|
Baha'u'llah teaches that God the Father is utterly inaccessible to human beings, and is exalted above all human understanding: (3:15) To every discerning and illuminated heart it is evident that God, the unknowable Essence, the Divine Being, is immensely exalted beyond every human attribute, such as corporeal existence, ascent and descent, egress and regress. Far be it from His glory that human tongue should adequately recount His praise, or that human heart comprehend His fathomless mystery. He is, and hath ever been, veiled in the ancient eternity of His Essence, and will remain in His Reality everlastingly hidden from the sight of men. "No vision taketh in Him, but He taketh in all vision; He is the Subtile, the All-Perceiving." Gleanings, XIX (3:16) Know thou of a certainty that the Unseen can in no wise incarnate His Essence and reveal it unto men. He is, and hath ever been, immensely exalted beyond all that can either be recounted or perceived. From His retreat of glory His voice is ever proclaiming: "Verily, I am God; there is none other God besides Me, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. I have manifested Myself unto men, and have sent down Him Who is the Day Spring of the signs of My Revelation. Through Him I have caused all creation to testify that there is none other God except Him, the Incomparable, the All-Informed, the All-Wise." He Who is everlastingly hidden from the eyes of men can never be known except through His Manifestation, and His Manifestation can adduce no greater proof of the truth of His Mission than the proof of His own Person. (gwb XX) (3:17) O Children of the Divine and Invisible Essence! (3:18) Ye shall be hindered from loving Me and souls shall be perturbed as they make mention of Me. For minds cannot grasp Me nor hearts contain Me. (hwd Persian No. 66) (3:19) see The exalted nature of God the Father is alluded to in these words of the Old Testament: (3:20) But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! (2ch 6:18) (3:21) see And the Words of Jesus tell us that the Father is hidden from us: No man hath seen God at any time. (1jo 4:12) (3:22) see Christ manifested to the fullest, to the perfect degree, the light, the power, and the knowledge of God. Were it not for Christ, Who appeared in the flesh to give us His teachings, to show us the example of His life, to demonstrate His humility and sacrificial love, it would not be possible for humanity to enter into a personal relationship with God the Father. For we have no access to that Infinite Being except through a divine Being Who appears in human form and Whom we can see and listen to. (3:23) This is why the Bible states that Christ is the Way to the Father. He promised that He would Return, and that when He did, He would again be the Way to the Father. (3:24) Baha'u'llah is the Return of Christ and, therefore, the return of that Way.
(3:25)
|