Thursday 5 March 2009

No edges

God is invisible:

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1.20)
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. (Colossians 1.15)
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1.17)
who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. (1 Timothy 6.16)
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. (Hebrews 11.27)
At one level '...all it means is the God cannot be seen and it is therefore a purely negative term. We might equally well say that atoms are invisible as are leprechauns but this does not make God like either of them. The Bible does not say that God is invisible because he is too small to be seen, or because he is fictitious - quite the opposite. There is no general characteristic of 'invisibility' which can be regarded as an attribute of God.'

'Nevertheless, God's invisibility if fundamental to the biblical witness and very important theologically, because it argues against any form of idolatry. To picture God, physically or mentally, is to limit him and this is a denial of his essential character.'

(Bray, quoted in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, p 516)

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