“The Invisible One Explained”
John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.' " 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. Here is the emphatic conclusion to the Prologue of the Gospel of John TODAY: 18 “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”
NO ONE…NEVER
(Here is the text the way it is appears in the Greek: “God no one has seen NEVER; an only begotten God the One being into the bosom of the Father that One (and no other) declared.”)
“No one has ever seen God” is an extremely emphatic statement, and in the original text, “God” is placed at the beginning of the sentence as the subject. (It would read: “God (that is, God as God, in His being, no one has seen NEVER.”) The double negative of “no one” and “never” makes it clear that absolutely no one has ever seen God in His Being or God as God in his complete essence and fullness at any time, except the Son. It presents a stark familiarity and reminder of John1:1-2: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.” The Word who was always with God in the beginning and the Word who was always God, affirms the essential deity of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus would later affirm this part of the verse in John 5:37: "And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. (The Father is the witness of the Son.) You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form.” God is spirit and cannot be perceived by human eyes.
Jesus would also say in John 6:46:” It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.” (Isa 54:13) Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me-- 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.”
The tense in the first part of the verse along with the adverb “never” indicates, “No one has ever seen God “and never will.” The fact that God in His essence cannot be seen by the physical eye did not prohibit God from appearing in some form according to His own choosing at certain times. (Gen. 32:30, Ex. 24:9-10, Numbers 12:6,8, Deut. 34:10)
Exodus 33: 20-23 provides this in God’s own words to Moses: “But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live." 21 And the LORD said, "Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen."
Later Israel was commanded in Deuteronomy 4:15: "Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire.” They saw and heard the EFFECTS of God’s visitation, but they didn’t see His FORM.
God’s presence has been revealed in many instances in the Old Testament, but the totality of His Holiness, Majesty and Glory has NEVER been witnessed by the created. NO MAN HAS SEEN God AT ANY TIME…NEVER! Humans have seen angels FROM God, visions depicting some of God’s glory, and theophonies, which are manifestations of God which HE makes some of His character tangible to the human senses, but those manifestations are very restrictive; NO ONE has ever seen God in all of His Fullness and Glory.
1 Timothy 6:15-16: “He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” God is invisible, He is Spirit and without any form, yet God reveals SOME of His Grace and Greatness in Christ, bringing the INVISIBLE and the VISIBLE to light in a way that is unmatched. That One and Only God comes to us and gives Himself in Saving Love and Grace on the Cross: What a glorious God and Savior we serve!
The ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD
“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” (An only (begotten) God the One being in ( or into) the bosom of the Father, THAT ONE declared.) The ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD is “GOD THE ONE AND ONLY”, “THE UNIQUE ONE HIMSELF God,” which would mean “the ONE and ONLY Son, who is Himself, God”.
There are several textual variants attributed to the phrase, “The Only Begotten God”, (some texts may say “the only begotten Son”,) but in spite of the variations, the verse still stands to support the Divine Eternal nature of Jesus and that God appeared temporarily in the flesh in the Person of Jesus in order to DIE FOR those to whom He gave the right to become His Children, His Chosen Ones: The INIFINITE ONE APPEARED in flesh to the FINITE. “The Only Begotten God” is the Only begotten Son, and so once again we are provided with a definite proof of the Son as a person of the Triune God.
The BOSOM OF THE FATHER/AT THE FATHER’S SIDE
“No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, “In the bosom of the Father” is a Greek idiom (translated in some places as “at the Father’s side) which means “the exclusive and privileged intimacy of a deeply affectionate interpersonal relationship.” (DA Carson, p. 134, John) (bosom: “kólpos” – properly, the upper part of the chest where a garment naturally folded to form a "pocket" – called the "bosom," the position synonymous with intimacy (union). If you would slip your hand into the fold of your garment, you would be placing your hand close to your heart. God the Son, as a person of the Trinity, was always continuously close to God the Father’s heart. (Psalm 74:11 says: “Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand? From within Your bosom, and destroy them!’)
In Proverbs 8:30, we receive a picture of this when we read about Jesus as the wisdom from God, always beside the Father: “I was beside Him, as a master workman; And I was daily His delight, Rejoicing always before Him.” In some places in the Old Testament the term is used to refer to the ceaseless, devoted care of a parent or caregiver. There is NONE closer to the Father than the Son, and Jesus has always enjoyed a continuous uninterrupted relationship with the Father. His becoming flesh took nothing away from the intimacy and fellowship with the Father. It is why Jesus could exclaim: “I and the Father are one." (John 10:30- no interruption with the Father, EVER.)
