“No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.” 1 John 4:12.

While no one has seen God, there have been a number of epiphanies in the Old Testament, wherein God appeared to men as an angel or a man to Abraham, Moses, and Joshua for instance. It is believed that this was the pre-incarnate Jesus, God the Son.

Yet the statement that “No one has seen God at any time” still applies and is backed up by other Scripture.

God said this to Moses:

“You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” Exodus 33:20b.

“I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power, Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:13-16.

Finally, it says of Jesus Christ:

“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” John 1:18.

And Christ says of Himself:

“He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:9b.

Those who accept Christ as Lord and savior have seen the Father through Christ Jesus:

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6.

Christ’s command to us:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35.

In loving one another folks will see Christ in the believer; it is God’s intent for the world to see Jesus.

“For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29.

In God’s foreknowledge as to who would accept Christ as savior He placed all men exactly where they would do the most good in their time and place on earth.

This can be illustrated by a passage referring to King David.

“For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption…” Acts 13:36.

God also said this to Pharaoh before bringing a plague of hail on Egypt during the ten plagues which He sent through His servant Moses.

“Now if I had stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, then you would have been cut off from the earth. But indeed for this purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” Exodus 9:15-16.

God not only foreknew us, He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son. The word image conjures up the thought of something visible, both morally and physically.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” Philippians 3:20-21.

In this present world the word image has the meaning of a holy and peaceful state of mind which is possessed by Christ Himself. And though one may not have a glorified body, as Christ does at this moment, men will still be able see, in the Christian, Christ as He was on the earth.

Pitifully enough most Christians do not reflect Christ in this manner. For the most part, this is because we do not spend enough time in His presence because of the cares and the lusts of this world taking up our thoughts.

“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18.

If one does not look into the mirror of the word of God, one cannot be transformed fully into His image.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:1-2.

The believer is predestined to be conformed to the image of God’s Son Jesus Christ. God wants to look into the Christian’s eyes and see Jesus.

The Christian can either work toward their destiny or they can fight it and find their witness on this earth of no effect and themselves ashamed when they stand before their Savior.

No man has seen God at any time but if we truly love one another, God abides in us and it is His love that is perfected in us and shines out from us. When this happens men see the image of Jesus. It is He who shows forth the image of the unseen God.

“God who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” Hebrews 1:1-3.

“By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.” 1 John 4:13-14.

The Christian cannot help but testify that Christ is the savior of the world sent by God. God’s Spirit will let us do nothing less, because He was sent to bear witness of Christ.

“But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.” John 15:26.

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-15.

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” 1 John 4:15.

As we have seen in “Test the Sprits” posted on 6-30-18, the statement “Jesus is the Son of God” does not always have to be a truthful answer from someone.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses, for instance will have no trouble agreeing with that statement, however in their New World Translation of the Bible they have stripped Christ of all deity by manipulating Scripture to fit their own theology.

For example the New King James Bible, Old King James, New American Standard Bible, and every other reputable translation render John 1:1 this way.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1. NKJV and NASB.

The Jehovah’s Witness version changes it to this, “In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was a god”.

By changing Jesus, the Word, into a god in the last phrase, the Witnesses have changed the Lord into a created being not part of the triune God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

In fact there is no triune God, only God Jehovah. In their theology the Holy Spirit does not exist and Jesus, as stated, is a lesser god.

If you ask someone in a cult; is Jesus the Son of God? They will probably answer, yes. But if you ask is Jesus God the Son? They will tell you, no.

As stated in the post “Test the Spirits”, it will take more than one question to find a person’s true feelings on the question of Jesus Christ’s divinity.

“Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3.

The statement, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God…” applies to us too. Is this true of your belief also; do you really believe it?

“…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’” Romans 10:9-11.

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:15-16.

I have put these two verses, 1 John 4:15-16 together to maintain continuity of thought.

The New American Standard Version is almost word for word the same, except they have added the following change, “…we have come to know and have believed…”

I would like to put these translations together in this manner:

“Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. And we have come to know and have believed the love that God has for us.”

I am sorry if this is confusing, but the question I would like to ask the Christian is this, have you come to know the love God has for you?

For the unbeliever, the question is essentially the same, do you believe the love God has for you?

There are Christians who have trouble connecting with God because they see Him as “The Father” or even as the One who is angry with the wicked every day.

For many, Father God may be difficult to cozy up to simply because their own father was mean or non-existent.

Oftentimes both the Christian and non-Christian have difficulties for these reasons, or from a skewed perception of God from the Old Testament.

However if we are able to ignore the devil’s accusations of God, for that is where they come from, and focus on the works of God and try to see all the good things He has given us, it becomes easier to recognize that “God is love”.

It is sin that has destroyed the earth, nature, and man’s ability to dwell in peace.

God has done something about that in sending His Son to bear the penalty for sin and give those who put their trust in Him a new life.

If everyone did this, peace and prosperity would come to the earth almost overnight.

However, sinful men want more; they want peace and prosperity without God or giving up their sinful ways.

Peace and prosperity in this present world cannot be had without the use of force because sinful men will still want their own kind of peace.

As a result all other forms of peace through government would have to be crushed and its people subjected to other men’s idea of peace.

God allows things to go on as they are because men want it that way. The end is in sight though and the battle of Armageddon is no longer a distant sound of thunder, but a very present crash of lightning.

It is time to put off the stereotypes and embrace the fact that God loves us; and for the Christian this means as follows.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.

God is love and Jesus shows it.

“In this the love of God was manifested [revealed] toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [payment] for our sins.” 1 John 4:9-10.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world [all mankind], but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17.

“But He [Jesus] was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-6.

“Yet it pleased the Lord [God the Father] to bruise Him [Jesus]; He has put Him to grief. When You make His [Jesus’] soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My [God the Father] righteous Servant [Jesus Christ] shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities [dictionary: wickedness, sin].” Isaiah 53:10-11.

“Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which is translated, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” Mark 15:33-34.

“For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21.

Seeing God, 1 John 4:12-16 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 1-25-12, updated on 7-10-18.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.