House of Hope Online

March 2, 2025

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Last time we talked about the lies of the serpent, who is Satan, and the venom that spreads and infects our spiritual lives when we listen to him.  We said it is much like snake venom in the natural realm, where it damages vital organs and potentially leads to death.  We concluded that the antivenom for our spiritual snake bites is Jesus Christ, who is the Word of God.  If we speak the word back to Satan, if we speak Jesus over our lives, over our families, over our bodies, and over our emotions, then the devil and his venom will flee.

Today, I want to discuss a similar spiritual health matter – but this time having to do with our vision, what we see, and how we see.  The Lord is impressing upon me that what we see in the natural realm, we see dimly.  This includes our view of world events, what is put forth as truth and righteousness by the world, and, more importantly, how we see ourselves.  Our Lord is saying when we look in the mirror, we see dimly.

Paul confirms this vision impairment in 1^st Corinthians 13.

1^st Corinthians 13:

 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;

 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.

 11 When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.

 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.

 13 But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (NASB)

Paul says we see dimly today.  We know in part; we prophesy in part.  In the big picture, we speak like a child, we think as a child, we reason as a child.  Children are not stupid; they just know in part.

Even the greatest and most accurate prophets among us prophesy in part.  But Paul promises, when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away, meaning we will be all-knowing.  The perfect, of course refers to the coming of Jesus.

This is an important lesson for us because our Father in heaven wants us to know that we see dimly today. 

What we know about our world today is partial. 

What we know about our government is partial.

What we know our employer is partial.

And what we know about ourselves is partial.

When it comes to science, it would pay us to realize that science only knows in part.  When we listen to the experts discuss the Middle East or any other matter of importance in our world, keep in mind they only know in part.  We can devote our lives to studying the movements of the stock market, changes in global temperatures, and even end times biblical prophecy, but we will still only know in part, because the word of God tells us we will not know fully until the perfect (Jesus) comes.

Seeing Ourselves Dimly

After showering with the bathroom door closed, when you look in the mirror, you see dimly.  You can see an image of yourself, but your vision is foggy.  You are seeing in part.

When we see ourselves in part, that is, without the perfect view of our perfect Lord and Savior, we can become depressed or discouraged.  When you see yourself dimly, you can become anxious or fearful.  Seeing yourself dimly forms an opinion of yourself or a future consequence without perfect knowledge.

Early in my professional career and early in my walk with Jesus, I would fear losing my job and not being able to find work sufficient to support our family.  I was seeing dimly then because I was viewing myself as provider, instead of seeing Jesus as Provider.  I was seeing dimly in the mirror.  I was not seeing what God promised in Jeremiah 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Instead of seeing what the Perfect was saying, I was seeing dimly in the mirror.

The truth is, in our fleshly nature, we do not see ourselves as the Father see us.  In our flesh, we tend to listen to the lies of the serpent, which are designed to defeat us.  When the Father looks upon His child, he sees all the potential for greatness that He created when He formed us.  If we accept Jesus, His son, in our hearts, the Father sees us as washed, without sin, and capable of the great works that He created for us, that we should walk in them.

If you are depressed, discouraged, anxious, or fearful, I want to encourage you today that you are seeing yourself dimly right now.  But there is coming a day, when the Perfect comes, and you will see fully what Jesus thinks of you.

When the Perfect Comes

Paul writes in verse 10: “but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away.”

That begs the question: “When will the perfect come?”  When will Jesus come?  Of course He will come for us at the Rapture, and then we will see and know all with perfection.  But Jesus, the Perfect, will also come in our prayer time, in our praise moments, and in our worship time.  The Bible says He inhabits the praises of His people.  Psalms 100:4 says we enter His courts, meaning His presence, with praise.

So, that means when we pray, praise and worship Jesus, the Perfect comes.  When we enter his presence, He speaks into our spirits, and gives us knowledge, wisdom, and discernment.  Discernment enables us to know the difference between a lie of the serpent, and the word of the Lord.

Being Fully Known

When Jesus, the Perfect, comes in, we will know fully, just as we have been fully known.

1^st Corinthians 13:

12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.

Paul adds “…I shall know fully, just as I also have been fully known.”  Think about being fully known.  When you go for a job interview, you might think: “if only this employer could fully know what I am capable of, I would get this job.”  Well, Paul is saying we have been fully known by Jesus.

There is a certain peace that comes from being fully known.  When you are fully known, there is nothing to hide, nothing to prove.  Jesus knows us, our strengths, our weaknesses, our joys, our fears.  He knows our faith is not perfect, but He still loves us enough to die for us.

Abide in His Love

Paul closes 1^st Corinthians 13 with advice on how to combat seeing dimly, and how to combat the venom of the serpent’s lies.

1^st Corinthians 13:

13 But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Abide in these three:

Faith: Abide in your faith in Jesus and the Word of God.  Trust what Jesus says about you, not what man says, or friends say, or family says.

Hope: Abide in the hope in the Perfect and His coming.  Daydream about knowing fully and being fully known, with nothing to hide, and nothing to prove.

Love: Abide in the love of God and love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and soul.  Meditate on the truth that The Father in Heaven loves you with an agape love.  He knows you fully and He not only loves you, but He likes you, too.  He sees you through the lens of Jesus, one without sin.

Clearing Off the Mirror

When the perfect Jesus comes into our prayer time, into our praise time, into our worship time, He clears the mirror, so we no longer see ourselves dimly.  That mirror will be cleared if you:

• Allow your spirit and soul (your mind, will, and emotions) to bathe in the Holy Spirit, who is the antidote for the malignancy of the devil’s lies.
• Resist the devil and He will flee (James 4:7).
• Resist the devil by speaking the word of God back to him.  That is what Jesus did when the devil tempted Him with lies in Matthew 4.

When you pray, praise, and worship, here is what the Word of God will say about you:

• You are royalty: 1^st Peter 2:9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR [God’s] OWN POSSESSION

• You are the head and not the tail: Deuteronomy 29:13

• You are an overwhelming conqueror: Romans 8:37

• You are redeemed, which means bought by the blood of Jesus: Galatians 3:13

• You are forgiven and saved in hope: Romans 8:24

• You are loved with an agape (all-encompassing) love: John 3:16

• You are an heir of God and a fellow heir with Jesus: Romans 8:17

• You are called according to God’s purpose: Romans 8:28

• You are justified: Romans 8:33

• You are God’s elect: Romans 8:33

Closing

Romans 8:

 33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;

The devil will try to bring a charge against you.  He will try to get into your head and have you see dimly in a mirror, but the Perfect says: “God is the One who justifies.”

Romans 8:

 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NASB)

You are an overwhelming conqueror, and nothing can separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

When your Perfect comes to you, you will see clearly in the mirror that you are a child of God, capable of walking in all the prosperity He has for you.  You will know things with wisdom, and you will discern the truth of God from the lies of this world.

Let us pray.

Father God, we confess Your word that we know only in part, and we see ourselves dimly in the mirror in our natural state.  We cry out to our Perfect One, Jesus, to do away with the partial, and to bring clarity to our vision.  We eagerly await His coming when we will fully know, just as we have been fully known.  Lord, come into our prayer time, inhabit our praise and our worship, and tell us who we are, and who you want us to be.  In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen.