Do you ever have a face to face with God moment?
A day or so ago I was having a little conversation with God. I was praying to get a better understanding of my spiritual identity as the image and likeness of God and what that really means. It turned into a little face to face with God moment.
For many years I’ve been working and praying to get a better idea of who I am spiritually, independent of how the physical characteristics of height, weight, age, strength, the color of my skin, eyes, and hair, would define me. And I have gotten much better at not comparing myself to others based on these outward appearances.
In fact, way back in 2020 I did an episode called You Are the Image and Likeness of God. What the Heck Does That Mean? (Episode 37)
If you haven’t listened to it, I think you’ll find it helpful.
Moses talked directly with God
So, here I was the other day talking to God about all this, thinking of Moses when he asked God
Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” Exodus 33:18 NIV
They were having a conversation very similar to mine. Moses was trying to make sure God would not abandon him in the task of bringing the Children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses wanted to make sure he was in God’s favor.
In effect, Moses was wanting to make sure he was worthy of this calling and felt that if God would show His glory to him, it would be proof that he had found favor in God’s eyes as being worthy for the job at hand.
Now the interesting thing in this story is that God replies,
And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.” Exodus 33:19 NIV
But then He adds
“But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.” Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.” Exodus 33:20-23 NIV
My question to God
I was thinking of this in the back of my mind and decided to ask God a different question. I have asked many times for God to show me all His glory and I have encouraged you to do the same.
But that morning I asked God to show me who I am, to show me my true spiritual identity as His child, made in His image and likeness.
I said to God:
Show me my spiritual identity.
And this is what God said to me:
Look at Me and you will see it. Look Me in the face, James, and you will see who and what you are. The more you know who I am, the more you will know who you are. Look Me in the face.
What does that even mean? How do you look at God in the face?
My face to face with God moment
As best as I could, I endeavored to obey the spirit of God’s request. I did not see any kind of actual face or form, but in my mind I directed my gaze directly at God.
Now, a couple of weeks ago I did an episode called You Are in the Presence of God (Episode 308). And I’ll have that link in the show notes. It’s one thing to know you’re in God’s presence. It’s another thing altogether to look into God’s eyes face to face.
When you look at a person in the face it can be for all sorts of reasons: to show you’re not afraid, to defy an unjust word or action, to rebuke, or on a more positive note, to love, to respect, and to be supportive.
And when someone looks you in the eye, you can tell a lot about them, from whether they didn’t have enough sleep last night or that they’ve been crying, to whether they’re afraid, telling a lie, or in love with you. Their eyes say a lot.
So here was God telling me to look into His eyes. Just take a moment to think about what that’s like. Take a moment to do it, to look into God’s eyes.
When you are face to face with God
Think what you will see when you are face to face with God, your creator. When you look at a friend in the eye, if you look closely you can see your own reflection in their eyes. When you look into God’s eyes, you see your reflection. You see yourself the way God sees you. You see your true identity as the image and likeness of God.
I think that’s what God meant when He said to me:
Look Me in the face, James, and you will see who and what you are. The more you know who I am, the more you will know who you are.
As I said, there was no literal face or form I saw and looked at. It was more about being in God’s presence and trying not to hide anything from Him.
Being face to face with God is about standing in His presence and seeing your value reflected in His eyes.
When I’m face to face with God in this way, I feel His love for me. I feel seen. I feel understood. I feel forgiven. I feel cleansed. I feel worthy. I feel whole. I feel valued.
My priorities in life are much clearer. The things the world thinks are important fade into insignificance. The things of the Spirit are much more appealing.
Can you see God’s face and live?
Now you may be thinking: Well, hey James, this all sounds great. But didn’t you just quote the Bible saying that no one can see God’s face and live?
Well, yes I did. But I don’t think that verse means what most people think it means.
There are a number of times when the Bible talks about people seeing or talking with God face to face. When Jacob had an encounter with God,
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Genesis 32:30 NIV
The word Peniel, means the face of God.
Moses also had a very close relationship with God.
The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Exodus 33:11 NIV
So what does God mean when he says, “…no one may see me and live.”?
I’ve heard and read all sorts of different ideas from various Bible scholars on this question. In light of the fact that Jacob and Moses both had face to face with God moments, and did not die but grew closer to God because of it, maybe what dies is not the person but the actions and attitudes that are not pleasing to God.
Being face to face with God spiritually empowers you
Paul tells the church in Corinth,
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
When you are face to face with God, the things that aren’t part of your original spiritual identity as the child of God made in His image and likeness melt away.
So when the Bible talks about seeing God or being face to face with God, it doesn’t mean this in some anthropomorphic sense. It’s more of a metaphor for being in the conscious presence of God and not avoiding Him.
What if you don’t want to look God in the face?
But you may be thinking: That’s just it James. When I’ve done something wrong, I don’t want to look God in the face. I do try to avoid coming into His presence.
Well, that’s exactly how Adam and Eve felt after they had eaten the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden. They didn’t want to be in God’s presence, and certainly not look Him in the face.
But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:9-13 NIV
Not only do they hide from God, but Adam actually blames his wife and God for his own sins. He wasn’t accepting personal responsibility for what he had done wrong.
Eve did a little better job responding to God’s question. She wasn’t actually blaming the serpent. It was more that she accepted some degree of responsibility for having been deceived by him.
