Q: In Genesis 32:30, Jacob says, “I have seen God face to face.” Moses, too, saw God “face to face” (Exo. 33:11). So how can Jesus say that that “no one has ever seen God” (John 1:18)?
A: That’s a great question. It’s the same kind of question that the New Testament was written to answer. How is possible that people had actually seen God (“And they saw the God of Israel,” Exo. 24:10), but also that he could never be seen (“No man can see me and live,” Exo. 33:20)? And what can it possibly mean, for example, that the “LORD” (YHWH) stood there with Moses (in Exo. 34:5) while the “LORD” (YHWH) passed by (or over) him (in Exo. 34:6)? Passages like these are mind-bending to say the least. They led to all kinds of speculation in Israel about the nature and identity of God, including the “two powers in heaven” idea that the later rabbis rejected.