Ephesians 5:14
Wake up, everyone who is sleeping!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you!
Rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you!
The 5:14 Conversations
Part 3:
Try King Jesus Glasses for One Week!
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This series of occasional discussions with David Bryant
explores the revolutionary impact on Jesus followers
of the anticipated 2024 American CHRIST Awakening.
explores the revolutionary impact on Jesus followers
of the anticipated 2024 American CHRIST Awakening.
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NOTE: This series is based on recorded conversations with Dr. Steve Greene, late Publisher and Executive VP of Charisma Media.
Do you wear glasses? Are they bifocals, by any chance? If so, you know how they create the ability to get clarity in two directions with just one pair of glasses.
A similar capacity of vision is available to every Jesus follower led by the Holy Spirit. That’s why Paul prays in Ephesians 1 for believers to experience “new eyes” in their hearts. Or, as we sometimes sing, using words from a famous Irish hymn, “Be Thou, my vision, O Lord of my heart.”
This transformation also helps define the impending American CHRIST Awakening. The Father wants to fit all his people with the power to see the glories of our reigning Savior more clearly and—as a result and at the same time—to see all the rest of life around us in new ways through the lens of the person, kingdom, and purposes of his dear Son.
Join our 5:14 Conversation! Let’s consider trying out what David Bryant calls King Jesus glasses, even for just one week!
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Christ Now: Normally, on the first day of classes, a teacher informs students what they will need with them for each class: textbooks, digital devices, and sometimes paper and pencils. If someone is coming to you to learn more about the wonders of God’s Son, what should they bring with them?
David Bryant: That’s easy—bifocals! I call them King Jesus glasses. You need to bring this unique pair of lenses that helps you see in two directions.
First, with one lens, “look away” at Jesus high and lifted up. Gaze at Jesus for all he is worth, at this moment, in his fullness as God’s redeeming, reigning Son.
Eventually, we might want to talk about the seven prepositions that I think define everything about his spectacular supremacy. As we unpack these seven dimensions, we are introduced to much more of what his saving lordship is all about.
We need lenses through which we can see the “mountain tops,” as it were—the full extent of Jesus’ sovereignty and majesty. In other words, Christians must come to terms with the broader implications of his ascension to God’s right hand, where he now possesses all authority in heaven and earth.
CN: So, what’s the other lens of these bifocals for?
DB: They help you look at the entire world around you—but now you’re able to see everything going on in your own life, as well as among the nations, through the lens of the supremacy and preeminence of God’s Son.
Let the glories of the person of Jesus (which you can see through the first lens) change the way you look at what’s going on around you—the happiness and tragedies, the hopes and fears, the triumphs and failures, the joys of love and the destructive force of hate.
CN: It sounds like you’re saying that when the exalted Lord Jesus Christ becomes your “vision,” it begins to change the way you look at news headlines, for example. You increasingly view them through the reign of Jesus, seeing how his will and purposes are being accomplished amid all the challenges and issues reported day after day.
DB: Exactly! Good application.
CN: What additional impact can these same bifocals have on how believers walk daily with Jesus?
DB: It can be extraordinary, really.
As a believer, when you start looking through King Jesus glasses—which is the same as “looking through” the person of Jesus as Lord and King—you begin to see yourself based on who you have become “in Christ Jesus”—as belonging to him, living daily under his lordship.
Then, take the same approach with how you look at fellow believers who are also “in Christ Jesus.” How does this larger vision of God’s Son transform how you value, relate to, and work with other Jesus followers to advance the mission of the gospel?
CN: I assume this grander way of looking at Christ would also revitalize our times of prayer and worship—expanding what we pray for and how we pray for it. When we see ourselves and everything around us through King Jesus glasses, we will surely be filled with a greater desire to pray more and with more insight aligned with his kingdom purposes. Surely, we will have more reasons to praise our triune God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength!
DB: Yes, all of that—and more!
For example, when you wear “King Jesus glasses” as you study God’s Word, you discover how much of Scripture is truly about the person of Christ and the promises of God that become ours because of the finished work of Christ—his incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
Many of these truths about Jesus are foreshadowed in the Old Testament but then shown to be fulfilled in the New Testament. King Jesus glasses give virtually every major text the potential to take us further toward Christ, deeper into Christ, and farther on with Christ.
Suddenly, the Bible becomes a whole new book, brimming with fresh vistas of the glories of God that reveal the riches you never knew you had through Jesus.
CN: You often illustrate this by helping your audiences, readers, or video viewers take a closer look at just one psalm as an example of the impact of interpreting Scripture through King Jesus glasses. This is possibly the most powerful example you share. Please do so right now.
DB: Happy to. A few years ago, I was digging deeper into what Scripture teaches about Jesus and trying to understand how the New Testament church looked at Christ. What surprised me was that there was one Old Testament passage quoted or referenced by virtually every author of every book of the New Testament.
Remember, the Old Testament contained the only Holy Scriptures the early church had—there was no New Testament yet. Therefore, they had to keep referring to the 39 books that we call the Old Testament. As they did, it seems that one passage captured their hearts more than almost any other.
CN: Well, don’t keep us in suspense! What is it?
DB: It’s the psalm that begins, “The Lord says to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’ The Lord will extend your scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of your enemies!’ Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.”
CN: Of course, I recognize it now. Psalm 110!
DB: Right! I hope this one example whets people’s appetites for wearing their King Jesus glasses as they search out the myriad of other passages that magnify our King.
Note this: On the day of Pentecost, when Peter delivered his sermon—the very first sermon of the New Testament church—he climaxed by quoting from Psalm 110 and concluded by declaring, “This Jesus whom you’ve crucified, God has made both Lord and Messiah.”
You see, once they put on their King Jesus glasses, New Testament Christians could fully envision what Psalm 110 was talking about. As a result, they became focused on Jesus’ ascension as a critical dimension of his redeeming work. He’s been exalted! He is at the right hand of the Father! He is supreme! He is reigning! And hearing that, the crowd that was listening also got new eyes and cried out, “What must we do?”
CN: What a powerful insight! Next time we meet, David, I want to use our conversation today as a springboard for a discussion about what I know you believe to be the greatest crisis facing the church in America today—the crisis of Christology, as you sometimes call it.
BD: Let’s do it! In the end, it is a crisis of VISION—the direct result of too few Jesus followers wearing their King Jesus glasses!
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Follow up: View David’s 47-second video clip: “We Need King Jesus Glasses!”
About the Author
Over the past 50 years, David Bryant has been defined by many as a “messenger of hope” and a “Christ proclaimer” to the Church throughout the world. Formerly a minister-at-large with the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, president of Concerts of Prayer International (COPI), and chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee, David now provides leadership to ChristNow.com and Proclaim Hope!, whose mission is to foster and serve Christ Awakening movements. Download his widely read ebooks at ChristNow.com. Enjoy hundreds of podcast episodes. Watch his weekly vlogs at David Bryant REPORTS. Meet with David through Zoom or in-person events through David Bryant LIVE!
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