Jesus is saying to him, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one is coming to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. And henceforth you know Him and have seen Him.
John 14: 6-7, Concordant New Testament
A believer friend was speaking to me this week that he was feeling weak in his spiritual life. He mentioned that he "needed to find God once again." Almost without thinking I replied, "Well, you better start with knowing Jesus." He did not immediately understand my words, but after looking at the words in the book of John he realized what I was saying was true. I've heard it from many a Christian, that they need to come to the Father. That they need to find God. My advice remains the same, if you want to find God, then you need to start with knowing His Son. It is Jesus who proclaims to us that He is the way to the Father {John 14:6}. It is Jesus who boldly says that if you have seen Him you have seen the Father as well {John 14:8-10}. It is Philip who desires to see the Father. It is Jesus who explains to him that he has already seen the Father through Him. Make no mistake, your search for God should begin with only One, Christ Jesus. For when we have come to know Jesus, we have known the Father as well. The two are inseparable. Growing up, I did not yet realize the intimate relationship between Jesus and the Father. Yes, I knew that Jesus was Gods one and only Son, but that's about all I knew. My own knowledge of the relationship between them was based on my earthly experience with my own dad. Therefore, I spent most of my younger years believing that God was a God of harsh discipline. If I ever messed up, and I did, I could expect God to treat me harshly. That meant denying me blessing as well as His love. I remember my mother being shocked that her son would believe that God would do anything but love me. Yet, being young, this was my understanding of how things worked. I was basing my own family experience upon my heavenly Father. I wonder if this was Philips concern when he asked Jesus to "Show us the Father" {John 14:8}.
Philip is saying to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficing for us." Jesus is saying to him, "So much time am I with you , and you do not know Me, Philip! He who has seen Me has seen the Father, and how are you saying, 'Show us the Father'?
John 14: 8-9, Concordant New Testament
I can only assume that there were a few of the disciples and followers of Jesus who did not know who the Father really was. Did Jesus tell them to seek the Father when they asked Him to show them the Father? No, Jesus told them that they were looking a the Father! He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. If you are seeking an audience with God, start with one with Christ Jesus. In Him you will see the Father. Now for the monkey wrench, can it be possible that the Father is in you? Is it possible that despite all you have been told about your sinful self, that God lives in you? Well, consider the words of the apostle Paul and his realization that it is Christ Jesus who dwells in him {Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:8}. Like myself, this knowledge did not come to Paul from birth. Indeed, it was a revelation spoken to Paul on the road to Damascus {Acts 9:4-6}. If we accept that it is Christ Jesus who dwells in us, we must also accept that it is the Father in us as well. For if we have seen Him we have seen the Father. We are told that His name Immanuel is translated to "God with us" {Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23}. It is not only Jesus who dwells in us, but the Father as well. Through this the prayer of Jesus in the garden has come to pass, that we would be one with He and the Father {John 17:21-22}. Therefore, if you find yourself seeking the Father, start with knowing His Son.
~Scott~
No comments:
Post a Comment