Can People See God Today?
Encouragement for your heart and mind on what God is doing from Pastor David
From your reading of the Bible, you know that Jesus’ apostles remind Christians that most of us – perhaps none of us – actually see God with our eyes.
John writes, “No one has ever seen God” (1 John 4:12a).
Peter notes, “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him” (1 Peter 1:8).
Paul adds, “All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen One who never dies: he alone is God. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17, NLT).
Of course, we know from the broader testimony of New Testament Scripture that God the Holy Spirit has been “seen” as a dove (Matthew 3:16). We also know that God the Son became incarnate (i.e., became a human being, “taking on flesh”) and thus was seen.
John writes, “No one has ever seen God” (1 John 4:12a).
Peter notes, “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him” (1 Peter 1:8).
Paul adds, “All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen One who never dies: he alone is God. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17, NLT).
Of course, we know from the broader testimony of New Testament Scripture that God the Holy Spirit has been “seen” as a dove (Matthew 3:16). We also know that God the Son became incarnate (i.e., became a human being, “taking on flesh”) and thus was seen.
So what Scripture teaches is of the persons who are God together – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the “unseen” God is the 1st person of the Trinity, God the Father. No one has ever seen Him. Some Bible students suggest we never will, although that is still up for debate.
AND YET…GOD CAN BE SEEN
This of course is John’s point. God the Father is seen in this. “No one has ever seen God. But if we love one each other, God lives in us and his love is brought to full expression in us” (1 John 4:12).
The only way people can see God the Father is when His love is expressed through us to others. Suddenly and clearly, God the Father is seen.
This is a remarkable truth. And when God’s love does flow from us to others, it can change people’s lives.
Author Mary Ann Bird was born with multiple birth defects: deaf in one ear, a cleft palate, a disfigured face, a crooked nose and lopsided feet. As a child, she dreaded other children staring at her and asking the embarrassing question: “What happened to your lip?” “I cut it on a piece of glass,” she would lie.
Each year the children had their hearing tested at school. The classroom teacher would call each child to the front desk and have the child cover first one ear, and then the other. The teacher would then whisper some simple phrase to the child, such as, “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” This was the whisper test.
If the child could repeat the phrase, then their hearing was apparently fine and they passed the test. To avoid humiliation, Mary Ann always cheated on the test, casually cupping her hand over her one good ear so that she could hear what the teacher said.
One year, Mary Ann’s classroom teacher was Miss Leonard, one of the most loved and popular teachers in the school. She exuded gentleness and loved the children deeply. When the time came for Mary Ann’s hearing test, Mary Ann cupped her hand over her good ear as she had done so many times before and strained to hear what Miss Leonard would whisper. “I waited for those words,” Mary Ann wrote, “that God must have put into her mouth; those seven words that changed my life.”
Miss Leonard did not say, “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” Rather, she whispered, “I wish you were my little girl.”
And those seven positive, powerful words became a watershed moment in Mary Ann Bird’s life.
May I ask? Are you whispering God’s life-changing love to anyone these days? Who? How?
Our Sunday gathered worship service this Sunday (9:30 AM) will focus on 1 John 4. God the Father can be seen. It’s time for people near us to get a glimpse, and experience, our heavenly Father’s love.
This of course is John’s point. God the Father is seen in this. “No one has ever seen God. But if we love one each other, God lives in us and his love is brought to full expression in us” (1 John 4:12).
The only way people can see God the Father is when His love is expressed through us to others. Suddenly and clearly, God the Father is seen.
This is a remarkable truth. And when God’s love does flow from us to others, it can change people’s lives.
Author Mary Ann Bird was born with multiple birth defects: deaf in one ear, a cleft palate, a disfigured face, a crooked nose and lopsided feet. As a child, she dreaded other children staring at her and asking the embarrassing question: “What happened to your lip?” “I cut it on a piece of glass,” she would lie.
Each year the children had their hearing tested at school. The classroom teacher would call each child to the front desk and have the child cover first one ear, and then the other. The teacher would then whisper some simple phrase to the child, such as, “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” This was the whisper test.
If the child could repeat the phrase, then their hearing was apparently fine and they passed the test. To avoid humiliation, Mary Ann always cheated on the test, casually cupping her hand over her one good ear so that she could hear what the teacher said.
One year, Mary Ann’s classroom teacher was Miss Leonard, one of the most loved and popular teachers in the school. She exuded gentleness and loved the children deeply. When the time came for Mary Ann’s hearing test, Mary Ann cupped her hand over her good ear as she had done so many times before and strained to hear what Miss Leonard would whisper. “I waited for those words,” Mary Ann wrote, “that God must have put into her mouth; those seven words that changed my life.”
Miss Leonard did not say, “The sky is blue” or “You have new shoes.” Rather, she whispered, “I wish you were my little girl.”
And those seven positive, powerful words became a watershed moment in Mary Ann Bird’s life.
May I ask? Are you whispering God’s life-changing love to anyone these days? Who? How?
Our Sunday gathered worship service this Sunday (9:30 AM) will focus on 1 John 4. God the Father can be seen. It’s time for people near us to get a glimpse, and experience, our heavenly Father’s love.
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