The Importance of Spiritual Sight (2 Corinthians 

5:7)
Posted on May 28, 2010 by Rick Arnold

Importance of Spiritual Sight

By Rick Arnold
June 24, 2007
I. Faith is not Blind
1. (2 Cor 5:7) I hear many talking about blind faith, but real faith is not blind. Real
faith is when we trust in what we see by the spirit. The Bible says to walk by faith
and not by sight,  but this does not mean that faith is blind. It means that faith is
not limited to physical sight.
2. (Heb 11:24-27) I’ve heard young people say, “How can you expect me to believe
in something I can’ see but Hebrews 11: 24-27 says that Moses endured as seeing
Him who is invisible. If you can’t see Him who is invisible you will never forsake
the world like Moses did. But if you could get even a faint glimpse of New
Jerusalem and the King who sits upon the throne of that city. If you could see your
place there among the heavenly beings what hold would this world have on us?
3. There are many scriptures that talk about spiritual sight. We will read just a few.
A. (John 3:3) Unless one is born again he can not see the kingdom of God
B. (John 12:40) Quote from Isaiah, “
C. (Acts 26:15-18) Called to open the eyes of the lost
D. (Eph 1:15-19) Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him
E. (Eph 4:17-18) Spiritual Blindness
F. (1 Cor 2:6-16)
G. (Heb 11:6; Deut 4:29) If you can’t see God it is because you are not
looking. Or you are not looking with a repentant heart of faith. We will only see
whatever it is that we are looking for
II. Definitions
1. Look
A. To direct your eyes for the purpose of seeing something
B. To observe with the eyes while keeping them directed
C. To seek, to search
D. To expect
2. See
A. To perceive by the eye
B. To have knowledge of the existence of and apparent qualities of the object
beheld
C. To perceive by mental vision, to form an idea or conception of, to note with
the mind
D. To observe, discern, or understand
3. Spiritual sight – What do we mean when we are talking about spiritual sight? We
are not talking about the use of the physical eye although what we behold with
our natural eyes can effect what we see with our spiritual eyes. We are not just
talking about our minds eye or our imagination although that can be a part of
spiritual sight. Spiritual sight is compared to physical sight because the results
are the same for each. When we see something in the natural it is a result of light
shining on an object. Our eyes see the reflected light and sends a signal to our
brains. Our brains can interpret the signal and it produces a knowing or
perceiving in our consciousness. We become aware of something. Through sight
 we can perceive the existence of an object and come to know something about its
characteristics. The greater the amount of light the more we will be able to tell
about the object we are seeing. The impression of knowing we get from
perceiving is quite compelling. Though we may acknowledge the possibility that
are eyes can be deceived we generally hold fast to the idea that “seeing is
believing”. Now let’s look at spiritual sight. Spiritual things are not perceived by
natural man with his natural sight. But we compare revelation or spiritual
perception to the act of seeing because of their similarities and because the
results of the two are the same, namely a coming into the experience of knowing
something beyond the shadow of a doubt. Natural man is in darkness regarding
spiritual things, that is he can’t perceive them unaided. Without light we can not
directly perceive God or His kingdom though we have the testimony of creation
and the inward testimony of our conscience. When the Holy Spirit comes bearing
His influence on the soul of man it has the same effect as light has upon the
natural eyes of man. His influence causes man to perceive the things of the spirit.
Like light the greater the influence the greater the level of perception. The result
of a man receiving the light of the Spirit is perception and he becomes absolutely
convinced of the truth of the object he saw as if he had seen it with his natural
eyes. (not all light is good light. the devil appears as an angel of light. That is
why we have the spirit and the truth. We compare what perceive with the written
word of God. we do not become arrogant about our revelation)
III. Importance of Spiritual sight
1. (Rev 3:17-19) It is possible for our spiritual sight to grow dim. We could even
become blind. Unlike natural blindness which is obvious to all, the spiritually
blind are often deceived and think they see. The people of laodicia could not
see their true condition. They thought they were rich and in need of nothing
which was the exact opposite of the truth.
2. (Proverbs 29:18) My people perish for lack of vision. They cast off restraint.
Backsliding always starts with a lack of spiritual sight. Revelation begins to
grow dim. When the vision fades, the feeling fades, the passion fades, the fire
goes out. When we see something it effects us in many ways. What we see can
stir up desire, it can inspire us, it arouse great emotion, etc. We must continue
to behold a thing if it is to continue to effect us in such a strong manner. That is
why must continually look upon the Word of God. Many times we get out our
wedding albums and find those feelings of love stirred up. Or we look back at
one of our missions trips and feels those thrills that we had previously
experienced. Also when I was a boy after watching superman I would zoom
around the house. Those images had a great influence upon my emotions,
desires, etc. We must not ask ourselves whether or not we know a certain truth
but rather that truth burns in our hearts as revelation and effects our lives and
the lives of those around us.
3. (1 John 3:2; )We become whatever we look at. If we behold Christ we become
partakes of the divine nature, but if we bring idols into our house and look upon
them we will begin to take on the nature of those demons behind the idols.
4. (Luke 12:45-46) If we are not looking the judgment of God will take us by
surprise
5. (John 5:19-20) Spiritual sight vital to effective ministry. Jesus said that He only
did what he saw the Father doing
IV. How can we see spiritually?
 1. (Rev 3:18) Anoint your eyes with eye salve (Cultivate the presence of the Lord
through worship, prayer, obedience)
2. (Phil 4:8) Position ourselves to see. Stop looking at the wrong things and start
looking at the right things. Resist the distractions.
V. Things not to look at
1. Do not look back at the world
A. (Gen 19:26) Lot’s Wife
B. (Luke 9:62) Hand to the plow and no looking back
2. Do not look at your circumstances with fear
A. (Mat 14: 29-31) Peter on the water
3. Do not look at the enemy only
A. (2 Kings 6:15-17) Elisha opening the eyes of his servant
4. Do not focus on the faults of others
A. (Mat 7:3) Log in your eye
VI. Things to look at
1. (Jude 20-23) Look for mercy for the lost
2. (John 4:35) The Harvest
3. (Hebrews 12:1-3) Look to Jesus lest we become weary and faint in our minds
A. (Num 21:8) Keep looking to the cross for healing and deliverance
B. (Rev 4:1-2) Look to the one seated on the throne
4. (Mat 6:26) Look at the birds of the air to see God’s provision
5. (2 Cor 4:17-18) Look at the eternal things
A. (Heb 11:24-26)Reward
B. (Luke 21:28)Redemption
C. (Titus 2:13) Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of
our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
D. (2 Peter 3:12-13) New heaven and new earth
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How To Walk By Faith Using The Eyes And Ears Of Faith

