At the time of his conversion, Paul asked two very important questions, and all genuine believers should be honest with the Lord and ask Him these questions also: “Who are You, Lord?” and “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:8, 10).
When we ask the Lord, Who are You, Lord? we are open to Him to unveil us and reveal Himself to us, that we may see fresh visions of Christ in all the things He appears to us. When we ask, What shall I do, Lord? we open to the Lord that He may commission us with what He wants us to do.
We should not be presumptuous and think we know Christ and don’t need to see more of Him, and we should not be as bold as thinking we know what we should do for God, out of our good heart for Him. The Lord wants us to come to Him, inquire of Him, open to Him, and ask Him again and again,
Lord, who are You? Unveil me to see what You are. Appear to me in all things. I want to see Your preciousness, Your worth, and all that You are. Grant me a governing vision of Your economy. Lord, what shall I do? What is in Your heart for me? I open to You and I open to the Body of Christ that You may reveal to me what shall I do. I don’t want to presume I know what You want me to do. Keep me open to You!
What Shall I Do, Lord?
After the Lord unveiled Paul’s spiritual eyes (while blinding his physical eyes) to see Christ as the great corporate “Me” (the Body of Christ), Paul asked Him, What shall I do, Lord? First we have the vision of Christ and His person, and then the commission follows.
If we don’t first have a vision of Christ and then open to the Lord to be commissioned by Him, we will work for god in the principle of, “You workers of lawlessness” (see Matt. 7:23).
But when we open to the Lord that He may speak to us concerning what is in His mind for us to do, He will direct us to the Body – God speaks to us through the members of the Body (just as He spoke to Paul through Ananias).
First of all, we don’t have a choice or preference in serving God. We have been chosen, appointed, and designated by God, and He will show us the things we need to suffer for His name.
Only when we are opened to the Lord’s commission in His own way and in His own time can we be entrusted with the ministry of life, and this ministry will be produced and carried out through suffering.
In Paul’s case, he wasn’t told by God directly what God wants him to do, but he was sent to another seemingly insignificant member of the Body who would tell him what he needs to do.
Also, in Paul’s case, since he persecuted the church fiercely, even though he met the Lord personally and was saved by the Lord directly, the members of the Body were afraid of him still. Unless a member of the Body had been sent by the Lord to contact him and bring him into the fellowship of the Body, it would have been difficult for the other saints to receive Saul.
How much we need the other members of the Body of Christ!
Paul’s Vision and Commission as seen in Acts
In Christianity today there are many “things” and “doctrines” and “how-to” things preached. But what did Paul preach? As soon as he received the heavenly vision, in Acts 9:20 he spoke of Christ as the Son of God. Paul announced Christ as the gospel.
Who today is announcing this Person? Paul met Christ as a person, saw the divine light, and had Christ revealed in him by God – he proclaimed everywhere that this One is the Christ!
In Acts 13 Paul speaks of Christ as the seed of David, the One raised from the dead, and that through this One forgiveness of sins is announced to men (vv. 23, 38).
In Acts 13:39 Paul was clear concerning justification, “In this One everyone who believes is justified”. We are justified in Christ, by being in Christ! This is not a doctrine, it is the organic experience of a living Person!
In Acts 20 we see that Paul taught from house to house, not shrinking back from announcing to the saints in Ephesus the full counsel of God. And later, when Paul received more light, he wrote more to the church in Ephesus, praying that they would have a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Christ (Eph. 1:18). Paul visited the saints one by one, being concerned for them to know the Lord, firmly and gently appealing to them to know Christ, experience Christ, enjoy Christ, and grow in Christ for the Body!
Eventually, in Acts 26:29 he told King Agrippa, “I would to God that both by little and by much, not only you, but also all those who hear me today might become even such as I am, except for these bonds.”
He was a transparent God-man carrying out his God-given commission and he could say to the king, I wish you would be like me, having such a vision and commission, a Christ-man! What a pattern he was of a vision and commission!
Saved by Light to be Light in the Lord and Bring Others in the Light
The first item in Paul’s commission as seen in Acts 26:18 is to open people’s eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God.
Paul was saved by light – Christ as light shined on him and saved him. He says then in Ephesians, Once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8). In Acts 13:47 Paul applies the word spoken about Christ to himself, that God set him (and us) as a light to the Gentiles.
We are saved by God’s light, we are transferred out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness into God’s kingdom of light, we become light in the Lord, and we are set by God as light to turn others from darkness to light! We need to learn how to turn people from darkness to light and how to open people’s eyes and turn them.
Satan has a kingdom of darkness, where sin and death reign (Matt. 12:26). He is the ruler of this world (John 12:32) and the ruler of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2), with authority and angels as his subordinates (Matt. 25:41; Eph. 6:12). Satan’s kingdom is the authority of darkness (Col. 1:13).
Through regeneration, we are transferred out of Satan’s kingdom of darkness and into God’s kingdom of light, and we become children of light (1 Thes. 5:5), even light in the Lord. Just as Christ is the light of the world (John 8:12), so we become the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
We cannot be hidden, we cannot be covered, and we cannot “not shine”; once we see Christ as light, once we receive the heavenly vision, just like Paul we will speak! If our entire being is in the light and if we walk in the light as He is in the light (1 John 1:7), Christ as light will shine through us to others and will expose their darkness, opening their eyes to see Him and repent. Are you in the light right now? Is your whole being in the light?
Dear Lord Jesus, we open to Your light right now. Shine in us and expose any darkness. Lord, infuse us with Yourself as light, and make us children of light in reality. Save us by shining on us as the divine light. We want to stay in the light, walk in the light, and have our whole being in the light. Make us transparent God-men allowing God in Christ to shine out from within us in the dark age today. Lord, open the eyes of many and cause them to turn from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God!
References and Further Reading
- This article is inspired from brother Ron Kangas’ sharing in this message and portions in, Life-study of Acts (msgs. 60-61, 69), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, “The Completing Ministry of Paul“, week 1 entitled, The Vision and the Commission.
- Blog posts on this topic:
# Light Versus Darkness in the New Testament (via holdingtotruth.com).
# What heals us is the light of life (via, The Healing Christ – the Sun of Righteousness, SimplyKatherine). - Hymns on this topic:
# Oh, may Thy living light, Lord, / Scatter all my night, Lord, / And everything make bright, Lord, / For this I pray to Thee.
# Who can be entrusted, God’s gospel spread, / Willing to respond, be commissioned, sent? / His love’s constraining me, ’tis I no more, / This day my response bursts forth: Send me, Lord!
# What mercy that my eyes have seen the true God, / Happily transferred from darkness into light! / What grace that I can freely have salvation, / No need to work, endeavor with my might! - Pictures credit: instagram here and from a friend on facebook.
About aGodMan
I was touched by the fact that we should not think we know Christ, even though we can be believers for some time already. All the time, every day and every moment we need to see more of Him. And in fact we don't know what we should do for God. We should ask Him! The Lord wants us to come to Him, inquire of Him, open to Him, and ask Him again and again!
When we open to the Lord, He enlightens us. We become full of light! "Once we see Christ as light, once we receive the heavenly vision, just like Paul we will speak!" Praise the Lord! "Christ as light will shine through us to others and will expose their darkness, opening their eyes to see Him and repent"! Oh Lord Jesus, we open to You right now!