John 1:18

No mortal eyes have ever seen God in all his glory; the One and Only God who is always at the Father's side, He alone makes God known to us. John 1:18 EFP

Today's verse is a bit problematic.  It's not that there is something inherently wrong with the statement, it's just that...well, just take a look.  First of all, it clearly states that "no one has seen God."  But Exodus 33:11 says, "THE LORD would speak to Moses face to face..." Clearly there is something I am missing.

Secondly, there is an unexpected turn in the middle of the text that caught me off guard at first.  Did you catch it?  John is making a reference to 'the One and Only God,' which seems to naturally draw us to picture of God the Father.  Then John makes the startling transition "who is always at the Father's side" when referring to the "One and Only God."  Whaaaaat?  It’s not that this statement is not consistent with what John stated earlier in the passage, it's just that the starkness of the concept of Jesus God becomes almost unintelligible.  There is no difference between the One and Only God and God the Father who is one with the Word who is another name for Jesus who is called the One and Only God!

Just to be clear, the whole concept of the Godhead is really a mystery, although people have tried to understand it for millennia.  Just when you think you got it-- you don' get it at all.  But suffice it to say that no one could better represent, describe, speak for, and reveal the character of the One and Only God than the One and Only God who is with the Father forever past, present, and future.  That part I get...sort of.