DQB Series: The Face of God (P3)

Question: The Bible says that "no man can see God's face and live," so what does it mean in Revelation 22:4 when it says that "they will see God's face?" (Part Three)

Some Observations and Questions Answered

1.  But if God is Spirit (John 2:24), how can He have a face?  There are many times in the Bible where God is said to have “human” features.  Isaiah 59:1 mentions His hand and His ear.  Zechariah 2:8 says that He has an eye.  Matthew 4:4 mentions His mouth.  In Genesis 3 He “walked” in the Garden.  While these are all, however, arguably anthropomorphisms (a word meaning “human form” or a symbolic representation used to make God’s actions more understandable to man), the idea is still present that man will be able to see God in a way that we never have.  In this thought, the “face” could arguably be an anthropomorphism but this is still a sight that man has not been capable of seeing in the past.

2.  But Jesus said in John 14:9, “If you have seen me you have seen the Father.”  This verse speaks to the various roles that each Person of the Godhead performs.  Jesus was the physical representation of God the Father and although when we see Him we see God, we do not see the full and total manifestation of the Father.  That is, we do not see the Father in His full glory (otherwise we would die).  This is captured in John 1:18 when John says that “no one has seen God at any time.”  Jesus, although God, was “limited” or “subjected” by the flesh.  The full context of John 14 says that Jesus “explains” the Father.  This is much of what His earthly ministry was about.

3.  But the book of Revelation is the “revelation of Jesus,” so Revelation 22:4 must be about Him specifically.  Yes, Revelation is indeed the book of the unveiling of Jesus Christ, but because Jesus is God, you cannot talk about Him without also including the other two Persons in the Godhead.  They too are unveiled in deep ways throughout the book, especially in the last two chapters when John talks about the Eternal Heaven and Earth.  The thrust of these chapters is that earth finally can be a place for God to dwell in His fullness.  He is arguably still in the current “intermediate” state of Heaven during the Millennium (since it has yet to be destroyed), which is why it is so significant that He comes down to dwell with man on earth during eternity.

4.  But doesn’t this mean that there will be three Gods?  Absolutely not!  God is Triune.  Scripture is evident about this.  Even in Genesis 1:26 God speaks as “Us” in creating mankind.  Although Triune, He is completely One in unity.  That is, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit are all equal.  We fail to comprehend this completely because of our corrupted minds.  We cannot understand perfect unity, or how three can be one, but God is perfectly unified (Ephesians 4:5; James 2:19).