No one has ever seen God nor can see God.
But He said, “You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” Exodus 33:20
The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. 1 Kings 8:12
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. John 1:18
And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. John 5:37
Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. John 6:46
No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:12
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 1 John 4:20
Who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see… 1 Timothy 6:16
God is invisible.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Colossians 1:15
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17
…as seeing Him who is unseen. Hebrews 11:27
God is spirit… John 4:24
And yet, Jacob thought that he had seen God as did Gideon and Manoah.
So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.” Genesis 32:30; Judge 6:22; 13:22
Moses saw God face to face.
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend… Exodus 33:11
…And he [Moses] beholds the form of the Lord… Numbers 12:8
The elders of Israel saw God.
And they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself. 10 …and they saw God, and they ate and drank. Exodus 24:11
Isaiah saw God.
…I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Isaiah 6:1
Ezekiel saw God.
…I saw visions of God. 1 … Then I saw from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. Ezekiel 1:1, 27
Daniel saw God.
I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. Daniel 7:9
John saw God.
After these things I looked, and behold… a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. 2 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. Revelation 4:3
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it… Revelation 20:11
All who saw Christ on earth had seen God.
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? John 14:9
All true believers will see God.
Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; Job 19:26
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face… 1 Corinthians 13:12
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14
…We know that when He appears… we will see Him just as He is. 1 John 3:2
They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. Revelation 22:4
Looking is another word for believing.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard; and it shall come about, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he will live.” 8 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the standard; and it came about, that if a serpent bit any man, when he looked to the bronze serpent, he lived. Numbers 21:8-9
“O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.” 2 Chronicles 20:12
Some sights are more glorious, more direct, more compelling, more comforting, or more terrifying.
Then I will take My hand away and you shall see My back, but My face shall not be seen. Exodus 33:23
Christ is the Light because He affects men’s sight.
“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12
And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 21:23
Satan uses men’s eyes to draw them to sin.
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; Matthew 4:8
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 1 John 2:16
Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied. Proverbs 27:20
Men are lost because they have not seen what they need to see.
Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained… Proverbs 29:18
The problem with men is their sight.
In whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4
Men can draw near to God by using their eyes well.
Watch over your heart with all diligence… 23 Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Proverbs 4:23, 25
Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, Titus 2:13, Also 2 Peter 3:12-13
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
If Christians use their eyes correctly, they will be inspired toward missions.
Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36, also 14:14
…Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. John 4:35
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Acts 17:16
My eyes bring pain to my soul Because of all the daughters of my city. Lamentations 3:51
The job of missionaries is to correct the vision of those who have been blinded.
To open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ Acts 26:18
Even believers must ask God for sight.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:18
Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. Psalm 119:18
Christians should see invisible things.
While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen… 2 Corinthians 4:18
In this life, all the senses are used to know God.
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” Matthew 17:5
He who has an ear, let him hear… Revelation 2:7 (Only Jesus says this, and he says it 11 times.)
O taste and see that the Lord is good… Psalm 34:8
If you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. 1 Peter 2:3
While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body. 26 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; Matthew 26:27
He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life… John 6:54
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 1 John 1:1
All Your garments are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia… Psalm 45:8
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. 2 Corinthians 2:14
Conclusions
- Vision and eyes are a tremendous blessing, but they are very dangerous because with them we commonly focus only on the visible things of this world (Pro. 23:5).
- In the future, we will see God and walk by sight, not by faith.
- In the next life, our views of the divine glory will be new every morning.
- It is our duty now to improve our skill in looking and our ability to see so that we behold His glory and beauty more and more.
- One way to improve our spiritual sight is to sanctify our imagination.
- It is very profitable to wonder and hope about our future lives using the pictures the Spirit has given us such as a better country, a wedding feast, life with no night, a river of fire, a home being prepared, uncountable saints and angels, perfect music, the Lion, and the Father.
- At the same time, we must see and increase our sight of the final judgment, the Rider on the White Horse, the Great White Throne, the lake of fire, and the book of life.
- Books, conversations, and prayers that tend to give us a clearer sight of these things are very valuable.
