One body. One Head. That is the church.
So, at the very beginning of his life under revelation, Saul was given a revelation not only of the mystery of God, which is Christ, but also of the mystery of Christ, which is the church.
Do you see the church? Do you see that universal Man? It is here. Do you give yourself to that universal Man?
The Lord said, “You go to Damascus, and there it will be told you what I want you to do.” And when Saul’s eyes were opened by God, he could not see anything.
Dear brothers and younger sisters, when revelation comes, it always smites you to the ground. If you say you have a revelation from God and you can stand on your feet, and even lift up your head with pride, you have not got a revelation.
When you have a revelation and boast of it, you have not got a revelation. Revelation always smites you to the ground.
Every time in the Scripture, when there is a vision of Christ, of God—when there is an appearing, a revelation—you will find, inevitably, people fall on the ground. Even Daniel, the perfect Daniel, when he saw the Holy One, fell to the ground as if dead.
He said:
O my beauty is turned in me into corruption.
That is revelation. In revelation, you see yourself. You abhor yourself. You hate yourself. You wonder why you are what you are.
What do you do? You repent in dust and ashes. That is revelation.
And also, like Saul, you will be blind for a while. You know, people who are too clear—they have not got it. People who explain immediately, so clearly, “Oh, that is…” they have not got it.
Usually, when a revelation comes, it blinds you. You do not see anything because you have seen the One.
Well, he went to Damascus. For three days and three nights, he was fasting, praying, and waiting. You know, the heavenly vision begins on the road to Damascus; it does not end there.
Oftentimes, we think that the heavenly vision Paul is talking about is the vision he saw on the road to Damascus. No. That is partly true, but not the whole truth, because that vision, that revelation, continued into the city of Damascus.
There he was praying, and as he was praying, in a vision, he saw a man by the name of Ananias, who came in, laid hands upon him, and opened his eyes.
At the same time, Ananias, a disciple of the Lord Jesus in Damascus, saw the Lord. The Lord appeared to him and said, “Ananias.”
“Ananias.”
“Lord, I am here.”
He knew the Lord. He had a living relationship with the Lord. “Lord, I am here.”
And the Lord said, “Go to the street called Straight, and find a man called Saul of Tarsus. Tell him what I want him to do. Open his eyes.”
And Ananias said, “Lord, I have heard from many that this man was a dangerous person. I heard what he did in Jerusalem. I know what he came for—actually, on this very task. And You send me to him?”
The Lord said, “He is My chosen vessel. I have appeared to him for the purpose of making him a witness and a servant of Mine.”
Thank God, Ananias did not live by what he heard from outside, but by the revelation from above. He went.
You know, I often wish, how fortunate that these two men met each other in vision first. Suppose they met before they received vision—what would have happened?
No doubt Saul would have laid hands on Ananias. But they had already seen each other in the vision.
Brothers and sisters, what about us? Do we see each other in the vision first?
What do I mean? Do we see each other as members of the Body of Christ? Do we see each other in Christ?
If we see each other in Christ and then meet each other, my, what fellowship! But if we meet each other before we see each other in Christ—or, to put it another way, we see each other in the flesh—what will happen?
We will lay hands on each other—not joining, but laying hands and fighting against each other.
And that is the reason why we should not know anyone in the flesh. If we know anyone in the flesh, they are our enemies. We should know no one in the flesh; we only know each other in the Spirit.
And Ananias went, got into that house, laid his hands on Saul, and said, “Saul…”
How sweet is that word: “Brother.”
Enemies became brothers. Only the Lord can do that.
You know, brothers and sisters, Ananias laid hands on him and said, “Saul, brother, the Lord who appeared to you—Jesus—He has sent me to come, that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
“And to tell you that you are His chosen vessel, to be His witness and His servant, to suffer much for Him, and to announce Him to the world.”
Saul saw, and the first one he saw was that little man, Ananias—brother.
Dear brothers and sisters, on the road to Damascus he saw a universal, big Man filling earth and heaven. But in Damascus he saw a little man, Ananias.
In the Bible, this little man appears only once here—unknown. For this man represents the Body, the church in Damascus.
All the spiritual principles in the universal church are put into practice in the local church. There in Damascus were some believers: poor, unknown, small; and yet they represented the Body of Christ in that locality.
There you find Ananias representing the church, laying hands on Saul. Laying on of hands means identification: “I am identified with you. You are identified with me. We are one.”
Brother—dear Saul—enter into the fellowship of the church, of the Body of Christ.
And it is through this identification, not only with Christ but also with the Body of Christ, that you find his eyes were opened to see a new sight: to see your brother, to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Oh, yes. When you are identified into the Body of Christ, then the oil that anointed the Head comes down to the Body, even to the skirt. In other words, every member in the Body is anointed, filled with the Holy Spirit.
