It is remarkably true that God did at one point come to earth as a human like us, someone who could be seen, heard, touched and (definitely in the days before in-door showers) smelled. God's coming in the flesh was part of His plan from the start of the world. The apostle John wrote, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life," (1 John 1:1). So God, as Jesus Christ, came to earth, for Jesus is "the image of the invisible God," (Colossians 1:15). While He was on earth humans could see, touch and hear God. Now, however, Jesus has gone from the earth. It is for the good of believers that Jesus left (John 16:7), but that leaves believers in a world where they cannot tangibly feel God.
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| Believers can read God's Word in the Bible, and God's Word did take on flesh as Jesus Christ (John 1:1), but the Bible itself is not God. |
Some people think that God's choice to no longer be physically on earth is bad. Some people want a god they can experience with their senses. They want to see God's presence, hear Him audibly speak, cling to His body, and go where He physically manifests. The Bible teaches such people may be in danger of committing the sin of sensuality. Though it is often associated with sexual practices, sensuality simply refers to pursuing the gratification or indulgence of the senses. Jude wrote to the Church that ungodly people engage in sensuality, which is an immoral act committed by those who deny Christ (Jude 1:4). Paul also wrote that sensuality is exhibited by those who "are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts," (Ephesians 4:18). He further writes of these people that "they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed," (Ephesians 4:19). Someone who craves experiences of the senses is in danger of living an impure life. They are led by their greed for one indulgence after another.
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| Christ's followers need to keep from seeking ungodly sights (Matthew 18:9), knowing "the world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever," (1 John 2:17). |
The opposite of a sensuous person is someone who has a spirit of contentment. When someone is content, they do not yearn for anything they do not have. This includes not wanting the things people experience with their senses. It is written, "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it," (1 Timothy 6:6-7). Humans come into the world with nothing to hold, taste and hear of it. Likewise, humans leave the world without their body (Ecclesiastes 12:7), and it is through the body that humans sense things. So, being content to not have a sensual experience is a way to honor God. Someone who is content shows they trust God and believe Him when He says, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you," (Hebrews 13:5). The prophet Habakkuk wrote this about being content in chapter 3 from verses 17 to 19:
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
He makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
He enables me to tread on the heights.
Habakkuk said he would be content knowing God is his savior, even when he has no figs to eat, no fresh food to smell and no cattle to hear mooing in his barns. We, as believers, must be content with the Lord in the same way. Those who do this will have peace in all circumstances thanks to the strength God gives (Philippians 4:11-13).
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| Believers partake in communion, but the bread and the drink are not God on earth, but symbols of Jesus' broken body and His shed blood (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). |
Even so, knowing believers must not have sensuality and be content, it can still be hard to understand why God chooses to be invisible, intangible and inaudible. These questions with which believers struggle today are the same ones that were on the mind of those to whom the book of Hebrews was written. They wondered why a believer in Christ had to abandon so many things from Judaism. Those who believe in Christ no longer have a priest they can see (Hebrews 4:14), a prophet with whom they can speak (Hebrews 3:5-6), a burning sacrifice which they can smell and taste (Hebrews 7:27) or a God who they can hear (Hebrews 1:1-2). They must have wondered what makes faith in Christ so much better than other religions, if there is nothing sensual about it. And we, even as believers, also ask, "What is the point of serving a God you can't sense?". The author of Hebrews writes it is better to come to a God you cannot sense, than to come to a God that you can. On writing about coming to a God experienced by the senses, the author of Hebrews writes the following in chapter 12 from verses 18 to 21:
You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.”
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| If you could experience God with your senses, He would terrify you, as He did the Hebrews. |
So the Jewish people in the times of the Old Testament experienced a God they could sense. They were in the presence of a God they could touch, and He was as burning fire. They heard God, and begged Him to stop. The prophets could see God, and they trembled with fear at His sight. To sense God is an unbearable burden. Those who want a god they can sense forget the overwhelming and destructive power this God has over all creation. Believers should not want to go back to a god like this; not when they have the God who lets them experience something better. About this God, the invisible Father and the Son who are in heaven, the author of Hebrews writes the following in chapter 12 from verses 22 to 24:
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Those who believe in Christ take part in a beautiful kingdom. They encounter a crowd of joyful angels, but they cannot hear their assembly. The members of the Church know their names are kept in heaven, yet they cannot see where they are written. Believers have a God who makes them perfect, though they cannot feel His sanctification working in them. The followers of Christ are in an unbreakable relationship with Jesus, and they do not need to speak with Him in person. Those who hope in the Lord have been given a sacrifice for righteousness better than Abel's faith (Hebrews 11:4), even if they cannot smell this spilled blood. What God has in store for believers is not a sensual religion. It is a heavenly inheritance that He has prepared for His children since before they were created (Romans 8:29-30).
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| "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things," (Colossians 3:1-2). |
God is invisible and His tangible presence is not on earth, but this does not mean He is distant. The Lord says, "call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me,” (Psalm 50:15). God is never far away from His people, for "If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there," (Psalm 139:8). Those who seek the Lord will find Him (Jeremiah 33:3). God will not hide from His children or refuse to call out to them (John 10:14-16). If someone desires good things from God, then they should ask for them (James 1:17), but no one should ask for what they will waste on earthly pleasures (James 4:2-3). The God of heaven is a good and gracious God, and He shows His glory to all the earth every day (Romans 1:20). He does this without a sound, a scent, a sight or a sense.
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