Seeing God

Dear Victorious,

Is it true that no one has ever seen God? If so, then how do we know what He looks like?

Kimberly N. - Castle Rock, CO

Dear Kimberly,

It's called a "theophany." It means a manifestation of God. It's true that no human has ever seen God. God even told us in Exodus 33:20 that no human can see Him and live to tell about it. His glory is just too magnificent for us to comprehend. His righteousness is too much of a contrast with our sinfulness. In fact, it is only through Jesus that we are able to approach God at all.

That all being said, there are several Biblical examples of theophany --- where God has revealed enough of Himself to be recognized. Often it was in a cloud or through one of His angels. See Genesis 16:7, 18:1-11, 22:11-12, Exodus 14:19, 33:11 or Daniel 3:25 for examples. Some of the theophanies were even more spectacular than a cloud. The burning bush (Exodus 3:2) is a good example.

So you see, it is true that no human has ever seen all of God. But quite often we've seen enough of God. And that pattern continues today. The problem is that most people are so not focused on God that they miss seeing him in the circumstances. Quite likely He could appear in a cloud or burning bush today and we would overlook Him there!