Today we have this glorious occasion of baptism, and I would like to speak to those who are not Christians, those who are almost Christians and not quite, and those who already know the Lord but whose depth of relationship with him leaves much to be desired. For all of us, we would indeed like to walk in a closer relationship with the Lord. I want to discuss the relationship of baptism to the resurrection, and to the question of whether Jesus Christ truly manifests himself to those who follow him.
I would like to read from John chapter 14, the passage on which we shall base our exposition. The passage begins with a question from Philip in verse 8. One of the disciples, Philip, said to the Lord Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and we shall be satisfied." I would like you to feel the depth and sincerity of Philip's question. There is nothing superficial about it. I deplore the way some preachers present it as though Philip asked a silly question. Far from being silly, it was a profound, very earnest, very sincere question coming from the depths of his heart: "Lord, show us the Father, God the Father, and we will be satisfied." This is a truly wonderful question.
The Lord's reply to Philip is this — and in no way does he rebuke him for it. "Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father?" He is not rebuking Philip, but he is disappointed that Philip had failed to see, with spiritual perception, that the answer to his question was standing right in front of him. Far from brushing aside the question, the Lord now embarks upon a continuing discourse that goes all the way through chapter 15 and on through chapter 16 — three chapters in reply to Philip's question. That shows you how important and how significant the Lord Jesus considered Philip's request.
Was this not the whole point of the book of Job? Through all his trials, Job was able at the very climax of the book to say, "Once I heard of you, O God, with my ears; now I have seen with my eyes that you are the living God." Job loved God before all those trials. But the end of those trials resulted in a new depth of experience with God, on an entirely different level from what he had before. Many Christians here today love God with all sincerity. But like Job before his trials, they are not yet able to say, "Now I have seen you."
The Lord goes on in verse 18: "I will not leave you desolate. I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more. But you will see me." Notice these words — Philip asked "show me," and the Lord answered "you will see me." He is about to be crucified; the world from the time of the cross will see him no more. But then verse 21: "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and — " notice this word — "and manifest myself to him."
I want you to understand immediately that "manifest" is the key word of this whole exposition today. Then Judas — not Iscariot, but another disciple named Judas — said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?" He puts the question into a nutshell. Jesus will not manifest himself to the unbeliever. Faith must precede this experience of Christ, because we are saved by faith. If he manifests himself before the act of faith, there is no need for faith — seeing would dispense with faith. But the order is: first faith, then the substantiation of that faith by the manifestation of Christ.
And Jesus answered him: "If any man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." You asked only for one look at the Father; I can do something better than that. The Father will come and make his home with you. You asked for a glimpse, and Jesus says: not just a glimpse — we will come and live with you. How extraordinary.
Now let us attend carefully to this word "manifest." In Greek, the word is ephanero, from ephanes. Little and Scott's authoritative Greek dictionary gives the definition: "visible to the eye; manifest" — and especially in Greek writings, "of God's appearing bodily among men." The verb ephaneso means "to show forth, to manifest, to exhibit." It means to make visible. In a figurative sense, to make known, to make clear, to make certain, to explain. That is what the Lord wants to do: he wants you to have absolute certainty about his reality. Because everything hinges upon this matter.
This is the reason I am not afraid of using the word "experiential." There are some Christians who are very frightened of that word, as though the Christian faith should be based in no sense on experience. I don't understand this. The whole of the Gospels — what is it if not experience? "That which we have seen with our eyes, which we have handled with our hands, of the word of life, that we testify." The apostles were sharing their experience. You cannot be a witness without having an experience. Paul is able to say, "I know whom I have believed" — because he met him. He met him on the road to Damascus, and since then many times. That is why he could say "I know whom I have believed" with such confidence, and it is this kind of confidence that I would like every one of you to have.
What the Lord says in verse 21 is very general — it is not addressed only to the apostles. "He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me, and I will manifest myself to him." Anyone. Do you have his commandments? "Love God with all your heart; love your neighbour as yourself; take up your cross and follow me." The trouble is in the keeping of them. He who has my commandments and keeps them — he it is who loves me. I will manifest myself to such a person. Either he is a liar, or he will manifest himself. Let us make it plain: you take your choice — either you make him a liar, or you will find that he manifests himself.
Now let us come historically to what the Lord was referring to. He was speaking to the apostles, and the primary meaning of "you will see me" is the resurrection event. In John 16 verses 16 to 18: "A little while and you will see me no more; again a little while and you will see me." The disciples were puzzled, and Jesus said to them in effect: the one in whom you trusted, whom you committed your lives to follow, you will see him hanging on a Roman cross, slowly dying, and your hopes will fall away. But a little while, and you will see me again — and that joy which you will have when you see me again, nobody will take from you.
This point is vitally important, and I want to impress it upon your mind: he told his disciples they were going to see him with their physical eyes when he had risen from the dead. He did not say, "Take it all by faith." He wanted them to have this confidence. In Matthew alone, he repeats this five times — Matthew 16:21; 17:9; 17:23; 20:19; 26:32 — and in three of those he specified that it would be in three days. And in Matthew 26:32 he actually tells them to go to Galilee, where he will meet them. There is nothing vague or wishy-washy about the words of Jesus. He wanted them to be able to verify whether what he said was true. Anyone who dares to say "I will rise in three days and you will see me" wants you to check — it is an empirically verifiable claim.
