THE FACE OF GOD’S PRESENCE

THE FACE OF GODS PRESENCE 

When we look in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, we see that the word ‘face’ also means ‘presence’, and the same word also means ‘person’, and that word in Greek is ‘prosopon’ – beholding the eyes or beholding the look or gaze. And we’ll start with the following scripture
2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face (prosopon – the presence and person) of Jesus Christ
Jesus said ‘When you have seen me you have seen the Father (John 14:9). 
The word ‘prosopon’ in Scripture ties together physical reality (face), relational reality (presence), and personal nature (Identity). ‘Prosopon’s is God’s gift of connection between himself and us, and it is our gift of connection between another. When Jesus lived on earth, he was the prosopon of God, fully revealing God’s presence and personal nature. The Bible also says For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; (Colossians 2:9)

The Holy Spirit who is the ‘Third Person’ of the Godhead unveils for us the face and the presence and the personal nature of the Father and Jesus, as persons that we can come to know. That means that our lives can flow together with God’s, with an inner peace and expressing a Godly quality of life in our outward behaviour, as the Apostle Peter says ‘we become partakers of the Divine nature’ (2Peter 1:4).

THE FACE OF THE FATHER shining upon us means not just His presence but His nearness and favour and relational engagement. Numbers 6:22“The LORD bless you and keep you, The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you, The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. “‘
The Father’s face reveals him as a person of loving care and provision and protection as he brings all of our circumstances together in the right and perfect time for his good will to be of greatest blessing for our lives.
There was an occasion when Moses asked God for assurance that he would be with him when he took Israel into the promised Land. God said to him “My presence (paniym) will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14)   At this time also Moses asked God  if he could see his glory – his ``face of radiant glory - and God told him that no one could see the face of God and live (Exodus 33:20) and he said to Moses ‘Here is a place by Me, stand on that rock, and, while My glory passes by I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.” Moses stood on the rock and then God hid him in the cleft of the rock and Moses was allowed to see his ‘back, which means he saw that God had been with him and was doing ongoing wonders in his life. 
That was a prophetic picture of our lives in the New Testament where we stand on the Rock of Jesus and we are hidden in him as Moses was in the cleft of the Rock, and like Moses we also see his ‘back’ which means we also see that the Father has been with us doing ongoing wonders in our lives. 
But in two places in the Bible it also oddly says that God spoke to Moses ‘face to face’ (Exodus 33, Numbers 12). What does this mean? Here God was saying that he spoke to him ‘person to person’ so that he could experience an intimate relationship of love and trust with him. An example of this is as person to person phone call but not a Facetime call.

The Face of the Father can also express his wrath. The word wrath here means intense indignation. It is the firm face of the Person of the Father that looks with just judgement and grief upon the damage that sin causes, bringing harm and destruction to his children. The wrath of God is expressed in both the Old and the New Testament. God’s wrath is a protective strong disciplinary action upon harmful evil doers on behalf of those who are harmed, so that wrath is an act of love – and it  is ultimately redemptive for evil doers, which means that through that discipline they are made aware of their opportunity for repentance unto life and faith.
The Bible says that we who believe in the saving power of Jesus on the cross, will be saved from wrath through Jesus (Romans 5:9), We will be disciplined in a firm but loving way by our Father God while knowing his mercy upon us and his closeness to us through the times of trial as he reveals to us what needs to be transformed in our lives.   

THE FACE OF JESUS is joyful and encouraging and compassionate, unveiling his dedication in sharing who he is with us as being human as well as divine. Jesus has experienced every trial and test of faith and every temptation of sin that we have, and he knows our human weakness and limitations. He stands by us and he walks with us and he speaks his Words of life to us in times of trial and testing and in times of guidance and blessing, to increase our faith and trust in him and in our loving Father. ‘He will save, he will rejoice over you with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over you with singing.’ (Zephaniah 3:17). The Bible says that Jesus is not only a brother to us but also a loving friend who enjoys our friendship. 

