Reasoning with Mormons out of the scriptures (Acts 17:2) (Home)

Table of Contents: 
Introduction     3. Adam         6. The Priesthood     9. The Gospel   12. Eternal Life  
1. His Image    4. God            7. Apostasy            10. Baptism        Summary
2. Creation      5. Trinity          8. Prophets             11. Marriage       Scripture Reference

1. His Image

Thou canst not see my face (LDS Teachings | Bible | Catholic Teachings | Early Church Writings)

Reason with a Mormon by asking - How could Joseph Smith have lived after having seen God the Father if God told Moses that he would not be able to see his face and live?

LDS Gospel Principles Chapter 17 "In the spring of 1820. . . . Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith." 

Exod.33 ([20] And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.)

Joseph Smith could not have seen the Father, God told Moses that he could not see the face of God and live (Exod 33:20).  Moses spoke to God as a man speaks unto his friend (face to face) when the cloudy pillar descended (Exod 33:11,20).  When the Bible says Moses spoke face to face with God, this does not mean that Moses saw our Heavenly Father's face but is a reference to the manner of speaking not to Moses seeing because we know that God told Moses "for there shall no man see me, and live" (Exod 33:11, 20). Moses did not see God as a person, Moses saw his glory pass by, Moses saw the "back parts" of his glory. Moses was in God's presence but this does not mean Moses saw God as a person as the LDS church teaches.  If God has a right hand, then it is not like man’s for God says "my right hand hath spanned the heavens" (Isa 48:13,17). Jacob said he saw God face to face, but later we find out it was an angel (Gen 32:24; Hosea 12:2,4). Moses and the Israelites saw the God of Israel and there under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone (Exod 24:10). On mount Sina Moses saw an angel of the Lord and the voice of the Lord came unto him saying “I am the God of Abraham” (Acts 7:30-32).  When the LORD spoke out of the midst of the fire Moses saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice (Deu 4:12-16).

Stephen saw God in a vision, in a vision the items seen are not necessarily the actual items, for example John saw Jesus as lamb during his vision (Acts 7:55-59; Rev 5:1-7).  Moses was in God presence but he did necessary seeing God as a person as Joseph Smith claimed.  God the Father transcends, the Father" is above all, and through all, and in you all", the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him (Eph 4:6; 1Kings 8:27).  No man can seen God at any time, God dwells in us (1John 4:12).  In a vision those who are of God, those who are pure in heart can “see” the Father (John 6:46; Matt 5:8).  In a vision Stephen saw "the Son of man standing on the right hand of God" when the heavens opened, in a vision the apostle John "saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book" and "a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes," when a door was opened in heaven, in a vision the objects seen are not necessarily the actual items but can be representative or symbolic  (Acts 7:55-59; Rev 5:1-7).  If God has a right hand, then it is not like man’s for God says "my right hand hath spanned the heavens" (Isa 48:13,17). In a vision of God Ezekiel saw the appearance of a man, the glory of God was seen as a brightness (Ezek 1:1,26-28). 

One God created us (LDS Teachings | Bible | Catholic Teachings | Early Church Writings)

Reason with a Mormon by asking - Why does the LDS church teach that man was born of heavenly parents when the Bible reveals that the Father is our Creator?

LDS Gospel Principles Chapter 2 "'God is not only our ruler and creator; he is also our Heavenly Father. "All men and women are . . . literally the sons and daughters of Deity. . . . Man, as a spirit, was begotten and born of heavenly parents, and reared to maturity in the eternal mansions of the Father, prior to coming upon the earth in a temporal [physical] body' ...  

Mal.2 ([10] Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?)

Men were not spirit children born of heavenly parents. The LDS teaching of being born of heavenly parents is contrary to what the Bible reveals. The Bible does not reveal heavenly parents but reveals created with a command. Spirits were not born of heavenly parents, they were created when God commanded (Psalm 148:2,5; Nehemiah 9:6). The first man was not born of a heavenly mother, the first man is of the earth (1Cor 15:47). We are the offspring of God, Adam became a living soul after God formed him of the dust of the ground and after God breathed the breath of life into his nostrils (Acts 17:29; Gen 2:7).  