How would have things been different if they had gone directly to God to confess their sins instead of hiding from Him? There’s no way to know, but it’s something to think about.
When you’re face to face with God, be honest
When you come into God’s presence, don’t blame anyone for your sins or mistakes. Be completely honest with yourself and with God. Accept responsibility for what you did.
Recently I saw a video on social media of a big mess made by one of three dogs in a home. The owner, the person taking the video, asked the dogs, “Who did this?” Two of the dogs just stood there. The guilty dog made himself obvious because he hung his head, would not look up at his owner, and left the room with his tail between his legs.
He wouldn’t look his owner in the face because he knew he was guilty and was perhaps afraid of being punished. I’ve seen several videos like this on the Internet. And they’re really pretty amusing.
The point is, if you feel unworthy, full of shame and guilt, the last thing you want to do is look into the face of God. You may be assuming He’ll be angry with you and punish you.
That’s why Adam and Eve hid in the trees.
God’s love and forgiveness
But nothing could be further from the truth. When you’ve done something wrong, big or small, don’t avoid coming into God’s presence. Don’t avoid looking God in the face. Don’t wait for Him to come looking for you. Come to Him first. Look directly in His eyes and you will see His love, grace, and forgiveness beaming out at you.
God encourages you to do this.
“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other. Isaiah 45:22 NKJV
God is always the solution to every problem you have and the source of forgiveness for every sin you commit. Why would you turn away or run away or hide from the only One who can truly help you?
So, have a piece of humble pie, come stand in the presence of God, and look Him in the face.
Jesus spoke directly to God
If anyone in the Bible epitomized being in God’s presence and being face to face with God, it’s Jesus.
At one point Jesus explains to his disciples,
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19 NIV
To see what God was doing, Jesus had to be in God’s presence. The Gospels don’t specifically mention that Jesus spoke face to face with God the way Moses did, but it’s pretty clear from everything Jesus said and did that he had that kind of intimate relationship with his heavenly Father.
And throughout his ministry he encouraged his disciples, and anyone who would listen and was ready to understand, to have that same kind of relationship with God he did.
The disciples didn’t always understand
But even the disciples didn’t always get it. They had doubts and fears at times, just like you and I do.
On the night before he was crucified, the disciples could feel the uncertainty and tension in the air. Jesus was doing all he could to comfort and prepare them for what was going to happen in just a few hours.
“If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John 14:7-9 NIV
Philip and the others didn’t completely understand. Jesus had showed them exactly who God was and what He was like. Jesus only did what he saw God do. He only said what God told him to say. He only did God’s will, not his own.
Later the disciples would probably go back and put all these puzzle pieces together but at the time they didn’t see how all these things fit together.
When Jesus said whoever had seen him had seen the Father, he didn’t mean he was the Father. And he didn’t mean “to see” in the literal sense. The Pharisees saw Jesus over a period of three years, but it didn’t help them see God any clearer.
Substitute the word “understand” for the word “see” and listen to Jesus’s words: Anyone who understands me understands the Father.
Jesus was an open window showing the true nature, character, and essence of God by the way he lived his life.
Jesus spoke face to face with God
Let’s come back to this idea that Jesus spoke face to face with God. There are many times when the Bible tells us Jesus went off to pray. Most of the time we don’t know what those prayers were. Sometimes you can read between the lines and imagine what they might have been about based on circumstances directly before or after those prayers.
But in Chapter 17 of John, we get to be a fly on the wall while Jesus is talking to God.
You can see the intimate relationship Jesus has with his heavenly Father. If you haven’t read that chapter in a while, I encourage you to go over it in the next day or so if possible. It gives a crystal clear picture of how Jesus prayed and it will give you some ideas about how you can pray more effectively and with more authority and humility.
What will you talk about when you’re face to face with God?
Now, this idea of talking face to face with God was probably not on the top of your to-do list. It’s probably not something you think about very often or even consider as a possibility.
But I want to encourage you to think more often about it than you have in the past and accept the fact that you can look God in the eye and talk with Him face to face. And again, I don’t mean this in a literal way.
Jesus says,
God is Spirit. John 4:24 NLT
That means God doesn’t have a physical face you can see with your physical eyes. It means you can see God, you can discern God’s divine nature, you can understand God, with your spiritual eyes, your spiritual discernment.
You can talk face to face with God at any moment for any reason.
You might have something on your mind. You might feel the need to repent. You might have a question. You might just want to express gratitude and tell God you love Him.
But you don’t have to have an agenda. You can just ask God what He thinks, what He sees, what He’s doing, how He loves, or what He wants you to do.
And please don’t compare your experience with what happened to Jacob or Moses or me. You have a direct relationship with God and He will talk to you in just the way you need.
Take some time right now if possible, or sometime in the next day or so, and as often as you think about it, to stand in your creator’s presence, to look in His eyes, and talk face to face with God.
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Photo credit: Daniil Silantev
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Exodus 33:18 NIV
18 Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
Exodus 33:19 NIV
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence.”
Exodus 33:20-23 NIV
20 “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.
22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
Genesis 32:30 NIV
20 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
Exodus 33:11 NIV
11 The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Genesis 3:9-13 NIV
9 But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
Isaiah 45:22 NKJV
22 “Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.
John 5:19 NIV
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
John 14:7-9 NIV
7 “If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ”
John 4:24 NLT
24 God is Spirit.