And immediately, you find Saul joined himself with the disciples and witnessed for the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, in that heavenly vision, if all you see is that universal Man, it is still too theoretical. You may be floating in the air, but you are not established.
We need to see that universal Man, that enlarged Man who embraces all our brothers and sisters all over the world. And yet, our revelation is not complete until we also see that little man.
We must be identified with other believers, join ourselves with them in fellowship and witnessing together.
The way our Lord views His church, universal and local—this is the revelation that God gave to Paul at the very beginning.
And, brothers and sisters, this heavenly vision explains the life and ministry of the Apostle Paul. It transformed Saul the Pharisee into Paul the apostle; from the defender of Judaism to a witness of Christ; from tradition to revelation; from darkness to light; from unreality to reality.
How we need that vision. How we need to see this, brothers and sisters. We may hear about it, but only when we see it does it make such a difference.
Of course, throughout the life of the Apostle Paul, he received visions and revelations continuously. In 2 Corinthians 12, he said, “Now, as to the visions and revelations of the Lord…”
In other words, on the road to Damascus and in Damascus, he was given the sketch, the outline, of the heavenly vision. Then, because he was faithful, the Lord filled in all the details.
We have no time to go into all the references concerning the visions and revelations he received through his life.
Brothers and sisters, what did Paul say? “King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.”
Revelation is given sovereignly by God in His mercy. But revelation is never given for our speculative enjoyment.
God is a most practical God. When He gives revelation, revelation is always unto purpose. He does not give revelation to us just for us to speculate, to meditate, to enjoy, and even to be proud that we know something people do not know. Never.
Revelation is given for a purpose. So there you find, when Paul testified in Acts 26, he said that God appeared to him for a purpose. There is a purpose there.
The purpose is that he is called to be a witness and a servant. Brothers and sisters, when revelation comes, there is a calling there.
Revelation is unto vocation. Revelation is to occupy us and to make us occupied with it. Or may I even put it this way? Revelation involves us—our whole being.
Revelation makes us part of it. Revelation comes to us that we may enter into that revelation. It becomes our very vocation.
It means that we are occupied with it every day. If a revelation does not occupy us and become our very life, our very being, that revelation is wasted.
That is the reason why, when revelation comes, it requires obedience. Brothers and sisters, when revelation comes to us, there is a call there.
I do not know how to put it. Revelation must become our vocation, our life, our testimony, our service, our everything.
But for a revelation to become a vocation, it involves conflicts, warfare, suffering—to use one word, the cross.
Without the cross, revelation will gradually… It will not be lost. Once you see, you can never unsee; it is there. But it loses its power. Instead of transforming you, it condemns you.
You want revelation? Remember, it is such a heavenly thing that, if you are not obedient to the revelation, eventually it becomes your condemnation.
When revelation comes, and you are for the realization of the revelation, you will be involved in conflict. Why? Because revelation is so different from what you are, what you know, what you love, and what you do.
It is so different that it demands the death of all that you naturally are.
If you think you have a revelation and it does not touch your life deeply, turn it around, put it to death. You do not enter into that revelation.
You remember what Paul said? He said:
We have this treasure in earthen vessels.
We are pressed on every side, yet not straitened;
perplexed, yet not unto despair;
persecuted, yet not forsaken;
smitten down, yet not destroyed.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus,
that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body.
He said, “I die daily.”
Revelation involves suffering. Look at what Paul suffered. If you read 1 Corinthians 4 and 2 Corinthians 11, you will find that this man went through such suffering.
He said, “Is any man weak, and I am not weak?” He said, “I burn.”
And revelation involves warfare. You know, the enemy is afraid of revelation.
Remember, when the Lord revealed to Peter, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church,” immediately you find Satan used Peter to say to the Lord, “Be kind to Yourself. Do not do that.”
The cross is a key to turn revelation into vocation.
The reason why, brothers and sisters, people may have received revelation but never enter into the revelation, live that revelation, witness to that revelation, become part of the revelation, and become a testimony of vocation, is because they do not deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow the Lord.
Revelation to such people becomes a tradition. They can talk about it, but it is in the past; it is not a present reality.
To keep revelation fresh and living, you have to be obedient to the revelation. You will see.
And Paul said, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” By the grace of God, he said:
I have fought the good fight.
I have finished the course.
I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give to me at that day;
and not to me only, but also to all them that have loved His appearing.
Oh, brothers and sisters, decades of revelation. Revelation is costly, but it is worth it. He is the only reality: knowing Him.
The witness will not die by Thy Spirit.
These weak words—speak to each one of us. Open our eyes. Show us Thy Son. Show us Thy church.
Make us really to be obedient. Give us grace that we may, with the Apostle Paul, testify: “We have not been disobedient to the heavenly vision.”
In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.