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FACE OF GOD
CHRISTIANITY OASIS
HAS PROVIDED YOU WITH THIS FACE OF GOD STUDY. THE FACE OF GOD
HAS BEEN SEEN AND YET HAS NOT. SOUND PRETTY STRANGE HUH?
AFTER THIS STUDY, IT WILL MAKE PERFECT SENSE. LET US SEEK AND FIND THE TRUTH OF
THE FACE OF GOD TOGETHER, SHALL WE?
There are those that have
found what they deem as a CON-tradiction in the Bible about
whether or not people have seen the face of God. If you will
read carefully what I am about to share, you will find TRUTH. But, one must choose to put
aside the carnal view of the world as to be able
to SEE ...
Most people that read the
Bible, read one Scripture, interpret it with their human
understanding and then step away and tell others what they
believe,
which causes debate and
division amongst His children.
This is how so many have become lost and confused when it
comes to the Word of God .
To
discern TRUTH from the Bible, one needs to follow three
simple steps.
PRAY FOR
DISCERNMENT
OBTAIN ALL SCRIPTURE ON TOPIC
SCRIPTURES MUST BE HARMONY
On the
topic of mankind having ever seen the face of God … Some
like to point to the scripture that our Lord Jesus spoke on
this matter:
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John 1:18
No
man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. |
John also reveals this.
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1 John 4:12
No
man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us,
and his love is perfected in us. |
So it seems simple enough
huh? Now we can go out and show this ONE Scripture to every soul
that we encounter cuz we read it in the BIBLE. Hold your
horses there speedy Gonzales ...
There are other Scriptures that reveal what APPEARS to be a
CON-tradiction ...
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Genesis 32:30
Jacob named the place Peniel (which means "face of God"), for he said, "I
have seen God face to face, yet my
life has been spared." |
Well now … It APPEARS that we
have a CON-tradiction. At least from a carnal way of looking
at the Word. However, let us follow our three simple steps.
PRAY to understand the TRUTH of what is about to be shared. Let
us look at ALL Scripture on the matter and find harmony.
To begin, let’s look at the
WHOLE scripture that made Jacob make such a claim:
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Genesis 32:24-38
And
Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a
MAN with him
until the breaking of the day. And when he (the man) saw
that he (the man) prevailed not against him (Jacob), he (the
man) touched the hollow of his (Jacob’s) thigh; and the
hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled
with him. And he (the man) said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he (Jacob) said, I will not let thee go,
except thou bless me. And he (the man) said unto him (Jacob), What
is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he (The man) said, Thy name shall
be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast
thou power
with God and with men, and hast prevailed. And
Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name.
And he (the man) said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my
name? And he (the man) blessed him (Jacob) there. And Jacob called the name of
the place Peniel:
for I have seen God
face to face,
and my life is preserved. |
Okie dokie ... We have Jacob
wrestling with a MAN and when it is all said and done, Jacob
says that He saw God face to face. Is Jacob no good at math?
Is Jacob lying?
NO ... Jacob is speaking
TRUTH. He DID see God face to face.
Still CON-fused? Fear not.
You will not be.
Just continue down the path of TRUTH with me.
Abraham
also had a visit from the Lord.
He actually had dinner with Him which means he too saw His
face.
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Genesis 18:1-33
And the
LORD appeared
unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the
tent door in the heat of the day; And he lift up his
eyes and looked, and, lo,
three men
stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet
them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the
ground, And said,
My LORD,
if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not
away, I pray thee, from thy servant: Let a little
water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and
rest yourselves under the tree: And I will fetch a
morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after
that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to
your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and
said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal,
knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham
ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good,
and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress
it. And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which
he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood
by them under the tree, and they did eat. And they
said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said,
Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly
return unto thee according to the time of life; and,
lo, Sarah thy
wife shall have a son.
And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind
him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken
in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the
manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within
herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have
pleasure, my lord being old also?
And the LORD said
unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall
I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing
too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will
return unto thee, according to the time of life, and
Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I
laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but
thou didst laugh. And
the men
rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and
Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And
the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing
which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a
great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed in him? For I know him, that he
will command his children and his household after him,
and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice
and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham
that which he hath spoken of him. And
the LORD said,
Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and
because their sin is very grievous;
I will go down now,
and see whether they have done altogether according to
the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I
will know. And the men turned their faces from thence,
and went toward Sodom: but Abraham
stood yet before the
LORD. And
Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy
the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be
fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also
destroy and not spare the place for the fifty
righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to
do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the
wicked: and that the righteous should be as the
wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of
all the earth do right? And the LORD said, If I find
in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will
spare all the place for their sakes. And Abraham
answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to
speak unto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes:
Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty
righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of
five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I
will not destroy it. And he spake unto him yet again,
and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found
there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.
