No One Has Seen God

The Bible tells us that 'no one has ever seen God'. And this is a profound statement. Apostle John made this statement while introducing Jesus whom he referred to as 'Himself God'. He wanted his listeners to see Jesus as the express image of God, and to listen to Him as though they were listening directly to God. Today, both the man Jesus and those who knew him in the flesh are no longer on earth, making the statement even more challenging to us today. This is because we have been tasked to introduce God to the world, a spirit that neither we nor the world has ever seen in the flesh.

As challenging as this task of evangelizing the world is, many people have succeeded in it greatly. From the bible days till today, the church has shown the world the reality and personality of God by following the Bible's method of making manifest the God of our Lord Jesus Christ to our world. Unfortunately, many Christians today have neglected these proven methods of making manifest the Spirit and reality of the gospel to follow the traditions of men which of course are devoid of power and the influence that follows the gospel. But if we must succeed in this glorious task that the Lord has given to us, we have to commit to showing the world beyond words the reality of our faith profession.

The Bible shows us how to do this. It is presented by the Lord Jesus and the apostles in various ways and using different language constructions. But the concepts are the same, and the summary of it has to do with two important truths: We must make known to the world the power of God's spirit, and the character and power of God's love. Apostle Paul said: 'When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn't use lofty words; and my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.' ( 1 Corinthians 2:1,4,5). Similarly, Jesus himself said: 'By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.' (1 John 4:20).

Anybody can make claims about God, but without the Spirit of God, such claims amount to nothing. Jesus' words were not mere words, 'The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life' (John 6:63) We can't win the world with mere words. We can't show them the invisible God without the power of the Holy Ghost. We can see why Jesus wanted his followers to wait until they are endured with the power of the Holy Spirit. We have to speak words that go into man's spirit, and we have to demonstrate the power of God by healing the sick, raising the dead, and living supernatural lives. 'And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17-18).

In addition, we must live such a way that the world will see the Character of God in our personality, and touch the love of God each time they come in contact with us. We have to become the expression of God's love on earth so that the world will touch and feel the liquid love of Jesus Christ through us. If we don't love more than the world, we can't claim to know God more than them 'for God is love'. To be filled with the fullness of God, and manifest the same, Paul gave us a vital prerequisite: We must know and make known the love of God: 'Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:17-19).

How high is your love? How deep is your selflessness? How impeccable is your character, and how genuine is your profession of holiness. If we must show the world the invisible God, we have to become a trusted representation of him, for 'we are ambassadors for Christ'. We have to show them the depth of God's love through our daily life of love, the power of God through our daily manifest of the supernatural, and the character of God through our daily approach to life decisions. They can't see God, but they can see me and you. Does our life point them to the reality of the gospel we profess, or does it increase their doubt? 'Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.' (1 John 4:11-12)

No one has ever seen God, but someone can see you!