How People in the Bible Saw a God No One Can See

How People in the Bible Saw a God No One Can See

July 28, 2026 · 31 min

If God is invisible, how did people in the Bible see Him? Scripture says two things that sound impossible to reconcile: "no one has seen God at any time," and yet "the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." In this episode of Clearview Today, we work through how both can be true.We start with what it means that God in His essence is unseeable — using the strange, heavy experience of standing at a casket to illustrate the difference between a body and the person who once filled it. From there we explore the visible manifestations of God throughout Scripture, the pre-incarnate appearances of Christ, and Stephen's vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God.Then we get to the harder question: if people once saw God, why won't He show Himself to us now? The answer runs in two directions. First, faith — the people who saw Him face to face still walked away, so seeing was never what produced belief. And second, God's holiness — to reveal Himself fully, in His inner essence, would not comfort us. It would destroy us. We close where the whole conversation lands: without faith, it is impossible to please God. Support the showDr. Shah writes a personal letter every week — reflections on Scripture, faith, and living it out with clarity and purpose. GET THE LETTER If you enjoyed the show, please like and follow our Facebook and Instagram pages, and also subscribe to our YouTube channel. This is an excellent way to stay connected to the Clearview team and ensure you don't miss a thing.PRE-ORDER BYZANTINE TEXTFORM: https://subsplash.com/u/-MPJ586/forms/d/1090d08a-49c0-498a-ad97-5c0fd575fa9eSUPPORT OUR SPONSORS:MIGHTY MUSCADINE SUPPLEMENTSLEBLEU ULTRA-PURE WATERKEEP YOUR KIDS PROTECTED ONLINE--->> DR SHAH'S BOOKS>> SUBSCRIBE ON YOUTUBE>> CHECK OUT ALL OUR SHOWS

Dr. Abidan Shah78.8K followers

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Dr. Abidan Shah is a New Testament text critic, author, professor, and pastor of Clearview Church in North Carolina. His desire is to make biblical scholarship accessible and applicable to all people.