Will We See God, Jesus, or Both?
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2022 5:45 pm
Probably about three decades ago I was talking to a young engineer at work. He was a Christian, very intelligent, and also a hyper-Calvinist. Somehow we began talking about seeing God in the afterlife. He maintained that when we see God it will be Jesus we see. At the time, I disagreed with him. Mulling this over recently I began to think he might have been right.
Consider the following scriptures:
John 1:18
New American Standard Bible 1995
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
1 Timothy 1:17
New American Standard Bible 1995
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:12-16
New American Standard Bible 1995
12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
Colossians 1:15
New American Standard Bible 1995
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
1 John 4:12
New American Standard Bible 1995
12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
But then consider these:
Matthew 5:8
New American Standard Bible 1995
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Genesis 32:30
New American Standard Bible 1995
30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”
Job 19:26-27
New American Standard Bible 1995
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!
The foregoing scriptures appear to be contradictory. How are they to be reconciled? The Trinity doctrine appears to me to be the best explanation. The statements about God being invisible, having never been seen, can not be seen, etc. seem plain enough. Yet we read of God in some form appearing to man (theophanies) in the scriptures. If God is omnipresent, as appears to be indicated in the scriptures, then how can He at the same time appear localized to man? This would not be difficult to harmonize with a trinitarian concept of God.
Consider the following scriptures:
John 1:18
New American Standard Bible 1995
18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
1 Timothy 1:17
New American Standard Bible 1995
17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 6:12-16
New American Standard Bible 1995
12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
Colossians 1:15
New American Standard Bible 1995
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
1 John 4:12
New American Standard Bible 1995
12 No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us.
But then consider these:
Matthew 5:8
New American Standard Bible 1995
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Genesis 32:30
New American Standard Bible 1995
30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”
Job 19:26-27
New American Standard Bible 1995
26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God;
27 Whom I myself shall behold,
And whom my eyes will see and not another.
My heart faints within me!
The foregoing scriptures appear to be contradictory. How are they to be reconciled? The Trinity doctrine appears to me to be the best explanation. The statements about God being invisible, having never been seen, can not be seen, etc. seem plain enough. Yet we read of God in some form appearing to man (theophanies) in the scriptures. If God is omnipresent, as appears to be indicated in the scriptures, then how can He at the same time appear localized to man? This would not be difficult to harmonize with a trinitarian concept of God.