COLOSSIANS 1:15

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation:” 

If I could have any attribute of God, it would invisibility. Wouldn’t that be cool? You could walk around and no one would know you were there. You could move things around and trick people without them seeing you. Now, I’m just kidding. I don’t really want that. I had rather be seen by others. I want them to know I am there. But God’s invisibility is mentioned in Scripture several times. Let’s take a look at a few.

In today’s verse, Paul says that Jesus is “the image of the invisible God.” He was God in the flesh. That’s not to say that God looks just like Jesus did in the flesh. He was the eikon of God, which means He reflected the very form and nature of God. God Himself remains unseen because we cannot handle His glory in our human flesh. His invisibility is really for our protection.

APPLICATION

In Romans 1:20 we see the same word for “invisible” used. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” We can’t see God’s attributes, but we can see the effect. All around us we can see God’s hand at work.

1 Timothy 1:17 uses the word. “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” In this verse, Paul is giving praise to our God and King and calls Him the invisible God. Paul had been struck blind on the road to Damascus by God Himself. He knew of His glory. The brightness of that encounter left him with scales on his eyes that were only removed by God’s intervention through Ananias.

In Hebrews 11:27 we see Moses described when the writer says, “By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he persevered, as though seeing Him who is unseen.” One commentator said this, “The antonym of faith is not fear – it is sight.” Through faith we see God – not the physical manifestation of Him but the effects of Him in our lives. Is God invisible? Yes! But is He seen daily in our lives? You had better believe it.

God, thank You for showing Yourself to me every day!