Have you ever had an invisible friend? Some children talk openly and excitedly about their invisible friend. They even give him or her a name. When they meet their friend at the bottom of the garden, they feel they can confide in this person who never makes fun of them but simply listens. However, as they get older, they realise that other people think they are rather weird. They speak less and less about this invisible friend, before giving up on the idea altogether. Our modern, western world doesn’t cope well with people we can’t see, photograph, and post on Instagram.
This is a problem, because some of the most potent realities in our universe are invisible. God is an invisible king (1 Timothy 1:17). His divine attributes are invisible, yet paradoxically they are clear to see (Romans 1:20). How, we might ask, is that possible? Christ Jesus is the creator of all things, visible and invisible (Colossians 1:15-16). These invisible things include the armies of angels who are “ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14). The letter to the Hebrews tells us that Moses endured because he was “able to see Him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27).
How are we to endure in the face of attacks from an enemy we cannot see, namely Satan and the fallen angels who serve him? How are we to grapple with such an opponent? How are we to call upon our helper who is also invisible? How are we to help others stand firm if we lack the resources to show them “Him who is invisible”?
Our response is to urge others – and ourselves – to look to Christ because he is the Word made flesh. The apostle Paul tells us that Christ Jesus is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). Jesus assured his perplexed disciples that “whoever has seen me as seen the Father” (John 14:9). We do not see him now because he has ascended to the Father’s right hand, but we believe that his resurrection body is a physical body, just as real as ours, and that one day we will see him. We are blessed because we are among “those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Nevertheless, we know that one day we will see him. Indeed, “every eye will see him” (Revelation 1:17).
The apostle John tells us that this is not simply a future hope. As he worshipped on the miserable little island of Patmos John heard a voice. When we turned to see who was speaking, he saw seven golden lampstands and one like a son of man walking in the midst of them (Revelation 1:12-13). John describes his vision in symbolic language, but the reality he describes is the invisible reality of the risen Lord in the midst of his Church. Do we see him? How can we see him?
It may be that we need to stop and think about how we think about invisible things. Is it possible that, without realising it, we are held captive by a mindset which we have not really thought through, but which has enormous consequences? Do we assume that seeing is believing, and so conclude that what we cannot see is not worthy of belief? It may be that we don’t talk about invisible things because we worry that people will think we are naïve, superstitious or just crazy. Do we have room in our minds for the idea that the most profound realities in our universe are invisible?
It may also be that we read the Bible with a narrow focus on things that are visible. We follow the narrative because we can picture the people, places and events. Even if we have never visited the bible lands, we can follow the journeys of Abraham on a map. Yet we forget that Abraham set out not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). We can picture John the apostle on a rocky outcrop in the Aegean Sea but miss what he saw. We can identify the literary devices of metaphor and imagery, but do not take time to dwell on what they describe. As we read the Bible, we need to ask God to open our eyes to see the wonderful (literally, miraculous) things described in Scripture (Psalm 119:18).
It may well be that this narrow vision carries over into the way those of us who are preachers preach. As we expound a passage of Scripture we set the scene, unfold the narrative, explain the doctrines of the text and ground the message in real life application. Each of these is good and necessary. But even after we have done all these, our work is not complete. We then need to connect everything we have said to the unseen world of God and his power. We need to equip people to stand firm as they take part in the great spiritual battle that rages around us as the living God destroys the defeated dragon who lashes out at us. We need to show people the new world that will arise out of this great conflict. We need God’s help to speak spiritual words about spiritual things.
But first we need help to unseen things for ourselves. So, in conclusion, we can note two ways in which God helps us to see beyond the visible to the invisible. First of all, as we look at the visible creation around us, we see abundant evidence of an invisible creator. Paul tells us that God’s “his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in (or by means of) the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20). Note that God’s invisible attributes are seen in the beauty and order of the created world around us. Behind the visible beauty of this world is the greater, but invisible, beauty of its Creator.
Secondly, if we are to avoid the trap of mysticism and superstition, we fix our eyes on Christ Jesus who is the image of the invisible God. Even before he took human form when he was born in Bethlehem, he was the eternal Word and the perfect image of God. As the eternal Son, he possessed the very nature of God and displayed the infinite love and wisdom of the triune God. As we fix our eyes on him, we worship him; and as we worship him, he becomes more real and visible to us. By this living fellowship with him we are strengthened in our knowledge of “Him who is invisible.”
