April 3rd - All Will See and Confess Him as Lord

"He is saying to Thomas, "Bring your finger here and perceive My hands, and bring your hand and thrust it into My side, and do not become unbelieving, but believing."And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" Now Jesus is saying to him, "Seeing that you have seen Me, you have believed. Happy are those who are not SEEING and believe." (John 20:27-29)

Before His death Jesus told His disciples who He was and what would happen to Him, but they did not believe Him until AFTER they saw Him resurrected. They were UNBELIEVERS until they saw Jesus with their own eyes AFTER His resurrection. 

Even the Apostle Paul had to encounter the RISEN Lord before he became a believer.

"Now in his going he came to be nearing Damascus. Suddenly a light out of heaven flashes about him. And falling on the earth, he hears a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? Yet he said, "Who art Thou , Lord?" Yet He said "I am Jesus..." (Acts9:3-5)

AFTER the resurrection of Jesus Paul tells us that...

"He was SEEN by Cephas, thereupon the twelve. Thereupon He was SEEN by over five hundred brethren at once...Yet, last of all...He was SEEN by me also." (1 Corinthians 15:5-9)

Not one person living today on planet earth has SEEN Jesus! The fact that there have been a few in the world since Jesus returned to heaven who BELIEVE is a miracle. Only by the grace of God and the miraculous gift of FAITH can anyone believe BEFORE they actually SEE Jesus!

"Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen Me, do you now believe? Blessed [happy] are they who DO NOT SEE Me and yet believe in Me.” (John 20:29)

Perceiving that Jesus as our Savior BEFORE we SEE Him is God's gift of FAITH to humans. Only by His grace do we come to a knowledge of our salvation BEFORE we SEE Him at our resurrection.

"For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and this is not out of you; it is God's gift..."

(Galatians 2:8-9)

So, what happens to those who have not been GIVEN the FAITH to believe before they die? They must wait until they are resurrected and SEE Jesus, just like His disciples and Paul had to wait?  And, it seems obvious to me that ALL of them will then know and believe He is the Son of God and the Savior of the world. And everyone of them will THEN confess Him as Lord. 

 
"For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5-11) 

"Faithful is the saying and worthy of all welcome (for for this are we toiling and being reproached), that we rely on the living God, Who is the Savior of all humanity, especially of believers. These things be charging and teaching." (1 Timothy 4:9-11)

It is unfortunate that so few Christians SEE  that Jesus intends to save the whole world even though He has told us in His Word. I suppose they will have to wait until they SEE  Jesus to believe all that is written in the Scripture about Him.

"Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see.” Then He appeared to them and said, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." (Luke 24:24-27)