Manifesting God

John 17:6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”

Why do you suppose it was so important for Jesus to make God’s name known to His disciples? When Jesus spoke about manifesting the Father’s name to the disciples, He was speaking on how He had made the Farther visible to them. I imagine that the Father was a mystery to the jews. There were stories of the pillar of fire and cloud that led the people through the desert but the fear of God was clearly evident as they always revered His name. Jesus brought clarity concerning the Father’s holiness and made known the One who was always unseen.

John 4:24 “For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

It seems everyone who lived in Israel, particularly at that time, had a healthy fear of God. The name of God was revered so much that the jews refused to write it out, otherwise people might defile His name.

Was it enough that people feared God?

Is it enough for believers to consider themselves knowledgeable about God, to observe His Sabbath, practice the customs, follow the rituals, or attend church?

There have been times when I’ve asked someone if they were a christian and they responded as if they were but showed how they continued to live no different from the world.

If we examine our own lives…would we be found guilty of being a christian if questioned by the authorities?

If someone examined our lives would they appear as belief from the surface but be unrecognizable from a non-believer when examined?

We may help the poor but many people do that without professing Christ. If we tell someone about Jesus, or go to church, or don’t swear or drink, does that define us as christians?

Why was manifesting the Father so critical in Jesus’ ministry?

Reachable God

1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that, if He shall be manifested, we shall be like him; for we shall see him even as He is.”

Jesus was and is the exact representation of the Father. He was able to exactly represent the Father because He had come forth from the Father. Manifesting the Father is to make plain who He is. In other words, what was once unattainable has become graspable or apparent, Jesus had made the Father visible for everyone to see.

If someone can truly see who God is, it brings them to a real dilemma in life. A God who was once unattainable, has suddenly been brought near. What was once a process of only going through the motions and living by the customs has become a confrontation of beliefs. When I truly see who God is I must make a decision as to whether I will approach Him in humility or if I will come against Him with my own sense of righteousness or ego.

The Moses Dilemma

When God led Moses and the children of israel into the wilderness He brought them to His Holy mountain to confront them. When Moses ascended the Holy Hill, God manifested His name before Moses and what came forth was unexpected.

First we must see how Moses approached the Ancient of days.

First, Moses came by grace:

Exodus 33:17 “So the Lord said to Moses, “I will also do this thing that you have spoken; for you have found grace in My sight, and I know you by name.”

Second, Moses asked God to manifest His glory, God’s response was then remarkable:

Exodus 33: 19-20 “Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.”

The lessons learned that day:

• God’s glory, God’s goodness, and God’s name are all synonymous.
• No man in his natural fallen state can see God and live.
• We cannot approach God without being called by His grace.

God covered Moses’ eyes and passed before Him, for if Moses had seen God’s face He would have perished. Moses then opened his eyes and saw God’s back and still was transformed by His glory.

• When people have an encounter with God, the radiance of His glory is manifest in their lives. What is important to the Father is important to them.

Keeping God’s Word

When Jesus prayed to the Father, the result of manifesting God’s name to the disciples was made evident by the practice of them keeping His Word.

To manifest the name of God is to make clear or visible who He is.

Jesus is the only one who can manifest the Father in perfection.

The Father is Spirit, He cannot be seen, therefore when Abraham, Moses, Gideon, and Joshua encountered God, it was the pre-incarnate Jesus whom they were encountering in those days.

Just as Moses was given the tablets of the Moral law upon meeting God, so Jesus’ disciples are given a revelation of His moral law when they encountered the Christ.

Jesus makes Peace

The death of the perfect Man was necessary for mankind to be brought into peace with God. Jesus referred to Himself as the “Son of Man”, because He had placed Himself in a position of atonement. When Gideon encountered the pre-incarnate Christ, a sacrifice was made that brought him peace in Judges 6. It was that altar that Gideon named “The Lord is peace”, and then Gideon went about manifesting the name of God before the people.

Jesus has always been and always will be the perfect representation of the Father. It is by Christ alone that we can approach the throne of God and be transformed by His power.

Manifesting Jesus

Manifesting God’s name is more than doing good deeds or playing the part of a church going christian, manifesting God’s name is to allow His glory, His goodness, and His name be made manifest through us—-this is only accomplished by His Spirit that indwells every true believer.

Once that blessed encounter happens, a hunger for obeying the Word of God becomes evident. The Word of God at its core is representative of the 10 commandments, or also known as the Moral law.

When God’s people walk according to the law, they show love to God. It is by living out this law that God’s people manifest Christ to the world and walk in Him. God’s people have been justified before the Father, they are no longer defiled by sin but now stand sanctified in Christ through His death and resurrection—the requirements of law have been satisfied and now we can walk in fellowship with Him.

Do you truly want to be a disciple of Christ?

Come to Him, not as a ‘good person’ but as a sinner in need of grace and you too will know the Peace of God that has always been found in Jesus….and then you too will manifest God before the world.