ACC ~ 1 John 4 v12

GOD IS INVISIBLE. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: Since God is invisible, nobody has ever seen him, since bodily sight cannot see things which have no bodies. But there are some heretics who say that the Old Testament speaks of a visible God, because occasionally people are said to have seen him, whereas the New Testament makes him completely invisible. So we have to ask what substance he is supposed to have which would make him visible. They would have to answer, unless they are out of their minds, that God is a body, even though it is not made of any perceivable substance. If that is what they think, they ought to consider how incongruous and full of ungodliness their beliefs are. For how can there be a body if there is no way of defining what it is? COMMENTARY ON 1 JOHN.

IF WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER. AUGUSTINE: Why does John say so much about loving our brothers, but nothing at all about loving our enemies? Reaching out to our enemies does not exclude loving our brothers. Our love, like a fire, must first take hold of what is nearest and then spread to what is further off. TEN HOMILIES ON 1 JOHN 8.1.

GOD ABIDES IN US. ANDREAS: This is how God’s love works. God comes to dwell in us, though no one has ever seen him. CATENA.

NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN GOD PHYSICALLY. BEDE: This verse causes a problem when we remember that the Lord promises that those who are pure in heart will see God and tells the saints that their angels are constantly gazing at the face of God in heaven. John repeats this phrase in his Gospel, where he adds that the only-begotten Son has seen the Father and has made him known to us.Our blessed father Ambrose expounded this as follows: “No one has ever seen God because no one has ever comprehended the fullness of the divinity which dwells in him, either with his mind or with his eye. For the verb see implies both physical and mental perception.” It is therefore clear that here we are not talking about physical sight so much as about mental perception, and our minds are incapable of ever grasping the fullness of God’s being. ON 1 JOHN.

1 Jn