“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:15–16, ESV)
The scripture above describes the work of Jesus Christ. He is “the image of the invisible God” and “the firstborn of creation” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus was present long before His time on earth. He was seated at the right hand of God the Father. He was present at creation. He oversaw “all things that were created, in heaven and earth” (Colossians 1:16). What also stands out to me is that Jesus knew about things created that were “visible and invisible”. If you look closely at these two verses, God the Father is called “invisible” and certain things in creation were notably “invisible”. Each of these two verses mention the fact that some things are not visible with the naked eye, God being one of them.
I have heard mentioned by many non-believers that they do not believe in God because they don’t see Him. Since God is invisible, and unable to be seen in normal human ways, these non-believers cannot perceive His presence in the world. They ignore the fact that God’s “handiwork” is all over the visible world. Romans 1:20 explains that “For [God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they [non-believers] are without excuse.” God may be invisible, but God’s actions and evidence of God’s handiwork is all around. To ignore this fact is to ignore reality.
Many of these non-believers say they would believe in God if only God would reveal Himself. That is not true either. Jesus confirmed this when he stated that even if a person rises from the dead, the unbelievers will not repent (Luke 16:30). They refuse the truth of Moses and the prophets (Luke 16:31). They refuse to look at the evidence for God. They refuse to accept what they cannot see. And even when they see something of God, they lie to themselves of its relevance, chalking it up to coincidence or some unknown process.
I find it especially interesting that non-believers do not accept God simply because God is invisible. At the same time, they accept the fact that electricity, which is invisible to the naked eye, is flowing in a circuit. They accept the fact that a vegetable is rotten by smell alone. They accept that love exists between a husband and wife even without this emotion being “visible”. They fly on airplanes on invisible air currents. But they cannot SEE evidence of God.
A few years ago, I watched an episode of Star Trek in which the people aboard the Starship Enterprise were trying to understand the people inhabiting a newly discovered planet. To understand the way that this new society operates and the way the people think, the officers of the Enterprise set up an invisible monitoring post. With an “invisibility cloak”, they could perceive the rationale of the people of that planet without interfering with their natural world. Being invisible gave them the ability to really discover the way those newly discovered people think. I read in comments about that episode how many thought that remaining invisible was “wise” and “prudent”. People said this method of gathering information and understanding the thinking and morality and actions of the alien species was the best way of achieving the goal of relating to those on that planet. Yet, when God remains invisible to discover human motivations and thinking and morality, people find it disingenuous, wrong, or proof that God doesn’t exist.
Despite being “invisible” to normal human eyes, God sent Jesus into the world in human form. In a way, this gave us a “visible” glimpse of Almighty God. Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7–8, ESV). God did this so that you and I could, through Jesus, understand and relate to the “invisible God”. Still, people rejected Jesus. John 1 states, “[Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:10–11, ESV). When God is invisible, non-believers reject Him. When Jesus came in human form and was visible, non-believers still rejected Him.
Don’t you see? It isn’t whether people see the invisible God or the visible Jesus. The love of God takes a leap of faith. If you decide not to believe in God, you will not see evidence of God. Once you do believe in God, you will see all kinds of evidence of God’s handiwork. Faith separates those who live in denial from those who live in truth. “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” (1 John 2:22, ESV).
A husband and wife were traveling in their car down a country road. As they neared an intersection, the wife said loudly to her husband, “slow down now, honey!”. The husband thought his wife saw an impending danger, so he slowed down quickly. At the intersection, a car went barreling through a stop sign. If the husband had kept at speed, they would have been t-boned in a terrible accident.
The husband said to his wife, “I’m sure glad you saw that car coming!”
She responded, “I didn’t see it! I just heard this voice saying, “Slow down now!” I think it was an angel protecting us. God was all over this!”
The husband responded, “I didn’t hear a thing. You are crazy, woman!”
These two were riding in the same car and experienced the same occurrence. The wife was convinced of God’s action on their behalf. The husband was convinced she was crazy! Which one has faith? If you see these types of things occurring over and over, how long before you begin to think… maybe there is more to God than what I can see! Why is it that if a person doesn’t see something with their own eyes it cannot exist! Talk about crazy thinking!
I have seen hundreds and hundreds of things that cannot be explained with normal human understanding. I have been told hundreds of stories where people experienced an action of God or caught a glimpse of divine interaction. It’s easy to say something doesn’t exist because you didn’t see it or experience it. Does that mean it didn’t happen? No. Does that mean God didn’t have a hand in it? No. Still, despite evidence to the contrary, non-believers will not be able to “see” the truth.
