Face to Face With God
Introduction
“And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” (Exodus 33:20)
Face to face with God – is that a good position to be in? Exodus 33:20 says “no one may see me and live” suggesting a danger to anyone who sees God’s face. But is that the true meaning?
It sounds like a slight variation on the idiom “If I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.” meaning something is so secret it cannot be revealed or if you somehow learned the secret you would have to die to prevent it from spreading further. Does it mean that God would kill anyone who saw His face? What about these verses?
“And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” (Exodus 33:11)
“And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (Genesis 32:30)
Speaking face to face is an idiomatic expression for speaking “in the presence of” or “intimately.” Here is more of the context of Exodus 33:20:
“And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.” (Exodus 33:18-23)
“Cover thee with my hand” suggests protection. “Face and back can be understood to signify degrees of glory. God was allowing Moses to perceive God’s glory https://characterofgod.org/glory-definition/ or character but only to a certain degree. It may have nothing to do with literal “back parts” of God.
The Hebrew word for “face” in the Old Testament is often translated “presence.” When we seek the face of God, we are seeking His presence. The call to seek God’s face was issued to His people because they had abandoned Him and needed to return to Him.
To seek God’s face is to seek His presence, His favor, His blessing, an understanding of His character.
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
“Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.” (Psalms 105:4)
So, seek him with prayer and supplications, with repentance and early or as a matter of priority.
Face to face with God – Not Merely Physical Proximity
He is always (at last potentially) near:
“Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” (James 4:8)
“The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.” (Psalms 145:18)
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:” (Isaiah 55:6)
“And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)
To seek His face may refer to seeking to get to know Him, to understand His character.
What does “You can’t see my face … and live” mean?
To help understand that, let’s consider this verse:
“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)
God’s statement to Adam was one of two things:
- he would die from the fruit that day – a warning (of a natural poison)
- God would kill them for eating it that day – a threat (of imposed punishment)
Neither happened. Apparently, a more literal translation would be “dying thou shalt die.” In other words, a process would begin resulting in his death at some future time. Genesis 2:17 is describing a long-term process as is this verse:
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
If we were to once see the glory of the Lord would we be suddenly changed into His image? No, it is a process that happens over time. What is that process? It is described in detail on this page: https://characterofgod.org/ephesians-5-26/. It is also mentioned in these verses:
“That he might sanctify and cleanse it [the church] with the washing of water by the word,” (Ephesians 5:26)
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)
How does God do that? Is it like a heart transplant – you get put out on the operating table and wake up with a new heart? No, the mind (the Bible uses the term “heart”) changes only gradually.
Going back to “You can’t see my face … and live”
If it was a similar long-term process being described what would that mean? How would it work? Here are three possibilities:
- It did not mean no man ever because there are examples of seeing God and living.
- It was a reference to the Father and not the Son of God in human form.
- The conscience of sinful man (in the uncleansed state) cannot endure a full revelation of the glory/character of God in contrast to his own sinful nature.
Examples of seeing God and living
“And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” (Genesis 32:30)
Peniel refers to “the face of God” or “facing God.” “Seen” is the Hebrew “ra’ah” (H7200); the same word as in Exo 33:20.
“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” (Isaiah 6:1)
Isaiah said he saw the Lord but it had a very profound effect on him:
“Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:5)
It was a reference to the Father and not the Son
“No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:18)
“Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.” (John 6:46)
“No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:12)
So what did Jesus mean when He said:?
“Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (John 14:9)
Whatever you have seen of me, whatever you comprehend of my character, my Father is the same.
I have heard it explained like this:
The Father is the source of all. The Son is the channel through Whom God blesses mankind and also the channel for man to approach the Father.
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)
The conscience of sinful man cannot endure a full revelation of the glory/character of God
As in the story of Moses seeing God’s glory, man can understand to a degree the glory or character of God – represented by God’s “back parts.” But a full revelation of what God is like (“face to face”) would be too painful to a sinful nature and guilty conscience.
“And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:” (Revelation 6:16)
Our understanding of God and His character is clouded by preconceived ideas, tradition and wrong teachings:
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)
Seeing “through a glass, darkly” is having only a partial view like Moses seeing only the “back parts.” As man’s heart is cleansed and he learns more of God by beholding Him as He is, there is a change in man:
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
Eventually, we will be able to encounter God face to face “even as also I am known.”
But to those who, rather than seeking God’s face, have been ignoring and shunning him, a full revelation of God’s presence will be terrifying because their own consciences will be sorely afflicting them.
“The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:” (Revelation 14:10)
Learn the true meaning of the Lake of Fire experience here: https://characterofgod.org/resources#lake-of-fire
Seek God’s Face
But aren’t we told to seek God’s face?
“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” (1 Chronicles 16:11)
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)
“Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.” (Psalms 105:4)
“I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.” (Hosea 5:15)
This is referring to seeking a relationship with God, even a friendship as Moses had:
“And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” (Exodus 33:11)
Face to Face with God Summary
Exodus 33:20 is not a threat by a God Who sees Himself as so holy that anyone who sees His face must die. Rather, we must take into account the effects of what we behold on a long-term basis as discussed earlier in regard to 2 Cor 3:18.
However, we must also be careful to be seeking the face of the right God. Most people have such a wrong concept of God’s character that worshiping (valuing and emulating His attributes as they understand them) their perception of God will not change their characters for the better. A God of punishment and destruction and revenge is the wrong god. That image of God can only result in fear even if subconsciously.
This website is dedicated to sharing the truth about God’s character of love. See this video which points out the risk of Christians being involved in idolatry: https://youtu.be/Ta9N-ck-VKQ
Watch a video of a group study of this page:
Return from Face to Face with God to the Home Page
