In addition to having a spirit of wisdom and revelation, we must also deal with the eyes of our heart. Here the first thing to consider is the fact, which is the mystery of God’s will (1:9). In the illustration given above, the factory represents the fact. In like manner the mystery of God’s will is the fact we need to see.
Although the fact may exist, there must still be the revelation, the opening of the veil. It is a fact that the factory exists, but the doors must be opened to us. This is the opening of the veil.
Although we may have the fact and the opening of the veil, we also need eyes with which to see. We may have the mystery of God’s will and the revelation, but we still need eyes, the spiritual faculty to see (Acts 26:18; Rev. 3:18). The eyes we are talking about are, of course, the spiritual eyes, the eyes of the heart. In Revelation 3:18 the Lord Jesus said, “I counsel you to buy from Me...eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see.” We need eyesalve to restore sight to our eyes. Today there is no problem with the fact, for the Bible is filled with facts. Moreover, there is no problem with revelation, with the opening of the veil. God is gracious to us, and His Word is continually open to us. The main problem is with our eyes.
In order to have eyes to see, we need an open spirit with a purified conscience (Matt. 5:3; Heb. 9:14; 10:22). Do not close your spirit—keep it open. Furthermore, our conscience must be purified not only by the sprinkling of the redeeming blood of Christ, but also by our confession and dealing with our sins, offenses, mistakes, and errors. We must be clear in our conscience, which is the main part of our spirit. If our conscience is opaque, our spirit will not be able to see.
We also need a pure heart. The Word says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). Many cannot see God or receive the revelation of spiritual things because their heart is not pure. If we would have a pure heart, we must deal with our whole heart, that is, with all the parts that compose our heart.
In order to have a pure heart, we need a sober mind (2 Tim. 1:7). Some saints are rather confused in their minds, unable to classify anything. To them the letters “b” and “d” are about the same. As they read the Bible, Galatians and Colossians appear to them the same. They do not have a sober mind.
Although our mind should be cold, the colder the better, our emotion should be hot. In order to have seeing eyes, we need a loving emotion (John 14:21). If our mind is hot, it will not be sober. Our problem is that we are either hot in both mind and emotion or cold in both. It is easy for the sisters to be hot and for the brothers to be cold. But we all need to be cold in our mind and hot in our emotion.
Finally, a pure heart requires a submissive will (John 7:17). If our will is to be submissive, it must be soft.
I have learned from experience that if we have a pure heart with a sober mind, a loving emotion, a submissive will, and an open spirit with a pure conscience, our eyes will be able to see. Our spirit must be open and our conscience void of offense. Along with this our heart must have a cold and sober mind, a hot and loving emotion, and a soft and submissive will. When we have such a spirit and heart, the eyes of our heart will be able to see. Whenever we apply eyesalve to our eyes, the salve opens our spirit, purifies our conscience, cools our hot mind, stirs our cold emotion, and subdues our stubborn will. When all this takes place, our eyes are healed. To be healed is to have these five aspects of our being dealt with. If we do not have an open spirit, a purified conscience, a sober mind, a loving emotion, and a submissive will, we shall not see anything, although we may sit through many conferences and trainings. We may learn doctrines, but we shall not see anything in the way of a vision.
We may have the fact, the revelation, and the sight, but still be unable to see because we do not have light. Therefore, we also need to be enlightened by God (1 John 1:5, 7). Not until light comes in addition to the fact, the revelation, and the sight do we have the vision.
The vision is the sum of four things: the fact, the revelation, the sight, and the light. Many Christians read Ephesians again and again without seeing anything. To them, Ephesians is a closed book. They do not have the inner sight to see anything within the black and white letters of this book. Some may have the sight, but not the light. By experience, we can testify that Ephesians is filled with spiritual facts. It reveals the mystery of the will of God. If, as we read this book, our condition is normal and proper, the veils will be opened, the light will come, and we shall see a vision of God’s will. If the divine light does not come, we need to pray more, asking the Lord to grant us light. Eventually, the light will shine and we shall see a vision of what is contained in this book. As we have pointed out, there is no problem with the fact or with the opening of the veil. Also, God is gracious to grant us the light. What we especially need today are the eyes to see.