“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king:
for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”
(Hebrews 11:27)
Moses was not like other men. God met with him in ways most have never known. The burning bush, the smoke and thunder on Sinai, the pillar of cloud at the tabernacle’s door—all were signs of God’s personal engagement with him. And yet, Exodus 33:20 makes it plain: “no man can see me and live.” So how can Hebrews declare that Moses “endured, as seeing him who is invisible”? At first glance, this seems contradictory. But it is not.
Thomas Wilson answers wisely: “God being an invisible Spirit, makes Himself seen to His faithful ones and visible (as it were) in His word, sacraments, works, and creatures.” There’s the key. God does not reveal Himself physically, only through appointed means. He cannot be seen as He is in the fulness of His divine majesty, for He is incomprehensible in His infinite excellence. Yet He can still be “seen” spiritually, sacramentally, and experientially by those who live by faith.
God has made Himself visible in various forms throughout redemptive history. He appeared in the cloud by day and fire by night (Exod. 13:21), in brightness and glory (Ezek. 1:26–29), even in human form (Gen. 18:3). But the fullest bodily revelation was in Jesus Christ, “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16), who said, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9).
Still, this is only one aspect of how God may be seen. There are two spiritual dimensions: understanding and faith. Understanding allows all men, even the heathen, to perceive the evidence of God’s existence in creation (Rom. 1:20). This general revelation leaves them without excuse. But it is only the eye of faith that beholds God as Father and Redeemer. This is what Hebrews 11:27 refers to. Faith allowed Moses to endure, not because he literally saw God, but because the reality of God’s presence, favor, and power was more real to him than Pharaoh’s wrath.
This kind of sight emboldens a believer against fear. The invisible becomes a fortress.[1] This vision can only come by the Spirit applying truth to the heart. God reveals Himself in His holy ordinances … His word, sacraments, prayer, and praise. In these spaces the invisible becomes visible through the eyes of the Spirit. Believers, aided by the Spirit, “behold as in a glass the glory of the Lord” and are changed by it (2 Cor. 3:18).
Even now, the saints may experience glimpses of God’s favor, those inward sights that lift the heart, embolden the will, and strengthen the soul. And this sight does not end at death. It continues. For one day, faith shall give way to sight. The saints will behold their God in glory and be made like Christ (1 John 3:2). This is the beatific vision, promised and secured by Christ himself.
God is invisible, yes. But to the eye of faith, He is never absent.
Contemplations:
- Seeing God in His appointed means. Lord, being able to see You in Your word, sacraments, and devotional worship and prayer makes me careful to please You, like Enoch who was careful to walk with You (Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5).
- Boldness from divine sight. Such a sight of You emboldens me against all that man can do and helps me endure anything (Heb. 11:27). For by seeing You I am assured to have sufficient assistance and seasonable deliverance.
- Seeing by understanding and faith. To see You through the eyes of spiritual understanding and faith encourages and comforts me both in life and in death itself as I consider the case of Stephen (Acts 7:55-56). For I am assured of a blessed resurrection.
- The beatific vision. In the world to come, when the saints see You in all Your glory, it will fill their souls with all the contentment, joy, and delight that possibly can be (Ps. 16:11 and 17:15). This experience is described as a beatific vision in Jesus – one in which the sweetness, the fullness, the happiness of it no tongue can express and no heart can conceive.
Prayer (Confession)
Lord, I confess that I do not see You as I should. You are present always, yet I live too often as if You were distant or disengaged. You speak through Your word, and I let the pages lie closed. You appear in the sacraments, and yet I let my thoughts wander. You draw near in prayer, and I rush through or speak without engaging my heart. You fill the heavens and the earth, and yet I treat Your presence like a whisper I can ignore.
Forgive me for walking by sight instead of faith. Forgive the doubt that dims my soul’s vision. I have let lesser things crowd out the beauty of beholding You. I have looked for comfort in what is seen, in what is felt, in what is easy. But faith is not built on those things. You have shown Yourself to Your people through Your word, through Your works, and through the Spirit’s presence but I have not treasured these sights.
Cleanse me of the sin of forgetfulness. Cleanse me of unbelief. You are the God who reveals Yourself not only in fire but also in whispers. Not only in the clouds, but also in the opened Scriptures. Restore my faith so I might walk with You as Moses walked. So I might endure as one who sees You, the invisible King.
Where I have feared man, let Your nearness drive that fear away. Where I have grown cold, let Your presence ignite love again. Where I have drifted into routine, shake me awake with the wonder that You—eternal, holy, and invisible—would dwell with one like me.
Let me not waste Your revelations. Help me worship and serve with eyes open and suffer with eyes fixed on You. Let Your presence be the air I breathe, the light I walk by and the hope I cling to. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References for Hebrews 11:27:
1 Tim. 1:17, Hebrews 11:1, Col. 1:15, 1 Tim. 6:16.
[1] “God is of a pure and spiritual Nature. To be a spirit implies, 1. Invisibility. 2. Efficacy and activity, Ezek. 1:20. 3 Simplicity. God is invisible, Luke 24:39. Col. 1:15. John 1:18.” Edward Leigh, A Systeme or Body of Divinity, (London: A.M. for William Lee, 1654).
