“Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be content.’ Jesus replied, ‘Have I been with you for so long, and you have not known me, Philip? The person who has seen me has seen the Father! How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father residing in me performs his miraculous deeds. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, but if you do not believe me, believe because of the miraculous deeds themselves.’” —John 14:8–11
Our Lord’s words to Philip seem to be full of discouragement. Certainly, Philip should have known better. It appears that in every age there is a natural wish of man for some extraordinary revelation of the Father, an earnest desire for further light, a yearning for the miraculous. “Show us the Father” was Philip’s plea, yet this request reveals not only the weakness of his faith but also the lack of his understanding of God’s way of revealing himself. To see with earthly eyes is one thing, but to see with eyes of faith is quite another.
The writer of Hebrews tells us: “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see. For by it the people of old received God’s commendation.” —Hebrews 11:1–2
Faith is not only having a surety and certainty regarding unseen realities and hopes, it is also to be the lens by which we view all of life’s experiences. It is not a blind hope; it is a firm grounding in the truth of the Lord Jesus. When Jesus was on earth, he prayed:
“Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men know that you sent me. I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.” —John 17:25–26
Jesus tells His disciples to believe Him—based on the credibility and reliability of His Word and on His miraculous works. These two convincing truths point to the fact that to know Jesus is to know the Father as well.
Christ’s miracles were proof of His divine mission. His miracles—the finger marks of God—things too hard for man to do. Only God can make the blind miraculously see, the dead rise, and the insane sane. These signs were given both for the conviction of the unregenerate and for the confirmation of the faith of His disciples. Indisputable proofs—who but God could do such things as these?
“If I do not perform the deeds of my Father, do not believe me. But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, so that you may come to know and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.” —John 10:37–38
Become More
There is a close and mysterious unity between the three persons of the Trinity with which our finite minds can perhaps grasp but only a glimmer. How very little we realize the fullness of this unity! Jesus taught his disciples many things when he walked on this earth and of these, certain mighty truths simply passed right over their heads. It was not until afterwards that his words were remembered and became clearer.
“Want of trust is at the root of almost all our sins and all our weaknesses, and how shall we escape it but by looking to Him and observing His faithfulness. The man who holds God’s faithfulness will not be foolhardy or reckless, but will be ready for every emergency.” —Hudson Taylor
Further Reflections
I am supremely happy that God did not choose for me to live in Biblical times, simply because I have a nagging suspicion I would have ended up looking as unfavorably as some that we have read about recently. First, we have Peter demonstrating his presumption, next, Thomas his doubts, and now, Philip his lack of faith. Each one of these disciples bring their humanness to Scripture!
“I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one—I in them and you in me—that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.” —John 17:20–23