Will we see God the Father and God the Holy Spirit in heaven?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

In heaven, we will dwell in the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, though how we will see them remains unclear. While the Father and the Holy Spirit are described as spirits and invisible to our eyes, Jesus, God the Son, is bodily visible, revealing the Father through His actions and teachings. In the Old Testament, God manifested Himself in ways that allowed people to encounter Him, though no one could see His full glory and live. In the New Testament, Jesus revealed the Father. The Bible promises that the redeemed will one day see God in eternity, and our future hope is to behold God’s glory in our resurrected, glorified bodies. Until that day, we can seek to know Him more deeply, reflect His love to the world, and live in light of our future with Him.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• God told Moses that "no one may see me and live" (Exodus 33:20 [NIV]). How does this apply to seeing God in heaven?
• God has, at times, manifested Himself in ways people could actually see. For example, when the Lord spoke to Moses "face to face, as a man speaks to his friend" in Exodus 33:11, it must have been what we call a theophany—a limited manifestation of God in human form. Later in the same chapter, Moses asked the Lord to see His glory. The Lord accommodated Moses but told him that no man could see His face and live. God passed by Moses and showed him His "back" but not His face (Exodus 33:18–23). There is no contradiction here regarding the Lord speaking face-to-face with Moses and then telling Moses that he couldn't see His face and live. In the face-to-face meeting, God veiled His glory. In fact, Moses could very well have been talking to the pre-incarnate Christ.
• The Shekinah glory was another visible demonstration of God's invisible presence (Deuteronomy 31:15).
• God also chose to appear in the "cloud over the mercy seat" of the Ark of the Covenant (Leviticus 16:2) and as a cloud on top of Mt. Sinai: "The glory of the LORD dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days… Now the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel" (Exodus 24:16–17). In each case, the eyewitnesses knew they were seeing a manifestation of God.
• Both David and Job were confident that they would see God. Their hope was based on the fact of the resurrection: Job said, "And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:26). And David echoed the sentiment: "As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness" (Psalm 17:15).

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• In Matthew 5:8, Jesus says, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
• Revelation 22:4 refers to those in the New Jerusalem who "will see [God's] face."
• In John 4:24, Christ taught that God the Father is "spirit." And, of course, the Holy Spirit is spirit as well. Jesus, God the Son, however, has a body. In Luke 24:39, appearing to His disciples after His resurrection, Jesus said, "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have." Later, Jesus ascended bodily into heaven (Acts 1:9). So, God the Father, who is spirit, does not have flesh and bones, and neither does the Holy Spirit. They are therefore invisible to our eyes.
• Jesus is visible: "The Son is the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15 [NIV]).
• At the Incarnation, the Son of God took upon Himself sinless flesh in order to be our sin-bearer and provide salvation (1 Peter 2:24).
• In the New Testament, many people "saw" God in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus told one of His disciples, "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). Jesus was not referring to His appearance, of course, but to His teaching and actions, which revealed the Father.
• This is not to say that a spirit can never be visible to us. Angels are ministering spirits (Hebrews 1:14), yet they have some kind of form and are able to manifest themselves to people when necessary. Gabriel took a visible form when he spoke to Mary (Luke 1:26–38). And the heralding angels were visible when they announced Christ's birth to the shepherds (Luke 2:9–14).
• Colossians 2:9 (NIV) says that "in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form." Jesus reveals to us what the Father looks like.
• The redeemed will still see God, as Jesus promised. We will definitely see the risen, glorified Jesus Christ when He returns (Isaiah 52:7; Revelation 1:8). We shall see Him as He is and be "pure in heart" like Him (1 John 3:1–3).

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

While we do not know how we will see God the Father and the Holy Spirit in heaven, we know that we will dwell in their presence forever. This is what makes heaven amazing—to be in God’s presence where there is nothing evil, sinful, or hurtful. It could be that, in our resurrected, glorified bodies, we will be able to see what is now invisible to us. Perhaps our "eyes will be opened," as were those of Elisha's servant (2 Kings 6:17), and we will be able to see the Father and the Spirit. "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face" (1 Corinthians 13:12). Or it could be that Matthew 5:8 and Revelation 22:4 refer to our future beholding of God the Son in all His glory (cf. Revelation 1:9–18). One day, all who have trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of sins will see God and be with Him for eternity. Until then, we can see the things of this world with His perspective and seek to know Him more fully—to know His heart, obey His commands, and reflect Him to the world.

UNDERSTAND

• In heaven, we will be in God’s presence, but how we will see the Father and Holy Spirit is unclear.
• Jesus reveals the Father, and the redeemed will one day see God in His glory.
• Until we are in heaven, believers are called to deepen their relationship with God and reflect His love.

REFLECT

• How does the promise of one day seeing God in His glory influence the way you live today?
• What are some ways you can deepen your relationship with God while waiting for eternity?
• How do you reflect God's love to those around you, knowing that we are called to live in light of our future with Him?

ENGAGE

• What does it mean to "see God" in the context of the Bible?
• How does understanding the invisibility of God the Father and the Holy Spirit impact your view of their presence in our lives today?
• What are some ways we can begin to live with a perspective that reflects our future hope of being with God in heaven?