In Jesus, We See God

It's an axiom of theology that God is what's called "transcendent." That is, he is above and outside of his creation, and he is not part of it. Because of that, we can't see or touch him, we can't know his mind and we can't understand his true nature and glory, even
when we try. (These are general terms, not precise theological definitions, but I'm not writing for the technicians. So there.)

All that changed in Jesus Christ. In Jesus, God was born into flesh, the Creator entered into the creation, and the transcendent God became someone we could see, hear, touch, and begin to understand. Paul says in Colossians 1:15, "We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created." 

Two basic points here:  First, God intends for us to know him, and that's one of the many reasons the Son of God came into flesh in the person of Jesus. His life and ministry, and his suffering, death and glorious resurrection were, in one way or another, about showing us who God is and how he works for us and our salvation. Second, as Paul continues to explain, Jesus is the absolute center of everything God was and is doing. There are many different parts to the overall plan, but every single one of them comes to us through Jesus and is effective only because of him.

We can't save ourselves from ourselves, but God has saved us from ourselves through himself -- in Jesus Christ. That's why we "keep our eyes on Jesus" (Heb. 12:2) and follow him. He's the one who has done it, and he's the one who does it in us. Hallelujah!