We are called children of God because God the Father created us, God the Father is our Creator (Mal 2:10; Rom 1:25). Our God, thy father, has made us and established us (Deut 32:3-8). Being born and being created are different things. Being born involves a mother, Adam was not born of heavenly mother, Adam was created.  God is the Father of spirits, God forms the spirit of man within him, He makes the soul, He has makes us from the womb (Heb 12:9; Isa 57:16; Zech 12:1; Isa 44:2). Men did not preexist before they were born, God has foreknowledge, he knew us before we are formed in the belly (1Pet 1:2; Jer 1:5). Prophets like Jeremiah and John the Baptist are sanctified and ordained a prophet before they came forth out of the womb because they are filled with the Holy Ghost from their mother's womb (Jer 1:5; Luke 1:15).

We are made "in his image", God was manifest in the flesh, the Word was God and was made flesh, by him are all things and we by him (1Tim 3:16; 1John 1:1,14).  We are made "in our image", “the Word” was with God in the beginning, there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him (Gen 1:26,27; John 1:1,14; 1Cor 8:6).  The Son of God has a body of flesh and bones (Luke 24:39). God the Father does not have a body of flesh and bones, the Father "is above all, and through all, and in you all", "the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him" (Eph 4:6; 1Kings 8:27). If God has a right hand, then it is very, very large for God says "my right hand hath spanned the heavens" (Isa 48:13). The early Christian leaders describes God is all spirit and that the Son of God was "his eternal Word" who "came forth" from the Father (see below):

Irenaeus "Far removed is the Father of all from those things which operate among men, the affections and passions. He is simple, not composed of parts, without structure, altogether like and equal to himself alone. He is all mind, all spirit, all thought, all intelligent, all reason . . . all light, all fountain of every good, and this is the manner in which the religious and the pious are accustomed to speak of God" (Against Heresies 2:13:3 [A.D. 189])

Ignatius of Antioch ""Jesus Christ . . . was with the Father before the beginning of time, and in the end was revealed. . . . Jesus Christ . . . came forth from one Father and is with and has gone to one [Father]. . . . [T]here is one God, who has manifested himself by Jesus Christ his Son, who is his eternal Word, not proceeding forth from silence, and who in all things pleased him that sent him" (Letter to the Magnesians 6–8 [A.D. 110] emphasis added)."

Irenaeus ""It was not angels, therefore, who made us nor who formed us, neither had angels power to make an image of God, nor anyone else. . . . For God did not stand in need of these in order to accomplish what he had himself determined with himself beforehand should be done, as if he did not possess his own hands. For with him [the Father] were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, he made all things, to whom also he speaks, saying, ‘Let us make man in our image and likeness’ [Gen. 1:26]" (Against Heresies 4:20:1 [A.D. 189] emphasis added)."

LDS Church Teachings

Thou canst not see my face .

President Gordon B. Hinckley April 2002  "Our faith, our knowledge comes of the witness of a prophet in this dispensation who saw before him the great God of the universe and His Beloved Son, the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ." 

Gospel Principles Chapter 17 "In the spring of 1820. . . . Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith. The Savior told him not to join any church because the true Church was not on the earth. He also said that the teachings of present churches were "an abomination in his sight"" 

Joseph Smith--History ([17] It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!  [18] My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join. [19] I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”)

Joseph Smith's King Follett Sermon  "If I show, verily, that I have the truth of God, and show that ninety-nine out of every hundred professing religious ministers are false teachers, having no authority, while they pretend to hold the keys of God’s kingdom on earth, and was to kill them because they are false teachers, it would deluge the whole world with blood. I will prove that the world is wrong, by showing what God is ... God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man ... if you were to see him today, you would see him like a man in form ... God came to be God. We have imagined and supposed that God was God from all eternity. I will refute that idea, and take away the veil, so that you may see ... you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another ...What did Jesus do? Why, I do the things I saw my Father do when worlds came rolling into existence. My Father worked out His kingdom with fear and trembling, and I must do the same; and when I get my kingdom, I shall present it to My Father, so that He may obtain kingdom upon kingdom, and it will exalt Him in glory. He will then take a higher exaltation, and I will take His place, and thereby become exalted myself." 