THE FACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 
The Holy Spirit’s love and goodness are seen throughout the Bible in His comforting presence, intercession, guidance, and empowerment. He is not just a force but a personal being who grieves, loves, prays, and works for our transformation.
He is the person who is in and through the Father and Jesus and he flows from them to us. The Holy Spirit is the person who unveils the face of Jesus and the Father to us and he brings us into person-to-person unity of the spirit and one accord with each other. 
He also unveils our own face to ourselves as our true self that was created by God before the foundation of the world, as he transforms our nature into the likeness of Jesus.  
2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

The Apostle James said that if someone hears the life-giving Word but does not allow it to shape their life, they are like a person who glances into a mirror and catches a glimpse of their face — the face of the true self that God designed for them before they were even born. But if they get distracted by outward things they wiil forget who they really are. However, if they remain steadfast to the truth of the real self that they were shown, and live it out, they will experience blessing in all they do. (James 1:22)

The face or presence or person of the Holy Spirit is always unveiling God’s love, life, beauty, strength, and order and justice and mercy.  But the Holy Spirit also unveils the disorder in the world and everything and everyone in it. He makes clear the difference between darkness and light and of falsehood and truth. 
The Holy Spirit has been dividing light from darkness from the very beginning. 
Genesis 1:2 … The Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters (the dark disordered chaos). Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

The Holy Spirit is always inviting us to enter into the presence of God. That does not mean secluding ourselves in isolation like some other meditation practices, where people detach themselves from everything to find the mystery of who they are through nothing else but an exercise of their own imagination. 
And with material things going on around us spiritual contemplation can seem for many people like holding their breath under water, but it is not hard at all if we know that we are coming person to person into God’s real presence. This becomes a simple practice of engaging with the real persons of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, all of whom are totally focused on us at all times. It is not hard for them to enter into our presence because we are vitally important to them. We are who they live for and they invite us to do the same. 

So what can we do? We can start by welcoming their real presence with us. The Bible says we enter into the presence (face and person) of God behind the veil of our own self-consciousness – our flesh (Hebrews 10:19-22) and we go into the place and space of God consciousness. The Holy Spirit weaves that gift of connection together for us by revealing the faces of Jesus and the Father, and then as we are touched by their presence and personal reality, he reveals to us our own unveiled face of thanksgiving to God. That becomes our true face. We share that face with the person (face) of the Holy Spirit. It is at that moment that our face and the face of the Holy Spirit become the same face.  

A THREE MINUTE REFLECTION
Our lives can become fruitful in the transforming work of the Holy Spirit by starting with a simple three-minute reflection where we spend one minute contemplating the face or really, the person behind the face of the Father and then doing the same with Jesus and then with the Holy Spirit and we keep saying thank you till we mean it. If our life before God can be one big thank you, we will know that we are in the faith. Our thanks in all things is our repentance and our acceptance of his will. It is our hope for his mercy and grace and our faith and trust in his goodness.

I have included a selection of about 120 Scriptures that speak of the love and goodness of the Father and Jesus and the Holy Spirit - and they take up eight pages. Read them and choose ones that speak to you, some more than others at any particular time. The Holy Spirit will guide your choices, and you will come to know your God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Paul O’Sullivan – pauloss@icloud.com)

 

1. Father’s Love for Us
• Exodus 34:6 – “The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.”
• Deuteronomy 7:9 – “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.”
• Psalm 136:26 – “Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.”
• Isaiah 54:10 – “Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you.”
• Jeremiah 31:3 – “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
• John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
• Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• Romans 8:38-39 – “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
• Ephesians 2:4-5 – “But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”
• 1 John 3:1 – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
• 1 John 4:7-10 – “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.”
2. Father’s Goodness Toward His People
• Psalm 23:6 – “Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
• Psalm 27:13 – “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”
• Psalm 31:19 – “How great is Your goodness, which You have stored up for those who fear You, which You bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in You.”
• Psalm 34:8 – “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”
• Psalm 52:1 – “The goodness of God endures continually.”
• Psalm 86:5 – “You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to You.”
• Psalm 100:5 – “For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.”
• Psalm 107:1 – “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.”
• Nahum 1:7 – “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.”
• Matthew 7:11 – “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!”
• Romans 2:4 – “Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”
• James 1:17 – “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
3. Father’s Compassion and Faithfulness
• Lamentations 3:22-23 – “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
• Micah 7:18-19 – “Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”
• Luke 6:35-36 – “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
• Deuteronomy 33:27 – “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
• Isaiah 41:10 – “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
• Zephaniah 3:17 – “The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”
• John 15:9 – “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love.”
• 1 Peter 5:7 – “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