The resurrection accounts describe three stages over those forty days: first the period in Jerusalem, then in Galilee, then back in Jerusalem for the ascension from the Mount of Olives, in full view, in their very presence. The whole thing is perfectly planned. Who says that experience of Christ is somehow inferior or a bad thing? The resurrection is central to everything the Lord Jesus says and does. Consider this: would I dare to say to you that I would rise in three days and you would see me? Because that can be easily checked. You have to wait only three days — not fifty years. He left nothing to guesswork.
# Baptism and Resurrection: "I Will Manifest Myself to You" (Part B) — The Living Christ and His Promise to Every Believer
They could not but mention the living Christ. This is what made all the difference between the New Testament church and our church today. They have no more scriptures than we have, but the difference is that Jesus was manifested to them. Has he been manifested to you? That is the question. But the point I want to make is that he wants to manifest himself. "I will manifest myself to you" — that is as strong as any promise he could make.
Notice that verse 21 is very general: "He who has my commandments" — anyone who has his commandments, not only the apostles. Do you have his commandments? Can you say you are ignorant of them? "Love God with all your heart; love your neighbour as yourself; take up your cross and follow me." He who has my commandments and keeps them — he it is who loves me — I will love him — I will manifest myself to such a person. The only condition is faith, because without faith you cannot keep his commandments. Either he is a liar or he will manifest himself. Let us not go hiding behind excuses and say that experiences are dangerous. What is dangerous about it? I can tell you: it will so turn your life upside down that it really will be dangerous.
Those timid, cowardly apostles, huddled together in the room — Jesus comes into the room. They can barely believe their eyes. Next week he appears again. If that is not enough, he appears again in Galilee. And the result is that they go out burning with fire: "We have seen the Lord. That which we have seen, which our hands have handled, that is what we are preaching to you." Now, the Acts chapter 1 account tells us he presented himself alive after his passion "by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days." And the word "staying with them" there can also mean eating with them, spending the night with them. He did not just appear and disappear in a flash. He fellowshipped with them. He talked with them. He said to Thomas, "Put your finger in the nail prints — see that I am not a ghost, that it is me."
And in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul lists the resurrection appearances: he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve, then to more than five hundred brethren at one time — "most of whom are still alive," Paul adds, meaning the Corinthians could go and check. Not one in sequence but five hundred at once. Can you imagine this hall filled to its maximum capacity of 437 people and still not reaching five hundred? That is the scale of the appearance. He appeared to James, to all the apostles, and last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to Paul himself.
But what about us? It is fine for the apostles, who were granted forty days with the risen Lord. Does John 14 only apply to them? No — the Lord made this statement very general: "He who has my commandments — anyone who has my commandments." And so I come to this challenge that I would like you to take hold of: how does he manifest himself to us today? Jesus is no longer in the world physically; he has ascended on high and is at the right hand of the Father. He will come again bodily at the second coming, but right now he will reveal himself to us spiritually. Don't misunderstand that as a watered-down version. A spiritual revelation of Christ is not less real than a physical one. When the Lord revealed himself to Paul on the Damascus road, he had already ascended, yet the revelation to Paul was every bit as real as any physical resurrection appearance. Paul makes no distinction between the two in his list in 1 Corinthians 15. And Stephen, as he was being stoned to death, said, "I see Jesus — I see him at the right hand of the Father." So absorbed was he with this vision that he had time only to say, "Father, forgive them; they don't know what they are doing."
You must understand that the spiritual vision is the most real thing. It is the most significant. And this is the kind of manifestation that the Lord wants you and me to have. Revelation 3:20, which is well known to many of you: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man opens the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with me." Does the Lord mean what he says, or does he not? I will come in and have dinner with you — that is what it means literally. Now look at the resurrection appearances. One thing strikes me: how many times did he eat with those he revealed himself to? The two on the Emmaus road urged him in at evening, and at the dinner table, as the Lord broke bread, their eyes were opened — that is Jesus. At supper he revealed himself. Then those two disciples ran back to Jerusalem, and while they were still speaking, Jesus himself appeared. What does he say? "Have you anything to eat?" They gave him some fish, and he ate it with them. Then at the lake of Galilee, he called from the shore and gave them bread and fish to eat.
What is the spiritual lesson in all this eating together? A meal is a very relaxed, congenial, friendly, warm atmosphere. You sit together in a relaxed manner; your conversation flows easily. We Chinese know a lot about this — we love to have meals together, it is so relaxing. The Lord does not want us to come to him in a stiff, formal, tense manner as though it has to be very official before it can be spiritual. He wants us to come to him as friend to friend, in the atmosphere of having a meal. If you treated prayer time as having a meal with someone you love, you would not want to rush away in three minutes. But if prayer time is this formal, stiff thing, three minutes exhausts you. When you are supping with someone you love, you are not in a hurry to leave.
Do you know this kind of relationship with God? Do you know that this is the kind of relationship the Lord wants to establish with you? He who has my commandments and keeps them — I will love him and manifest myself to him. The Father and I will come and make our home with him. You want to see the Father? I will do something better than that. He will come and live with you.
That is the way we must learn to come to Jesus — in a relaxed, congenial, friendly, deeply respectful yet warm manner. Keep his word. And let me say this one more time: he will manifest himself to you. Prove it. And then your heart will burn with fire, and you will be able to say, "Once I heard of him with the hearing of the ear; now I have seen him. I have seen his glory with my eyes." Let us be quiet before God in prayer.