¿Where is God?

Why doesn't God appear to mankind? Why does he not manifest himself so that everyone can see him and know with certainty that he exists? The Bible gives us the answer. 

The existence of God is one of the most controversial topics of debate today. Did we evolve by chance or were we created by a divine Being? If there were a God - particularly if He cared for those who believe in Him - then He would appear before mankind so that doubts of his existence would dissipate.

When human beings are angry and cursing God, why doesn't He answer them openly so that the carnal challenge is seen as something sinful and irrational? Why is it not manifested to mankind so that it does not continue to be deceived by the devil, whose influence leads human beings astray (2 Corinthians 4: 4; Revelation 12: 9)? What father would bring children into the world and then hide from them?

These questions have been asked for thousands of years. Wouldn't it be of great benefit to all mankind that God appeared and solved so many questions?

God is concealed

It may sound surprising but the Bible shows us that God is hiding from humanity. The prophet Isaiah records it in Isaiah 45:15: "Truly you are God who conceals you, God of Israel, that you save." Isaiah is recognizing that God is hiding from his elect. Why would he do that?

King David, a man according to the heart of God (Acts 13:22), lamented that he sometimes seemed not to find God in times of difficulty. In Psalm 10: 1 he said: "Why are you far away, O Eternal, And hide in the time of tribulation?" Again he wrote in Psalm 13: 1: “How long, Eternal? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?". We see later the same feeling in Psalm 89:46: “How long, oh Eternal? Will you hide forever? Will your anger burn like fire?

Why would God do something like that? Why not show up? Why is it so hard to find it? This is very confusing for both non-believers and believers.

Back to top

If we return to the moment when God created humanity, we see that initially He did appear before his new creation. In chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis, God communicated personally with Adam and Eve. God interacted with them in a very familiar environment, very similar to the way two individuals would converse today. God was present in the Garden of Eden and spoke openly with the first man and the first woman. Why wouldn't I do the same today?

God spoke directly and personally with Adam and Eve. He provided a wonderful environment and instructed them as a loving father. Part of their teaching was to warn them of eating from a particular tree that was in the Garden of Eden - the tree of the science of good and evil. Taking the fruit of that tree was going to result in the end of the blessings God was offering them and the eventual death. This tree represented a path of self-determination in which one's will was preferred instead of God's.

Adam and Eve gave in to the temptation of the snake and tasted the forbidden fruit of this tree. Under the influence of the adversary, they rejected the path that God wanted them to live — represented by the tree of life. Instead, they chose the path that would satisfy their own desires — the path of deciding for themselves what is good and what is bad, as represented by the forbidden tree. 

Who hides from who?

Let's see what we find later in Genesis 3: 8: “And they heard the voice of the Eternal God who was walking in the garden, in the air of the day; and the man and his wife hid from the presence of the Eternal God among the trees of the garden. ”

After committing sin, we see that God was looking for Adam and Eve. They were the ones who hid from God and were essentially saying, "Don't find us." They tried to hide from their creator. He was not hiding from them.

Sin had entered the world, and now a gap had opened. Free and innocent communication that had once been so natural and immediate had been corrupted by sin. God was no longer welcome in their lives as it once was.

As a result, the first man and the first woman were to be put out of the Garden of Eden because their minds and hearts had changed (Genesis 3:22). Humanity, as a whole, has followed the same path of eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Romans 5:12). Because of Satan's continued influence (Ephesians 2: 1-2), we do not want God to govern our lives (Romans 8: 7).

In Romans 3: 10-11, the apostle Paul wrote about what is in the hearts of all of us as humans: “There is no righteous, not even one; There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks God. ”

No man or woman has a mind converted by himself.

False worship

The Bible shows that even religious people can have the same basic mentality as Adam and Eve. We read in Hosea 5: 6: “With their sheep and with their cows they will go looking for the Eternal, and they will not find him; He turned away from them. ”

But why doesn't God show himself to the people who look for him? It is because we seek God our way. “Then you will cry out to the Eternal, and he will not answer you; He will hide his face from you at that time, because you did evil works ”(Micah 3: 4).

