I've heard a number of people lately refer to the fact that we cannot see God and live. There are plenty of scripture passages to back this up, including:
Exodus 33:20 - But He [the LORD] said, "You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
John 1:18 - No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
1 John 4:12 - No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
There are, however, other passages in which people do actually see God - not Jesus in his human body, but God in his glory. Among them are:
Exodus 24:9-11 - Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. ... But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
Numbers 12:8 - With him [Moses] I [the LORD] speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord.
Many prophets who saw God on his throne (Is 6:1; Ezek 1:26-28; Dan 7:9; Rev 4:2).
Not to mention those who saw God or the angel of the LORD and thought they would die but didn't (Genesis 32:30; Judges 6:22-23; 13:22)
Clearly the common claim "No one can see God and live" isn't 100% accurate. Nor was it intended by God, when he said it to Moses, to be an absolute, unbreakable truth. It may be a general principle, but God overrides principles now and again.
- Jessie