Has anyone ever heard the voice of the Father?  Before looking into this question let’s look at similar but easier question. 

Has anyone ever seen the Father?

The answer to this question is found in the gospel of John.

Joh 1:18  No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

No one has seen God at any time.  It’s clear from the second part of the verse that “God” is referring to the Father.  Let’s look at another Scripture.  When searching out a Biblical truth it is always good to find two or three verses that say the same thing.

Joh 6:46  Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.

That’s very clear also.  No one has seen the Father, except Jesus Christ.

When it says no one has seen God at any time, it means no human.  Certainly, angels have seen God.  For we know that angels of little children see the face of the Father.

Mat 18:10  “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

Has anyone ever seen the Father?  The answer is no.  No one has ever seen the Father, except Jesus Christ.  Let’s move on to the original question.

Has anyone ever heard the Father’s voice?

There is a passage in John 5 which seems to indicate the answer is no.

Joh 5:18  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.
Joh 5:19  Then Jesus answered and said to them, …

Jesus is talking to the Jews who were seeking to kill Him.  Dropping down to verse 37.

Joh 5:37  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.

That sounds like no one has heard the Father’s voice.  But before we make that conclusion, we should read some other Scriptures.

Let’s look at the account when when Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist. 

Luk 3:21  When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened.
Luk 3:22  And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

A voice from heaven was heard. A similar event happened at the transfiguration of Jesus. 

Luk 9:35  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!”

Who spoke the words “My beloved Son”?  It cannot have been an angel, because the voice said, “This is My beloved Son”.  It was the Father.  Who else can say of Jesus Christ, “This is My beloved Son”?  These Scriptures testify that the people who witnessed the baptism of Jesus and the transfiguration of Jesus heard the Father’s voice. 

There is another occasion when the voice of the Father was heard.  It was just after Jesus had entered Jerusalem on a young donkey.

Joh 12:27  “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
Joh 12:28  Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

Who spoke from heaven the words: “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again”?  It must have been the Father.  Jesus was praying to the Father, and this was the Father’s response.  The people who were there with Jesus heard it.  In the next verse it says:

Joh 12:29  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
Joh 12:30  Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

The apostle Peter refers to one of these events (probably the transfiguration) in 2 Peter 1:16-17.

2Pe 1:16  For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
2Pe 1:17  For He [our Lord Jesus Christ] received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Who is the “Excellent Glory”?  It’s the Father.  Here Peter recounts the remarkable event when the voice of the Father was heard saying of Jesus “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

It is clear from Scripture that on at least three occasions people heard the voice of the Father speaking from heaven.  How then are we to understand the Scripture we read earlier in John 5:37 which says.

Joh 5:37  And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.

Is there a contradiction here?  No.  Scripture does not contradict itself.  What is the resolution?

The resolution is that the Scripture says, “YOU have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form”.  The Scripture does not say, “NO ONE, but YOU”.  So, the people that Jesus was talking to had never heard the Father’s voice.  Jesus was directing that statement to the Jews who wanted to kill Him.

Let’s consider the chronology of events.  Jesus was baptised at the start of his ministry.  He was baptised by John the Baptist in the Jordan river somewhere in the wilderness.  The people who heard the voice of the Father saying, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased”, were the people who happened to be there in the wilderness with John the Baptist at that time.

Some time after His baptism, Jesus went to Jerusalem and addressed the Jews who sought to kill Him.  That is when he said, “You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form.”

Close to the end of His ministry Jesus prayed aloud and said Father, “Glorify Your name”.  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”

The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) record that the voice of the Father was heard at the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus.  Peter later confirms one of these (probably the transfiguration) in his epistle.  And then towards the end of Jesus’ ministry, John records that the voice of the Father was heard again.

In conclusion, no one has ever seen the Father except Jesus Christ; however, there were at least three occasions where the Father’s voice was heard by a number of people.