Please read part one before continuing…

Jacob named the place he wrestled with God, “Face of God,” adding that he saw God’s face and was delivered (Gen. 32:30).  In a sense, seeing God’s face and dislocating his hip were of a piece.  Said another way, Jacob’s hip was dislocated because he saw God’s face.

We see God’s face in Christ (Col. 1:15).  The weakness and suffering of the cross, the power and prevailing of the resurrection, show us who God is, not merely what He did. He prevails by pouring Himself out.  He becomes powerful by submitting to weakness.  He is glorified by suffering dishonor.  He is raised to life out of death.

Any true seeing of the Lord will conform us to Him.  The face of God will imprint on us; the Spirit will carve the debility of the cross into our very souls.  By this participation with Jesus, we prevail.  We are not greater than our Master (John 13:16).  Revelation says He is worthy because He was slaughtered (Rev. 5:9).  As the weakness of His suffering is infused into us by the Spirit, we prevail and are worthy.  As we share in His prevailing, we share in His new name, just as Jacob’s family and descendants shared in his prevailing and renaming (Rev. 3:12).

Seeing God’s face delivers us—from ourselves and the reliance on our own power that alienates us from God.  We need only cling to Him in faith (as Jacob held onto the man) while the Spirit breaks and disables us.  Then we will know the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).