13.3 The Face of Jesus
© 2018 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
I want to place in front of us a statement out from Patterns of Home on “capturing light” set alongside a corresponding verse. “It is the play of light and shadow that gives shape to forms and brings life to our surroundings.” – I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.
First – “gives shape to forms.” This is speaking of the perception of the person walking through the room. Something might exist, but if it is unknown, it has little real meaning to any person. The quality, then, that enables us to perceive things is “the play of light and shadow.” God has no form; therefore, He cannot be known. Hence – symmorphy, God sharing our form – Spirit upon flesh.
Image. The Old Testament word translated “image” almost always refers to a block of stone or word carved into some shape. This form has neither movement nor life. Although God uses the same word to speak of us as His image, the symbol itself is woefully inadequate. Jesus is a living Man existing as story, the speaking of words, through a life-giving Spirit, and dwelling in a many-membered Body.
Yet when we look at another person, it is their face that most shows us who and what they are. And the thing that indicates a human life is the interplay of light and shadow on their face and coming through their eyes.
Light and Shadow. Now, when we use the word “shadow” in this metaphor, that is, “all flesh,” we are not speaking of any element of evil. In complete contrast, the “shadow” that distinguishes a living human face refers to a human, utterly content with him or herself, at peace with the way God made them, and walking as one with God through all the circumstances of life. And the “light” in this equation is the tangible operation of the Holy Spirit conveying a sense of love, joy, and peace.
Now, Christ lives as each one of us, and there is a very definite place in which each of us is an expression of the face of Jesus Christ. Yet we also recognize that in the gathering together, there is a quality of the face of Jesus beyond what we have ever known.
The Holy Spirit Among. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:39). – For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6).
Jesus-glorified and the Holy-Spirit-given are two sides of the same thing. And the result is Father known. The “face” of Jesus Christ is something that happens in the gathering together. It is the “interplay of light and shadow,” that is, a gentle Holy Spirit flowing among humans who are real in themselves and kind towards one another, that reveals the Person inside the gathering.
Building with Precious Stones. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones… (1 Corinthians 3:11-12). We build with gold, the immediate knowledge of Father, through silver, the Person of our Savior, Jesus, and expressed as precious stones, the fruit, gifts, and ministries of the Spirit. The Church is the House of God, His Body, symmorphy in koinonia.
The entire next session is on the fruit, gifts, and ministries of the Spirit inside the gathering together of Church. One metaphor is windows, another is jewels; we will use diamonds.
The Glory of a Diamond. “It is the play of light and shadow that gives shape to forms and brings life to our surroundings.” This line speaks so much to us.
Two things in our knowledge express well this “play of light and shadow,” a diamond and the human face. In the remainder of this lesson, we will go back and forth between the two as the “same” metaphor. And we are speaking of a quality of God made visible that cannot happen or be known by any one of us by ourselves. This quality, the face of Jesus, the glory of a diamond, happens only through the interconnection of Spirit among the gathering together of many as one.
Shine and Sparkle. I have in front of me two articles on diamonds. The first is “What Makes a Diamond Shine?” found here. http://www.williamgoldberg.com/diamond-jewelry/2012/01/what-makes-a-diamond-shine/ The second is “How to Get the Most Diamond Sparkle,” found here. http://4cs.gia.edu/en-us/blog/how-to-get-most-diamond-sparkle/
Read them both. There is too much to include here, but everything in each article speaks utterly of the Holy Spirit flowing as light among us revealing the face of Jesus Christ. Rather than directly quote the two articles, I will discover seven points which I will write in my own words, drawing entirely from the articles.
The Dispersion of Light.
1. Three things contribute to a diamond’s beauty: reflection, refraction, and dispersion. Reflection is the light bouncing back off the outer surfaces. Refraction is the light, passing through the outer surfaces and angling off the many facets of the diamond. Dispersion is this scattering of the light throughout, from one facet to another.