God seems hidden because our sins took away our access to Him (Isaiah 59: 1-2). Furthermore, we seek God according to our own desires and in our own way, not according to his truth (Mark 7: 6). Satan has deceived even the religious of this world not to receive the truth of the gospel that leads them to find God (2 Corinthians 4: 4).

We, in essence, are hiding from God. We want the freedom to choose our own path, to please our human nature, even with regard to how we worship God. Our Creator realizes that, and He is not going to force mankind at this time.

God reveals himself

In an interesting way, God the Father revealed himself to the world in a very personal way. He sent his own son into the world as a witness. Jesus told his disciples: “How long have I been with you, and you haven't known me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; How then do you say: Show us the Father? ” (John 14: 9). Then, God did appear to mankind. God was with us in the human form of Jesus Christ (Immanuel - see Matthew 1:23), but was rejected and killed. The rejection of Christ illustrates how the carnal mind does not want God to reveal his will to us. Although God the Father did reveal himself to humanity through his Son, we human beings reject him. And sadly many of us keep hiding from God.

We have to change our mind and our thoughts so that we welcome their presence. In Proverbs 1: 24-25 God speaks through the personification of wisdom: “Because I called, and you did not want to hear, I stretched out my hand, and there was no one to answer, but you rejected all my advice, and my rebuke you did not want "

The good news is that God is not going to hide forever ... After Jesus Christ returns to restore the Kingdom of God on Earth, He is going to make God's knowledge available to everyone (Isaiah 11: 9). God tried to reveal himself to the nation of Israel, but they did not have the heart to seek him. God did not give Israel as a whole, the necessary ingredient to have that kind of heart (Deuteronomy 29: 2-4). The ingredient that Israel and humanity lacked is the Holy Spirit. From the time of Adam and Eve, God cut off humanity, as a whole, access to their spiritual knowledge about the purpose of life — the knowledge represented by the tree of life.

Unbroken Spiritual Lethargy

Satan is called the "prince of this age" (2 Corinthians 4: 4) because he currently fosters a spirit of rebellion towards God, just as he did with Adam and Eve. The devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world during the trial in the desert, showing him that he had humanity under his influence and this is his world (Matthew 4: 9; 1 John 5:19).

The apostle Paul explained a fundamental truth in Ephesians 2: 1-2: “And he gave life to you, when you were dead in your crimes and sins, in which you walked in another time, following the current of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now operates in the children of disobedience. ” Paul confirmed that we live in a time that is not God's. The vast majority of humanity has followed the flow of this world. The knowledge of God's truth - his love and his Spirit - are unknown unless God specifically calls us out of this world of evil (John 6:44; Galatians 1: 4). True Christians were spiritually dead before God called them, but now they are alive. God is no longer hiding from them.  

Because God knows that humanity, under the influence of Satan, will reject him as Adam and Eve did, He allows spiritual blindness to be maintained. He will not appear to a rebel humanity at this time, nor will he respond to angry men when they curse his name.

Only those whom God calls now understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 13:11) and receive the Spirit that allows them to fight against the power of Satan (1 John 4: 4) and spiritual lethargy (Romans 11: 8) . Then, for love and to fulfill his plan, God hides himself from his creation until his son establishes the Kingdom of God on Earth. God allows many people to experience spiritual blindness now, to later be able to have mercy on them. If I did not, they would have a greater degree of responsibility. He chooses to call people at the best time for them.

God can be found

The good news is that God will not be hidden forever. At this time God gives access to his Spirit to some - those He is calling. But in the future, after Jesus Christ returns to restore the Kingdom of God on Earth, he will make the knowledge of God available to everyone (Isaiah 11: 9).

Then, when God gives us eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to perceive through his Spirit, He will no longer be hidden. God is not so far from us. "That they may seek God, if in some way, by feeling, they may find him, although he is certainly not far from each one of us" (Acts 17:27).

Those who respond to the Christian call realize that God is no longer hidden. Through their Spirit they have submitted to the will of God. Therefore their hearts have changed. One day that will be the case for the whole world. Ezekiel 39:29 speaks of the Kingdom of God on Earth when he says: “I will no longer hide my face from them; because I will have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel, says the Eternal the Lord. ”