Has anyone SEEN God?

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Question: Has anyone ever SEEN God? The Old Testament states Jacob, Moses, Job and others did. Yet, Jesus said no one has seen God. Is this a contradiction or Bible error?

Answer: The quick answer is NO, there is no contradiction of the scriptures. That said, SEVERAL have looked upon God, the Son. The apparent contradiction is one brought about by a misunderstanding of the nature and person of God. The easiest route to understanding this sometimes difficult to comprehend subject is to review the scriptures below.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made." (John 1:1-3, NIV)

As the context shows, John is speaking of Jesus who was with the Father at the beginning and who, Himself, WAS God.

Moses asked God to tell him His name so that he could tell the enslaved Israelites in Egypt who it was that sent him to them:

"Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?'  Then what shall I tell them?"  God said to Moses, "I AM WHO ["that" rather than "who"] I AM."

""This is what you are to say to the Israelites:  'I AM has sent me to you.'" " (Exodus 3:13-14 NIV)

""I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I AM!" " (John 8:58, NIV)

Let me digress a moment from answering your question to offer something to consider. A passage in the Gospel of John which perplexed me for many years is:

"When Jesus had spoken these words, He went out with His disciples over the Brook Kidron, where there was a garden . . . Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops, and officers from the chief priests and Pharisee, came there with lanterns . . .  Jesus therefore, knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, " Whom are you seeking? "

"They answered Him, "Jesus of Nazareth ."

"Jesus said to them, "I am He." . . . Now when He said to them, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground." (John 18:1, 3-6, NKJV)

In the KJV Bible the word "he" in the above verses was in italics - meaning that it was ADDED by the translators to make the passage more understandable!  I believe such an addition OBSCURES the fact that when Jesus said "I AM" His speaking of His own name was so powerful it knocked the soldiers to the ground!!  How else can this passage be explained? John 18:6 should be translated:

"Jesus said to them, "I AM." . . . Now when He said to them, "I AM," they drew back and fell to the ground."

From the scriptures mentioned at the beginning of this answer and from many others we learn that the doctrine of monotheism (the belief there is literally only ONE Being in the Godhead) normally associated with Judaism and the vast majority of Christianity is FLAWED. There are TWO beings Who are God: the Father and the Son. While it is true that God is "one" (Deuteronomy 6:4), the Hebrew word translated as "one" is echad, which is the same Hebrew word translated as "one" in Genesis 2:24, saying that a man and his wife shall become "one" flesh.

God, the Son was born and lived on this earth as a man, prayed to God, the Father and obeyed the will of God, the Father. Jesus was cruelly murdered, resurrected and returned to His former station at the right hand of God and was given all authority in heaven and the earth. (Matthew 28:18, John 8)

The below scriptures tell us the truth about the Father and whose seen him:

"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God, [the Father] but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side . . . " (John 1:17-18, NIV)

" . . . You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form." (John 5:37, NKJV)

"No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father." (John 6:46, NIV)

"No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us . . . " (1John 4:12, NKJV)

[The speaker is God who was born as Jesus] "And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD . . .  But, "he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live. " (Exodus 33:19-20, NIV)

" . . .He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords . . . dwelling in unapproachable light (where the Father lives), whom NO MAN has seen or can see . . ." (1Timothy 6:15-16, NKJV)

In the below passage the "man" who wrestled with Jacob was the God who was born as Jesus:

"So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak . . .  Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."  But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

"The man asked him, "What is your name?"  "Jacob," he answered.  Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

"So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."" (Genesis 32:24-38, 30 NIV)

Job also talked to the "I AM," the God of the Old Testament Who became Jesus:

"Then Job answered the Lord and said:  "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You . . . I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You." (Job 42:1,5, NKJV)

Many others saw the Son:

"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son [to be] the savior of the world. " (1John 4:14, KJV)

Thank you for your question regarding has anyone seen God.