Thank you for the question on seeing God, “Why does God not let us all see him?”
Every person wants to “see” or experience God in some personal manner. The Scriptures reveal that one day each person will have a persona encounter before God whether at the Bema Seat of Christ, (I Cor. 4:10–15) or at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11–15).
Here are the reason why God doesn’t allow us to see him?
A. Humans are corporeal/physical being while God is non-corporeal/spirit being.
If God was to reveal himself to us, we would not be able to comprehend it nor can our scientific measurements read or measure God. How can a finite instrument measure an infinite being?
God has described himself as spirit or as light. The descriptions of God in Revelations is only an outwardly a manifestation of himself, not himself. For if the angelic beings are not able to look directly at God, humans will not be able to “look” at God with our eyes or our instruments will not be able to record the intensity of God, if I may use that term.
Isaiah the prophets describes this heavenly scene, “2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” 4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke” (NIV).
B. God does not reveal himself to us because he knows that human will make a carved image of what s/he perceives as the Creator God. That representation will be a distortion of God for there are no words that can fully described God.
Romans 1 says this, “21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” (NIV).
As one reads the 10 Commandments, the Israelites were prohibited from making any carved images of God or to bow down to them.
C. The reason why God doesn’t revealed himself to humans is that whatever instruments, photos, etc. taken of God by humans will be questioned or viewed as fake by future generations. They would want to “see” it for themselves. It will be never ending.
D. The Scriptures states that God has revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ. Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father. Jesus reply to him was that if you have me, you have seen the Father.
John 14 says this, “6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work” (NIV).
Jesus is not saying that his physical appearance is the Father’s appearance. Jesus is declaring that his words and actions reflect the nature or attribute of God. One can “perceive” what God is like by looking at the life of Jesus on earth.
E. The Scriptures also declared that followers of Jesus are to reflect the character of God in their lives. The Holy Spirit lives in the believers. He is the one who is guide the believers in their attitude and conduct. Just as Jesus was the Light of the world, so his followers are to lights in this world. If believers fail to reflect the attitude and actions of God, the fault is the believers.
The Apostle John states that believers can experience God, to have fellowship with God. I John 1 says this, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ” (NIV).
In Revelations 3, John says this as well, “19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (NIV).
Scriptures declare that believers in Jesus Christ can have fellowship with the Godhead, depending on one’s relationship to them.
Granted that this “fellowship” with the Godhead is not the same as “seeing” God with one’s own eyes. One day everyone will be able to “see” God as s/he will be judged for the deeds on earth, whether good or bad. Every person will stand before God. There is the Bema Seat of rewards for the believers (I Cor. 3) and the Great White Throne Judgment for non-believers (Rev. 20).
SUMMARY: Even if God was to “show” himself to us, we would still question the existence or nature of God. Someone would say that there was a mass hysteria or the documentation is fake. Seeing doesn’t necessarily leads to believing in the existence of God.
For more perspectives:
https://www.quora.com/If-God-is-everywhere-why-cant-anyone-see-him