Bible Question:
What does God look like and how can I recognize Him?
Bible Answer:
It is impossible to know what God looks like because God does not have a physical body that we can see or touch. We are told that He is a spirit.
God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (NASB) John 4:24
Physical Appearance
For a brief period of time, Jesus Christ, who is our God, lived among us and physically looked like us. That is, He had human flesh. Those who saw Him were not able to see what He really looked like, but they saw the human flesh that He “wore” while He lived among us. In the following passage, the “Word” refers to God.
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. (NASB) John 1:14
The Word, which is a symbolic name for God, became a human being. He clothed Himself with human flesh. This divine being put on human flesh like a garment. The Word changed His appearance. He changed Himself and took on human flesh and lived among us. He was God in human flesh.
How was He recognized? How can anyone recognize such a being? The apostle answers the question with this comment, “We saw His glory!” Now we should ask, “In what way did the world see His glory?” The answer is found in that He was “full of grace and truth.” The world saw Him do miracle after miracle, and perform incredible signs and wonders. His teachings were astonishing, and the people said that no one spoke as He did. That was the glory the world saw while He lived among us. We saw His incredible character, grace, and deeds. His glory was seen by those who watched Him, who touched Him, and who spoke with Him! There was and is no one else like Him.
Spirit and Light
God has told us that we cannot see Him and live, and He has also said that no one has seen Him.
. . . You cannot see My face, for no man can see Me and live!” (NASB) Ex. 33:20
No one has seen God at any time . . (NASB) John 1:18
If we could see Him, He would appear as spirit (John 4:24) and light (1 John 1:5). God has been described in Revelation 4, and an artist has attempted to paint the description. In that passage God appears as an emerald rainbow and by flashes of lightening and sounds of thunder.
Conclusion:
As we indicated earlier, God visited us 2,000 years ago. He appeared as Jesus Christ. He came primarily to die for you and me. He came to die for our sins. We would invite you to read about the life of Jesus Christ in the study series called the Life and Heart of Jesus. We would also encourage you to continue searching for God.