One God created us .

Gospel Principles Chapter 1 "Because we are made in his image, we know that God has a body that looks like ours. His eternal spirit is housed in a tangible body of flesh and bones."    

D&C 130 (The Father and the Son have bodies of flesh and bones.  [3] John 14:23—The appearing of the Father and the Son, in that verse, is a personal appearance; and the idea that the Father and the Son dwell in a man’s heart is an old sectarian notion, and is false. [22] The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us. [23] A man may receive the Holy Ghost, and it may descend upon him and not tarry with him.)

Bible verses from King James

Thou canst not see my face . 

Exod.33 ([9] And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. [10] And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. [11] And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. [18] And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. [19] And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be [20] And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. [21] And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: [22] And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: [23] And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.)

Footnotes in the NAB for Exod 33 "[23] You may see my back: man can see God's glory as reflected in creation, but his "face," that is, God as he is in himself, mortal man cannot behold. Cf 1 Cor 13:12."

Isa.48 ([13] Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. [17] Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.)

1John.4 ([12] No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. [13] Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. )

Eph.4 ([6] One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.)

Acts.7 ([55] But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, [56] And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. [59] And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.)

Rev.5 ([1] And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. [6] And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. [7] And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne.)

Acts.10 ([10] And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, [11] And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: [12] Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. [13] And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. [14] But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. [15] And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. [16] This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. [17] Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,)

Ezek.1 ([1] Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. [26] 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. [27] And I saw as the colour 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. [28] 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. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.)

Gen.32 ([24] And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. [30] And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. )

Hos.12 ([2] The LORD hath also a controversy with Judah, and will punish Jacob according to his ways; according to his doings will he recompense him. [4] Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Bethel, and there he spake with

Exod.24 ([9] Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: [10] And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. [17] And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. )

Acts.7 ([30] And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. [31] When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, [32] Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abrham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.)

Matt.5 ([8] Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God)

John.6 ([46] Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.)

John.20 ([28] And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. [31] But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

1John.3 ([2] Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.)

Deut.4 ([12] And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. [13] And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone. [14] And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. [15] Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: [16] Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,)

Exod.31 ([18] And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the written with the finger of God.)

One God created us . 

Gen.1 ([26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.) 

John 1 ( [1] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.[14] And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.)

1Tim.3 ( [16] And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.)

Rev.13 ([8] And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.)

1Cor.8 ([6] But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.)

Col.1 ([15] Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:)

Jas.3 ([9] Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.)

Ezek.1 ([1] Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. [26] 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. [27] And I saw as the colour 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. [28] 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. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.)

1Tim.3 ( [16] And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.)

Heb.1 ([3] 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 on the right hand of the Majesty on high;)

Exod.15 ([2] The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. [3] The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name. [11] Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?)

1Kgs.8 ([27] But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?)

1Cor.15 ([47] The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.)

Acts.17 ([28] For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. [29] Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.)

Deut.32 ([3] Because I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. [6] Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee  [8] When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.) 

Catholic Church Teachings

Thou canst not see my face .

God the Father cannot be seen as he is because of his transcendence. Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up his mystery to man's immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. The Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory "the beatific vision": How great will your glory and happiness be, to be allowed to see God. When Moses asks to see his glory, God responds "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name 'the LORD' [YHWH]." Then the LORD passes before Moses. The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. On the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ." Theophanies (manifestations of God) light up the way of the promise, from the patriarchs to Moses and from Joshua to the visions that inaugurated the missions of the great prophets. God's Word allowed himself to be seen and heard in these theophanies. It is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God. Christ's body was glorified at the moment of his Resurrection.

