Article 12 of 14 | Honest Questions
By Dr. Timothy Mann
God has made Himself known, most definitively in Jesus Christ. John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and Hebrews 1:3 calls Christ the express image of God's person. The invisible God became visible, tangible, and knowable in human history, giving faith an evidential foundation, not a blind leap.
This is the second half of the answer to whether an invisible God can be trusted. Part one established that faith is reasoned trust based on evidence, not belief without it, and that the invisible is not the same as the nonexistent. What follows is the final piece:
Has God actually made Himself known?
God Has Made Himself Known. Most Definitively in Jesus Christ.
God has not simply left human beings to trust in a God they cannot see without any basis for that trust. He has made Himself known, most definitively, most personally, most visibly, in the person of Jesus Christ.
The incarnation is precisely the answer to the question of an invisible God. The eternal God, who is spirit and cannot be seen, became visible. Became tangible. Became a human being who could be heard and touched and watched and known.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NKJV)
We beheld it. Not from a philosophical distance. Not through theological inference. The disciples and the five hundred witnesses Paul mentions saw it.
“...who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person...” (Hebrews 1:3, NKJV)
The express image. Not an approximation. Not a symbol. The exact representation of who God is, made visible and tangible and present in human history. To know what God is like, to trust a God who cannot be seen, is to look at Jesus: His compassion for the suffering, His honesty with the self-righteous, His love for the outcast, His willingness to die for those who rejected Him. That is what the invisible God looks like when He becomes visible.
The invisible God can be trusted today for the same reason the disciples trusted Him after the resurrection: not because they could see Him in every moment, but because they had seen enough to know His word was reliable, His character was consistent, and His power over death was real. Faith is not the absence of evidence. It is trust that extends beyond the visible, based on evidence that makes that trust reasonable.
Hebrews 11:6 says God rewards those who diligently seek Him. Not of those who demand proof before they begin. Of those who seek. The invitation of the Christian faith is not to believe without looking. It is to look honestly at the evidence, at the person of Jesus, at the historical record, and then to trust what the evidence supports.
A Step Toward the Light
Can a God who cannot be seen be trusted? Faith is not belief without evidence; it is trust based on evidence, the same kind of trust that underlies every significant relationship in life. The invisible is not the same as the nonexistent; love, justice, and consciousness are all invisible and all real. And God has made Himself most fully and most visibly known in the person of Jesus Christ, the express image of the invisible God who walked, spoke, died, and rose in human history.
The question is not whether an invisible God can be trusted. The question is whether the evidence for the God revealed in Jesus Christ is sufficient to ground that trust. It is, more than sufficient. The honest response is to look at that evidence and see where it leads.
APPLICATION & REFLECTION
For anyone who has never come to the point of actually trusting Christ, of saying yes to what He offers, that step is worth taking today, not as a leap in the dark, but as a step toward the Light.
Where has doubt kept you from looking honestly at the evidence for Jesus?
What would it take for you to look at it directly this week rather than at arm's length?
Next time: I used to believe. Can I come back? A question less about arguments and more about whether the door is still open.
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If you missed the beginning of our series “Honest Questions” find the article links below:
Article 1: If God Is Good, Why Is There So Much Suffering? (Part 1)
Article 2: If God Is Good, Why Is There So Much Suffering? (Part 2)
Article 3: Has Science Disproved the Bible? (Part 1)
Article 4: Has Science Disproved the Bible? (Part 2)
Article 5: How Can a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell? (Part 1)
Article 6: How Can a Loving God Send Anyone to Hell? (Part 2)
Article 7: Isn't the Bible Just Written by Men? (Pt 1)
Article 8: Isn't the Bible Just Written by Men? (Pt 2)
Article 9: Why Would God Care About Me? (Pt 1)
Article 10: Why Would God Care About Me? (Pt 2)
Article 11: Can I Trust a God I Cannot See? (Pt 1)
FAQ
Q: How did God make Himself visible if He is spirit?
A: John 1:14 says the Word became flesh, and Hebrews 1:3 calls Jesus the express image of God's person. The eternal, invisible God became visible, tangible, and knowable through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, seen by hundreds of witnesses.
Q: Is trusting Christ a blind leap of faith?
A: No. Hebrews 11:6 describes God as a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, meaning the invitation is to look honestly at the evidence, the historical record, and the person of Jesus, then trust what that evidence supports.