Have you ever wondered what does God look like? It’s probably the earliest question we ask in Sunday School, and many of us never get an answer that really makes sense. Alternatively, some of us got dumbed-down answers (like being told that God is a person with a big white beard up in the clouds somewhere) that as adults we realize don’t quite work. Fortunately, the Bible does give us some direct answers concerning the appearance of God.
The question, what does God look like, should inspire and encourage us to look more like Him!
The Bible talks about God’s characteristics and traits in a variety of places. There are two particular points the Bible makes about what God looks like that are important to understand:
First, God is spirit. Verses like Deuteronomy 4:15-19 note that God can appear like a mountain of fire and differs from idols that are designed to look like human beings. John 4:24 boldly states “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 1 Timothy 1:17 refers to him as the “the King eternal, immortal, invisible.” This indicates that although God can appear in various forms including human form (more on that later), he has no basic physical form.
"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:27)
"You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." (Exodus 33:20)
"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:24)
Although God the Father is spirit, the Bible talks about Jesus being “the image of the invisible God,” (Colossians 1:15-19). Some theologians have suggested that when God appeared to Abraham in Genesis 18, it was Jesus in a pre-incarnate form.
We aren’t told much about what Jesus looks like either, although one of the Messianic prophecies, Isaiah 53 says that “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him” (Isaiah 53:2). We do however see what God is like from Jesus’ example. He is God’s representative on earth, and through belief in him, we gain the ability to become more like Christ and therefore nearer to God.
Rather than providing concrete physical imagery such as eyes, ears, nose, Scripture's depiction of what God looks like emphasizes his majesty, power, and divine nature.
In Ezekiel 1:26-28 and Revelation 1:14-16 we see descriptions that are not meant to provide a literal portrait of God but rather to convey His attributes and the awe-inspiring nature of His presence. They use rich symbolism to communicate His holiness, majesty, and omnipotence.
In Ezekiel 1:26-28, the prophet Ezekiel describes a remarkable vision of God’s glory:
“And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.”
Ezekiel’s vision is rich with imagery:
In Revelation 1:14-16, the apostle John provides a striking description of Jesus Christ in His glorified form:
“His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.”
John’s vision conveys several powerful symbols:
As you can see, Scripture uses many human characteristics to help us better describe God, a technique called anthropomorphism. In the Bible, anthropomorphism is extensively used to depict God. Since God's true essence is beyond human comprehension, the Bible employs human traits and behaviors to make Him more relatable and understandable. Here are a few ways anthropomorphism is applied in biblical descriptions of God:
Since God is a spirit has no physical form, that raises the obvious question, “How can we know that God exists?” and just as important "what are the ways he appears to us?" There are many arguments for the existence of God, different proofs that people have put forward. Probably the most basic ones are these three:
Psalm 19:1 says that “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Similarly, Romans 1:20 says that “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” So, in some way, the natural world, with its intricate details and balance, provides proof that there is something bigger than us at work in this world.
Some theologians have suggested we all are born with a sense that there must be something out there, a God to find and pursue. John Calvin used the term sensus divinitatis (“sense of the divine”) to describe this sense. This may be up for debate, but it sounds similar to what the Bible says in Romans 2:14-15 about a sense of morality being written on people’s hearts. If we have an inherent sense of morality inside, then that leads to the question, “where does this sense of morality come from?” Similarly, if we feel an innate sense there is something else out there, that raises the question, “What is this sense for? Did something put it there?”
At a certain point, we find that Jesus is the biggest proof of God’s existence. The more we try to understand what Jesus did and who Jesus was, the more we will be confronted with a simple fact: he claimed to be God. Specifically, he claimed to be the Son of Man, a term used in Daniel 7:3 to describe the Messiah. He claimed that before Abraham was born, he was born (John 8:58). When the Sanhedrin asked him if he was the Messiah, Jesus replied, “I am… and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mark 14:62). Jesus repeatedly (although sometimes guardedly and only in the right place and the right time) claimed to be God’s son. As C.S. Lewis memorably put it in a chapter of Mere Christianity titled “A Shocking Alternative,” the fact Jesus claimed to be God means we can only see him in three ways:
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher… Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.”
God is neither male nor female in the human sense because God is a spiritual being without a physical body. The nature of God transcends human categories of gender. In the Bible, God is described with characteristics that encompass both traditionally male and female qualities, such as strength, compassion, love, and nurturing. These descriptions help to convey the fullness of God's nature, which includes a range of attributes beyond human gender distinctions.
In the Scriptures, male pronouns like "He," "Him," and "Father" are predominantly used to refer to God. This usage is largely rooted in the historical and cultural context of the time when the Bible was written. In ancient societies, male figures often represented authority and leadership, and these terms helped convey God's sovereignty and relational roles in ways that people could understand. However, it's important to recognize that these pronouns are not meant to limit or define God by human gender standards but to aid in our understanding of His divine nature and relationship with humanity.
According to Scripture, no one has ever seen God in His full, unmediated glory. Passages like Exodus 33:20 indicate that seeing God's face would be overwhelming and beyond human capacity, as God tells Moses, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Similarly, John 1:18 states, "No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known," highlighting that while God's essence remains unseen, Jesus has revealed Him to humanity.
However, the Bible does describe instances where people have encountered manifestations of God, known as theophanies. A theophany is a visible or tangible manifestation of God, often appearing in a form that humans can perceive and interact with, such as the burning bush in Exodus 3:2-6, or the appearance of God to Abraham in Genesis 18. These encounters provide glimpses of God's presence and character without fully revealing His infinite nature.
In the end, the question of what God looks like invites us into a deeper, more meaningful exploration of understanding who God is. While we may not have a clear, physical image, the rich descriptions in the Bible offer us glimpses into God's character and presence. These images help us connect with God on a personal level, feeling His love, power, and wisdom in ways we can understand.
So, rather than focusing on a concrete picture, let’s embrace the mystery and beauty of the ways God is revealed to us. It's in the awe-inspiring visions, the tender metaphors, and the profound truths that we find a God who is both majestic and intimately close, guiding us, loving us, and inviting us into a deeper relationship with Him.
For further reading:
Do We Know What God Was Doing Before He Created the Universe?
What Are the Most Important Things to Understand about the Nature of God?
Do We Strive for God’s Justice or Our Own?
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