“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Col 1:15, NKJV)
We are currently examining the mystery of how God became flesh, a Son of Man, through Christ. In the previous teaching we saw that Christ is actually nothing less than God Himself. If Christ is the Image of the invisible God, as Col 1:15 quoted above states, does this mean that in truth He could/can be seen?
The Word makes it clear that God is invisible to the human eye – “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.” (John 5:37). The CEV translates it as follows: “The Father who sent me also speaks for me, but you have never heard his voice or seen him face to face.” This confirms what John 1:18 (ALT) spells out: “No one has seen God at any time. The only-begotten [or, unique] Son, the One in the bosom of the Father, that One explained [Him] [or, made [Him] known].”
But if God can be seen by no one but Christ, what happened with someone like Moses, of which is said in Ex 33:11 – “So the LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.” Or Jacob, who wrestled with God, finally saying: “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (Gen 32:30). And Abraham, and Noah? After all, the Bible seems clear that “no man has seen or can see” God (1 Tim 6:16); and: “No one has seen God at any time.” (1 John 4:12).
Thus: who was the One named “God” (Hebrew: Elohim) or “the Lord” (Hebrew: Jahwe) in the Old Testament?
The Targums are antique Aramaic translations (or rather, paraphrases) of the Hebrew texts and have through the ages been considered by Biblical experts as possibly being official interpretations of the Holy Texts. In the Targums we get a very good idea of the interpretation consensus reached in the Jewish intellectual tradition. It is a very good pointer as to how the ancients dealt with this very difficult matter of an invisible Old Testament God which obviously could be seen by certain of the OT figures. In the history of Hagar in Gen 16 it is repeatedly written that Hagar was in conversation with “the Angel of the Lord” (verses 7, 9, 10 and 11). But then verse 13 states – “And she called the name of Jehovah who spoke to her, Thou art the God who reveals himself, for she said, Also here have I seen after he has revealed himself.” Thus “the Angel of the Lord” IS Jehova/Jahwe/JHVH! In the Targum this verse is translated as follows: “And Hagar gave thanks, and prayed in the Name of the Word of the Lord, who had been manifested to her, saying, Blessed be Thou, Eloha, the Living One of all Ages, who hast looked upon my affliction.” (Jerusalem Targum, translated by Etheridge).
The Word spoke to her, God who had become flesh, (John 1:1-2), Jesus.
- Sela: Read John 1 aloud, prayerfully.
- Read: 1 Chr 15; Jer 41; Phil 4
- Memorise: Phil 4:6-7
