One of the important truths associated with God’s transcendence is that He is not only incomprehensible to human minds, but He is also invisible to the human eye. He is “high and lifted up” beyond the range of our limited understanding. We can know what God reveals about Himself, but we cannot ever know all that there is to know about Him.

When the Apostle John was introducing the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, he said by way of personal testimony, “And the Word was made 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).

A few verses later, John drew a careful distinction between the invisible Father and the visible Son. “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 1:18).

Jehovah declared to Moses in Exodus 33:20, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” If we saw God as He truly is, fully disclosed in all of His majesty, we would immediately die! Thus, the Lord showed Moses merely a fleeting glimpse of His glory. The same was true for the visions of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

How then does a transcendent God make Himself known to mankind? There are five primary ways that we can know the God of the Bible. In God’s wisdom and sovereignty, these are all ways in which He has chosen to reveal Himself to man.

We see God in the “Invisible Things of Him” Revealed in His Creation

God has displayed His character and attributes in His creation. Paul wrote to the Roman believers, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19–20).

Every time that we look up into the heavens and see the sun, moon, and stars, we are seeing a visible testimony of God’s revelation of His invisible being. Similar to how one could study the workmanship of a man and gain understanding of his skill and attributes, so we can study God’s creation and gain knowledge of Him. The psalmist asserted this truth in Psalm 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.”

We see God in the Words of His Revealed Scripture

God reveals Himself in the Scriptures. The Bible does not merely contain the Word of God. It is the Word of God. The Holy Bible is inerrant and infallible, and it is inspired, that is, it is breathed of God. In Psalm 103:7, Moses wrote in his prayer of blessing, “He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.”

Every time we read the Bible, we are seeing God in a spiritual sense. Through His revealed Scripture, we learn His ways and experience His attributes. We come to know Him as He desires to be known.

We see God in the Life of His Incarnate Son

As John testified in John 1:18, “The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” Christ declares the Father and manifests the Father. God has not given man any representation of Himself but one—that revelation is the Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Upper Room, Philip asked Jesus, “Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us” (John 14:8). Christ answered, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (verse 9). Christ could be physically touched, and He could be seen. Christ could be heard. He could suffer. He could weep. Christ the incarnate Son could bleed, and He could die.

We see God in the Abiding Presence of His Holy Spirit

When Jesus was preparing His disciples for His return to Heaven, He promised them, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you” (John 14:18). He was speaking of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter “whom the Father will send in my name” (John 14:26).

The Holy Spirit is another way that we can see and experience our transcendent God. He was manifested on the Day of Pentecost as the fire of God’s presence fell upon each of the disciples. It did not fall, as it did in the Old Testament, in one blaze of glory to fill the Tabernacle or the Temple. Rather, it was seen as a flame of fire resting upon each one of them as individuals! The Holy Spirit was heard, seen, and known. His abiding presence will never leave His people.

We see God in the Witness of His Redeemed Saints

Each one of these five witnesses flows from the preceding one. God reveals Himself in Creation. God reveals Himself in His written Word. Christ is the Incarnate Word. The Holy Spirit is sent in the name of Christ. And the Holy Spirit fills and activates the lives of His saints! This progression is the God-ordained way for the world to know and see the Living God.

Paul said, “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. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (II Corinthians 4:7).

What a privilege we have as God’s children to be His witnesses! How does the world know what God looks like? How is an invisible and transcendent God made visible and tangible? He delights to do so in us, as in our “earthen vessels” we reflect the light of Jesus Christ within us!