I want to follow the scriptural admonition to walk by faith.  Before I could do that I had
to learn how to see and hear by faith. I first learned about the eyes and ears of faith in
1979. I was at North Central Bible College getting my degree. The president of my alma
matter was named Dr. Don Argue. Every day we had to go to chapel and hear a
message and Dr. Argue was in the midst of raising money and believing God for the
expansion of the campus of my college.  The college had a vision for a new gymnasium
to be added.

I can remember Dr. Argue saying that we must walk by faith and then he was putting
his hand up to his ear. If he did it once he must have done it 100 times. And he would
ask all of students, “Can you hear it?  Can you hear the sound of basketballs being
bounced in the gymnasium? Can you hear the roar of the crowd in the games that will
take place?” He said, “I can hear it with my ears of faith.”

Then he would point to his eyes and say, “Can you see that building going up?” He
would then say, “I can see it with my eyes of faith.” And most of all, he would say, “I
believe it in my heart.” By the time I was a senior, that gym was built.
But what Dr. Argue was showing those ministerial students is how to walk by faith and
that they possessed eyes and ears that are spiritual eyes and ears.  I learned those
simple lessons during my time at college. I didn’t realize then how many times I would
have to use my eyes and ears of faith.   In the tests of life you need eyes and ears of
faith. And as you believe God for advancement for yourself, your life,  and your ministry
you will need eyes and ears of faith.

Because if you are a believer, you cannot live with only using your natural eyes.  Natural
eyes don’t see everything. You will get discouraged if the only thing you see is what is
around you in the natural. You need to see beyond the temporal things. If you are a
believer and you never use your spiritual ears. You are going to be wandering around,
tossed about by every circumstance of life.

In order to live a life that honors God we need to be willing to move and act and speak
in faith as a result of what our spiritual eyes and ears see.

The Old Testament is our example of how to walk by faith. I want to say that I love all of
the Word of God. I love to read in New Testament.  I am a New Testament believer
underneath the New Covenant.  But I have discovered that as I study the Old
Testament, the New Testament takes on deeper meaning for me. God does not change,
his ways are unchangeable. In fact, he is immutable.  It is impossible that he could
change.

