What does God look like?

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Type 'God' into Google and you get a lot of images. Most depict God as a large man in the sky with a white beard. But what does God actually look like? We know that God made us in His image, and that He has a face (Exodus 33:20 "But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.") We also know that God appeared to certain men in the Bible, such as Abraham in Genesis 18 (Genesis 18:1 "Then the Lord appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day."). We have brief descriptions of His appearance and might (Exodus 24:9-11 "Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity."). We are also told of a description of the glory of God in Ezekiel 1:28 "Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God." But, beyond the physical descriptions of the Lord and the things He uses to show Himself such as through a cloud or through fire, the best picture we have of GOD is the 10 commandments.

The 10 commandments are a perfect picture of GOD, because GOD is perfect and so are the commandments.

1. Have no other gods before me
2. Do not bow down to any graven image.
3. Do not blaspheme (use God's name as a swear word)
4. Honour the Sabbath
5. Honour your Father and your Mother
6. Do not murder
7. Do not commit adultery
8. Do not steal
9. Do not lie
10. Do not covet your neighbour's house 

God gave these laws to the Israelites to show them His standard of perfection. That's the score - live by them all your life and you're in. You will be able to enter into the presence of God and live with Him in eternity. Don't live by them - just break one, and you are no longer perfect. If you are no longer perfect then you won't be able to come into the presence of the Lord your God. Why not, you say?

Deuteronomy 4:24 tells us that God is like a 'consuming fire'. That is how perfect and holy He is. If we were to enter into this consuming fire as sinners we would be instantly burnt up. Because sin cannot be in the presence of perfection. For the same reason that you wouldn't wear your new white shirt to play in the mud - the two don't mix. 

So that's the deal. Keep all of these commandments and you are saved (or in fact you wouldn't need saving because you are in fact perfect). But, I'm sure I don't have to ask you the big question..... we all know that at some time in our lives, we have all broken at least one of these commandments (I submit to you that we have all broken every single one, but save that for another day), and the Bible confirms this for us. Romans 3:23 states "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." So we know that God gave us these commandments to set a standard, His standard. And that nobody can keep them. As a result we can't enter into the presence of God. 

What then, is the point in these commandments if they are impossible to keep? Well that is exactly the point of them. The commandments are there as a moral law to follow, but they are also there as a mirror. A mirror to show us our sin. Just as a mirror reflects your imperfections before you put your make-up on in the morning, the 10 commandments show us a reflection of our sinful selves. That is the purpose of the 10 commandments; to show us our sin and our need for a saviour. Galatians 3:24-25 states "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come we are no longer under a tutor."

The 10 commandments are a true picture of God Almighty, and it is this picture that shows us our need for a Saviour. For we cannot possibly have hope in securing our own salvation through anything we do because, as we have all realised, we have all broken God's standard and fallen short. Romans 6:23 states "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The only way we can be saved is through Christ Jesus, because He is the only one who has ever kept the 10 commandments. He is the only one who was ever able to meet God's required standard. We must put our trust not in ourselves, not in our own efforts, but in somebody who has already done what was needed to be done; the Lord Jesus Christ.

Have you broken the commandments? Have you fallen short of God's glory? Have you taken the required steps to make yourself right according to God's standard. Pray to the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:9 states "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgives us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

-BACChristian

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