Seeing Him That is Invisible
(week 08/02)
Olubi Johnson
In our last article we outlined the summary of communing with God:
An impression or witness in the heart.
Confirmation through the written Word: interpretation of which must never contradict any other principle in the Word or the character of God: loving-kindness, righteousness and justice.
Confirmation by corresponding supernatural works or circumstances.
A prophetic and apostolic Word usually accompanies this: and this could be through utterance, preaching and teaching or by visions and dreams.
In this weeks article we want to examine in a little more detail how to “see” him that is invisible.
Firstly we need to recall the distinction between God’s person and the presence of God:
Distinction between God’s person and God’s presence
God is three persons but one God: they are one in substance, mind and character just as a husband and wife can be one; or a group of people can be one:
John 17:21 (KJV) That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
Ephesians 5:31 (KJV) For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Genesis 11:6 (KJV) And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
There are three persons in the Godhead: The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Each person has a mind, will and emotions:
I John 5:7 (KJV) For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
Furthermore, each person of the Godhead has a definite image, likeness and shape:
Genesis 1:26 (KJV) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
John 5:37 (KJV) And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.
So each person of the Godhead has spiritual (just like we have physical) members: a head, arms, legs etc. since man is made in the image and likeness of God. So God is a person with a definite image and shape: He is not a cloud or just some intangible influence. For instance, the person of the Holy Spirit is described in Ezekiel 8: 2:
Ezekiel 8:2-3 (KJV) Then I beheld, and lo a likeness as the appearance of fire: from the appearance of his loins even downward, fire; and from his loins even upward, as the appearance of brightness, as the colour of amber. And he put forth the form of an hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate that looketh toward the north; where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provoketh to jealousy.
However, at the same time God’s influence or presence pervades the entire universe:
Psalm 139:7-8 (KJV) Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
So God’s presence is projected from His person and pervades or fills the entire universe.
Presence of God in the air: angels of His presence
A movie or cinema projector projects light onto a screen on which you see the picture recorded on the film.
In the same way the presence of God is projected from His person and fills the air around us with images of his presence. These images are called angels of His presence and unlike that of a natural film, are 3-dimensional and not just 2-dimensional. It is actually a 3 dimensional spiritual hologram. Remember the Bible says “God is light” (1 John 1:5). So it is the light energy that emanates from His person that projects these spiritual holograms into the air. This means that apart from seeing the picture you can also touch it and have physical interaction with it.
An example of this is the angel of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ that was manifested to John the Apostle in a vision on the Isle of Patmos.
Revelation 1:1 (KJV) The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
Revelation 1:13-17 (KJV) And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Isaiah 63:9 (KJV) In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
Observe that this angel was like unto the son of man: an exact copy of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In actual fact it was a 3-dimensional spiritual projection of the Lord from His person in heaven to John on the Isle of Patmos. This angel is different from angels like Gabriel or Michael who do not look exactly like the Lord. Ordinary angels are not angels of His presence. Angels of His presence look exactly like the Lord because they are spiritual projections from His person that are omnipresent: present everywhere at the same time. Also notice that this angel of His presence was not only seen by John but also spoke and touched John physically. In other words the presence of God projected into the air around us gives a fully interactive 3-dimensional contact with God. In Is. 63: 9 above we are told the angel of God’s presence saved the children of Israel.
This shows us that the presences of God in the form of angels of His presence are with us all the time and everywhere. However it is not always that we are allowed to see them or interact physically with them like John did on the Isle of Patmos. John’s experience took place by the operation of the gift of discernings of spirits. This only occurs occasionally as the Holy Spirit wills.
How then do we interact with God’s presence normally when discernings of spirits is not in operation? By faith. In fact this is how we are to interact with God daily (Heb.10:38). To seek literal visions daily is to open up oneself to satanic deception (2 Cor. 11: 14).
Hebrews 10:38 (KJV) Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV) For we walk by faith, not by sight.
2 Corinthians 11:14 (KJV) And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
We know by faith that even though we cannot see with our physical eyes these angels of God’s presence, they are there. This is just like the air around us is full of radio and television waves carrying pictures and voices which we cannot see or hear until we have the right equipment and operate them using the right principles. So we visualize the reality of the presence of God in our minds by faith and commune with the presence of God in our minds through our thoughts. Even though this presence of God is always there it will not be manifest to us unless we love God by keeping His Word. Recall in brief from our article on cultivating His manifest presence, the principles of experiencing His manifest presence:
To enjoy God’s presence there are 3 things you need:
1. The right attitude or willingness to do God’s will (John 7:17): this comes by daily self-judgement and repentance from anything that displeases God. —Orientation of your antenna or satellite dish to receive accurately.
2. A renewed mind that has the knowledge of God’s Word (Rom. 12: 2): this comes by daily Bible reading and meditation. — A functioning TV set.
3. The power of the Holy Spirit released by the life of God through prayer in the Spirit for at least one hour daily (Matt. 26:41, Eph. 6:18). — A generator that supplies electricity with the right voltage.
So many Christians try to get God’s presence by trying to be willing to do God’s will and getting the knowledge of scripture but still do not experience it because there is either no or insufficient power of the Holy Ghost because they do not pray fervently and effectually in the Spirit daily. This is like having a satellite dish and excellent TV set but no electricity to power the TV and the satellite dish: of course you will get no response on your TV set.
The power of the Holy Spirit is indispensable if you desire to enjoy the presence of God daily.
So we can see Him that is invisible all the time by faith, visualizing His presence in our minds and communing with Him through our thoughts based on the knowledge of His written Word.
Hebrews 11:27 (KJV) By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
