Does God Have Form?

While reading through the gospel of John, I came across John 5:37, which I've probably read hundreds of times. I was prodded to stop, and think about it more deeply. The scripture reads as follows: "And the Father who sent Me, He has testified about Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form" (John 5:37 NASB). Well, God is Spirit (John 4:34), and doesn't have form. Or does he? 

In the Old Testament, we read that Moses saw the back of God (Ex. 33:20-23), and Jacob encountered and wrestled with God (Gen. 32:24-30). Jacob struggled with God, and saw him face to face. "Face to face" is a metaphor. It's a better, deeper, and more authentic relationship. Moses, and Jacob had a revelation of what was to come in Jesus. They saw shadows that point us to Christ; when God would come to us in Jesus - Emmanuel, God with us. As John the Baptist said, "No human eye has ever seen God: the only Son, who is in the Father's bosom - He has made him known (John 1:18 WEY). Brad Jersak tells us that "Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and the exact likeness of God's nature."¹ God is invisible, except that he is revealed in Jesus (Col. 1:15). As I like to say, the only true God is revealed in Jesus Christ. There is no other God, but the God revealed in Jesus. Yes, God is triune, but Jesus is the only revelation of God. We can't find God. God has chosen to reveal himself in Jesus.² 

When Philip asked Jesus to show them (the disciples) the Father, Jesus said, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father" (John 14:7-9). When Jesus told his contemporaries that he was one with the Father (John 10:30), they picked up stones to stone him. Most of the people of Jesus' day rejected Jesus; who is the "face to face' encounter with God. We do too, when we replace the God of love revealed in Christ with a more "holy" God, an angry God, and a God of vengeance. The true God is revealed and encountered "face to face" only in Christ. He is the [true] image of the invisible God.  

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1. Brad Jersak, "Of Heretics, Kings & Foxes," CWR Magazine, October 2021.

2. John Crowder often talks about this in his "Inner Sanctum" webcasts, https://www.thenewmystics.tv/.

This Is Eternal Life - Part 3

Not knowing the true God of John 17:3, and not knowing Jesus leads to a murderous spirit. Notice what Jesus said, "...the hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or me (John 16:2-3). 

Sometime later, Stephen was murdered. Stephen saw heaven opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. He said, Behold, I see the heavens opened up, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). This so upset the religious paradigms of their day, that the Jews, drove him out of the city, and stoned him to death. Saul had consented to his murder (Acts 7:58). 

Saul obtained approval from the religious elite to continue persecuting the church. He was on his way to Damascus with the mission of arresting believers in Jesus, and bringing them back to Jerusalem to have them put in prison, and or killed. Along the way, he saw a light from heaven, and heard someone say, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (Acts 9:4). Saul replied, "Who are you Lord?" (Acts 9:5). He responded, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting" (Acts 9:5). Saul did not know the God revealed in Jesus; distinct from Jesus; and at one with Jesus; the true God of John 17:3. Saul was blind for three days, and during that time, he neither ate nor drank. He had a great awakening, and became the Apostle Paul. He was sent by the risen, and ascended Lord, to the Gentiles, Kings, and the sons of Israel (Acts 9:15). 

The Apostle Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit, proclaimed the true God of John 17:3 to the men of Athens. He said to them, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, "To An Unknown God." Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you (Acts 17:22-23). The true God revealed in Jesus, distinct from Jesus, and at one with Jesus, was unknown to these people. Paul wanted them to know this God, that they may experience eternal life. Paul goes on to proclaim, "for in him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are his children.' Being then the children of God..." (Acts 17:28-29). Paul tells these people who did not know the only true God, that they lived and moved and existed in him. He then called on these people to have an awakening. To wake up to the reality of what is already true. We live move and exist in God. We are his children. Even though they did not yet know the only true God, he did not exclude them from being God's children. He called upon them to wake up.

God is the lover of humanity. He is the lover of the human race. We are his children. We are made in his image, after the God-kind. Human beings are made after the God-kind. We are being wooed by the lover of the human race, the Holy Spirit, the "other member" of the trinity, so that we would experience eternal life in him. The apostle John writes, "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us, God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him (1 John 4:16). "For God so loved the world [the entire human race] that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:16-17). 

