HE IS THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD (Collosians 1:15) (By Biju Mathew)
John 1:18 says “No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known.” Let us take a minute and meditate on this bold declaration of Jesus. He specifically says here that no one has seen God at any time. Jesus is referring God the Father which is clear from the verse itself and passage, which starts by saying “In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God and the Word was God.” This is to say that no one from Adam has ever seen God the Father. The question that challenges our mind immediately is who did Moses speak to? Whom did Abraham see in Gen 18:1? Or whom did Isaiah see in Is 6:1? What about Jacob, David and the few men of God who had experiences with the LORD?
It is worth studying the Scripture to get a deeper understanding of this mystery. As we read through various passages, remember the basic rule of interpretation: scripture must interpret scripture.
Let us start with Paul’s writing to the Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the Invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” In verses 15-20 Paul is writing about supremacy of Christ Jesus that it is by Christ that all things were created and it is in Him all things hold together. Coll 1:15 tells us that God is invisible and that Christ is the only image of the invisible God.
This doctrine is established by Jesus himself when he was faced with Philip’s request for a conclusive revelation of the Father himself whom Jesus was talking about through out his ministry. In John 14:8-10 Philip said to Him “ Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him “ Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so, how can you say “Show us the Father?” Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? Coll 1:15 makes perfect sense when we read it in conjunction with Jn 14:8-10. Jesus was trying to tell Philip that God the Father is invisible and the only way Philip could see the Father is in Jesus himself.
Let us look at another scripture in Hebrews 1:1-4:
“God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, who He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds, 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 Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better that the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
The author of Hebrews confirms Coll 1:15 by saying that Jesus is the express image of God the Father which again confirms Jn 14:10 and Jn 1:18. This is scripture interpreting scripture. One is complimenting and confirming the other.
Here are a few more passages that support the same doctrine:
John 5:37 "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form."
John 6:46 "Not that any man hath seen the Father, except he who is from God, he hath seen the Father."
I John 4:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
We read in the passage of the woman at the well, Jesus said to her in Jn 4:24 “God is spirit and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and truth.” This supports the doctrine that God the Father is spirit and Jesus is his true image.
Conclusions:
• Jn 4:24 God is spirit
• Coll 1:15 God is invisible
• John 1:18 No-one has ever seen God the Father
• John 6:46 Only Jesus has seen God the Father
• Coll 1:15 Jesus is the only image of God the Father
• Jn 14: 9 The only way to see God the Father is in Jesus
If God the Father is invisible, whom did Abraham see in Gen 18:1 or David see in Psalm 110:1 or whom did Isaiah see in Chapter 6? Let us examine the Word of God comparing the Old and New Testament passages. Remember,
Scripture must interpret scripture.
Case study 1: David
Psalm 110:1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, untill I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
Mt 22:41-45 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them saying “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him “Lord” saying: The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
If David calls Him ‘Lord’, how is He his Son?
From the above passages, we clearly understand that David (1011-971 BC) in Psalm 110:1 had an encounter with God the Father speaking to the Son. And Jesus was challenging the scriptural insight of the Pharisees by saying that if He (Christ) existed before David, how then can be Jesus the son of David? And although we find David in the genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1:6), when He chose to be physically born into this world through Mary, in reality Christ was always there along side with the Father and His Spirit as the Triune God.
Read the following verses to understand this truth:
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Vs14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His Glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Colossians 1:16: For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Revelation 1:8: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty”
Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
Note that the Son was not born, only a Child was born. Son was given. Which means to say that the Son existed even before He was born as a child to Mary and Joseph.
Case study 2: Moses
Exodus 3:13-14 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘what is His name? What shall I say to them?”
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM” sent me to you.
John 8:56-58 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and He saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them “Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM”
I see Jesus making two important points in this passage:
1. Abraham saw Christ in the Old Testament.
2. The “I AM” Moses met in Exodus 3:14 was Christ.
Now this may seem contradictory to what you may traditionally believe, but, scripture must interpret scripture. Now the real question is, if David, Moses and Abraham met Christ in the Old Testament, did they meet God the Father as well?