Paul writes to the Corinthians and he is using the Old Testament as a means to
encourage and to exhort the believers to live right and follow God.  And he gives us a
powerful principle that touches all of the Old Testament.  This is what he says in 1
Corinthians 10:11  “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were
written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”  Whose
encouragement and admonition are they written for? Ours! Yours and mine. They are
our examples.  The Old Testament has value for us today. Because it gives us further
explanation by providing examples of spiritual things. I want to know how to use my
spiritual eyes and ears.

I am going to show you in just a minute that the New Testaments speaks of the eyes
and ears of faith, and the Old Testament Illustrates those concepts.  So let’s first look at
what the New Testament teaches and then jump into these powerful two stories from
the Old Testament, knowing these things were written for our encouragement and faith.

In order to walk by faith we must…

1. SEE WITH THE EYES OF FAITH

There are many Christians today in our world that the only eyes that they ever use are
their natural eyes. Whenever something negative happens, they only see the bad. They
focus on temporary circumstances. They focus on feelings. They focus on the ups and
especially the downs of life.  Can I just say that life is discouraging if you only view it
through natural eyes?  Someone observing life itself, even life in a blessed country like
America, can grow very discouraged by simply looking and observing the world around
you. Let me illustrate this from kind of a super obvious observation about life all across
the planet. Here it is:

Just looking with your natural eyes, you would be discouraged because the death rate
among humans is 100 percent.  Now I am illustrating in a kind of silly way. Everyone
grows old and dies.  Isn’t that wonderful? Not from a natural viewpoint!  Natural eyes
see things like hospitals, old folks homes, cemeteries, obituaries, grieving families, loss,
sorrow and heartache.  If all you see is with your natural eyes, you begin to think, that
is what I have to look forward to. I am going to die.

But natural eyes alone, don’t tell you the whole picture. Especially if you are believer. I
lost a friend this week.  The week when I was writing this a man from my home-town
church passed away. His name is Sidney Eckerson. I loved this guy. I knew him for 45
years.  He was a good friend of mine, the father of three of my best friends in high
school.   But if all you see is his death through natural eyes. You would feel terrible. We
cannot look at life through natural eyes! We have to view things spiritually.

I see Sidney’s death through the eyes of faith! According to the Word of God

Sidney will never have another day of pain.

Sidney will one day have a glorified body.

Sidney is in the presence of the Lord.

Sidney is in the very presence of God.

The Word says that it is far better to depart and be with Christ than to be on the earth.
So, once I see this through eyes of faith, it affects me in a positive way. I am actually
happy for Sidney!

a.  In the New Testament – Paul teaches us to see with faith

That is why Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Paul is
talking about natural sight. We don’t walk by what we see in the natural, but we take
our steps by what we see in faith. Using that simple illustration of Sidney’s home going,
what happened in my mind? I can explain it to you.  I want to use New Testament
terminology to get this.  The eyes of faith caused my understanding to be enlightened. 
Suddenly, I had hope, not just for Sidney, but that hope is for me. Yeah for me, because
one day, I am not going to be here. I suddenly realized what riches I have as an
inheritance.  I suddenly realized the greatness of God’s power to us who believe.

It is exactly what Paul said in Ephesians.  Ephesians 1:18-19  “the eyes of

your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His
calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,    and what is the
exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of
His mighty power”
 This tells us when we see with the eyes of faith our life will show the following three
things:

Hope (the hope of his calling)

An Understanding of His promises. (the riches of the glory of His promises.)

A Belief that God has all the power I need (the exceeding greatness of his power toward
us)

Whatever the situation you are in, if you see with the eyes of faith. Now that we see it
from a New Testament perspective, let’s take a look at an old testament example.

b.  In The Old Testament – Elisha

I have always loved this story. The king of Syria was at war with Israel. The king of
Syria is trying to kill the king of Israel. And God was using Elisha the prophet to tell the
king of Israel where to go and where not to go in order to avoid conflict.  And the king of
Syria tells his folks, “Who is telling the king of Israel all our plans? It seems like
someone is on his side.”  I mean this king is frustrated.

His men tell him, “It is not the king of Israel. He is like any other guy. It is not anyone of
us. It is this no good for nothing prophet of God named Elisha who is warning him over
and over again what our plans are.” So the king decides to go after Elisha probably to
kill and to destroy him.  By the way, in the natural, that should have been easy. All of
Syria and its armies, against a simple prophet of God, probably without any weapons of
war at all, and his servant Gahazi. Let’s pick up the story. Now Elisha was in the city of
Dothan. It’s a little town, its unprotected.