The prophet Jeremiah foretells about the awakening that was to come. He tells us, "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more (Jer. 31:34). They will all know the true God of John 17:3. So they will all experience eternal life!

The writer of Hebrews reminds us of the Jeremiah's prophecy. He tells us, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. "And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all will know me, from the least to the greatest of them. "For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more" (Heb. 8:10-12).

The Great Awakening is happening before our very eyes. Like the apostle Paul experienced on the road to Damascus, the scales are falling from our eyes. We have been anointed to see again, and to know...

"This is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent (John 17:3).


 

This Is Eternal Life - Part 2

At the Last Supper, before Jesus was crucified, he was gathered with the twelve disciples. Jesus told his disciples that one of them would betray him. After he had dipped the morsel, and gave it to Judas, Satan entered Judas. Jesus said to him, "What you do, do quickly" (John 13:27).  After Judas departed, Jesus told the eleven disciples, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me (John 14:6). There it is again, life. Jesus is life. Remember John 17:3, "This is eternal life." Jesus is real life. The bread of life (John 6:35). The resurrection, and the life (John 11:25). There's no substitute. He is the reality of everlasting life. Jesus is speaking about both, quality of life, and never-ending, everlasting life. Jesus goes on to say, "If you would have known me you would have known my Father also; from now on you know him and have seen him" (John 14:7). Philip confused by what Jesus said replies, "Lord show us the Father and it is sufficient for us" (John 14:8 NKJV).

In the last post we learned that the sheep know Jesus, and Jesus knows his sheep. The Father and Jesus are one (John 10:30).  The Father is in Jesus, and Jesus is in the Father (John 10:38). So where was Philip when Jesus spoke these words? Jesus responds, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know me Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father, how can you say show us the Father" (John 14:9). Knowing Jesus is knowing the Father. Seeing Jesus is seeing the Father. The Father is revealed in Jesus. Jesus reveals the Father in his person, and in his work. Jesus continues, "Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. Believe me, that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me (John 14:11).

Here we see that the eleven disciples also know Jesus, and Jesus said that they know the Father, and have seen him. Remember this is before Pentecost, and before Peter denies Jesus three times; and before the other disciples abandon Jesus. The eleven disciples know Jesus, and the Father. They have seen Jesus, and the Father. According to what Jesus told us in John 17:3, they have eternal life.

The disciples, Peter, James, and John, have a closer relationship to Jesus than the remaining eight. Jesus had  brought the three up into a mountain (Mat. 17:1-9). While they were there they saw a vision of Jesus in his resurrected body. His face shone like the sun, and his garments were as white as light. He appeared with Elijah, and Moses. Peter wanted to build tabernacles for Jesus, Elijah, and Moses. Evidently, Peter saw Jesus as an equal to these prophets. Then they heard the Father's voice from heaven declare, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him! (Mat. 17:5). Peter, James, and John had fallen to the ground because they were terrified. When they looked up, they saw only Jesus. Moses, represents the Law, and Elijah the prophets. All the Law, and prophets point to Jesus, and are fulfilled in Jesus. Essentially, the Law and the Prophets tell us what Jesus and the Father tell us. Hear Jesus!

Before Jesus was crucified, he took his disciples with him to the Garden of Gethsemane. He went further on to pray, taking with him his closer friends, Peter, James, and John. Jesus was deeply distressed, and in this difficult time before he was betrayed, and arrested, he sought comfort. But all three of his disciples fell asleep while Jesus was praying (Mark 14:32-42).

John, the beloved disciple had a unique bond with Jesus. After Jesus told his disciples that one of them would betray him, it was John who leaned on Jesus' chest to ask Jesus who it was that he was referring to. Then, before Jesus died, he gave John the responsibility to care for Mary, Jesus' mother (John 19:25-27).

Mary of Bethany appears to be the only one that understood that Jesus was about to be murdered. Mary was the sister of Martha, and Lazarus. It was Lazarus that Jesus raised from the dead. Before Jesus was betrayed, and crucified, Mary anointed Jesus' feet with expensive oil, and then wiped his feet with her hair, preparing Jesus for his burial (John 12:1-8).

