Have You Seen Him?
On Sunday I was a small part of a discussion about seeing and hearing God that stemmed from a sermon from I Samuel 3. The sermon was called "Voice of God" but the discussion started because I Samuel 3:10 says that the Lord came and stood there - near Samuel - as He called to him. The questions raised were basically about whether or not God was actually standing there and if so, how did Samuel know He was standing there - did He see Him standing there? Questions were asked about whether or not we can really see God and I John 4:12 was read. It says, "No one has ever seen God..." and John says the same thing in John 1:18. But we discussed that Moses saw God and Jacob wrestled with God. My friend Stephanie said that John seemed to contradict what was in the Old Testament but she knew that it must not be contradictory and she asked how I would go about figuring out what it all really meant.
I told her I would first ask God to reveal the truth to me. Then I would dig in - look at the context of John's words, look at the original Greek and Hebrew words that were used for God in John's writings and in the encounters of the Old Testament folks. So that is what I did this morning. But since Sunday's discussion I keep hearing questions in my head: What is the point of us trying to figure out if we can really see God or not? What is it that He is wanting to reveal to us? I feel certain its not just to ease our minds about the appearance of contradiction in the Bible and I feel certain it is not just to increase our intellect with regard to the Bible. And I also feel certain it isn't just to help me not look so crazy to these friends since I told them of people I know who have seen God and since I told them I've heard Him whisper to me before...
If I believe the God of the Bible is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8 and James 1:17 teach me this) then I must believe that He reveals Himself today in many ways just as He did in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. That answers the question of whether or not we can see Him. He was seen by people in the Old Testament and in the New. But what about John saying no one has seen God? Looking at John's writings in their context of New Testament time written about Christ and to followers of Christ, and looking at the word he used for "God", it is clear to me that what John was saying is that no one has ever seen God as the Trinity - no one has seen Him as Father and Son and Spirit at the same time. And when I looked at the context and Hebrew word used for God in the Old Testament encounters with Him, I found that the name Elohim is the one used. This name of God is a plural name meaning the writers of the Old Testament understood (and were inspired by God) to name Him as a plural being - a Trinity - yet He had not yet revealed His fullness as the Trinity to them.
So in Exodus 24 when Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 elders saw the God of Israel and had a meal with Him, they were seeing Him as one part of the Trinity but not in all parts. And in Exodus 33:11 when God speaks to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend, Moses was face to face with Him as part of the Trinity but not all parts. This is the same type of encounter that Samuel had in I Samuel 3 and the same as Jacob when he wrestled with God in Genesis 32 and Abraham when God appeared to him in Genesis 17 or when Isaiah saw Him in Isaiah 6 or when Balaam met with Him in Numbers 22 and 23. And it is the same thing John is saying as he writes about Christ - in John 1 he describes how the Word - Christ - became flesh and dwelt among us. The world at that time saw the Living God revealed in the Son when He became flesh but they weren't seeing God as the Trinity. And there are times in the Old and New Testament where Spirit is seen in various forms such as wind, fire, or a dove, but not in the fullness of the Trinity.
One other thing helped me understand more about how we can see God as He reveals Himself but why John said no one has seen Him. In Exodus 33, after Moses spends time face to face with God talking with Him as friend to friend, Moses asks to see God's glory and God tells him he can't look at His glory. But in John 1:14 John says we have seen His glory. Another contradiction? No - if we seek it out, it is another way to understand His revelation of Himself to us. In Moses' encounter, God says He will cause His goodness to pass in front of Moses, He will proclaim His name, He will have mercy and compassion, but He would not allow anyone to see His face because they couldn't see it and live. Yet Moses had just visited with Him face to face... But the word 'glory' as Moses asked to see it was a request to see God's face in His full deity as the Trinity. Moses knew there was more to seeing God than what had been revealed to him and he wanted it all. But because Christ had not yet come and reconciled man to God fully, making those who believed in Him holy and blameless before God, Moses could not be in God's full presence as the Trinity while still in the flesh. And in John's passage about Christ, the word 'glory' was one used to describe how Christ's life was revelation of who He was as God's Son and this revelation of His glory caused people to believe and to worship and honor Him as the Messiah, yet they did not see Him as the full deity of the Trinity.
So, now that my intellect has been somewhat satisfied and what seemed contradictory has been unwound to make some sense, what will I do with this information? Feel smug in my smartness? Or seek out what it is that God wants to reveal to me and work in me and through me because of my understanding? Job 38:2 asks my heart this question, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?" And Proverbs 25:2 says "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." And Psalm 27:8 says "My heart says of you, 'Seek His face!' Your face, Lord, I will seek." I am seeking HIM and HIS wisdom and HIS revelation. And I am confident He will reveal Himself to me - in a face to face encounter? Perhaps. But the important thing is that I seek and expect His revelation in whatever form it comes. And as I do, I will pray Ephesians 1:17 - that He will give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to KNOW HIM MORE... He will reveal Himself.
How do I know this? God revealed Himself to the people He chose for such revelation. Ephesians 1:4 tells me I am chosen by Him so I will expect His revelation. He reveals Himself so that people will believe and He reveals Himself to people who do believe. Ephesians 1:13 tells me that I am one of those believing people so I will expect His revelation. He reveals Himself to those He calls to Himself and for His purposes. Ephesians 4 tells me I have been called by Him for His purposes so I will expect His revelation. Like Moses, I want to know and hear and see Him in all of His glory - so I will choose to believe and seek to hear the inaudible and see the invisible things of God as He reveals them. I want WAY more than intellectual understanding... I want HIM. How about you?
Have you seen Him?
