Overview

1. Power and wisdom come by beholding Jesus
2. The only way to experience true satisfaction in life
3. Everything about Jesus is lovely
4. Blessings come effortlessly when we behold Jesus
5. The clearest way to behold Jesus
6. Behold Jesus to shape our everyday life

Power and wisdom come by beholding Jesus

Faith grows when we look away from ourselves and behold Jesus—His perfection, His finished work, and His unchanging love (Heb. 12:2). Faith doesn’t grow by looking at ourselves. When we focus on our weaknesses, our failures, or even our efforts to believe, we will only become discouraged.

The Bible says, “Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified… Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:22–24). People are still searching in the same ways today—some chase after outward displays of power, while others rely on human knowledge and philosophies. But neither can truly satisfy. For the believer, we have the true source of both the power and the wisdom of God—our Lord Jesus Himself.

Sometimes His power moves instantly to bring healing or deliverance (Mark 5:29–30). At other times, His wisdom unfolds gradually, guiding us step by step (Prov. 3:5–6). In both cases, the supply does not come by striving but by beholding the Lord.

And this beholding is not passive. To behold Jesus is to actively fix the eyes of our heart on Him—through meditating on His Word, worshiping Him, and being conscious of His presence in our daily lives. The more we look to Jesus, the more His divine life will begin to manifest in ours, whether through His power that delivers or His wisdom that leads!

The only way to experience true satisfaction in life

If beholding Jesus is how we walk in true power and wisdom, it is also the only way our hearts will ever be truly satisfied. We can achieve much, possess much, and enjoy much, yet still find ourselves thirsty. King Solomon had everything this world could offer—riches, wisdom, pleasure, and honor—yet his conclusion was, “vanity of vanities, all is vanity” (Eccles. 1:2). Nothing “under the sun” could quiet the ache and sense of emptiness inside.

But in the Song of Songs, Solomon writes from a higher place of a life centered on the Son. Here the heart is filled, not by possessions or achievements, but by delighting in the Beloved. True satisfaction comes not from what we have, but from who Jesus is to us.

The Lord said to the Samaritan woman at the well, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst” (John 4:13–14). The things of the world can only provide temporary relief. But when we behold Jesus, He quenches the deepest thirsts of the soul—even the ones we cannot put into words.

Often, the restlessness we feel, the constant searching for the next experience, the next success, or even the next distraction, is not a physical hunger but a spiritual one. Scripture reminds us: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4). Only the Bread of Life can truly satisfy the deepest hunger in our innermost being (John 6:35).

Beholding Jesus is not just a remedy for the emptiness on the inside but also the only way to live satisfied. When our hearts are anchored in Him, we find a joy that is steady, a peace that remains, and a fullness that nothing in this world can replace.

Everything about Jesus is lovely

And when we turn our gaze to the Lord, what do we see? We see that everything about Him is beautiful and complete.

The Old Testament is filled with pictures meant to reveal His loveliness. The sacrificial lamb without blemish or defect points to Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Exod. 12:5, John 1:29). The fine flour of the grain offering speaks of His evenness of character—perfectly balanced, gentle, and without flaw (Lev. 2:1). Every shadow, every type, every offering is there to draw our eyes to Him.

And as we behold our Lord’s loveliness and perfections, we are to see ourselves in Him. So that when we come before God, we know that it is not our imperfections He examines. Just as the priest in the Old Testament looked only at the lamb and not the worshiper, so God looks only at Jesus, our spotless Lamb. If the Lamb is perfect, and He is, we are accepted (Lev. 22:21, Eph. 1:6).

This is why we do not need to fear judgment when we draw near to our Father’s throne. Because of our Savior’s perfect, complete atoning work for us at the cross, there is “therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Judgment has already fallen on Jesus at the cross for all our sins, and when God looks at us, He sees us clothed in His Son’s righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21).

Even the future judgment for believers—the judgment seat of Christ—is not a place of condemnation. The word Paul uses in the Greek is bema, which was the platform where athletes in ancient times received their prizes (2 Cor. 5:10). It is a place of reward, not punishment. By the time we stand there, our bodies will have already been transformed into the glorious likeness of our Lord (Phil. 3:21). Then, we will stand before our Father in heaven, righteous, beloved, and accepted forever.

