Историк Джерри Хопкинс призывает верующих видеть Бога через Его Слово и воплощение в Иисусе Христе

Hopkins: Seeing God Published 5:15 am Tuesday, August 25, 2026 As men of prayer, the ancient prophets knew the Lord God. They had visions and talked with God. When we begin to take prayer seriously, God begins to take us seriously. This is the mark of true revival — a people yearning to see God, to hear Him, to know Him, to talk with Him, to have His blessing upon their lives. Read what the Prophet Habakkuk says about seeing God. What did the prophet see in God? We can only see what God reveals to us. We are finite; He is infinite. All there is in God has been revealed to us in Jesus Christ and that which is given in the written word of God. Paul sets out what we can see about God through Jesus, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Col. 1:15-20). Paul goes on to say, “For in Him (Christ Jesus) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily: And you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power” (Colossians 2:9-10). Our finite minds cannot comprehend all of God, but we can know God through Jesus Christ. God is greater than what we think of Him. He is far more than what we can conceive or see. But He has revealed Himself fully as scripture says in Christ. He has given us a perfect revelation of Himself in Jesus and through the written word, the Bible. What the prophet realized here, we can certainly realize. This we can be sure — that we can experience all that the people in the past have experienced if we come to God through Jesus Christ and in the power of His Holy Spirit. The prophets met God, and God spoke to them and through them to us. This is the purpose of God’s Word. Listen to the importance of Hebrews chapter 1 and verses 1-4: “God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (Hebrews 1:1-4). We can see God in His creation, in His Word and through the Holy Spirit’s revelation of Him in our minds and hearts. The prophet Habakkuk met God. This is what he said about that meeting. Habakkuk first states that God is real. He is present. “God came” (Hab. 3:3a) is a wonderful expression. Here is the incarnation in its historical reality given through Habakkuk. God is not removed from us. He is the God who is here. He is intimately and imminently involved in His creation. This is the reason God is so real to me — He acts and speaks. He does something and says things to accomplish the redemption of His creation. He comes in time to bring judgment and justice. He came in the flesh (John 1:1-4; 14-18; 14:6-12). This is why Paul was so emphatic in Romans about God’s redemptive acts in Christ. Paul wrote, “What may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Rom. 1:19-21). If we are to see God, we must believe in Him. “He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). If we don’t believe in Him, we won’t see Him. It is that simple and clear. The prophet believed in God. He had difficulty believing that God was going to do what He said he was going to do. But he saw things about God that he left us in this book inspired by God for our consideration. Let us read the word of God that we might see God working and witnessing in our lives. That we might thereby find truth and embrace it and live it in God’s presence and power. Once again, I ask you to join me in seeing God in His word and in the world around us. — Jerry Hopkins is a historian and retired professor. Send your thoughts to [email protected] or by snail mail to Dr. Jerry Hopkins, P. O. Box 1363, Marshall, TX 75671.