www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbIWDwJK6jM
Early Christianity on the
Invisibility of God the Father
Post-Apostolic Church
INTRO
This is the eleventh video in a series on what
the Pre-Nicene Christians believed about the Divinity. And this is the eighth
video about God the Father.
The invisibility of God the Father is the
belief that He is beyond human sight. This
is not a very well-known belief in Christianity. What have we heard people say about it? Some might say, “People have seen God with their own eyes,” or, “I have seen God.” Others might say, “Moses saw God.” Others might say, “No one has
ever seen God.” Others might say, “If someone ever saw God, they would die.”
Now, this is an attribute of Divinity that is
true of God the Father but is not true of God’s Son.
PRE-NICENE CHRISTIANS: NO ONE HAS SEEN GOD AND
NO ONE CAN SEE GOD
The early Christians believed that God the
Father is invisible to human sight and cannot be seen. During their time, this was a well-known
belief. It appears that this concept also
existed in Judaism. Justin Martyr
dialoged with a Jew named Trypho about who had appeared in the burning bush and
spoke with Moses. As a point of agreement between them, Justin wrote,
He who has but the
smallest intelligence will not venture to assert that the Maker and Father of
all things, having left all supercelestial matters, was visible on a little
portion of the earth. (Justin
Martyr. AD 160. ANF, vol 1, page 227.)
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.iv.lx.html,
“I again replied…”)
Irenaeus, a student of Polycarp who was a
student of the apostle John, quoted him and wrote,
For he says, “No man
has seen God at any time,” unless, “The only-begotten Son of God, who is in the
bosom of the Father, He has declared [Him].” *
For He, the Son who is in the bosom, declares to all: the Father, who is
invisible. (Irenaeus. AD 180.
ANF, vol 1, page 427.)
* John 1:18
Marcus Minucius Felix wrote,
God, the Parent of all,
has neither beginning nor end—that He who gives birth to all gives perpetuity
to Himself—that He who was before the world, was Himself to Himself instead of
the world? He orders everything,
whatever it is, by a word; arranges it by His wisdom; perfects it by His
power. He can neither be seen—He is
brighter than light; nor can [He] be grasped—He is purer than touch. (Marcus Minucius Felix. AD 210.
ANF, vol 4, page 183.)
SCRIPTURES: NO ONE HAS SEEN GOD AND NO ONE CAN
SEE GOD
As mentioned before, the invisibility of God
is not a very well-known belief today.
The most popular passage that the early Christians quoted about this
belief is found in Exodus. God told
Moses,
You cannot see My face,
for no one can see Me and live. (Ex
33:20)
Now, one
might say, “The event with Moses and God the Father was only regarded as God’s
face, His true and full glory.” Irenaeus would disagree. He wrote,
They falsely hold, that
the Creator was seen by the prophets.
But this passage, “No man shall see God and live,” * they would
interpret as spoken of His greatness unseen and unknown by all. And indeed that these words, “No man shall
see God,” are spoken concerning the invisible Father, the Maker of the
universe, is evident to us all.
(Irenaeus. AD 180. ANF, vol 1, page 344.)
* Ex 33:20
About whether Moses or anyone has seen God the
Father, the apostle John wrote,
No one has seen God at
any time. (1John 4:12, NASB)
Have you
ever noticed these words from John before?
They might come as a surprise to many.
In his gospel, John said
the same thing and explained a little more.
No one has ever seen
God. The One and Only Son—the One who is
at the Father’s side—He has revealed Him.
(John 1:18)
We see
from John that no one has ever seen God the Father, who is invisible. Then, Paul takes it a step further and shows
how truly invisible God the Father is. In
the next Scripture, when reading these titles of the Divinity, it is easy to
assume that it is about the Son of God.
But it is really about God the Father.
Paul wrote,
God will bring this
about in His own time. He is the blessed
and only Sovereign, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, the only One who
has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; no one has seen or can see
Him, to Him be honor and eternal might.
Amen. (1Tim 6:15-16)
The
apostle Paul wrote that not only has no one ever seen God the Father but no one
can see Him.
The contrast between the invisibility of God
the Father and visibility of the Son of God is discussed in my previous video
about the Persons of God. Tertullian gave
this good explanation. He wrote,
For even in the Old
Testament He had declared, “No man shall see me, and live.” * He means that the
Father is invisible, in whose authority and in whose name was He [Jesus Christ]
God who appeared as the Son of God. But
with us Christ is received in the Person of Christ, because even in this manner
is He our God. Therefore, whatever
attributes you [Marcionites] require as worthy of God, must be found in the
Father, who is invisible and unapproachable, and calm, and (so to speak) the
God of the philosophers. In fact, those
qualities which you censure as unworthy must be believed to be in the Son, who has
been seen, and heard, and encountered, the Witness and Servant of the Father,
uniting in Himself man and God, God in mighty deeds, in weak ones man, in order
that He may give to man as much as He takes from God. (Tertullian.
