The Invisible God
One of God’s attributes is that He is invisible. Paul wrote, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17). John wrote, “No one has seen God at any time” (John 1:18, 1 John 4:12). He is the “invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).
This attribute of invisibility is not trivial. God is invisible on purpose! Hebrews 11:3 states, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” God desired to be invisible from the beginning of the creation. He placed a “veil” between earth and heaven. This was illustrated in the tabernacle by a veil between the holy and most holy place (Exodus 26:33, Hebrews 9:3). Hebrews 6:19 says God’s presence is behind a veil. Why this obscurity?
God wants us to have faith in Him. “We walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). God has established a contrast between our five senses and Himself. In other words, between Him and me. The five senses are limited to the present. They cannot confirm the past; they cannot predict the future. But He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last (Revelation 1:8, Isaiah 44:6). Will I trust my limited self over the unlimited God? That’s the question Abraham wrestled with when he offered Isaac. We wrestle with it daily. Jesus said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25). Visible self, or invisible God. Who will we believe?