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John 1:18
ESV No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father 's side, he has made him known.
NIV No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
NASB No one has seen God at any time; God the only Son, who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained Him.
CSB No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
NLT No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.
KJV No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
NKJV No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

What does John 1:18 mean?

This is another statement affirming Jesus' divinity in the gospel of John, and it reinforces the third of seven names: "the Son of God."

Here, "seeing God" is meant in a physical, literal sense of perceiving God the Father, in person, with one's eyes. God chose to reveal Himself in certain forms in the past (Genesis 18:1; Hebrews 1:1–2), but He is essentially a Spirit (John 4:24). The gospel of John describes Jesus as the "Word" of God, using the Greek word logos. Jesus is the message, or the definition, of God. Words are tangible symbols of ideas, both for our eyes and our ears.

The fact that God came in human form is critical. Jesus is a human being who experiences our struggles (Hebrews 4:15); He is one to whom we can relate. Jesus is a message from God, in a language we all understand: relationship. Jesus explains God to us in a way we could never understand otherwise.

John also repeats the claim that Jesus is God. The Greek term monogenēs is used here as well as in John 1:14, John 3:16, and John 3:18, translated as "only" in the ESV. Other translations use words such as "one and only" or "only begotten" or "unique." This means Jesus is of the exact same "stuff" as God the Father (Hebrews 1:3).
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