1028 Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is, unless he himself opens up his mystery to man's immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. The Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory "the beatific vision": How great will your glory and happiness be, to be allowed to see God, to be honored with sharing the joy of salvation and eternal light with Christ your Lord and God, . . . to delight in the joy of immortality in the Kingdom of heaven with the righteous and God's friends.

210 After Israel's sin, when the people had turned away from God to worship the golden calf, God hears Moses' prayer of intercession and agrees to walk in the midst of an unfaithful people, thus demonstrating his love. When Moses asks to see his glory, God responds "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim before you my name 'the LORD' [YHWH]." Then the LORD passes before Moses and proclaims, "YHWH, YHWH, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness"; Moses then confesses that the LORD is a forgiving God.

2576 "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." Moses' prayer is characteristic of contemplative prayer by which God's servant remains faithful to his mission. Moses converses with God often and at length, climbing the mountain to hear and entreat him and coming down to the people to repeat the words of his God for their guidance. Moses "is entrusted with all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly, not in riddles," for "Moses was very humble, more so than anyone else on the face of the earth."

2583 After Elijah had learned mercy during his retreat at the Wadi Cherith, he teaches the widow of Zarephath to believe in The Word of God and confirms her faith by his urgent prayer: God brings the widow's child back to life. The sacrifice on Mount Carmel is a decisive test for the faith of the People of God. In response to Elijah's plea, "Answer me, O LORD, answer me," the Lord's fire consumes the holocaust, at the time of the evening oblation. The Eastern liturgies repeat Elijah's plea in the Eucharistic epiclesis. Finally, taking the desert road that leads to the place where the living and true God reveals himself to his people, Elijah, like Moses before him, hides "in a cleft of he rock" until the mysterious presence of God has passed by. But only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ," crucified and risen.

707 Theophanies (manifestations of God) light up the way of the promise, from the patriarchs to Moses and from Joshua to the visions that inaugurated the missions of the great prophets. Christian tradition has always recognized that God's Word allowed himself to be seen and heard in these theophanies, in which the cloud of the Holy Spirit both revealed him and concealed him in its shadow.

689 The One whom the Father has sent into our hearts, the Spirit of his Son, is truly God. Consubstantial with the Father and the Son, the Spirit is inseparable from them, in both the inner life of the Trinity and his gift of love for the world. In adoring the Holy Trinity, life-giving, consubstantial, and indivisible, the Church's faith also professes the distinction of persons. When the Father sends his Word, he always sends his Breath. In their joint mission, the Son and the Holy Spirit are distinct but inseparable. To be sure, it is Christ who is seen, the visible image of the invisible God, but it is the Spirit who reveals him.

659 "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God." Christ's body was glorified at the moment of his Resurrection, as proved by the new and supernatural properties it subsequently and permanently enjoys. But during the forty days when he eats and drinks familiarly with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity. Jesus' final apparition ends with the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God's right hand. Only in a wholly exceptional and unique way would Jesus show himself to Paul "as to one untimely born", in a last apparition that established him as an apostle.

One God created us .

In no way is God in man's image. God is pure spirit. God transcends all creatures. God fashioned man with his own hands [that is, the Son and the Holy Spirit] and impressed his own form on the flesh he had fashioned. The second Adam stamped his image on the first Adam when he created him. It is in Christ, "the image of the invisible God," that man has been created "in the image and likeness" of the Creator. The human body is animated by a spiritual soul. Disfigured by sin and death, man remains "in the image of God," in the image of the Son, but is deprived "of the glory of God," of his "likeness." For those whom he fore knew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. 

