the riches of His glory on vessels of mercy, even us…” (Rom. 9:23-24a)
This includes you and me. We are all the Lord’s vessels—His containers to be filled with Him as our contents.
So have you seen the vision that you are such a vessel to contain God in Christ as your real content?
We’re His “glove” and He is the real “hand.” We’re like a Coke bottle purposely made to be filled with Him as the real “Coke.” It is good to tell the Lord,
“Lord Jesus, thank you for making me as a vessel to contain you. Empty me so that You can fill me with Yourself. I open my whole being to You right now.”
2. “I am Jesus”
This “Jesus” is the mystery of God. God is a mystery and Jesus Christ, as God’s mystery, has revealed Him. His story is the unveiling of the mysterious God and God’s mysterious purpose. So Paul could specifically say,
“…The mystery of God, Christ. (Col. 2:2)
As the mystery of God, Christ embodies all that God is (Col. 2:9). He is the eternal God (Rom. 9:5). Yet, in time He became a finite man of flesh so that He could redeem us with His sinless blood (John 1:14, 29).
Then, through His death and resurrection, He became a life-giving Spirit so that He could enter into us to fill us with Himself. Paul said,
“…The last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.” (1 Cor. 15:45b)
As the life-giving Spirit, Jesus Christ can now dispense God with His life into you. You simply need to call on Him. Saul called Him “Lord” without knowing Who He was. But you can call Him Lord with a full appreciation for who He is.
In Romans 10:9-13 Paul said,
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved…for the same Lord is Lord of all and rich to all who call on Him, For ‘whoever calls on the name of the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”
Try it. Follow Paul’s pattern by calling on the Lord and praying,
“O Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus! I believe that You are the mystery of God. God is a mystery, but You have revealed Him through Your wonderful process. Thank you that through Your death and resurrection, You became the life-giving Spirit to enter into me. I receive You. Come into me and fill me with Yourself. I love You.”
3. “Why are you persecuting Me?”
Isn’t this a mystery? The ascended Christ spoke to His persecutor from the heavens asking him why are you persecuting “Me.” Saul might have said, “I never persecuted You, I only persecuted Your followers.”
But by the Lord’s word from heaven, Saul was revolutionized to see, that Jesus had become one great corporate “Me.” Christ was both the ascended Head enthroned in the heavens (Rom. 8:34) and His Body on earth, including every one of His members that He indwells (Rom. 8:10; 1 Cor 12:12).
This is the mystery of Christ (Eph. 3:4-6)—Christ with His believers as one great corporate “Me”—the Body of Christ.
So have you seen this “great corporate Me”—Christ and the church as a corporate person made of Christ, the Head with the church, His Body?
Finally Paul said,
“This mystery is great but I speak with regard to Christ and the church.”(Eph. 5.32)
You may want to pray,
“Lord Jesus, show me the same vision that Paul saw. Show me the “corporate Me”, You as the Head and the church as Your Body. Show me that by Your indwelling, You produce Your Body to be Your enlarged, corporate expression. Lord, make me a part of Your one Body. Lord govern me by this heavenly vision that Paul saw.”
How can you practically be “obedient to this heavenly vision?”
- Be an “open vessel”– daily open yourself to the Lord Jesus to be a vessel filled with Him (Eph. 5:18).
- Invite this “Jesus”—the mystery of God, who was processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion and resurrection to be the life-giving Spirit—to come into you and indwell you, that you may live in one spirit with Him (1 Cor. 6:17).
- Give yourself practically to be a part of the mystery of Christ, the corporate “Me”—Christ, the Head with the church, His Body.
In this way you will fulfill the purpose of the life of Christ in you–the building up of His one Body, the church (Eph. 4:15-16) and be obedient to the heavenly vision.
If you have enjoyed this post, please leave a comment to indicate what helped you.
References and Further Resources:
- This post was inspired by Chapters 10-12 of The Completing Ministry of Paul by Witness Lee. you can read it online at ministrybooks.org.