Again, scripture must interpret scripture.
John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Colossians 3:15 He is the image of the Invisible God.
So it seems that God the Father is invisible and no one has seen the Father at any time, which leads us to the probability that it was Jesus who appeared to all these men of God in the Old Testament.
Exodus 17:1-7
Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out their journey from the wilderness if Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.
Therefore people contended with Moses, and said “Give us water,
that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”
And people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses and said “Why is it you have brought us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”
And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. And take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.
“Behold I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying “Is it the Lord among us or not?”
The New Testament confirms the identity of this Rock. Take a look at Paul’s letter to Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 10:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink.
For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and the Rock was Christ.
If the person (LORD-17:5) addressing Exodus 17 is Christ, who is in previous chapters or books?
We read in God’s Word that men of God have heard the voice of both the Father’s and the Holy Spirit. For example, Father’s voice was heard in MK 1:11 during the baptism of Jesus saying “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The same was heard by the disciples on the mount of transfiguration in Mt 17:5. The disciples heard the Holy Spirit for example in Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” But I haven’t found a passage with conclusive evidence of men seeing the God the Father of God the Holy Spirit.
Case Study 3: Isaiah
Part A
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up and the train of His robe filled the temple.
John 12:37-41 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, Lest they should see with their eyes And understand with their heart, lest they should turn, so that I should heal them.”
These things Isaiah saw when He saw His (Jesus – NIV) glory and spoke of Him.
Part B
Isaiah 48:12-13 “Listen to Me O Jacob, and Israel, My called:
I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.
Now compare with what Jesus said in the book of Revelation.
Rev 22:12-13 And behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give everyone according to his work.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last.
Take a look at this verse: The only verse I have found in the Old Testament, which clearly states three persons in the Trinity.
Isaiah 48:16 “Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I (Christ) was there. And now the Lord God (Father) and His Spirit (Holy Spirit) have sent Me.”
From the above verse it is clear that the person who was addressing Isaiah was Christ.
Case Study 4: Solomon
Carefully read through the passage given below, compare with the references and conclude in your own heart if this passage is talking about Christ.
Proverbs 8:12-36
12: I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. (Wisdom seems to be a person who is addressing)
13: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.
14:Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.
(Isaiah 9:6 The Counselor)
15: By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice.
(Rev 1:5 Ruler over the kings of the earth.)
16: By me princes rule and nobles, all the judges of the earth.
(Rom 13:1 All authorities are appointed by God.)
17: I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. ( Mt 7:7 Seek and you will find)
18: Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness.
19: My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver.
( Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in fire that you may be rich..)
20: I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice.
21: That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.
(Mt 6:20 … but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….)
22: The Lord possessed me at the beginning of the way, before His works of old.
( Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.)
23: I have been from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was even an earth.
24: When there was no depths I was brought forth, when there was no fountains abounding with water.
25: Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was bought forth;
26: While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
27: When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28: When He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29: When He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters could not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30: Then I was beside Him, as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him,
31: Rejoicing in His inhabited world, and His delight was with the sons of men.
(Coll 1:16-17 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.)
32: Now, therefore, listen to me my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
33: Hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it.
34: Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
(Jn 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.)
35: For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord;
(Jn 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they m ay have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.)
36: But whoever sins against me wrongs his own soul; and all those who hate me love death.
(1 Jn 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)
Again, it seems that the person who is addressing this passage is Christ.
Conclusion
Though the voice of the Father was heard both at the baptism of Jesus and at the mount of transfiguration, I have not found any passage in the Scripture where it categorically says that God the Father has appeared to men. So, if the person in the Triune God who spoke to Moses, David and Solomon was Christ, was He not the same person who walked with Adam and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
Although, He was called the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) before coming down to earth in a bodily form, before His birth, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said to him that he shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. And thus He is called Jesus Christ. And thus the scripture is true that “He is the image of the invisible God”
It is worth studying the Scripture to get a deeper understanding of this mystery. As we read through various passages, remember the basic rule of interpretation: scripture must interpret scripture.
