Matthew Poole and continuators on John 1:18

18 No man hath seen God at any time : the onely begotten son, which is in the bosome of the Father , he hath declared him .

No man hath at any time seen the Essence of God with his Eyes, Iohn 4.24. Nor with the eyes of his mind understood the whole Counsel and Will of God, Matth. 11.7. Rom. 11.34. Moses indeed saw the Image and representation of God, and had a more familiar converse with God than others; upon which account he is said to have talked with God face to face, Numb. 12.7, 8. God sa[illegible: 1 letter]th he would speak unto him mouth to mouth, even apparently; but he tells us how in the same Verse, and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold; and God who had spoke to the same sense, Exod. 33.11. saith, v. 20. Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. Now to whom he did not discover his face, he certainly did not discover all his secret Counsels.

But he who is the onely begotten and beloved Son, hath such an intimate Communion with him in his Nature, and such a free Communication of all his Counsels, as it may be said, he is continually in his Bosom.

Hath declared him, not onely as a Prophet declareth the Mind and Will of God, but as the Heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his handy works, Psal. 19.1. Being the brightness of his fathers glory, and the express Image of his person, Heb. 1.3. So as the Father can onely be seen in the Son; nor is so full a Revelation of the Fathers Will to be expected from any, as from the Son.

Marginal references: Luke 10.2. 1 Tim. 6.16.1 1 John 4.12.