Finding God in Christ

Where should one go to find God? How can we discover what God is like? There are several ways to discover God, some more effective than others. In Romans 1:20 we learn that the invisible attributes of God can be deduced from observing the things that God has created. Just as we can discover some things about a particular culture by analyzing the products they design and make, we can learn some rudimentary things about God by examining the things He designed and created.

A second source of information about God is the Bible. The Bible is the record of God’s activity in history and His interaction with humanity. In Hebrews 1:1–2 we read: “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions, and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world” (NAS). In the Bible and the events recorded there, we hear the voice and message of God.

However, there is an even better source for understanding the nature, character and purpose of God. Hebrews 1:2-3 says that Jesus is this superior revelation, or ultimate authoritative voice of God. There we read that Jesus is the radiance and the exact reproduction of the essence or character of God (cf. Heb.1:3; Rev. 1:16).

Reading the Old Testament gives us a basic understanding regarding God, as we learn what God is like based upon His activities, and from the expectations He placed upon people. But this picture of God in the Old Testament is limited. It is like encountering a shadow as compared to meeting the real person, or like looking at a black and white representation as opposed to actually encountering the Living and multi-glorious God, who lives in dazzling full-spectrum light.

This greater revelation occurs when we encounter God face to face, as present in the person of Jesus Christ. Since God has become flesh in the person of Jesus Christ (cf. John 1:14; and John 14:7), we can now see God’s glorious character made tangible in Jesus. Jesus came in order for the magnificent presence of God to be manifested in our midst, so that we could understand what God is really like, and then seek to enter into a personal relationship with Him.
This testimony is confirmed in Hebrews 1:1-3. There we understand that in former times, God spoke to people at various times and in different-sized portions in the events recorded in the Old Testament. But now that Jesus has come, Jesus has become the ultimate manifestation of God to humanity, and therefore God’s ultimate authoritative Word to us (cf. John 1:1, 1:14, 18). The verb “has spoken” in Hebrews 1:2 translates a Greek verb that means a final, complete speaking; a full and complete revelation. The life and ministry of Jesus recorded in the New Testament of the Bible represents God’s ultimate and complete Word of God to mankind.

In John 1:18 we read: “No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God [i.e., Jesus] … He has explained Him.” Jesus came to explain God to us. Jesus came to reveal God in such a clear way that we could all know what God is like, what He values, what His character is like, and how we can come to know Him. If you want to know what God is like, let Jesus explain God to you.

In Hebrews 1:3 we discover that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory. He is the brightness of the goodness, beauty, and essential nature of God. He is the bright presence of God who came to live temporarily among men (cf. John 1:14).

Furthermore, Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature. The Greek word used here meant the exact reproduction of the original. Jesus is the exact reproduction of the character qualities of God. He is not just a chip off the old block, He is a manifestation of the whole block. Therefore Jesus could say, “I and My Father are One.” (cf. John 10:30). Since He is God, He therefore upholds the universe with the Word of His power (Heb. 1:3), thus His word is God’s Word.

The ultimate revealer of God to us today is the person of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament. When we look into the face of Jesus, we see the face of God. Have you found God in Christ?