East Dallas Church of Christ

The Power of Things Unseen

In comparing temporary affliction to an eternal weight of glory, Paul divided life into things we can see and things we cant see (2 Cor 4:16-18) Similar terminology is used by the writer of Hebrews when he explains the existence of the universe by saying, "what is seen was not made out of things which are visible" (Heb 11:3) This means that our present material universe is the result of unseen forces at work in the creation process. It is only fitting, then that the Bible should begin in the "the beginning" when "God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1)

Concerning the nature of God, John says, "No one has seen God at anytime..." (1 John 4:12) God is a spirit (John 4:24) and as such, is One "whom no man has seen or can see" (1 Tim 6:15). Faith opens our eyes to what is unseen. We an believe in the eternal nature of things that are seen or we can believe in the eternal nature of things not seen-but we cant believe in he eternal nature of both. In the final analysis, which make more sense? That the universe has always existed? Or that there is an eternal God of sufficient power and intelligence to have created all things.

Walking "by faith, not by sight" means that we acknowledge the existence of great things promised in God's word-things which are yet unseen (2 Cor 5:7) These spiritually appraised things ar overlooked by those who will not acknowledge what is unseen (1 Cor 2:14-15). However, even in the material universe, there are unseen things universally accepted as existing  in spite of the fact that they are unseen. For example, both wind and gravity are unseen forces known only by their influence on the things around them.

In the spiritual realm, there are many unseen things impacting our lives everyday in dramatic ways. Hope is precious. Prior to obeying the gospel, the Christians at Ephesus had "no hope" and were "without God" (Eph 2:12) But, in being raised up with Christ, they were made alive again and seated with Him in the heavenly places (Eph 5-6) Christians are those who have been "born again to a living hope through he resurrections of Jesus Christ from the dead..." (1 Pet 1:3) Hope influences our daily lives. That is why we must be prepared to answer those who ask us about our hope (1 Pet 3:15) Hope, itself, is unseen. Paul says that "hope that is seen, is not hope" (Rom 8:24) Yet, along with faith an love, hope is one of the most powerful motivations known to man (1 Cor 13:13) More about this next week.

Glenn Elliot