Is what I see all I can see?
Message Outline
Paul Once Regarded Christ “According to the Flesh”
Paul knew ABOUT Jesus — a crucified man, a threat, a false Messiah — but he did not SEE Him. He had information about Jesus without revelation of Jesus. He didn’t need more information; he needed to see Jesus differently.
Paul did not need more information about Jesus. He needed to see Jesus differently.
Until He Met Him
You can grow up around church, know the vocabulary, and have strong opinions about Jesus — and still not have met Him (think Kat Von D: she knew about Christianity, walked away, then Jesus became different to her). Knowing ABOUT Christ is not the same as knowing Christ.
Paul thought he knew who Jesus was — until he met Him. Jesus hadn’t changed; the way Paul saw Him changed.
You Can’t See a New Creation Through Old Eyes
Verse 17 explains verse 16: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. People may try to introduce you by a version of you Jesus has already transformed — but heaven doesn’t define you by what you used to be.
You cannot keep looking at a new creation through old eyes.
Now Turn It Around
I want people to see beyond my past — then I turn around and freeze someone else in the worst version of themselves. The person you’ve already labeled may be the one Jesus is still reaching for. Paul was the perfect example.
We cannot excuse sin — but we cannot reduce a human being to the worst thing we know about them.
What If My Eyes Are the Problem?
The question isn’t “Is what I see real?” People do fail and sin. The question is: is what I see ALL I can see? Can I see the sin and still see a person Jesus loves? The gospel changes how I see Jesus, myself, and the person standing in front of me.
Where they are does not have to be where they remain. We have to get the lens right.
The Response
Maybe our prayer needs to be: “Jesus, change the way I see.”
- Show me where I have reduced You to my own expectations.
- Show me where I have decided I already understand You.
- Show me where I have put somebody into a category.
- Show me where I have made someone’s past their permanent identity in my mind.
- Show me where I see a label before I see a person.
Maybe there are things standing right in front of me — and I see them, but I do not really see them.
From now on, church, we regard no one according to the flesh.
We have to get the lens right.
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