- The following hymns strengthen the vision in this post:
- Also for more appreciation of what I covered in this post, you may enjoy reading my previous post, “Are You Living in the Mystery?“
About Tom Smith
Hi. My name is Tom Smith. I'm the writer behind Holding to Truth in Love, and I love the Lord Jesus and His life-giving Word. Please feel free to send me an e-mail through the contact page if you have any questions. I hope you'd take a moment to subscribe to the Holding to Truth blog. Then you'll be sure not to miss a post. Thanks!
Insightful post, Tom. I’m amazed by the revelation that is packed into these three items: “chosen vessel,” “Jesus,” and “Me.” If we open to Jesus and allow Him to fill our vessel, the issue is more of the corporate Christ (“Me”).
May the Lord show us more of this heavenly vision, and, like Paul, may we be those obedient to such a vision.
Yes, may we follow Paul’s pattern to be those “obedient to the heavenly vision.” His story is recorded 3 times in Acts so it must be something important. May the Lord govern us by the vision that we’re chosen vessels to contain God as our content, that Jesus has gone through awesome steps to not only be in heaven but in us as the Spirit, and that by His dispensing and indwelling we’re becoming part of the great corporate “Me,” the Body-Christ, the church. May this vision affect all our living and service to the Lord. Thanks for the confirming comment.
I like your conclusion “How can we…” First, daily be an open vessel to the Lord. Yesterday morning as we were speaking to one another, a verse mentioned often was 2 Cor. 3:16 – whenever the heart turns to the Lord. To turn is to open, and this is whenever. It is easier when we are together with others loving the Lord, but “whenever” needs to enlarge to times in our cars, at work, while walking, in the grocery store, while cleaning the house, etc, etc.
It is so good to see that God made us as His vessels and that the purpose of a vessel is to be filled with, express, and dispense its content. Since our content is Christ, the mystery of God, we need to continually turn to Him, open to Him, to behold Him. To turn our heart is to open our vessel, thus allowing the Lord who is light to shine into our hearts. I also agree that being with other believers really makes it easier to turn and open to the Lord. Then from these special times of opening to the Lord, we need to turn to Him, and open to Him in more of our “whenever” times–driving, shopping, cleaning, etc. In this way His expression–the mystery of Christ will be enlarged.
Having studied the Holy Bible for many years I find this message to be indeed a miracle revelation indeed. I believe that God sends all of us just exactly what we need, when we need it. Reading this today certainly raises my level of understanding Jesus Christ and His place in my life.
God bless you for sharing
In His grace.
Glad you found the post on the “heavenly vision” helpful. Paul was “not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” May we also be governed by it, realizing that we too are the Lord’s vessels created to be filled with Him as our priceless treasure (2 Cor. 4:7). May we also realize that Jesus Who spoke to Paul is not merely the Nazarene of Galilee, but the Christ who has passed through incarnation, human living, death and resurrection so that He can enter into us to be our life (Rom 8:10; Col 3:4). Finally, the issue of such a vision is not just victorious Christian living but a great corporate “Me,” the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12) with Christ living again in a group of His members who are joined to Him as their Head (Eph. 4:15, 16).
Brother In Christ Jesus, I salute you In The Name That Is Above all names. I saw my Lord, in the sky, so bright-so bright. I need a Mentor. Thank you for the website. Stay Blessed.
I am very glad you found the Holding to Truth site helpful. It is one way we can introduce the Lord’s loving seekers to the deeper truths and experiences of Christ as life. I will consider if there is any mentor I can refer you to. For now, I would encourage you to continue reading our posts. You may also find a wealth of spiritual nourishment by two outstanding men of God—Watchman Nee and Witness Lee at the Living Stream Ministry website: lsm.org
Many books can be read for free in their full text. You can also freely listen to a podcasts, radio broadcasts, going through nearly every book of the Bible here. Thank you for your comment and may the Lord bless you as you seek to know Him in a deeper way.
Iam really bless. please I need more materials about heavenly vison
Glad you enjoy the post concerning the heavenly vision of Christ and the church . For more material on the heavenly vision, I would recommend a book by that title: The Heavenly Vision by Witness Lee. You can find it online at ministrybooks.org. Thanks for your confirming comment.