The same idea is used in John 13:23 and John 21:20 to refer to the apostle John: “There was reclining on Jesus' bosom (SO close to Jesus) one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.” The word is used as well in Luke 16:22 in the parable of Lazarus and the rich man: "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried.” Through the love of Christ in rebirth, we are brought into a close and intimate relationship with the Father because of the Son, adopted children of God, INDEED a place of honor, not on our account, but by Grace. We are constantly reminded of that relationship by the Holy Spirit and the written Word, as well as by the intimacy of the Church as the loving Body of Christ. We have access to the “lap of the Father”, to a relationship and fellowship with God through THE ONLY BEGOTTEN ONE, our Lord Jesus.
HE HAS EXPLAINED HIM
“Explained” (Exçgeomai (eks-â-ge'-o-mî) means to lead out; NAS: EXPLAINED HIM, NIV- MADE HIM KNOWN, NCJV-DECLARED HIM. THE Son alone has the qualification to “explain” or “make know” the Father by virtue of the absolutely supreme and intimate relationship that has always existed and still exists between the Father and the Son; (1:1-2) It is He (Jesus) and no other who has explained the Father. As the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, He alone reveals the invisible nature and character of the invisible, “NEVER-BEEN-SEEN” God. He alone is able to describe and declare Him because He alone has been at the Father’s side, and He alone is the Son of the Trinity.
Luke uses this word “to explain”, meaning to “give a full account”. God in the flesh “tells the whole story” that the God the Father wants us to know. Jesus reveals ALL that the Father has to tell us and teach us by the Logos. As John the Apostle ends the prologue, he prepares us to read the entire Gospel of the Lord Jesus which follows as an account of “Jesus telling the whole story” of God the Father.
In John 14:8-9: “Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.” He speaks clearly of Trinitarian doctrine: The Son never being separated from God the Father, the Father living in the Son, doing the work of God through Him for us.
If you want to know the character of God, the love of God, the salvation from God, listen to Jesus speak in the Word: He appeared in the Flesh, witnessed the very character of God in His life, and recorded the witness of through the God-breathed scriptures for us. The Father is directly known to the Son and the Son is the unique declaration and explanation of the Father. (the “exegete”, if you will.) If God reveals the Biblical Jesus to you through the WORD, you will know the Father.
Every society and culture has developed systems and philosophies, vain attempts of finite man to grasp the Infinite, but all have failed. “The world by wisdom knew NOT God”, says 1Corinthians 1:21. The great chasm between man and God is achieved, not by human wisdom, not by visions, not by fantasies of the mind, but only by God through His visitation by Himself in the Word who became flesh. THE WORD WAS WITH God AND THE WORD WAS God…THAT WORD, THAT ONE and NO OTHER HAS DECLARED HIM. He alone has declared the person, the character and mind of God.
Praise God for His revelation to us in and through the Word, who became flesh, that we might know the Living God, become His adopted children, being born of God, so that we might no longer serve the ourselves to death, but to serve Him in our lives and for all eternity.
Outline: Literal: “God no one has seen NEVER; an only begotten God the One being in (into) the bosom of the Father, that One declared.”)
1. NO ONE…NEVER (John1:1-2,5:37, 6:46,1 Tim 6:15-16, Gen.32:30,Ex.24:9-10, 33:20-23, Num.12:6,8, Deut.4:15, 34:10)
• NO MAN HAS SEEN God AT ANY TIME…NEVER!
• God is invisible, He is Spirit and without any form, yet God reveals SOME of His Grace and Greatness in Christ, bringing the INVISIBLE and the VISIBLE to light in a way that is unmatched.
2. THE ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD: The ONLY BEGOTTEN GOD is “GOD THE ONE AND ONLY”, “THE UNIQUE ONE HIMSELF God,” which would mean “the ONE and ONLY Son, who is Himself, God”.
3. The BOSOM OF THE FATHER/AT THE FATHER’S SIDE
(Psalm 74:11, John 10:30, 13:23,21:20, Luke 16:22)
• An idiom which means “the exclusive and privileged intimacy of a deeply affectionate interpersonal relationship.”
• There is NONE closer to the Father than the Son, and Jesus has always enjoyed a continuous uninterrupted relationship with the Father.
• Through the love of Christ, we are brought into a close and intimate relationship with the Father and the Son, adopted children of God, INDEED a place of honor, not on our account, but by Grace.
4. HE HAS EXPLAINED HIM (John 14:8-10, Heb. 1:1-2)
• EXPLAINED, MADE HIM KNOWN, DECLARED HIM. Exçgeomai: to lead out, to explain, “give a full account”.
• The Lord Jesus Christ alone reveals the invisible nature and character of the invisible, “NEVER-BEEN-SEEN” God.
• KNOW the Biblical Jesus, KNOW the Father Psalm 74:11
