The Son Who Shows Us the Father

The small wonder

No one has ever seen God in His unveiled fullness.

We see His works. We hear His word. We know His promises. We behold His glory in creation, providence, judgement, mercy and grace. Yet God in His eternal being is beyond creaturely sight. He is not an object we can place under examination. He is not a force we can measure. He is not a bigger version of us.

He is the living God.

Invisible. Eternal. Holy. Uncreated.

Then Colossians says something that should stop us in our tracks.

Jesus Christ is the image of the invisible God.

Not one teacher among many. Not a religious symbol. Not a moral example only. Not a vague window into spiritual things. The Son shows us the Father. In Him, the invisible God has made Himself known.

That is a wonder too great to treat lightly.

If you want to know what God is like, look at Christ.

Look at His holiness. Look at His compassion. Look at His authority. Look at His tenderness toward the weak. Look at His hatred of hypocrisy. Look at His patience with slow disciples. Look at His power over disease, demons, storms and death. Look at His obedience. Look at His cross. Look at His risen glory.

There we see God revealed.

What it shows us about God

God has not left us guessing in the dark.

That matters more than we often realise. People invent gods all the time. A god who approves whatever we already wanted. A god who is all kindness and no holiness. A god who is all rules and no mercy. A god who is distant enough not to interrupt us. A god who is useful in emergencies but silent in ordinary life.

Human hearts are skilled at making idols with respectable names.

But Christianity does not begin with human imagination. It begins with revelation.

God has spoken. God has acted. God has come near in His Son.

Jesus is not merely someone who tells us about God from a distance. He reveals God because He is God the Son. The Father is not unlike Jesus. The Son is not kinder than the Father. The Spirit is not working against the character of the Son. The one true God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

That means the compassion of Christ is not an exception to God's character.

It is a revelation of it.

When Jesus welcomes sinners who come to Him, we see the mercy of God. When He weeps at Lazarus' tomb, we see that God's power is not cold. When He rebukes the proud, we see that God's love is never detached from truth. When He goes to the cross, we see God's holiness, justice, mercy and love displayed together.

The cross does not persuade a reluctant Father to love.

The cross reveals the love of God already purposed before the foundation of the world.

This is why beholding Christ is central to Christian worship. We do not climb past Jesus to reach some higher knowledge of God. We come to God through Him. We know God in Him. We worship God as He has made Himself known in Him.

Lift your eyes

There is a simple question worth carrying into the day.

Am I thinking about God in a way that looks like Jesus?

Not the tame Jesus of sentimental imagination. Not the political Jesus people conveniently recruit for their own cause. Not the vague spiritual mascot of modern comfort.

The Jesus of Scripture.

The holy Son. The crucified Saviour. The risen Lord. The Shepherd of His people. The Judge of the living and the dead. The One who is gentle and lowly in heart. The One before whom every knee will bow.

If your view of God has become blurry, come back to Christ.

Read the Gospels slowly. Watch how He speaks. Watch how He acts. Watch whom He confronts. Watch whom He comforts. Watch what sends Him to the cross. Watch Him risen from the grave.

Then worship.

The invisible God has not remained unknowable. He has made Himself known in His beloved Son.

A few Scriptures to carry

A Short Prayer