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Why God is Invisible
by Wesley Pierce Job 23:8-9 8) "But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. 9) When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. 1Tim 6:15-16 15) ...God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16) who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (think of staring at light much brighter than the sun... we would all become blind, or perhaps incinerated if we were too close) Exo 33:18-20 18) Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory." 19) And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20) But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." (see next entry) Exo 19:20-21 20) The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21) and the LORD said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. (not only does God live in unapproachable light, as stated above; he also will not allow people who have ignored or disobeyed him into his presence, even though he is more willing to forgive our shortcomings than to punish us. Only his representative, Moses, was exempt from immediate death; however, in that age around 1500 B.C. Moses had to be forgiven regularly through animal sacrifices after coming down from the mountain, along with the rest of the Israelites. Today, forgiveness is through Christ's sacrifice, not animals...see 1John 4: 9-10) Ezra 9:15 15) O LORD, God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence." John 1:18 18) No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. (see next entry) John 12:44-45 44) Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45) When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me." (his physical body was human, but conceived by God's Spirit. However; his wisdom, thoughts and attitudes, self-control, and obedience came from that same Spirit working inside him, for he was given "the Spirit without limit" ...see John 3:34. So, we can say God actually did become physically visible during the approximate 33 years of Christ's human life on earth) Col 1:15-16 15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16) For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. John 4:24 24) God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." Heb 11:3 3) By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Heb 11:6 6) And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. *Note: Researcher comments in parentheses added for clarification *To see other articles from this collection, go to categories "Christian Living" and "Prayers" within Faithwriters.com pages Wesley Pierce has been a student of the Bible for over 35 years, plus a student of being led and blessed, or taught and disciplined by the Lord's inner Spirit daily, as any sincere seeker experiences. *Copyright 2011, all rights reserved For more info > www.biblestudy-madesimple.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |