We read in the book of Exodus that Moses asks to see God. He had experienced the mystery of God in the burning bush. He saw His judgment in the plagues of Egypt and the salvation of the children of Israel. God the Protector divided the Sea and led them by fire and cloud. As provider, He fed them with quail and manna. And He revealed Himself in justice with the giving of the stones of law. Still, Moses wanted to see the face of God.
On the night He was betrayed, Jesus spoke openly with His disciples. For three years, He had walked with them. They had witnessed His miracles, heard His teachings, and watched as He defended Himself against the arguments of those who did not believe. But now, He spoke in plain language. He told them that He was going back to the Father. And when Philip asks Him to “show us the Father,” He explains to them “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father.” But what had they seen? Embedded in His actions and His words, Jesus had revealed God to them.
John presents a trifold picture of God in his letters to the early Christians – God is Light, God is Love, God is Life. Some sixty years had passed since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. False teachers and misconceptions clouded beliefs. It was important then, just as it was when Jesus spoke to His disciples at the Last Supper, that there was an understanding of the deity of Christ. If Jesus was the Messiah – even more importantly, if Jesus was the Son of God, then His actions and words should be one with the Father’s
In the beginning, when the world was formless and empty, when darkness was over the face of the deep, God created light. This was the answer to the dominance of darkness. Darkness represented what was evil and unfinished. The light brought goodness. It was the presence of God. Jesus spoke of light when he explained “I am the Light of the World. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.” Jesus brought the light of forgiveness. His death and resurrection completed the creation of light begun by the Father.
Though the love of God is represented throughout scripture, there is no stronger evidence than Jesus’ explanation to Nicodemus. “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not be lost but should have eternal life.” Jesus completed that love offering in His willingness to go to the cross. “Greater love has no man than this,” He told to his followers, “than to lay down His life.” His commandment was to love, even as He had loved.
The account of creation in Genesis explains the origin of life. God created all the living beings to inhabit the world. But it was in His creation of Man that Life began. God said, ”Let us make man in our own image.” He would breathe into His creation the breath of life. In the same way, the Son called Lazarus back from the grave. “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” Jesus explained to Martha. “He who believes in me will live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
Jesus brought a revelation of God because He, too, is Light and Love and Life. With His resurrection, Jesus took His place at the right hand of the Father, ending the separation of God and Man. The Holy Spirit of God would dwell within us. Unlike Moses, we have seen the Father in the face of Jesus. And we are promised eternal life in His presence.
“See, the home of God is with men and He will live among them. They shall be His people and God, Himself, shall be with them…and they shall see His face.” - Revelation 21:3; 22:4
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