2 Kings 6:14-17  “Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and
they came by night and surrounded the city.    And when the servant of the man of God
arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and
chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”  If all you
see is the natural, it is easy to push the panic button. If all you see is with your natural
eyes, often times it will seem like the circumstance of life have overcome you and you
are dead in the water.

This servant had a lot of stress just by viewing what his natural eye could see. He knew
what Elisha had been up to…telling the king where to hide from the Syrian army. He
knew what an army with swords and spears could do. He knew they were outnumbered.
And he pushed the panic button.  When he says. Alas my master. He is filled with fear,
confusion, and worry. There is panic in his voice.  Have you ever looked at the
circumstances of your life just with the natural eyes and cried up to the Lord? What are
we going to do now?

The bills are greater than the income.

The ministry seems to be struggling

You feel surrounded.

You feel outnumbered.

And in the natural, all signs say, nothing can turn this around.  What you need is to walk
by faith and see with the eyes of faith.  I love what happened next. “  So he
answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with
them.”

 Can you imagine Gehazi? He is thinking to himself. What have you been smoking?
There is me and you, and maybe a couple hundred people in this little town. Did you not
rub the sleep out of your eyes and look around, There and thousands and thousands of
Syrian troops. And they are after us!    And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open
his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he
saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

Yeah, the valley may have been filled with soldiers. But the mountains were filled with
the horses and the chariots of fire! I am here to declare to you that you and God make a
majority. God has all the power you need. Your circumstance, your situation is not
impossible.  Just tell yourself this truth:  Those who are with us are more than those
who are against us.

If you read the rest of the story, God struck the whole army with blindness. And they led
them all away.  It is fascinating what God can do. Can I just say that sometimes I just
feel sorry for the devil? (not really) I mean he started out a loser. He could only take
one third of the Angels. He has already been defeated.  Jesus Christ already triumphed
over Satan on the cross, making a spectacle of him. Jesus Christ leads us in triumphant
procession. When will we realize who we are and walk by faith? You are a part of the
kingdom of God. You sit with Christ in heavenly places. If you are a believer…you are
never ever alone.  May God open up your eyes! You are not alone.  You have God who
will never leave you or forsake you.

Let me just give you a couple of verses. 1 John 4:4  “You are of God, little children, and
have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the
world.”  Romans 8:31 “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Do you realize who is on your side?  You have Christ in you, the hope of Glory.  You are
immersed in the third person of the Trinity with all his creative power. You have
standing behind you God the Father, the owner of heaven and earth.  You are in good
hands.

Well, I see this situation…it doesn’t look good

This relationship, This marriage, My finances, My job, My health, My home, My kids

My parent. It doesn’t look good.

I have some questions.  Do you love God? Are you called according to His purpose?
Listen, it doesn’t even matter if negative circumstances surround you.  Start seeing with
the eyes of faith because God’s can do all things.  Romans 8:28  “And we know that all
things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called
according to His purpose.”  God’s got this. We win anyway! See with the eyes of faith. 
No matter what your situation…see with faith!

And then

2.  HEAR WITH EARS OF FAITH

       a.  In the New Testament we are taught to listen with spiritual ears

When Jesus taught the people about the things of God, and the kingdom of God, he said
these words in Matthew 11:15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”  When Jesus
wrote seven letters to seven churches in the book of Revelation.  He ended all of those
letters by challenging the church to have ears to hear.  Revelation 2:7 says,  “He who
has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Apparently, Jesus thinks
that having our spiritual ears on is very important.  He taught that in his day on the
planet.  He wrote that to seven different churches.

Here is why:  Listening and hearing what God has to say is important.  God has
something to say. God has a way that he wants to move. God has wisdom he wants to
give. God has encouragement he wants to outpour.  But if our ears are closed.  If our
ears are dull and slow to hear, we will miss what God is doing.  Spiritual hearing doesn’t
come automatically.  Just because you say, Hey, I believe in Jesus…that doesn’t mean
you will hear Him perfectly.  In order to hear you have to get close to God.  In the
natural, I can’t hear what the people across the street are saying.  They are too far
away. But if I get close I can hear them.  The same is true with God, I can’t hear from
God if I am far away.  You have to draw near to Him.