I believe God will, at times, take direct action in your life. Have you ever sensed God’s action? Have you ever noticed the work of the invisible God? Do you have faith even in things you experience but cannot see or explain? Faith separates those who live in denial from those who know God’s truth. Jesus was the image of the invisible God.
I have heard mentioned by many non-believers that they do not believe in God because they don’t see Him. Since God is invisible, and unable to be seen in normal human ways, these non-believers cannot perceive His presence in the world. They ignore the fact that God’s “handiwork” is all over the visible world. Romans 1:20 explains that “For [God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they [non-believers] are without excuse.” God may be invisible, but God’s actions and evidence of God’s handiwork is all around. To ignore this fact is to ignore reality.
Many of these non-believers say they would believe in God if only God would reveal Himself. That is not true either. Jesus confirmed this when he stated that even if a person rises from the dead, the unbelievers will not repent (Luke 16:30). They refuse the truth of Moses and the prophets (Luke 16:31). They refuse to look at the evidence for God. They refuse to accept what they cannot see. And even when they see something of God, they lie to themselves of its relevance, chalking it up to coincidence or some unknown process.
I find it especially interesting that non-believers do not accept God simply because God is invisible. At the same time, they accept the fact that electricity, which is invisible to the naked eye, is flowing in a circuit. They accept the fact that a vegetable is rotten by smell alone. They accept that love exists between a husband and wife even without this emotion being “visible”. They fly on airplanes on invisible air currents. But they cannot SEE evidence of God.
A few years ago, I watched an episode of Star Trek in which the people aboard the Starship Enterprise were trying to understand the people inhabiting a newly discovered planet. To understand the way that this new society operates and the way the people think, the officers of the Enterprise set up an invisible monitoring post. With an “invisibility cloak”, they could perceive the rationale of the people of that planet without interfering with their natural world. Being invisible gave them the ability to really discover the way those newly discovered people think. I read in comments about that episode how many thought that remaining invisible was “wise” and “prudent”. People said this method of gathering information and understanding the thinking and morality and actions of the alien species was the best way of achieving the goal of relating to those on that planet. Yet, when God remains invisible to discover human motivations and thinking and morality, people find it disingenuous, wrong, or proof that God doesn’t exist.
Despite being “invisible” to normal human eyes, God sent Jesus into the world in human form. In a way, this gave us a “visible” glimpse of Almighty God. Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:7–8, ESV). God did this so that you and I could, through Jesus, understand and relate to the “invisible God”. Still, people rejected Jesus. John 1 states, “[Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” (John 1:10–11, ESV). When God is invisible, non-believers reject Him. When Jesus came in human form and was visible, non-believers still rejected Him.
Don’t you see? It isn’t whether people see the invisible God or the visible Jesus. The love of God takes a leap of faith. If you decide not to believe in God, you will not see evidence of God. Once you do believe in God, you will see all kinds of evidence of God’s handiwork. Faith separates those who live in denial from those who live in truth. “Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” (1 John 2:22, ESV).
A husband and wife were traveling in their car down a country road. As they neared an intersection, the wife said loudly to her husband, “slow down now, honey!”. The husband thought his wife saw an impending danger, so he slowed down quickly. At the intersection, a car went barreling through a stop sign. If the husband had kept at speed, they would have been t-boned in a terrible accident.
The husband said to his wife, “I’m sure glad you saw that car coming!”
She responded, “I didn’t see it! I just heard this voice saying, “Slow down now!” I think it was an angel protecting us. God was all over this!”
The husband responded, “I didn’t hear a thing. You are crazy, woman!”
These two were riding in the same car and experienced the same occurrence. The wife was convinced of God’s action on their behalf. The husband was convinced she was crazy! Which one has faith? If you see these types of things occurring over and over, how long before you begin to think… maybe there is more to God than what I can see! Why is it that if a person doesn’t see something with their own eyes it cannot exist! Talk about crazy thinking!
I have seen hundreds and hundreds of things that cannot be explained with normal human understanding. I have been told hundreds of stories where people experienced an action of God or caught a glimpse of divine interaction. It’s easy to say something doesn’t exist because you didn’t see it or experience it. Does that mean it didn’t happen? No. Does that mean God didn’t have a hand in it? No. Still, despite evidence to the contrary, non-believers will not be able to “see” the truth.
I believe God will, at times, take direct action in your life. Have you ever sensed God’s action? Have you ever noticed the work of the invisible God? Do you have faith even in things you experience but cannot see or explain? Faith separates those who live in denial from those who know God’s truth. Jesus was the image of the invisible God.