God Revealed

No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father,

He has explained Him. (Joh 1:18)

    Jesus Christ is the only visibly revealed member of the Trinity. The Greek word translated “explain” in the New American Standard Version and “revealed” in the King James is exegeomai. It means “to draw out in narrative; to unfold in teaching; to recount, declare, reveal.”

    Every Old Testament appearance of God was the preincarnate Christ. The second Person of the Trinity appeared on earth in bodily form, described in some cases as “the Angel of the Lord” (Gen 16:7–13, Gen 22:11–18, Gen 31:11–13, Gen 48:15–16; Exo 3:2–14; Jdg 6:11–23,Jdg 13:2–22), in other cases as “a man” (Gen 18:1–33, Gen 32:24–32; Jos 5:13–15; Dan 3:24–25), and in some as simply the “God of Israel,” the Lord (Exo 24:9–11).

    At times He appeared in a form called “the glory of the Lord.” He was the “pillar of cloud” and “pillar of fire” that led and defended the Jews throughout their wilderness wanderings (Exo 13:21–22, Exo 14:19, Exo 16:7, Exo 16:10, Exo 24:16–17, Exo 33:18–23). He was the luminous cloud which rested over the ark of the covenant, between the golden cherubs, in the holy of holies, in the tabernacle, and later in the temple (Exo 25:22, Exo 33:9–10, Exo 40:34–38; Lev 9:23, Lev 26:11–12; Num 16:42; 1Ki 8:11; 2Ch 5:13–14).

    The term “Shekinah Glory” or simply “Shekinah,” from the Hebrew shaken, which means “to dwell,” came to be used by Jews to describe these visible manifestations of the presence of God. Jesus Christ is the Shekinah Glory. With the incarnation, this glory entered humanity. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Joh 1:14).