Let us start with Paul’s writing to the Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the Invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” In verses 15-20 Paul is writing about supremacy of Christ Jesus that it is by Christ that all things were created and it is in Him all things hold together. Coll 1:15 tells us that God is invisible and that Christ is the only image of the invisible God.
This doctrine is established by Jesus himself when he was faced with Philip’s request for a conclusive revelation of the Father himself whom Jesus was talking about through out his ministry. In John 14:8-10 Philip said to Him “ Lord, show us the Father and it is sufficient for us.” Jesus said to him “ Have I been with you so long and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so, how can you say “Show us the Father?” Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? Coll 1:15 makes perfect sense when we read it in conjunction with Jn 14:8-10. Jesus was trying to tell Philip that God the Father is invisible and the only way Philip could see the Father is in Jesus himself.
Let us look at another scripture in Hebrews 1:1-4:
“God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, who He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the worlds, 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 Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better that the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.”
The author of Hebrews confirms Coll 1:15 by saying that Jesus is the express image of God the Father which again confirms Jn 14:10 and Jn 1:18. This is scripture interpreting scripture. One is complimenting and confirming the other.
Here are a few more passages that support the same doctrine:
John 5:37 "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form."
John 6:46 "Not that any man hath seen the Father, except he who is from God, he hath seen the Father."
I John 4:12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.
We read in the passage of the woman at the well, Jesus said to her in Jn 4:24 “God is spirit and his worshipers must worship him in spirit and truth.” This supports the doctrine that God the Father is spirit and Jesus is his true image.
Conclusions:
• Jn 4:24 God is spirit
• Coll 1:15 God is invisible
• John 1:18 No-one has ever seen God the Father
• John 6:46 Only Jesus has seen God the Father
• Coll 1:15 Jesus is the only image of God the Father
• Jn 14: 9 The only way to see God the Father is in Jesus
If God the Father is invisible, whom did Abraham see in Gen 18:1 or David see in Psalm 110:1 or whom did Isaiah see in Chapter 6? Let us examine the Word of God comparing the Old and New Testament passages. Remember,
Scripture must interpret scripture.
Case study 1: David
Psalm 110:1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, untill I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
Mt 22:41-45 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them saying “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him “Lord” saying: The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
If David calls Him ‘Lord’, how is He his Son?
From the above passages, we clearly understand that David (1011-971 BC) in Psalm 110:1 had an encounter with God the Father speaking to the Son. And Jesus was challenging the scriptural insight of the Pharisees by saying that if He (Christ) existed before David, how then can be Jesus the son of David? And although we find David in the genealogy of Jesus (Mt 1:6), when He chose to be physically born into this world through Mary, in reality Christ was always there along side with the Father and His Spirit as the Triune God.
Read the following verses to understand this truth:
John 1:1-3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made.
Vs14: And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His Glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Colossians 1:16: For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Revelation 1:8: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty”
Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
Note that the Son was not born, only a Child was born. Son was given. Which means to say that the Son existed even before He was born as a child to Mary and Joseph.
Case study 2: Moses
Exodus 3:13-14 Then Moses said to God, “Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘what is His name? What shall I say to them?”
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, “I AM” sent me to you.
John 8:56-58 “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and He saw it and was glad. Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them “Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM”
I see Jesus making two important points in this passage:
1. Abraham saw Christ in the Old Testament.
2. The “I AM” Moses met in Exodus 3:14 was Christ.
Now this may seem contradictory to what you may traditionally believe, but, scripture must interpret scripture. Now the real question is, if David, Moses and Abraham met Christ in the Old Testament, did they meet God the Father as well?
Again, scripture must interpret scripture.
John 1:18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Colossians 3:15 He is the image of the Invisible God.
So it seems that God the Father is invisible and no one has seen the Father at any time, which leads us to the probability that it was Jesus who appeared to all these men of God in the Old Testament.
Exodus 17:1-7
Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out their journey from the wilderness if Sin, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.
Therefore people contended with Moses, and said “Give us water,
that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the Lord?”
