In his
commentary on John 1:18, Adam Clarke noted that the passage does not mean
no one has ever seen God (the Father), but instead, no one has fully
grasped/perceived Him:
No man hath seen God at any time - Moses and
others heard his voice, and saw the cloud and the fire, which were the symbols
of his presence; but such a manifestation of God as had now taken place, in the
person of Jesus Christ, had never before been exhibited to the world. It is
likely that the word seen, here, is put for known, as in John 3:32; 1 John 3:2,
1 John 3:6, and 3 John 1:11; and this sense the latter clause of the verse
seems to require: - No man, how highly soever favored, hath fully known God, at
any time, in any nation or age; the only begotten Son, (see on John 1:14;
(note)), who is in the bosom of the Father, who was intimately acquainted with
all the counsels of the Most High, he hath declared him, εξηγησατο, hath
announced the Divine oracles unto men; for in this sense the word is used by
the best Greek writers.
