“Show Me Your Glory” by Steve Lawson
Since God is a Spirit, it follows that God is invisible. No one can see God. The benediction from 1 Timothy 1:17 that we used this past Lord’s Day makes this point as well as give praise for other attributes of God, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” God has displayed Himself as a human only when Jesus came to earth. Jesus told His disciples in the Upper Room per John 14:9, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” In Colossians 1:15 Paul described Jesus as “The image of the invisible God.” Steve notes, “Extraordinarily, the incarnation of Christ made the invisible God visible.”
The Children’s Catechism answers the question, “Can you see God?” with “No, I cannot see God, but He always sees me.” This can be hard for children to understand and adults can struggle with it as well. Steve explains that since “God is without a physical body, He is immanent, meaning He is always nears…we understand that because God is a spirit without a body, He is everywhere present and thus is always near. He is always close at hand. No matter where we travel, the Lord is with us.”
God is above and beyond His creation. Three “omnis” describe His vastness – Omnipotent (all-powerful), Omniscience (all-knowing) and Omnipresent (present everywhere). In contrast to God, humans have limited strength (and it seems to lessen with age), know just a little about some things, and can only be in one place at a time. Today people try to “multi-task” and later realize that they did none of those tasks (usually just two tasks) well. Yet God inhabits every square inch of the universe and does all things with excellence.
Jesus came to earth with the name Immanuel that means “God with us.” He lived around 33 years on earth. By His Holy Spirit, God remains with His people continually. David enjoyed God’s presence and lived with confidence as He wrote in Psalm 23, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and staff, they comfort me.” Isaiah 55:5 encouraged God’s people to, “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.”
By faith in Jesus we can live with the confidence and comfort that David so highly valued. Isaiah’s invitation rest in the immanence of God remains for His people. Enjoy it today.
Pastor Gillikin