So, to behold Jesus is to see the One who is gentle yet strong, holy yet compassionate, righteous yet full of grace. As the Bible declares, “he is altogether lovely” (Song of Sol. 5:16).

When we worship, let Jesus be in our song. When we pray, let Jesus be the focus of our prayers. And when we preach, let Jesus be at the center of our message. For only when we give Him center place will we truly be nourished and transformed.

Blessings come effortlessly when we behold Jesus

We all want to see breakthroughs, miracles, and fruitfulness in our lives. And these come only when we fix our eyes on Jesus, rest in Him, and enjoy His presence. No amount of striving or anxious, frantic effort can cause God’s blessings to manifest.

Sarah’s story is a powerful picture of this. For years she was barren, and when the Lord promised her a son in her old age, she laughed within herself: “After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?” (Gen. 18:12). Notice what she said—“Shall I have pleasure?” instead of “Shall I have a child?”—her focus not on the outcome but on the joy of walking with the Lord.

Hebrews 11:11 tells us, “By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” Strength came not through striving but through beholding God’s faithfulness. She turned her heart to her delight in the Lord, and in that place of joy, the miracle happened.

Abraham too beheld the Lord’s promises, with Romans 4:20–21 saying, “He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.” His eyes were not on his own body, advanced in age, nor on Sarah’s barrenness, but on God’s ability, and his faith grew strong.

This is the way of grace: When our eyes are full of Jesus, we are strengthened inwardly, and fruitfulness will flow outwardly. The miracle comes not because we chased the result but because our hearts were taken up with Him. And breakthroughs, healing, provision, joy, and fruitfulness are the natural outcomes of such a life that beholds Jesus.

The clearest way to behold Jesus

Beholding Jesus is not a vague idea. Scripture shows us clearly how to set our eyes on Him and be transformed.

This can happen in different ways. We can behold Jesus in worship, or we can behold Him inwardly as Sarah did when God promised her a child. But the clearest way to see Him is through His Word.

Paul writes, “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Cor. 3:18). When we look in a natural mirror, we see ourselves. But when we look into the mirror of God’s Word, we see Jesus. And as we behold Him there, the Spirit of God works within us, quietly shaping us into His likeness. Transformation comes, not by self-effort, but by the Spirit as we look to Christ.

Luke 24 gives us a beautiful picture of this. After His resurrection, Jesus walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Though they were discouraged and confused, He did not reveal Himself at first. Instead, “beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself” (Luke 24:27).

With these two disciples, our Lord called out two problems: ignorance and slowness to believe (Luke 24:25). And His solution was to open the Scriptures so they could see Him more clearly. Their hearts burned as they listened because the Word was unveiling Christ to them.

Why did He restrain their eyes from recognizing Him at first? Because it was more important for them to see Him in the Word than to see Him in person. In this way, every believer in every generation has the same opportunity to behold Jesus in the Scriptures.

And when we do, something happens not only in our hearts but also in our bodies. The Word is “life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh” (Prov. 4:22). Hebrews 11:27 tells us that Moses endured “as seeing Him who is invisible.” That vision of Christ gave him strength to persevere. In the same way, every act of beholding Him in the Word will impart life and strength to us.

Behold Jesus to shape our everyday life

Beholding Jesus is not just for worship or Bible study. It is also critical for shaping how we live our everyday lives. In marriage, for example, Paul writes, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25). The command is not to muster love from within, but to look at how Christ loves His people. As a husband beholds the sacrificial love of Christ, he is moved to reflect it toward his wife.

Paul also says, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22). The focus is not on the husband’s worthiness but on Jesus. Submission becomes an act of devotion to Christ Himself, with the assurance that “from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance” (Col. 3:24).

This is what it really means to behold Jesus. It is not abstract or mystical, but deeply practical. When our eyes are on Him, the Spirit forms His image in us, and that transformation flows into our closest relationships, our daily choices, and our attitudes.

So beholding Jesus is to live in constant communion with Him—seeing His beauty, receiving His grace, and being transformed into His likeness day by day.

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