How can Jacob say he saw God face to face if no one has ever seen God?
Jacob could say he saw God face to face because he encountered God the Son in an Old Testament theophany, not the invisible triune Godhead. Scripture affirms no one has seen the Trinity or the triune spirit part of God, yet God the Son appeared visibly throughout the Old Testament, as with Jacob at Peniel.
Les explains that Jacob’s statement in Genesis 32:30, where he named the place Phaneel and said, “I have seen God face to face,” must be understood carefully. People object that the Bible says no man has seen God and lived. Les agrees that no one has ever seen the Trinity, the triune spirit part of God. However, they have seen God the Son all through the Old Testament in theophanies. For example, Abraham in Genesis 18 ate with God the Son, and the burning bush was God the Son. So Jacob saw God the Son face to face, not the invisible Godhead.