I think it is interesting that the way God’s voice is described in scripture as not as a loud
pealing thunder.  It is described by Elijah in 1 Kings 19:12  “…still small voice…”.  That
tells me that I have to get quiet sometimes to hear his voice. That tells me that I have
to learn how to listen. The scripture says in John 10:27 “My sheep know my voice…” If
you constantly have the radio on, your air buds in, the tv on from morning to night. You
won’t be able to hear.  God speaks in whispers. God speaks in promptings. But we have
to want to hear.

b.  In the Old Testament – David

In the Old Testament in 2 Samuel 5:22-25 there is a great story about David.  David has
become king, not just of Judah where he reigned for seven years.  But he has made a
covenant at Hebron with all Israel.  He is now reigning over a unified Israel. He would
ultimately reign there for 33 more years.  But his reign is now established. They have
dealt with the Jebusites who occupied Jerusalem. He is now fortifying the city of David in
Jerusalem. He is marrying new wives and having children.  Other kings are sending him
things to help him build. He is building his palace and all seems well.  And when it seems
like everything is going good for David, that’s when he hears that trouble has come.
Is there anyone who ever felt like that? You just are getting established, things go to
normal, and bam here comes trouble. And the word tells us that the Philistines came
against David and they set themselves up in the valley of Rephaim.  You have to get
your thinking right. There are a lot of people in our world that when things don’t go right
in their life, they automatically believe that it must be their fault. They must have done
something wrong. God must be angry at them somehow.  Can I just say that many
times the attacks of life come because you are doing something right? This was an
attack against all Israel. Why? They had recognized David as king! God had given Israel
peace.

The same thing happens to us. There are moments when you and I have recognized the
son of David as the king in our life.I am talking about Jesus as king.  Jesus is
establishing his reign and rule in your life. Peace has come to you and yours. And I want
to tell you that the enemy is not happy about that. So when you see things coming
against you, don’t always assume that this is somehow Gods judgment.  It could be you
are doing something right.

But what did David do?  He inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up against them?” He asked
God about it.  He prayed about it. We don’t know what to do because we don’t pray.  We
tell ourselves, “I know exactly what to do. I can figure this out on my own. I can handle
it.”  No, we need God.  Ask him for wisdom!

God told David what to do.  And he went up against them and defeated them.  And that
is what happened. And David thinks there will be peace now.  Let’s pick up the story.  2
Samuel 5:22-25 “Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in
the Valley of Rephaim.    I hate those two words…once again.  Is there anyone who feels
like, this again? Really? Is there anyone who feels like you are fighting the same battle?
You may be thinking: I thought I already passed this test. I thought I already won this
victory. I thought I already vanquished the enemy again, and here it is again.  You
know, sometimes, problems persist. I can say one thing for the devil and life’s problems,
they are persistent.

 
Just because you prayed once, doesn’t mean you can’t pray again. So David enquired of
the Lord.  Actually, you need Gods direction on a daily basis. This is what the Lord said,
“and He said, “You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in
front of the mulberry trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the
tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out
before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.

 I love this story, because it tells me one thing. God doesn’t do everything in the same
way, every time at every moment.  This time he had them circle around behind them
and they were to wait. Now can you imagine David telling his men. “Okay we are going
around to a stand of Mulberry trees. And I have a great plan. When we hear the sound
of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then we will advance quickly.”  They are
thinking, “Who is going to be marching in the tops of the trees”  That would be the army
of the Lord.

Let me give you some advice from this passage.

  David was willing to do exactly what God told him to do.

Let me tell you, if you want to live a life of faith, you have to be willing to step out and
follow the Lords leading and the Lords direction.

 David had to wait for God to move.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to wait. But waiting is a part of the life of faith.
Because God knew the exact moment when they needed to attack. Our timing isn’t Gods
timing. Sometimes we give up because it seems too slow.  But I can assure you one
thing, that if you hear, and if you wait.  There will a sound of a moving, a marching in
the trees. Now we aren’t fighting a physical army. We are fighting, the flesh, the devil,
and the world. We are fighting the good fight of faith.

Here is what happened. There is a moment when heaven invaded earth.  Had you been
standing in that bunch of mulberry trees, you would have looked up. The trees would
have swaying. The leaves would have been hitting each other. In other words, the
natural world was feeling the force of the God of heaven and his hosts.

When you wait…you will see Gods hand. God is willing to move on your behalf. ” And
David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines
from Geba as far as Gezer.”

 The eyes and ears of faith.

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FAITH: SEEING THE UNSEEN

“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”
(Heb.11.1). It is not easy to translate the original Greek text satisfactorily, but the
general idea is clear enough. Here it says that faith is the “assurance of things hoped
for”. What do we hope for? Romans 8.24-25 gives an answer:

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