John (1:18, NKJ) says, "No one has seen God at any time.“
God is a spirit being, which means, like all spirit beings, He’s invisible. But just because we can’t see God doesn’t mean He isn’t there. We can’t see the wind, but we CAN see leaves blowing on tree branches. We can’t see a wi-fi signal, but we DEFINITELY know when we’re online (of offline!).
Likewise with God, although we can’t see Him, we CAN see the effects of His power and design skills – just step outside and appreciate our beautiful, natural world…look up at the night sky at the moon and the stars, or visit a forest and enjoy the trees and animals He created!
Not being able to see Him with our eyes helps build our faith. The Apostle Paul says that Jesus’ followers “Walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7. KJV) Faith is a confident belief in things unseen based on evidence that CAN be seen.
Every building has an architect, so it makes sense that the earth and mankind have a designer, too! Everything in our physical world has orderly, arranged patterns. Oranges don’t grow from apple seeds. Bees know how to make honey, but flies never will. Order does not come from disorder. Everything God made operates under specific, scientific principles because He designed them!
The Apostle Philip wanted to see God, too! He asked Jesus to show God to him. (see John 14:8,9 NIV) Jesus answered, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” This meant that Jesus was the best and the closest reflection of God’s divine character that was or ever would be possible to give to mankind. Jesus, God’s son, was in such harmony with God and doing what God wanted, that knowing Jesus is like knowing God! Have you ever felt good after eating your favorite food? In the book of John (see 4:34), Jesus compared that feeling with how satisfied he was learning and obeying God's word. This gave him spiritual nourishment.
We can “see” (or, perceive) God’s character through His word, the Bible. We learn about God’s character traits of love, wisdom, justice and power. We learn about what He expects of us.
Another way we can “see” (or, perceive) God is through His holy spirit – His power and influence – given to Jesus’ faithful followers. Those followers can also "see" (or, recognize) God in their lives by seeing His influence in their experiences, as well as how He guides their paths and touches their hearts.
It’s actually a GOOD thing that we can't see Him, because in Exodus (33:20, NLT) God said to Moses, “But you may not look directly at my face, for no one may see Me and live.”
1 Timothy (6:16, NLT) says, “He lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen Him, nor ever will.” Perhaps it’s because God’s power is so mighty, so great, so bright, that it would be dangerous for our imperfect and weak human bodies to survive such power! Think of electricity – it’s invisible and powerful, but extremely deadly if we come into contact with it!
So, why can’t we see God? Because He’s a spirit being, and spirit beings are invisible. Today, faithful followers of Jesus walk by faith and not by sight, and not being able to see God is faith-building. God’s character and His holy spirit is shown to us in the Bible, and we can look to Jesus for a reflection of God’s character.
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