I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and gave symbols, by the witness of the prophets.
All Commentaries on Hosea 12:10 Go To Hosea 12
John Chrysostom
AD 407
How is it, then, that John says, “No one has ever seen God”? He says this so that you may know that he is speaking of a clear knowledge and a perfect comprehension of God. All the cases cited were instances of God’s condescension and accommodation. That no one of those prophets saw God’s essence in its pure state is clear from the fact that each one saw him in a different way. God is a simple being; he is not composed of parts; he is without form or figure. But all these prophets saw different forms and figures. God proved this very thing through the mouth of another prophet. And he persuaded those other prophets that they did not see his essence in its exact nature when he said, “I have multiplied visions, and by the ministries of the prophets I was represented.” What God was saying was, “I did not show my very essence, but I came down in condescension and accommodated myself to the weakness of their eyes.” However, John does not say only of humanity that “no one has ever seen God.” This was proved by what I have said—I mean by the prophetic utterance that states, “I have multiplied visions, and by the ministries of the prophets I was represented.” Against the Anomoeans, Homily