The apostles confess Jesus to be the Word: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; as "the image of the invisible God"; as the "radiance of the glory of God and the very stamp of his nature". At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word, that is, the Word and substantial Image of the Father, became incarnate; without losing his divine nature he has assumed human nature. The Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man. Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God . . . and contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled. The universe, created in and by the eternal Word, the "image of the invisible God", is destined for and addressed to man, himself created in the "image of God" and called to a personal relationship with God.

370 In no way is God in man's image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective "perfections" of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband.

42 God transcends all creatures. We must therefore continually purify our language of everything in it that is limited, image-bound or imperfect, if we are not to confuse our image of God -- "the inexpressible, the incomprehensible, the invisible, the ungraspable" -- with our human representations. Our human words always fall short of the mystery of God.

704 "God fashioned man with his own hands [that is, the Son and the Holy Spirit] and impressed his own form on the flesh he had fashioned, in such a way that even what was visible might bear the divine form."

359 "In reality it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear."  St. Paul tells us that the human race takes its origin from two men: Adam and Christ. . . The first man, Adam, he says, became a living soul, the last Adam a life-giving spirit. The first Adam was made by the last Adam, from whom he also received his soul, to give him life... The second Adam stamped his image on the first Adam when he created him. That is why he took on himself the role and the name of the first Adam, in order that he might not lose what he had made in his own image. The first Adam, the last Adam: the first had a beginning, the last knows no end. The last Adam is indeed the first; as he himself says: "I am the first and the last."

1701 "Christ, . . . in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted vocation." It is in Christ, "the image of the invisible God," that man has been created "in the image and likeness" of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God.

364 The human body shares in the dignity of "the image of God": it is a human body precisely because it is animated by a spiritual soul, and it is the whole human person that is intended to become, in the body of Christ, a temple of the Spirit: Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.

705 Disfigured by sin and death, man remains "in the image of God," in the image of the Son, but is deprived "of the glory of God," of his "likeness." The promise made to Abraham inaugurates the economy of salvation, at the culmination of which the Son himself will assume that "image" and restore it in the Father's "likeness" by giving it again its Glory, the Spirit who is "the giver of life."

2012 "We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him . . . For those whom he fore knew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified."

241 For this reason the apostles confess Jesus to be the Word: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; as "the image of the invisible God"; as the "radiance of the glory of God and the very stamp of his nature".

479 At the time appointed by God, the only Son of the Father, the eternal Word, that is, the Word and substantial Image of the Father, became incarnate; without losing his divine nature he has assumed human nature.

460 The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature":"For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."

1159 The sacred image, the liturgical icon, principally represents Christ. It cannot represent the invisible and incomprehensible God, but the incarnation of the Son of God has ushered in a new "economy" of images: Previously God, who has neither a body nor a face, absolutely could not be represented by an image. But now that he has made himself visible in the flesh and has lived with men, I can make an image of what I have seen of God . . . and contemplate the glory of the Lord, his face unveiled.

299 Because God creates through wisdom, his creation is ordered: "You have arranged all things by measure and number and weight." The universe, created in and by the eternal Word, the "image of the invisible God", is destined for and addressed to man, himself created in the "image of God" and called to a personal relationship with God. Our human understanding, which shares in the light of the divine intellect, can understand what God tells us by means of his creation, though not without great effort and only in a spirit of humility and respect before the Creator and his work. Because creation comes forth from God's goodness, it shares in that goodness - "And God saw that it was good. . . very good"- for God willed creation as a gift addressed to man, an inheritance destined for and entrusted to him. On many occasions the Church has had to defend the goodness of creation, including that of the physical world.

Early Church Writings

Thou canst not see my face .

