Weekly Q&A
The Bible says we will one day see Jesus face to face. It also says no one can see God’s face and live. Isn’t that a contradiction? Which of the two will it be when we finally get to the other shore? And does this mean we can never see our Father’s face, even in heaven?
The Old Testament teaches that no one can see God and live, because no one is without sin. Adam walked with God in the Garden and fellowshipped with Him freely. When sin entered the world, all this changed.
God cannot look favourably upon sin, because He is holy and just. His justice requires punishment for sin. We are sinful and, therefore, cannot look upon God’s face. However, Jesus came to take our sin away. He died for our sins and when we believe in Him, His blood covers our sins. God the Father no longer sees us as sinful, but He sees us as adopted in Christ.
In the New Testament, we are taught that believers know what is right, but that they still have a sin nature. Because of this nature, we still choose sin (at least some of the time). What we long for is complete redemption. 1 Corinthians 15 says that when Christ returns, He will defeat death and that we will receive new bodies and no longer be corruptible. This means that we will no longer have the desire to sin at all. In Revelation too, we read that we will live in God’s presence and be face-to-face with Christ.
God the Father no longer sees us as sinful, but He sees us as adopted in Christ
The imagery in Revelation shows us that we will no longer be incapable of being in God’s presence because sin will be totally removed. I believe that, in the Garden, Adam saw the face of the pre-incarnate Christ. In the Gospels, Jesus states that if one has seen Jesus, he has seen the Father.
Jesus is the physical manifestation of God. God the Father is a spirit. So the Bible always points to us being able to see Christ face-to-face in all of His glory, but not the Father. In the eternal state, we will see Jesus and we will live, because Jesus brings life, defeats death, and makes us new. We cannot see Christ in all His glory now, because we are still working out our salvation. When we see Him in heaven, our salvation will be complete.
In summary, sinful people cannot see God and live. Christ brings redemption. When redemption is complete, we can see Christ in His glory and live, because we have been fully redeemed. The Father is a spiritual being and Christ is the physical manifestation of the Trinity. While the Father and the Spirit will also be in the eternal state, Christ is who we will see with our eyes.
Dr. Scott Shiffer has a Ph.D. in Christian Theology from the B.H. Carroll Theological Institute and has been teaching religion classes since 2006. He leads Faith and Culture Now, an organization to help believers think biblically about culture in America. Scott has given numerous presentations, including one at Oxford. He has spoken at church retreats, youth retreats, conferences, and has taught discipleship classes for many years. Scott is married and has four children. He has a heart for helping believers draw closer to God and for aiding them as they are faced with new challenges every day.
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