Early on in my life I became a very good agnostic as, at 9-10 years old, I had prayed that God might hold my family together from the ravages of my dads alcoholism and my parents impending divorce. That year I had chased faith, was baptized, and asked for nothing for Christmas but a Bible, and promised to go to the mission field, and do anything IF God would just do what I wanted. I am a bit sad to report all I got out of that baptism was wet, and my chasing faith to achieve my own purposes didn’t work. I then became a great agnostic over the next 8 years, believing there was a god/power/force in the universe, because I was too logical to look at creation and believe any nonsense about this all just falling into place by happenstance as I was being taught in school. However, by my experience of Christianity failing me and my family, at 9-10, I also knew this god was unknowable and did not get involved in the affairs of man in any personal way. At 18, in March of 1971, I had a revelation of Jesus in a very real conversation with the Holy Spirit. Friends said it was a fad and that I would get over it. But it is 53 years later and I haven’t gotten over it yet. I don’t think I ever will.
Have you ever had a revelation or vision from the LORD, or of Him, that radically changed your life and your paradigm?
Here is the apostle Paul, then known as Saul, and as a persecutor of the church, as he witnessed and endorsed the persecution and stoning of Stephen (Stephen had a personal revelation of the LORD that inspired him to lay down His life, but that didn’t seem to affect Paul/Saul in the least at the time):
[Acts 7:55-60 NASB95] 55 But being full of the Holy Spirit, he (Stephen) gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse. 58 When they had driven him out of the city, they [began] stoning [him;] and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on [the Lord] and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he fell asleep. [Acts 8:1, 3 NASB95] 1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. … 3 But Saul [began] ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.
But then shortly afterwards Saul/Paul witnesses something and Someone else. He had a personal revelation of, and from, the LORD that radically impacted him.:
[Acts 9:1-9 NASB95] 1 Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He [said,] “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and it will be told you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
This personal revelation of, and confrontation with, Jesus the Lord made all the difference.
We read of Paul having missionary journeys. And with that term we somehow see and imagine him as the Billy Graham of his time intensely given to the salvation of souls. But, I think Paul’s calling and commitment went far beyond simple salvation gospel preaching or the saving of souls. Yes, he was interested in the salvation of men in Christ through sharing the gospel. However, I think, with a far deeper purpose than salvation alone. I think the revelation that drove Him most powerfully is revealed in the words “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting” in this initial encounter.
He saw and understood Jesus as Head of the body; and the people, the believers, he was harming, as His body. He had a revelation that changed His paradigm completely. And as a result, of seeing the Head and the Body clearly, he was intent, as He came to faith and knowledge of Jesus, upon establishing the ekklesia, the church, to manifest Jesus in the world as His body and giving glory to its Head, Jesus.
He had this revelation on the road to Damascus at his conversion and, from the beginning, was dependent upon others, like the men with him that led him under Christ command when they got up, but particularly other believers/the church, like Ananias, Barnabas and Peter and those in Jerusalem. And, most probably those in Arabia and Tarsus as well, where he spent some years, and perhaps had further revelation and understanding from the LORD.
We read in Acts 22 and Acts 26, as Paul was confronted and on trial himself, his own recounting of his ministry, but particularly of this initial revelation where He was asked “Why are you persecuting Me?” And, of we read accounts of His having other encounters and revelation regarding his being sent to the Gentiles and judged by the Jews.
[Acts 22:3-8, 17-21 NASB95] 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today. 4 “I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, 5 as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished. 6 “But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, 7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?‘ 8 “And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ … 17 “It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 “And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. 20 ‘And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ 21 “And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'”
[Acts 26:4-7, 10-17 NASB95] 4 “So then, all Jews know my manner of life from my youth up, which from the beginning was spent among my [own] nation and at Jerusalem; 5 since they have known about me for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that I lived [as] a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of our religion. 6 “And now I am standing trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers; 7 [the promise] to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly serve [God] night and day. And for this hope, O King, I am being accused by Jews. … 10 “And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 “And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities. 12 “While so engaged as I was journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around me and those who were journeying with me. 14 “And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew dialect, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 “And I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; 17 rescuing you from the [Jewish] people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you,
As we witness Paul’s testimony in these passages, we can see the impact and transitional power of a revelation of Jesus and gaining an understanding of God’s eternal purpose in Him. Paul was truly struck blind on the road to Damascus that he might now see the fullness of Jesus and His purpose in the church. He was blind, but now he sees! His religious paradigm completely changed from hating and persecuting the ekklesia/church to being devoted to establishing it and loving it, and devoted to loving Jesus its Head and Lord, even unto his own persecution and at the cost of his life. He changed from being established in and trusting rote religion and the letter of the law, to being secure in the grace of Jesus and trusting the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He left trusting his own learning and intellect, as well as all that came with “the righteousness which is in the Law,(in which he was) found blameless.” , and counted it all loss “in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord,”. (Philippians 3:7-8)
Just as astonishing, if not more so, is that this one that once hated, and would not touch or eat with, Gentiles would become the apostle to the Gentiles sharing the unfathomable riches of Christ with them and establishing fellowships/beachheads/churches/expressions of the Body of Christ among them.
Once you have had a true revelation of Jesus everything changes! It did for me, it did for Paul. Everything else may fade. But, He/Jesus goes far beyond salvation and being savior alone! My friends watching the Jesus Movement move through our generation, thought it was just a fad that would pass and fade. But, for those of us that got knocked off our horses of agnosticism, atheism, hedonism, materialism, science, etc. ad nauseum… like Paul knocked off his horse of Judaism and works righteousness in the law on the road to Damascus… found Jesus does not change! He does not fade! His revelation is life and paradigm altering and remains the same yesterday, today and forever! And, although salvation may be the portal of entry to His Kingdom, it is not all that He calls us to, nor the sole reason He gave us a revelation of Himself. His eternal purpose is a that reason, and it is just that; eternal.
Consider the following in the light of Paul’s revelation, and that revelation passed along to us:
[Ephesians 3:1-12 NASB95] 1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles– 2 if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; 3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. 4 By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; 6 [to be specific,] that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel, 7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power. 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly [places.] 11 [This was] in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.