In The Margins

by Mitchell Morris

A.W. Tozer once famously wrote that “what comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” (The Knowledge of the Holy). His point is that the way we think about God will have a major impact on how we relate to Him and how we live our lives. So, how would you answer that question? When you think about God, what comes to mind? More specifically, how do you imagine God? What does He look like? Take a moment to think about your answers to these questions before reading on.

While there are many ways that people might picture God, the theologically correct answer is that He doesn’t look like anything. He is invisible, or unable to be seen. Because “God is spirit” (John 4:24), “no one has ever seen or can see” Him (1 Timothy 6:16). He is infinite, eternal, and the source of all other existence, and yet He is invisible. He is a purely spiritual being, which means that He is not made up of any matter whatsoever.

This is a very difficult thing to wrap our minds around and can easily leave us with questions. Why does God exist in this way? Why is He purely spiritual and invisible? Wouldn’t it be better if we could see Him? While much mystery remains, what we can know for sure is that this is the most excellent, real, true, and beautiful existence imaginable. God’s spiritual, invisible existence is superior in every way to all created things that exist. This is why attempting to create a physical image of Him is prohibited because it inevitably limits and misrepresents the infinite God (Exodus 20:4).

But there’s more to be said. Although the fullness of who God is can never be seen, He is incredibly gracious and generous to reveal Himself to us partially in many visible ways. In addition to His creation revealing aspects of His character, we have many stories in the Bible of God making parts of Himself known in ways that people can see or experience. Read Exodus 33 to see the example of Moses.

But no revelation of God compares to how He has revealed Himself to us in His Son, Jesus Christ. “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). The apostle Paul goes so far as to call Him “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus Himself said it this way: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). If you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.

So what does all of this mean for us? As we approach Christmas, this should increase our worship as we consider how the invisible God made Himself like us, taking on flesh and bone so that we could see Him, touch Him, and know Him. We also get to look forward with great anticipation to the day when Jesus returns – we will be with the Lord, worship Him, and in some way actually see Him (Revelation 22:3-4).

Lastly, this is considered a communicable attribute of God, which means that He in some ways shares it with us. What exactly does that mean? We too are spiritual beings. We are created by God with both a physical and spiritual nature (1 Thessalonians 5:23). So there is a part of you that is also invisible. The Holy Spirit actually connects with our spirits to assure us of our identity as God’s children (Romans 8:16). We are called by God to pray, worship, and grow both spiritually and mentally/physically (1 Corinthians 14:15, 1 Timothy 4:7-8). As Jesus said, “the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23).

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” – 1 Timothy 1:17

Reflection Questions:

• How have you typically imagined God? How does this attribute of God inform or challenge that?
• How often do you think of yourself as a spiritual being? Why is this important for your life and relationship with God?
• This Christmas season, how can you focus on worshipping “in spirit and truth”?

Further Reading: Exodus 33