Mary the mother of Jesus, did not know a man, but by the Holy Spirit gave birth to the Savior of the world; God incarnate. Jesus was born not from her knowing a man, but from the intimate relationship that she shared with the Holy Spirit. In giving birth to Christ, the whole creation has been made new.  So it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthy, the second man is from heaven (1 Cor. 15:45-47 ). 

Mary Magdalene was the first person that witnessed the resurrected Jesus. She came to the tomb early Sunday morning, and found that the stone that was at the entrance of the tomb, had been rolled away. When she entered the tomb. She saw two angels, one at the head, and one at the feet. She was weeping because she thought that someone had taken the body of Jesus. Instead she met the risen Lord. Jesus sent her to the brethren with this announcement: "I ascend to my Father, and your Father, and my God, and your God." So Mary went and proclaimed, "I have seen the Lord" (John 20:11-18).

Jesus has revealed some of the mysteries of God. Knowing the true God of John 17:3, is understanding these mysteries. In some mystical way:

                   1) Jesus and the Father are distinct from one another.
                   2) Jesus and the Father are at one.
                   3) Jesus and the Father mutually indwell one another.
                   4) Jesus is the perfect revelation of God the Father; revealing the Father in his person, and in his work.

The final post is next.

Inside Jesus' Relationships

Jesus' relationship with the large crowds that followed him

Jesus hung around the large crowds that followed him. Jesus had compassion for them, fed them, healed their sick, and taught them.¹

Jesus' relationship with the twelve apostles

Jesus gathered with the twelve apostles in a secluded place to rest (Mark 6:30-32). Jesus ate his last meal and ushered in the New Covenant with the twelve apostles (Mat. 26:20, 26-30; Mark 14:12, 17, 22-26; ). Jesus remained with the twelve until he was taken by a large crowd that was sent by the chief priests, and elders (Mat. 26:36, 45-47).

Jesus' more intimate relationship with Peter, James, and John

Jesus had a closer relationship with Peter, James, and John than he did with the other apostles. He took them up with him to a mountain, and they saw Jesus transfigured; they saw the vision; and heard the voice out of the clouds (Mat. 17:1-9). He took Peter, James, and John with him to pray before being turned over to the chief priest and elders (Mat. 26:36-39; Mark 14:32-42).

Jesus' closest friend, the Apostle John

Of Jesus' apostles, and contemporaries, John had the most intimate relationship with Jesus. It was John who leaned on Jesus' chest, and asked who it was that would betray him (John 13:23-25). It was John to whom Jesus gave the responsibility of taking care of his mother (John 19:26-27).² It was John who ran to the tomb first and stooped in to see only Jesus' garments, and facecloth (John 20:1-10).

Jesus' most intimate relationship of all with God the Father

Jesus most intimate relationship with the Father, is a mystery. The Father is revealed only in and through Jesus. Jesus said, "no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him (Mat. 11:27). Jesus said to Thomas, " I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; from now on you know him, and have seen him" (John 14:6-7). Phillip then asked Jesus' to show him, and the other apostles the Father. Jesus replied, "He who has seen me, has seen the Father. Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? (John 14:9-10). 

Jesus told the Jews, "I and the Father are one" and "the Father is in me, and I in the Father" (John 10:30, 38).   

Eternal life is about relationship. It's knowing the only true God, and Jesus the Christ (John 17:3). The good news is that God in Christ has embraced us all, and his desire is to share his life with us forevermore. 

¹In one account Jesus fed over five thousand men, women, and children (Mat. 14:13-21; Mark 6:33-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-14); in another instance over four thousand men, women and children. Some, if not all of the crowd, stayed with Jesus three days (Mat. 15:29-38; Mark 8:1-9). The number three is significant, and seems to indicate a fulfillment or completion. Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, before being vomited out to complete his mission (Jonah 1:17; 2:10). Jesus prayed three times in the Garden of Gethsemane before he was turned over to the high priest and falsely accused (Mat. 26:36-68). Jesus was in the heart of the tomb for three days, and three nights before being raised to new life (Mat. 12:40). Most importantly, God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

²Some argue it's someone other than the Apostle John, but that argument is without merit.