And people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses and said “Why is it you have brought us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”
So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”
And the Lord said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. And take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.
“Behold I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the Lord, saying “Is it the Lord among us or not?”
The New Testament confirms the identity of this Rock. Take a look at Paul’s letter to Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 10:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food and all drank the same spiritual drink.
For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and the Rock was Christ.
If the person (LORD-17:5) addressing Exodus 17 is Christ, who is in previous chapters or books?
We read in God’s Word that men of God have heard the voice of both the Father’s and the Holy Spirit. For example, Father’s voice was heard in MK 1:11 during the baptism of Jesus saying “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The same was heard by the disciples on the mount of transfiguration in Mt 17:5. The disciples heard the Holy Spirit for example in Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” But I haven’t found a passage with conclusive evidence of men seeing the God the Father of God the Holy Spirit.
Case Study 3: Isaiah
Part A
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up and the train of His robe filled the temple.
John 12:37-41 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:
“Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, Lest they should see with their eyes And understand with their heart, lest they should turn, so that I should heal them.”
These things Isaiah saw when He saw His (Jesus – NIV) glory and spoke of Him.
Part B
Isaiah 48:12-13 “Listen to Me O Jacob, and Israel, My called:
I am He, I am the First, I am also the Last.
Now compare with what Jesus said in the book of Revelation.
Rev 22:12-13 And behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give everyone according to his work.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last.
Take a look at this verse: The only verse I have found in the Old Testament, which clearly states three persons in the Trinity.
Isaiah 48:16 “Come near to Me, hear this: I have not spoken in secret from the beginning; From the time that it was, I (Christ) was there. And now the Lord God (Father) and His Spirit (Holy Spirit) have sent Me.”
From the above verse it is clear that the person who was addressing Isaiah was Christ.
Case Study 4: Solomon
Carefully read through the passage given below, compare with the references and conclude in your own heart if this passage is talking about Christ.
Proverbs 8:12-36
12: I, Wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge and discretion. (Wisdom seems to be a person who is addressing)
13: The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.
14:Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, I have strength.
(Isaiah 9:6 The Counselor)
15: By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice.
(Rev 1:5 Ruler over the kings of the earth.)
16: By me princes rule and nobles, all the judges of the earth.
(Rom 13:1 All authorities are appointed by God.)
17: I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me. ( Mt 7:7 Seek and you will find)
18: Riches and honor are with me, enduring riches and righteousness.
19: My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, and my revenue than choice silver.
( Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in fire that you may be rich..)
20: I traverse the way of righteousness, In the midst of the paths of justice.
21: That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries.
(Mt 6:20 … but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….)
22: The Lord possessed me at the beginning of the way, before His works of old.
( Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.)
23: I have been from everlasting, From the beginning, before there was even an earth.
24: When there was no depths I was brought forth, when there was no fountains abounding with water.
25: Before the mountains were settled, before the hills, I was bought forth;
26: While as yet He had not made the earth or the fields,
27: When He prepared the heavens, I was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28: When He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep,
29: When He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters could not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth,
30: Then I was beside Him, as a master craftsman; And I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him,
31: Rejoicing in His inhabited world, and His delight was with the sons of men.
(Coll 1:16-17 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.)
32: Now, therefore, listen to me my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
33: Hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it.
34: Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at the posts of my doors.
(Jn 15:10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.)
35: For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord;
(Jn 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they m ay have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.)
36: But whoever sins against me wrongs his own soul; and all those who hate me love death.
(1 Jn 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)
Again, it seems that the person who is addressing this passage is Christ.
Conclusion
Though the voice of the Father was heard both at the baptism of Jesus and at the mount of transfiguration, I have not found any passage in the Scripture where it categorically says that God the Father has appeared to men. So, if the person in the Triune God who spoke to Moses, David and Solomon was Christ, was He not the same person who walked with Adam and Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
Although, He was called the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) before coming down to earth in a bodily form, before His birth, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said to him that he shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. And thus He is called Jesus Christ. And thus the scripture is true that “He is the image of the invisible God”
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