“Where is God? I can’t see Him.”
“I just wish God were here so I could talk with Him.”
Have you ever thought that way?
Just because you can’t see Him doesn’t mean He’s not present, active and engaged (that’s one of the main points in the book of Esther!). He is very much present, near, but He is spirit (John 4:24). His essence is invisible (1 Tim. 1:17).
One of the gospel writers, John, says ”No one has seen God at any time…” (1:18). Now some of my Old Testament students will say, but wait, there are several Old Testament passages that say people saw God.
God in his grace took on physical representations (visions, theophanies) for the sake of those to whom He was speaking. But these people did not see His essence. No one can see God's essence and live (Ex. 33:20).
Well, that makes God a bit transcendent. How are we supposed to know, love, and become like God if we can’t even see Him? And why would we want to? We can’t relate since we are embodied and He is not.
Here’s the answer – Jesus Christ “…the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:17-18).
Did you catch that? Jesus “explained” the Father. The Greek word is exegesato from which we get “exegete.” Jesus, the Son, has exegeted (explained, interpreted, or narrated) the Father to us.
Jesus is the perfect way to understand the Father. In fact, He is the only way to understand, access, and be rightly related to the Father. Jesus is not only intimately acquainted with the Father (“in the bosom of the Father”), but He is essentially the same as the Father. Jesus said, “if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father” (John 14:9).
If you want to learn about God – just study Jesus. He is HERE. He is NEAR. And he is full of grace and truth!
Enjoy Walking with the Savior Today, Pastor John
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