2. It is this dispersion of the light, bouncing from one facet to another, that creates the rainbow colors called spectral light or “fire.” This sparkle is the essence of a diamond’s beauty.
3. A result of the dispersion of light is the distinction between light and dark places in the diamond. These “dark” places are essential for the distinction of the light. It is the contrast that creates the depth of shine.
Cut and Symmetry.
4. It is the cut and shape of the diamond angles or facets that enables the diamond to exhibit its beauty. These cuts must be in symmetry. The more perfect the layout of cuts or faces of the diamond, the deeper the intensity of the “fire.”
5. Blemishes inside the diamond dampen and distort the dispersion of the light, ruining the effect. These blemishes are not like the contrasting light/dark spaces. Rather, they are misshapen detractions that blur the light.
6. The final step in revealing the diamond’s beauty is the polish that removes all external roughness that would prevent the entrance of the light.
7. The beauty and value of the diamond is all about how the facets of the stone interact together with the light.
The Spirit in the Church. Let’s interpret this metaphor of a diamond directly.
The Holy Spirit enters the Church through each of the many individuals in the gathering together. Each of those individuals is able to reflect a measure of the light of the Spirit out to any observer. Nonetheless, the real beauty of Christ in His Church is not yet seen. The Holy Spirit, entering the Church through each individual member, is turned in His effectual power (energeia) from each individual member towards the others. This dispersion, then, of the energeia of the Spirit among many is the Fire of God creating all the colors of the rainbow, the very face of Jesus Christ.
Cuts versus Blemishes. The contrasting “dark” that is essential to the beauty is our humanity, real and complete, Christ as us. In contrast, the blemishes that dampen the light are areas of pretending out from any shame remaining in individual believers. In the last lesson, we defined three areas of pretending; in the next session, we will investigate the role of ministry in resolving those areas of shame in individual members.
The “cut” and placement of each individual believer in the gathering of the Church, that they be in perfect symmetry, is an essential part of the depth of beauty any local church displays.
Cannot Compare. The “cut” represents knowing Christ as me, in completeness and rest. The “placement” means my giving that which is my supply to the other members of the local church. The light coming from me as an individual member cannot compare with the beauty created by the light refracting from each one of us in the gathering together of the local assembly, as that light disperses among many before going forth as the true witness of Christ in the cosmos.
This dispersion of the Spirit from one to the other inside the gathering together is most pronounced in the worship service; nonetheless, it is the ongoing energeia among all the members of the community in every interaction.
Needing Others. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that IF He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:3).
Even though we are social creatures, enjoying the company of others and appreciating the value of working together, still, there is in many the staked-out claim of “I don’t need nobody.” We are convinced that we can relate with God all on our own, that we don’t “need” other believers in the gathering together in order to know God. And it is true, that, until now, the gathering of assemblies in every form inside Nicene Christianity has not revealed the striking beauty of Jesus’ face.
Knowing Ourselves. But John said that we do NOT know what we are. There are entire aspects of our own personal being and makeup that we have never connected with, things we hardly know about ourselves. Those parts of ourselves come into play only in the wondrous interaction of Spirit among us inside the Church.
This quality of the flow of power among the parts of an engine passing through the spark plug, the flow of light among the facets of the diamond, or the flow of oil down Aaron’s head and garments, this movement of Spirit from one to the other and among many – that energeia among us is the face of Jesus Christ, the “IF” part of seeing Jesus.
Windows of the Spirit. This quality of the face of Jesus in His Church is known by some, though dimly to be sure. In my experience in Christian community, I saw this beauty of Christ in the worship service on a regular basis. It was a beauty marred by our theology and our pretending, nonetheless it was breath-taking. Yet, overall, Christians know next to nothing about God’s intention for the Spirit in the Church.
In the next session, we want to explore how the light of the Spirit, entering through the windows of the Church, creates in the cosmos the very face of Jesus Sent.
I am convinced that the revelation of Jesus Christ is real and upon us, and I would be part of it.