How to know what God is like

John opens his Gospel with a revolutionary idea: “No one has ever seen God,” he writes, “but the one and only Son, who is Himself God… has made Him known” (John 1:18 NIV). Even though people weren’t certain what the Father was like, Jesus revealed exactly who God is. He is God and He expresses God’s complete essence.

That doesn’t sound like a huge theological jump to you or me. But, put yourself in the place of a person reading John’s Gospel 2,000 years ago. To them, John’s statement was an astounding leap— this assertion that Jesus “put flesh” on their theological constructs about the nature of God. 

Some of the heroes of their faith encountered God throughout history in radical ways. Everyone knew those stories well. They shared the true tales with their kids regularly (see Deuteronomy 6:7, 11:19). But no one had actually seen Him.

Think about it…

When Moses encountered Him, God appeared in a burning bush (Exodus 3:1-17).

• Elijah discovered He wasn’t in thunder, an earthquake, or strong wind; He was in a small, almost silent whisper (1 Kings 19:9-18).
• One of Jacob’s most powerful spiritual encounters occurred during a dream, as he saw the angels ascending and descending a ladder (Genesis 28:1-10).
• Others, like Daniel, encountered God via a meeting with His angelic messengers (see Daniel 10).
• Even David, the man after God’s own heart who was Israel’s most famous king, had never seen actually God (see 1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22).

The notion that God would just “appear” and begin walking among His people was far-fetched. It was impossible. As such, it never even crossed people’s minds.

In Jesus, rather than remaining “unseen” or being seen “in disguise” or through a mediator, God was present as a human. He was one of us.

LifeLift helps you find and fulfill your purpose. 

For an easy on-ramp, claim your free book at www.Jenkins.tv/purpose — and get introduced to the entire LifeLift framework. 

This video clip comes from the LifeLift workshop— available at https://www.jenkins.tv/lifelift 

It’s in the first part of the framework, Identity, where you learn who you are— www.Jenkins.tv/identity