"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." John 6:40 (NASB)

The spiritual condition of an unsaved person is spiritual blindness and deafness to the things of God. Jesus addressed this issue with the Pharisees who believed they could see but were blind. This is a common deception for religious people who are not born again. Religion, as I am using it, is our attempt to know and be accepted by God through using our own efforts, rather than by receiving by faith the gift of forgiveness and eternal life offered in Christ.

Then Jesus told him, "I have come to judge the world. I have come to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind." 40 The Pharisees who were standing there heard him and asked, "Are you saying we are blind?" 41 "If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty," Jesus replied. "But you remain guilty because you claim you can see. John 9:39-41 (NLT)

A blind person cannot see where to go and does not know what to do to be saved. When a religious person, who has never received a revelation of Christ, tries to lead another to salvation, the result is disastrous.

Jesus replied, "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be rooted up, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch." Matthew 15:13-14 (NLT) 

We cannot know God unless he opens our eyes, unstops our ears, and softens our hard hearts. When God does this for us, we can see, hear, and understand spiritual things, which results in our seeing or knowing Christ in a totally new way.

But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NLT)

When we see Christ for who he truly is, it fundamentally changes us on the inside. The new birth and revelation go hand in hand.

Jesus answered and said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3 (NASB) 

We can easily tell which plants were planted by the Father from those which were not: the first has a revelation of Christ, and the latter has only religion.

Those who are religious end up opposing those who have revelation and faith. (Galatians 4:28-29)

Then he asked them, "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Matthew 16:15-17 (NLT) 

So how does a spiritually blind unsaved person gain sight through revelation? Only the Holy Spirit really knows, but those of us who have had our eyes opened can testify that it happened.

The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 (NLT) 

The man healed by Jesus of physical blindness in John Chapter 9 did not know how Jesus did it, but he knew he had been healed.

The mechanics of revelation are not necessarily for us to know, only the results.

I remember when I first “saw” in my heart that Jesus is Who the Bible claims. I don’t know how God did it, but suddenly I “knew” that Jesus is alive, risen from the dead, and the glorious Lord. Before that life-changing moment, I heard my girlfriend, who is now my beloved wife, share the gospel with me. I deeply considered whether I wanted to pursue knowing this Christ. I honestly asked Christ into my heart and life, if He were indeed real, and I asked Him to reveal Himself to me. From all this, you can see that receiving revelation is not a passive thing; at least it wasn’t for me.

Only the Holy Spirit can open our eyes, but, as far as I can tell, we must be active in our pursuit of Christ in some form or another.

It is God’s good pleasure to limit salvation to those whose eyes he opens.

At that time Jesus prayed this prayer: “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. 26  Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way! 27  “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Matthew 11:25-27 (NLT) 

No one deserves to receive revelation from God. No one is good enough or smart enough.

It is always a supreme act of mercy when God opens blinded eyes.

It is also very humbling to us as the recipients of his mercy. No one can boast that they were able to know these things on their own.

Paul the Apostle was a man who received a revelation of Christ in a dramatic fashion. He was actively pursuing Christians to torture, imprison, and kill them for their faith. Was he pursuing God, too? The answer has to be, “Yes”. Although he was misguided, he really did wish to please God. The point is that God knows the human heart and will reveal Himself to those who seek him.

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12 'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NASB) 

The Pharisees believed that they already knew God because they had their Law and religion.

Many who attend Christian churches today are modern day Pharisees. They grew up in the church, know the language and the Bible, and are members of the church. They hear sermon after sermon and mentally agree with what is said, but they have never received a revelation of Christ from the Father.

This is the most dangerous place to be in the world. It is a form of self-deception that inoculates a person from ever really hearing the gospel. It’s as if their hearts are closed to any possibility that they might be still lost. Only the Holy Spirit can bridge the chasm between their deception and the light of the glory of the revealed Christ. It begins when we realize we need to be saved.

Is there any record that this has ever happened before? Yes, Paul is the supreme example. God gave him to all religious people as an example of what God can do for the most obstinate of people. Humanly it is impossible, but with God all things are possible. You may know people who are in this condition. If so, you should pray for them to have their spiritual eyes opened to receive a revelation of Christ. More importantly, we should ask ourselves, “Have I ever had my eyes opened?” If not, we should earnestly seek God until we know that we have.

Questions for Further Study and Discussion 

• Share your testimony of how Christ was revealed to you.
• Explain why you think God uses revelation to separate those who are really His children from those who are not.
• What is our role in the process of having our eyes opened?

Click here to see the other articles in this series.