JOHN 6:40
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
In JOHN 6:36, the title for that devotion was SEEING Is Not BELIEVING. Believing what we see with our natural eyes does not equate with true belief based on faith ("For we walk by faith, and not by sight" 2 COR 5:7)
Now we have this entry that's entitled SEEING And BELIEVING. There is the spiritual insight, brought about by GOD's revealing Spirit - a revelation from GOD, that allows us to see spiritual truth, and having seen it, we by faith, trust GOD for His Word of Truth.
It's GOD's will that we should see His Son and that we should believe "on Him" - and note that: it doesn't say believe "in" but "on" and in the Greek this has special implications. It's one thing to believe that a train will arrive on time - but it's another to depend on that train being on time. That's what the Greek word implies: a dependence upon, reliance in, to trust implicitly. This is the essence of faith.
JOHN 1:14
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
It was GOD's will that we should behold the glory of His Son, for His Son is the express image of the Father (HEB 1:3), and any who have seen the Son, has seen the Father, for "like Father, like Son" (JOHN 14:9).
This world, and even the religious world contained within it has such a warped view of GOD - even the Judaism that was around during the days of our LORD's earthly ministry was warped! So much so, that the Father decided to send His Representative, to rightly reveal the heart of GOD, His fatherly nature, His good will toward men (LUKE 2:14), His desire to redeem rather than to destroy.
So He sent His Son and named Him Y'shua - a contraction of Yehovah'shua which means "Our GOD IS salvation" - He doesn't merely bring salvation or grant it - He Himself is salvation: He is the LAMB of GOD!
JOHN 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Just as the Baptist could see Jesus coming, there was a revelation from GOD which gave him understanding, that this same man that he could call cousin, would be The LAMB of GOD! The Baptist then called upon all that were there to "behold" and by GOD's grace, see and believe!
Likewise, the LORD must grant human beings, spiritually blind (2 COR 4:4), spiritual sight to perceive Jesus for Who He is! As the LORD did also for Peter when He asked His disciples for His Identity:
MATTHEW 16:15-18
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Everyone who sees the Son and believes on Him will have everlasting life - a life unending, a salvation secured and sealed by the Holy Spirit (2 COR 1:22; EPH 1:13).
EPHESIANS 4:30
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
This seal is an earnest - a down payment made by GOD with the promise of returning to make good on the entire act of redemption (that of our bodies; ROM 8:23). How long does this promise last? All the way up to the time when our corrupt bodies put on incorruption, that is the day of the rapture/resurrection of the church!
All this begins when we begin to see with the eyes of faith - we aren't governed by our senses in this Kingdom of GOD; but by the Word of Truth and the Holy Spirit. So often, GOD directs us contrary to our 'good' sense and lean on Him instead (PROV 3:5-6).
This everlasting life will allow us to bask in the love and sweet fellowship with our Maker and Redeemer forever and ever! Who would want such an experience to ever end?!? What a let down that would be! - and that is the understatement of history!
But the joyous truth is that we will have fellowship with our Beloved forever and ever. It's what the whole message of the Gospel and the Bible as a whole is all about! From the first few pages of GENESIS where we read about the Tragedy of the Ages, when our Parents fell into sin, and the work of GOD that initiated this wonderous revelation of this "seed of the woman" Who would not only come to save the souls of man, but bring back all of creation into harmony with its Creator, but also to render His condemnation of the one that initiated the corruption that has spread across heaven and earth - Lucifer, the fallen.
Our blessedness is experienced now to the degree that we are able to know GOD as our Abba Father, Jesus as our LORD, Savior and Friend - more like BFF!! - and the Holy Spirit as our Comforter. Yet we still see it all (by faith) through a dim mirror, but that's only for now!
There is coming a day when - GLORY TO GOD!! - we shall see our LORD face to FACE!
And not only that . . . we shall know Him even as He knows us!!
1 CORINTHIANS 13:12
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
"...and I will raise him up at the last day".
And on that day, we will never again experience a night; no more any darkness will our eyes see! The glory from the face of our LORD Jesus will shine with all of its penetrating love and joy, finally being reunited with His bride (in His immediate presence).
Having been risen from the dead - or simply risen from this fallen world (as is the case with those yet living at the time of the LORD's appearing), we will never again walk this Earth under the dominion of the devil. Never again will we experience evil, or oppression, or victimization, or any other wicked thing! Once we return to this world at the LORD's Second Advent, this world, weary with the burden of sin and the curse that plagues it, there will be joy forever more - "and sorrow and sighing shall flee away"!
ISAIAH 35:10
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
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