And he said unto him, Oh let not the LORD be angry,
and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be
found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find
thirty there. And he said, Behold now, I have taken
upon me to speak unto the LORD: Peradventure there
shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not
destroy it for twenty's sake. And he said, Oh let not
the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once:
Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I
will not destroy it for ten's sake. And the LORD went
his way, as soon as he had left communing with
Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place. |
Now, lookie here ... We have Abraham kicking it with God ...
FACE TO FACE. But did ya notice just like with Jacob ... The
Bible calls them three entities ...
MEN.
In fact if you read the next chapter,
Genesis Chapter, 19 ... You will find that the two
other "men" were angels which were sent to Sodom and
Gomorrah.
Now we have both Jacob and Abraham which appear to have seen
God ... Face to face.
But wait .... remember that Our LORD Jesus said:
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John 1:18
No
man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. |
Do we
believe the stories about Jacob and Abraham or do we believe
the Word of JESUS. Many would find comfort in those words
and say WE ARE TO BELIEVE JESUS and set forth to debate and
divide the body of Christ based on what APPEARS to be a
logical CON-clusion.
WE ARE NOT COMPLETED OUR SEARCH FOR TRUTH
AS WE LACK HARMONY.
Come with
me and I will show you how our Lord Jesus will bring peace
to your mind and heart by revealing the HARMONY of TRUTH.
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John 8:56-58
Your father
Abraham rejoiced to see
my day: and he
saw it, and was glad. Then said the Jews unto him,
Thou art not yet fifty
years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Before Abraham was, I
am. |
IT WAS AND IT WAS NOT GOD THAT
VISITED ABRAHAM ...
IT WAS JESUS AND
JESUS IS GOD.
Jesus is the
representation of GOD in the flesh.
So they DID see God face
to face ... But, as
Jesus pointed out ...
It was JESUS, not GOD that they had seen.
Understanding that God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are one
and the same, yet three different parts, is ESSENTIAL !!!
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1 John 5:7
For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the
Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and
these three are one. |
So we have 3 distinct entities yet the 3
ARE 1 ... F ailure
to comprehend the DEPTHS of this TRUTH have caused many to
doubt, debate and divide ... Let's take a look
at a couple of scriptures:
Anytime God
is manifested to us by VOICE, it is the Word of God. The Bible is the
Word of God, and Jesus is the Word of God.
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John 1:1-3
In the beginning
was the Word,
and the
Word was with God,
and the
Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God. All things
were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing
made that was made. |
Now, let's
substitute the words "the Word" with "Jesus" and see if it
makes more sense to you.
In the beginning was Jesus, and Jesus was with God, and
Jesus was God. The same (Jesus) was in the beginning with
God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not
any thing made that was made.
Jesus
testified that He was there in the beginning with God:
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John 17:5
And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self
with the glory which I had with thee
before the world was. |
It is really easy to see if ya take off
the carnal man and put on the SPIRITUAL man .. .
Paul
explains it well ...
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2 Corinthians 4:6
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of
the knowledge of
the glory of God in the FACE
of Jesus Christ. |
In short ... There is no
contradiction ... Jesus is the face of GOD.
Therefore Jacob did see the face of God in the flesh.
JESUS
This
makes what Jesus said in HARMONY with what Jacob said:
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John 1:18
No
man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, HE HATH DECLARED HIM. |
Did you HEAR Jesus? He answered the
question from the get go.
He said the SON OF GOD HATH DECLARED GOD.
REPRESENTED HIM IN WORD AND FLESH.
To understand the Spiritual depths of
God's Word.
One needs only follow the three simple steps ...
PRAY FOR DISCERNMENT
OBTAIN ALL SCRIPTURE ON TOPIC
SCRIPTURES
MUST BE HARMONY
Now some may be
saying ... WOW, I would have to read the entire Bible to
know all the Scriptures that are necessary to for me to be
able to share TRUTH when someone is asking about God's Word.
I say to you ...
AMEN
There is but ONE
exception ...
God revealing it to your heart by way of the Holy Spirit.
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Luke 12:12
For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour
what ye ought to say. |
This is being a
modern day prophet. But even a prophet should know every
Word that hath proceeded out of the mouth of God in the
Bible, to know JESUS ...
Cuz Jesus IS the
WORD of God.
To those who can
listen, HEAR what the Spirit is saying unto His children.
Take
care and have a SON-derful day
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