“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Col 1:15, NKJV)

We have been sharing about seeing in the Spirit realm. Since we are created in the image and likeness of God and He sees in the Spirit, so we can learn to see in the Spirit. Not only do we have natural eyes, but we also have the eyes of the heart. About these Paul prayed:

“For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,” (Eph 1:15-18, NASB)

How do our eyes of our heart become enlightened? Well, it is by grace and it is part of the salvation package. When we use Yeshua terminology and say that He has saved us, it is more than avoiding a trip to Hell. The word for salvation in Hebrew Yeshua tells us that we are saved into Him.

“So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 6:11, NASB)

By this we mean that we are literally grafted into Him and His life. Paul uses this picture when he speaks of the salvation of the gentiles:

“You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”” (Rom 11:19, NASB)

This salvation into Yeshua is what He meant by abiding in Him.

““Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” (Jhn 15:4-5, NASB)

This is the salvation of the new covenant. A oneness. Yeshua prayed this to the Father:

““I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. “The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me.” (Jhn 17:20-23, NASB)

Many people know what they were saved out of but NOT necessarily what they saved into. As we mentioned last week, we are not saved to get out of hell or to be converts but to be disciples. Yeshua said:

“And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Mat 28:18-20, NASB)

We cannot make disciples until we become disciples. Disciples of who? You will answer Yeshua. I agree. But what does that mean? You see it’s all about the image. Who we believe God to be in Yeshua will determine whose disciples we are. He is the mirror, the image we hold for ourselves.

“But we all, with unveiled faces, looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2Co 3:18, NASB)

The early, in time, disciples lived with Him to try to understand who He was. Paul tells us;

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Col 1:15, NKJV)

In other words, seeing Him is seeing the image of God, an authentic human. He is the first authentic human, and He desires for us to become authentic humans.

How do we do that? Well let’s see if there are some clues in the Bible. Look with me at 2 Corinthians 4:1-6

“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants on account of Jesus. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2Co 4:1-6, NASB)

This all depends on seeing. There is a blindness that hides the gospel. How? What is the mechanism of blindness? Notice Paul tells us it is the minds of the unbelieving which are blinded. This blindness keeps them from seeing the light of the gospel, which Paul defines as the image of God.

The image of God defines our salvation. Actually the image of God is our salvation. We are saved into the image. What do I mean by that? How we think about who God is and who Yeshua is, defines our salvation or lack thereof. It is an inside job in our thinking. This is the true battleground.

When the disciples lived with Yeshua and followed Him they learned over time who He was. This led them finally to declare:

“Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. “And we have already believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”” (Jhn 6:68-69, NASB)

They recognized Him as the Holy One the Messiah, the Son of God. As they were with Him they learned how to think and act like Him and to do what He did. This process was an activation into becoming authentic human beings restored to the original image of God able to see the light of the GLORY OF GOD IN HIS GOSPEL OF LIGHT.

This process is the transformation of minds into kingdom minds. Paul describes the process in Romans 12:1-2:

“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Rom 12:1-2, NASB)

This is the process of transformation into authentic humanity. By authentic humanity I mean becoming sons and daughters of light. What stands against this process is one word “conforming”.

In scientific research they guard against something called a confirmation bias. This is the trap of wanting something so badly that we twist reality towards that outcome.

The Biblical word for this is iniquity. In Hebrew iniquity is the word avon.It is used to describe something called the iniquity of the amorites and in reference to Sodom and Gemorrah.

“And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife, and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city.” (Gen 19:15, KJV)

Iniquity is defined as twisting away from the light. It lived in group think. When Paul tells us not to be conformed to this world, he is telling us the recognize the force of iniquity, the pull of the group, of society. This affects our thinking and like Sodom, like the Amorites, it blinds us to the freedom the gospel of Messiah. Confirmation biases us towards conformity. It drags us into the cesspool of sick humanity. The Apostle John said it this way:

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1Jn 2:15-17, NKJV)

This the spiritual power behind conformity. Instead, we are called by the renewal of our mind. This is the process of discipleship, the renewal of our mind. What does it mean to renew our mind? It means to see ourselves as authentic humans through our oneness with Messiah, with Yeshua.

How? We spend time with Him, daily. We begin to see life through His eyes and We do what He leads to do. This is the enlightening of the eyes of our heart. The good news is He is committed to this enlightenment, this revelation of our true selves.

Activation:

A Structured Exercise: "Eyes of the Heart" Reflection

• Create Space: Find a quiet, 15-20 minute period to sit in stillness, allowing your soul to calm.
• Surrender & Inhale: Begin by taking slow breaths, consciously releasing the day's anxiety and inviting the Holy Spirit to guide you.
• Pray for Light: Use the Ephesians 1:18 prayer: "Lord, open the eyes of my heart so I may know the hope to which you have called me".
• Visualize the Heart's Rooms: Imagine your heart as a house. Invite Jesus to walk through it, illuminating rooms representing your relationships, worries, and hopes.
• Identify "Cataracts": Ask Jesus to reveal anything blocking your vision—fears, unforgiveness, or "secret sins"—and ask for His healing to see Him as He truly is.
• Focus on Scripture: Read a passage (like Psalm 119:18 or John 14) and ask the Lord to make the words personally tangible, moving from passive reading to revelation

·       Psalms 119:18 (NASB)

·       18 Open my eyes, that I may behold

·       Wonderful things from Your Law.