Irenaeus "Exodus 33:20-22 Two facts are thus signified : that it is impossible for man to see God; and that, through the wisdom of God, man shall see Him in the last times, in the depth of a rock, that is, in His coming as a man. And for this reason did He [the Lord ] confer with him face to face on the top of a mountain, Elias being also present, as the Gospel relates, Matthew 17:3, etc. He thus making good in the end the ancient promise. The prophets, therefore, did not openly behold the actual face of God ... This, too, was made still clearer by Ezekiel , that the prophets saw the dispensations of God in part, but not actually God Himself. For when this man had seen the vision Ezekiel 1:1 of God, and the cherubim, and their wheels, and when he had recounted the mystery of the whole of that progression, and had beheld the likeness of a throne above them, and upon the throne a likeness as of the figure of a man, and the things which were upon his loins as the figure of amber , and what was below like the sight of fire, and when he set forth all the rest of the vision of the thrones, lest any one might happen to think that in those [ visions ] he had actually seen God, he added: This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of God. Ezekiel 2:1 If, then, neither Moses, nor Elias , nor Ezekiel , who had all many celestial visions, saw God; but if what they did see were similitudes of the splendour of the Lord , and prophecies of things to come; it is manifest that the Father is indeed invisible, of whom also the Lord said, No man has seen God at any time. John 1:18 But His Word , as He Himself willed it, and for the benefit of those who beheld, did show the Father's brightness, and explained His purposes (as also the Lord said: The only-begotten God, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared [Him]; and He does Himself also interpret the Word of the Father as being rich and great); not in one figure, nor in one character , did He appear to those seeing Him, but according to the reasons and effects aimed at in His dispensations , as it is written in Daniel ." (Against Heresies 4:20:9-11 [A.D. 189])

Irenaeus “1. For if you had believed Moses, you would also have believed Me; for he wrote of Me; John 5:46 [ saying this,] no doubt, because the Son of God is implanted everywhere throughout his writings: at one time , indeed, speaking with Abraham, when about to eat with him; at another time with Noah, giving to him the dimensions [of the ark] ; at another; inquiring after Adam ; at another, bringing down judgment upon the Sodomites ; and again, when He becomes visible, and directs Jacob on his journey, and speaks with Moses from the bush. Exodus 3:4, etc. And it would be endless to recount [the occasions] upon which the Son of God is shown forth by Moses “ (Against Heresies Book IV, Chapter 10)

One God created us .

Irenaeus "Far removed is the Father of all from those things which operate among men, the affections and passions. He is simple, not composed of parts, without structure, altogether like and equal to himself alone. He is all mind, all spirit, all thought, all intelligent, all reason . . . all light, all fountain of every good, and this is the manner in which the religious and the pious are accustomed to speak of God" (Against Heresies 2:13:3 [A.D. 189])

Irenaeus "For God did not stand in need of these [beings], in order to the accomplishing of what He had Himself determined with Himself beforehand should be done, as if He did not possess His own hands. For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and spontaneously, He made all things, to whom also He speaks, saying, 'Let Us make man after Our image and likeness;' He taking from Himself the substance of the creatures [formed], and the pattern of things made, and the type of all the adornments in the world." Against Heresies,4,20:1(A.D. 180),in ANF,1:487-488

Irenaeus "For by the hands of the Father, that is, by the Son and the Holy Spirit, man, and not [merely] a part of man, was made in the likeness of God. Now the soul and the spirit are certainly a part of the man, but certainly not the man; for the perfect man consists in the commingling and the union of the soul receiving the spirit of the Father, and the admixture of that fleshly nature which was moulded after the image of God." (Against Heresies 5:6:1 [A.D. 189])

Irenaeus "3. ... Hence also was Adam himself termed by Paul the figure of Him that was to come, Romans 5:14 because the Word, the Maker of all things, had formed beforehand for Himself the future dispensation of the human race, connected with the Son of God; God having predestined that the first man should be of an animal nature, with this view, that he might be saved by the spiritual One. For inasmuch as He had a pre-existence as a saving Being, it was necessary that what might be saved should also be called into existence, in order that the Being who saves should not exist in vain." Against Heresies (Book III, Chapter 22)