AD 207. ANF, vol 3, page 319.)
* Ex 33:20
As Paul wrote,
He [the Son] is the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Col 1:15)
Between
the words of Moses, John, and Paul, this teaching that God the Father is
invisible must be true. If, for you,
this is confusing or raises questions, that is OK. Let’s look at some more writings from the
early Christians that might help us further understand the invisibility of God
the Father.
PEOPLE WHO SAW GOD
In Christian communities today, there is often
talk of people seeing God. Have people
truly seen the Father? According to what
we have looked at in the early Christian writings and in Scripture, no, they
have not seen God the Father. However, what they are saying is
not incorrect. They may have not
literally or physically seen God the Father, but what they mean is that they have
experienced God in a very incredible way.
When people experience God in their lives, many will describe that
experience as if they had seen God. For example, other expressions that
describe experiencing God may include: finding God, encountering God, walking
with God, being touched by God, or entering the presence of God. None of these phrases are to be taken
literally, and they are not wrong. They are
mankind’s attempts to describe their experiences with a divine God. After all, there are Scriptures that use
similar language when people had a special experience with God. This is what Melito was getting at when he wrote,
There is a God, the
Father of all, who never came into being, neither was ever made, and by whose
will all things exist. He also made the stars,
that His works may see one another; and He conceals Himself in His power from
all His works: for it is not permitted to any being subject to change to see Him
who changes not. But those who are
mindful of His words, and are admitted into that covenant which is
unchangeable, they see God—so far as it is possible for them to see Him. (Melito.
AD 170. ANF, vol 1, page 755.)
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf08.x.v.ii.html,
“Again, there are persons who say…”)
Irenaeus gave us a clear explanation when he
wrote,
The prophets, then,
indicated beforehand that God should be seen by men; as the Lord also says,
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” * But in respect to His greatness, and His
wonderful glory, “no man shall see God and live,” ** for the Father is
incomprehensible; but in regard to His love, and kindness, and as to His
infinite power, even this He grants to those who love Him, that is, to see God,
which thing the prophets did also predict: “For those things that are
impossible with men, are possible with God.” *** For man does not see God by his own powers. But when He pleases, He is seen by men, by
whom He wills, and when He wills, and as He wills. For God is powerful in all things, having been
seen at that time indeed, prophetically through the Spirit, and seen, too,
adoptively through the Son. (Irenaeus. AD 180.
ANF, vol 1, page 489.)
* Matt 5:8
** Ex 33:20
*** Luke 18:27
In short,
instances where people “see” God, it is about their experience with God and is
not to be taken literally or physically.
But what about the times in the Scriptures
when people said they saw God? Novatian
wrote,
Moses tells us in
another place that “God was seen of Abraham.” * And yet the same Moses hears from God, that “no
man can see God and live.” ** If God
cannot be seen, how was God seen? Or if
He was seen, how is it that He cannot be seen? For John also says, “No man has seen God at
any time;” *** and the Apostle Paul, “Whom no man has seen, nor can see.” **** But certainly the Scripture does not lie. Therefore, truly, God was seen from where it
may be understood that it was not the Father who was seen, seeing that He never
was seen, but the Son, who has both been accustomed to descend, and to be seen
because He has descended. For He is the
image of the invisible God.
(Novatian. AD 235. ANF, vol 5, page 627-628.)
* Gen 12:7
** Ex 33:20
*** 1John 4:12
**** 1Tim 6:16
Though
Novatian says it very well and plainly, he also brings up another deep and
interesting belief of the early Christians.
He says that when people in the Old Testament saw God, they didn’t see
the Father but the Son. We will discuss
this in a much later video about the Angel of the Lord. Please stay tuned.
WILL WE EVER SEE GOD’S FACE?
If we cannot see the Father’s face, will we
ever be able to truly, literally see His face?
The Scriptures have made us a promise and God cannot lie. The sixth Beatitude states,
Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God. (Matt 5:8,
NASB)
Clement of Alexandria wrote,
We find in Moses: “No
man shall see My face, and live.” * For
it is evident that no one during the period of life has been able to apprehend God
clearly. But “the pure in heart shall
see God,” ** when they arrive at the final perfection. (Clement of Alexandria. AD 195.
ANF, vol 2, page 446.)
* Ex 33:20
** Matt 5:8
At the very end of all things, John tells us
that God the Father will live with us in a whole new way. The apostle John wrote,
Then I heard a loud
voice from the throne: “Look! God’s
dwelling is with humanity, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will
be with them and be their God….” They
will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. (Rev 21:3, 22:4)
When all
things are completed, mankind will truly and literally be able to see God’s
face. And so these words of David can be our words also as we look
forward to the final perfection:
My heart said to You,
“I have diligently sought Your face.
Your face, O Lord, I will seek.”
(Ps 27:8, Brenton)
Blessings
and so forth.
BONUS:
Tertullian’s message to the Gnostics regarding the unseen Father and seen Son.
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.v.ix.xv.html
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