Has Anyone Ever Seen the Father?
"The Bible's Own Answer"
But, Who Is the Father? What is his name?
By definition, He is the Father of Jesus. Jesus Himself declared this many times.
In Hebrews 1:1-2, we read, "God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son".
Here we see Father God has previously spoke throught prophets of the old testament. But, what is His name? Just a few verses later, in Hebrews 1:5, we see the Father saying to Jesus,
"You are my Son. Today have I become your father?"
It turns out that the author of Hebrews was quoting Psalm 2:7, which says,
"Yahweh said to me, You are my son. Today I have become your father."
So, what is the Father's name on the old testament? It is Yahweh. So, back to our original question, with more context:
Has Anyone Ever Seen Father Yahweh?
Yahweh said to Moses, "You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live." -Exodus 33:20. But why? Perhaps it is because, "all have sinned" and "your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you" -Romans 3:23; Issiah 59:2
In 1 Timothy 1:17, Paul referenced Father Yahweh as "the King eternal, immortal, invisible"
Invisible? Does that mean that Father Yahweh has no body or just that Humans are not able to see Him?
Jesus will answer a little later. but first, John said, "No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him." -John 1:18. But how did Jesus declare Him if no one has seen Him? Jesus has the answer: "Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God. He has seen the Father." -- Jesus has seen the Father, so Father has a body to see. But no human other than Jesus has seen Him or can see Him.
I have quoted the words "God" and "Father" as if they are interchangeable. But are they?Paul answers that directly. In 1 Corinthians 8:6 he writes:
"...there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things..."
One God. The Father. Paul does not leave room for ambiguity — in the new testament, the title God belongs specifically to the Father.
Of Father Yahweh, Paul said He is "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see..." -1 Timothy 6:15-16.
Wait. Jesus is a man and He has seen His Father. How is that? Because Jesus is not just a man. He is also the only-born Son of God. -John 3:16.
Conclusion
Israel at Sinai heard a voice from fire. Abraham sat with visitors from Heaven at his tent. Jacob wrestled with God until dawn. Moses spoke with someone "face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend." — Exodus 33:11
If the Father Yahweh has never been seen — if He cannot be seen and a person remain living — then who were they encountering?
Scripture has an answer, and it runs deeper than most readers expect.
What we can say with confidence here is this: Father Yahweh — dwelling in unapproachable light — has never stood before human eyes, other than His Son. Every visible encounter with God in the ancient record — Abraham's visitors, the voice from Sinai, the man who wrestled with Jacob — came through someone else.
Deuteronomy 4:12 reminds Israel of Sinai: "Ye heard the voice...but saw no similitude — only ye heard a voice." No form. No face. A voice only.
Father Yahweh remains, across all of scripture, the one no living person has ever seen.
Which raises the question that the next study is built to answer: if it was never the Father — then whose face, whose voice, whose hand was it?
[LINK: The Angel Who Carried the Name]