1. The Love of Jesus
• Matthew 9:36 – “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
• Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
• Matthew 14:14 – “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
• Matthew 15:32 – “Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, ‘I have compassion for these people; they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.’”
• Mark 10:21 – “Jesus looked at him and loved him. ‘One thing you lack,’ He said. ‘Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.’”
• Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
• John 3:16-17 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”
• John 10:11 – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
• John 13:1 – “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.”
• John 15:9 – “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now remain in My love.”
• John 15:13 – “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
• Romans 8:35-39 – “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
• Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
• Ephesians 3:18-19 – “That you may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
• Revelation 1:5 – “To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.”

2. The Goodness of Jesus
• Matthew 4:23 – “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”
• Matthew 12:15 – “Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed Him, and He healed all who were ill.”
• Matthew 19:14 – “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’”
• Mark 1:41 – “Jesus was indignant. He reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be clean!’”
• Mark 6:34 – “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began teaching them many things.”
• Luke 4:18-19 – “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
• Luke 22:32 – “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
• Acts 10:38 – “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.”
• 2 Corinthians 8:9 – “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”
• Hebrews 4:15 – “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet He did not sin.”
• Isaiah 53:5 – “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.”
• Mark 15:37-39 – “With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how He died, he said, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God!’”
• John 10:17-18 – “The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord.”
• Romans 5:6-8 – “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• Colossians 1:13-14 – “For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
• Hebrews 12:2 – “For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

The Holy Spirit, as the third person of the Trinity, is described in Scripture as loving, good, compassionate, and deeply involved in the lives of believers. 

The Love of the Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit’s love and goodness are seen throughout the Bible in His comforting presence, intercession, guidance, and empowerment. He is not just a force but a personal being who grieves, loves, prays, and works for our transformation. Below is a collection of passages that highlight His love, goodness, and personal attributes, including His ability to grieve and intercede for us. 
• Romans 5:5 – “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”
• Romans 15:30 – “I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.”
• Galatians 5:22-23 – “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
• 2 Timothy 1:7 – “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.”

The Holy Spirit actively expresses love—both through His work in our lives and by filling us with divine love.
2. The Goodness of the Holy Spirit
• Psalm 143:10 – “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
• Nehemiah 9:20 – “You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths, and You gave them water for their thirst.”
• Acts 10:38 – “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him.”
• John 16:13 – “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”

The Holy Spirit’s goodness is evident in His guidance, instruction, and empowerment of believers.
3. The Holy Spirit as a Person Who Feels Emotion

The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force but a living divine person who experiences emotions such as grief, joy, and intercession.

The Holy Spirit Grieves
• Ephesians 4:30 – “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
• Isaiah 63:10 – “Yet they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy and He Himself fought against them.”

Just as a person can feel sorrow, the Holy Spirit grieves when believers sin, reject His guidance, or live in ways contrary to God’s will.

4. The Holy Spirit as the One Who Intercedes for Us
• Romans 8:26-27 – “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
• Zechariah 12:10 – “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a Spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on Me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”

These verses reveal that the Holy Spirit actively prays for us—even when we don’t have words—expressing our needs to God with deep, heartfelt groaning.

5. The Holy Spirit as Our Helper, Comforter, and Helper
• John 14:16-17 – “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.”
• John 14:26 – “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
• John 15:26 – “When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—He will testify about Me.”
• John 16:7 – “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”

The Holy Spirit is our personal Helper, Counselor, and Helper, always working on our behalf.

6. The Holy Spirit Gives Life and Power
• Genesis 1:2 – “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
• Job 33:4 – “The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life.”
• Ezekiel 37:14 – “I will put My Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.”
• Luke 4:18 – “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.”
• Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
• 2 Corinthians 3:17 – “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
• Galatians 5:25 – “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit is the giver of life, power, and freedom, actively working in creation, salvation, and the daily walk of our lives as believers.