The mere natural sight of Jesus, however dear and beloved, did not bring the grace of faith during His days on earth. So, why do we seek instruction or edification through images made centuries later? Mere reflections, however true or faithful, cannot produce a more significant effect than the original. 

Images of Jesus Christ are easy to find. They can be found on everything from Christmas cards to children’s bibles to screen adaptations like The Passion of the Christ, The Gospel of John, and The Chosen. We also see depictions of Christ in historical masterpieces of painting or sculpture. Some of those in Reformed churches encourage the use of images. However, the confessions of the Reformed churches are unanimous in condemning images not only of God the Father or the Holy Spirit, but also of the incarnate Christ. These provisions are often subject to debate, and in the Presbyterian Church in America, many officers declare exceptions to portions of the standards which forbid such images. Despite their current unpopularity, we should rediscover the truths and helpfulness of the confessions concerning the use of images. They are supported by many arguments from many sources, including the Scriptures, and essential teachings of Reformed Christology.
Peter’s confession of faith illustrates a strong, yet under-appreciated case. While Jesus and the disciples were near Caesarea Philippi, Jesus questioned his disciples. Then as now, the crowds called Jesus many different things, such as a prophet or a mere teacher. Then Jesus asked them directly, “But who do you say that I am” (Matt 16:15)? Peter rightly answered, calling Jesus the Christ and the Son of God.
Despite his many foibles, it should not surprise us that Peter knew the answer. He was already prominent among the disciples, traveling with Jesus from the beginning of the Galilean ministry. His failings were notable, as were his eagerness and persistence. That is why Jesus’s reply is remarkable. “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven’” (Matt 16:17). “Flesh and blood” did not teach Peter this crucial fact about the great person whom he followed! Peter, who was chief among those who learned about Jesus through flesh and blood! He saw Jesus. He walked, bivouacked, ate with Jesus, and even accepted fishing advice from Jesus. Even Before this questioning near Caesarea Philippi, he strode upon the water toward Jesus!
Nevertheless, flesh and blood did not avail. Peter’s eyes did not perceive Christ until the Father gave him eyes to see and ears to hear. The sight of the eyes does not open the eyes of the heart, only the Spirit of God. Throughout the New Testament, tangible things were means of gaining faith in Jesus. But with one exception, it was not the natural sight of Jesus that brought many to faith in him.
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As surely as we know that we will die, by faith in Christ we know that we will rise again in glory. Christ is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Corinthians 15:19-21) Just as was the case with Christ and his body, our bodies will be restored, never to die again. “The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26) We will stand before God on the Last Day, made perfect in body and in soul, and justified by the merits of the Son through whom we gained all of these blessings.

December can be a hard month. It does not lack for jolly opportunities. People hang cheerful lights to brighten the early nights. Families gather together. We are surrounded by reminders of Christ’s birth and the blessing that he brings. We might sing special songs in church. We listen to Handel’s Messiah.
But as the years pass, those happy occasions can also bring memories of loss. I know this personally, having lost my dad in December several years ago.
My favorite part of Messiah is Part Three. After the triumphant chorus of Hallelujahs at the end of Part Two, the music slows and we hear:
“I know that my Redeemer liveth,
and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
And though worms destroy this body,
yet in my flesh shall I see God.
For now is Christ risen from the dead,
the first-fruits of them that sleep.”
Christ’s person and work are the root of all Christian hopes. This is the mystery of the Incarnation. The eternal Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, was born as the son of Mary. He shares our entire nature, body and soul, sin alone excepted. The eternal, fully divine Son now has a human mind, a human will, and a human’s experience of time. As we read in Hebrews, “in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17 NKJV) How this all works together has not been fully revealed to us.
What has been revealed to us is that Jesus shared in every part of human life. He “increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52) Our great High Priest learned obedience as a man. (Hebrews 5:8) Indeed, it is only as a man that Christ possesses a will distinct from the Father’s. We know he celebrated at one wedding at least, even providing the wine. We also know that he wept at a funeral for a friend. Jesus labored. He traveled across the land during his ministry. He rejoiced when he saw faith, and he was angry when he saw hardness of heart. He taught, he debated, he admonished, and he prayed. He died at the hands of sinners, but death could not keep him. He rose from the dead in triumph, the shame of cross and grave transformed
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As we gather and pray on each Lord’s Day, it is as if the veil that separates our life on Earth from the blessings of our loved ones in heaven is thinned. Our prayers, our songs, our hearing of God’s Word read and preached, and our reception of the sacraments give us grace and bring us closer to that blessing for which we long and which our brother and sisters in heaven begin to enjoy. 

One thinks of the oddest things while driving to church.
One recent Sunday on my morning drive to services I had an unusually strange thought. The saints in heaven worship God and pray to God.[1] If they pray, would they perhaps pray using the Lord’s Prayer, which our Savior taught to us while on Earth?
The strict answer is, of course, that we do not know what precise prayers they pray or by what form of words. But on as I pondered on the roadway, I realized the question of the applicability of the Lord’s Prayer in heaven was in fact quite edifying and interesting.
It is very common, when discussing the experience of those who have died, to mix our own speculations in with the teachings of scripture. As in many other areas of doctrine, it is good to remember, “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” (Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV) What has actually been revealed of the nature of God’s blessings to his people after death is limited, but glorious. To add to them would be like a child gluing tinsel and glitter onto exquisite works of gold and gems, and with as good of taste. We are not yet the sanctified souls that we will be in Heaven, and we are further still from the glorious perfection that we will enjoy after the resurrection.
What do we know about these future glories? We know that for the Christian “to live is Christ and to die is gain,” (Philippians 1:21), because “we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Cor 5:8) The greatest blessing of Heaven, starting from the moment of death, is a profound and direct fellowship with Christ. As Samuel Rutherford wrote, “[Christ] is all Heaven and more than all Heaven.”[2] This is the great Sabbath rest of God’s people, the first stage of the eternal blessedness.
That blessedness is great indeed, yet for those dead in Christ the day of fullness is still to come. We know that they along with us “wait eagerly for … the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:23) Our Lord Jesus Christ has not yet returned to make a final end to sin and death. Until that day, suffering rules on Earth and death still claims all. Sin has not yet been fully vanquished. God’s justice is still not fulfilled visibly. No wonder that Revelation shows the martyrs in heaven pray, “how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Rev 6:10) Heaven, as the intermediate place between death and Christ’s return, is therefore a place of blessed anticipation. For the saints in heaven faith has not yet been fully made sight, and hope has not yet fully become present enjoyment. Though far happier than us on earth, our brothers and sisters in heaven also await the final fulfillment God’s plan of salvation.
We also know that the saints in heaven worship God. This is shown in the vision of the heavenly throne room in Revelation. Who- or whatever the elders are surrounding the throne of God, they join angels and archangels in the cries of “holy, holy, holy” and “worthy is the Lamb.” And, as we have seen, the saints under the altar make their own prayers to God for justice. Indeed, our Lord Jesus himself prays for us before the Father in heaven (Romans 8:34). Heaven is full of the glory of God, and therefore it is filled with the proper responses to His glory, including praise and prayer.
So, what then of the prayer that our Lord Jesus taught us? How would it apply to the prayers of saints in heaven, no longer burdened with the cares and temptations of this life? To answer, let us look at each part of that prayer in turn, following the divisions in the Westminster Larger Catechism.
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