Amy
"Like lightning to the children eased
Through revelation kind,
The truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind."
Emily Dickinson
Visit www.blog.amyharvison.com and www.amyharvison.com for more revelations of Him. BLESS YOU!
I told her I would first ask God to reveal the truth to me. Then I would dig in - look at the context of John's words, look at the original Greek and Hebrew words that were used for God in John's writings and in the encounters of the Old Testament folks. So that is what I did this morning. But since Sunday's discussion I keep hearing questions in my head: What is the point of us trying to figure out if we can really see God or not? What is it that He is wanting to reveal to us? I feel certain its not just to ease our minds about the appearance of contradiction in the Bible and I feel certain it is not just to increase our intellect with regard to the Bible. And I also feel certain it isn't just to help me not look so crazy to these friends since I told them of people I know who have seen God and since I told them I've heard Him whisper to me before...
If I believe the God of the Bible is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8 and James 1:17 teach me this) then I must believe that He reveals Himself today in many ways just as He did in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. That answers the question of whether or not we can see Him. He was seen by people in the Old Testament and in the New. But what about John saying no one has seen God? Looking at John's writings in their context of New Testament time written about Christ and to followers of Christ, and looking at the word he used for "God", it is clear to me that what John was saying is that no one has ever seen God as the Trinity - no one has seen Him as Father and Son and Spirit at the same time. And when I looked at the context and Hebrew word used for God in the Old Testament encounters with Him, I found that the name Elohim is the one used. This name of God is a plural name meaning the writers of the Old Testament understood (and were inspired by God) to name Him as a plural being - a Trinity - yet He had not yet revealed His fullness as the Trinity to them.
So in Exodus 24 when Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and 70 elders saw the God of Israel and had a meal with Him, they were seeing Him as one part of the Trinity but not in all parts. And in Exodus 33:11 when God speaks to Moses face to face as a man speaks with his friend, Moses was face to face with Him as part of the Trinity but not all parts. This is the same type of encounter that Samuel had in I Samuel 3 and the same as Jacob when he wrestled with God in Genesis 32 and Abraham when God appeared to him in Genesis 17 or when Isaiah saw Him in Isaiah 6 or when Balaam met with Him in Numbers 22 and 23. And it is the same thing John is saying as he writes about Christ - in John 1 he describes how the Word - Christ - became flesh and dwelt among us. The world at that time saw the Living God revealed in the Son when He became flesh but they weren't seeing God as the Trinity. And there are times in the Old and New Testament where Spirit is seen in various forms such as wind, fire, or a dove, but not in the fullness of the Trinity.
One other thing helped me understand more about how we can see God as He reveals Himself but why John said no one has seen Him. In Exodus 33, after Moses spends time face to face with God talking with Him as friend to friend, Moses asks to see God's glory and God tells him he can't look at His glory. But in John 1:14 John says we have seen His glory. Another contradiction? No - if we seek it out, it is another way to understand His revelation of Himself to us. In Moses' encounter, God says He will cause His goodness to pass in front of Moses, He will proclaim His name, He will have mercy and compassion, but He would not allow anyone to see His face because they couldn't see it and live. Yet Moses had just visited with Him face to face... But the word 'glory' as Moses asked to see it was a request to see God's face in His full deity as the Trinity. Moses knew there was more to seeing God than what had been revealed to him and he wanted it all. But because Christ had not yet come and reconciled man to God fully, making those who believed in Him holy and blameless before God, Moses could not be in God's full presence as the Trinity while still in the flesh. And in John's passage about Christ, the word 'glory' was one used to describe how Christ's life was revelation of who He was as God's Son and this revelation of His glory caused people to believe and to worship and honor Him as the Messiah, yet they did not see Him as the full deity of the Trinity.
So, now that my intellect has been somewhat satisfied and what seemed contradictory has been unwound to make some sense, what will I do with this information? Feel smug in my smartness? Or seek out what it is that God wants to reveal to me and work in me and through me because of my understanding? Job 38:2 asks my heart this question, "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?" And Proverbs 25:2 says "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings." And Psalm 27:8 says "My heart says of you, 'Seek His face!' Your face, Lord, I will seek." I am seeking HIM and HIS wisdom and HIS revelation. And I am confident He will reveal Himself to me - in a face to face encounter? Perhaps. But the important thing is that I seek and expect His revelation in whatever form it comes. And as I do, I will pray Ephesians 1:17 - that He will give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to KNOW HIM MORE... He will reveal Himself.
How do I know this? God revealed Himself to the people He chose for such revelation. Ephesians 1:4 tells me I am chosen by Him so I will expect His revelation. He reveals Himself so that people will believe and He reveals Himself to people who do believe. Ephesians 1:13 tells me that I am one of those believing people so I will expect His revelation. He reveals Himself to those He calls to Himself and for His purposes. Ephesians 4 tells me I have been called by Him for His purposes so I will expect His revelation. Like Moses, I want to know and hear and see Him in all of His glory - so I will choose to believe and seek to hear the inaudible and see the invisible things of God as He reveals them. I want WAY more than intellectual understanding... I want HIM. How about you?
Have you seen Him?
Amy
"Like lightning to the children eased
Through revelation kind,
The truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind."
Emily Dickinson
Visit www.blog.amyharvison.com and www.amyharvison.com for more revelations of Him. BLESS YOU!
It sounds like you have some really cool friends to sit around and discuss God like that.
I want to be always alert, so that the next time I hear the all of Father's voice, like Samuel, I can say, "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening."
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I have the coolest friends EVER! They keep me sharp. I can't wait to hear what He says to you, Andy. I know if will be something amazing. BLESS YOU!
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