Gospel of John

OK, so everybody have a copy of twenty four. We didn't finish it last week and then we'll hopefully speed through that and go to twenty five. Everybody got a copy of twenty five. OK. And then I'll have something else to hand out, hopefully if we get. How far did we get last week? Anybody paying attention?

Okay, just to set this up, we are in chapter 13 and Judas has just left the room and we talked some about in verse 31, now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him immediately. Recommended that, hopefully you wrote it down, recommended that you read John Darby's comments on this, they're really good and if you don't have the hard copy you can go to STEM Publishing on the web, S-T-E-M, and just John Darby and the Gospel of John. There's about five or six pages there, they're really worth worth your time, and I'm not going to review, I mean we could spend two classes on what he talks about, what glorifying the father and the son is all about.

Then he says, little children, I shall be with you a little while longer, you will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, where I am going you cannot come, so now I say to you, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. And by this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another." So my question ten was, is the love spoken of here of a different quality than the love in the Ten Commandments where you're to love your neighbor as yourself? Love. You've got a point for just don't nod your head. Yes. Give me an example. I mentioned it was a copy. Just just a quick, quick thought on that.

The Ten Commandments, the Mosaic Law, required that the Jews love their neighbors as themselves. In contemporary Christianity, especially under the covenant realm of things, you'll find that they will stick to that. And the problem is that if you stick with that, then what's the prerequisite? What do you have to do? You've got to love yourself.

Well, that's a little tough if you got crucified, don't you think? So, when the Lord Jesus says this to the disciples, he uses the agape word, and they have, I think, like a lot of what is being said here, they have a difficulty understanding what he's talking about.

But the reason that he tells them this is that he knows, he just informed them that he's going to leave. And he recognizes that there's going to be some real difficulties that are going to come their way between the time that he's crucified and the time of Pentecost.

And one of the things that will hold them together is that they love one another. And it would be a pillar that holds them through difficult times. So, it's a point that we'll talk about several other times as we go through John, but he tells them, he commands them, that they love one another, as I have loved you.

You know, it's the same scenario as husbands love your wife, as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it. So what's the standard? that you love your wife exactly like Christ loved the church. And what did he do? He gave himself forth. He places extremely high value in the object love and it has nothing to do with whether the object deserves it or not. It's originated in the lover and it stays in the lover and that's what he does. And they can be, like in Romans 5, while we were sinners Christ died for us. We were ungodly. So it's not conditional. Question 11, is there a difference?

In verse 36 and 37, Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going to go? And Jesus said to him, where I'm going, you cannot follow me now, but you shall follow me afterwards. And Peter said to him, Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will lay down my life for your sake.

So just to pick on a couple of words, is there a difference in the use of the word now used by Jesus and that used by Peter? There is a difference. Jesus' now meant this present period, this present time frame. Peter's now meant right now, this very moment. A little bragging on Peter's part.

And Peter was probably thinking of physical hindrances to the following of Jesus wherever he was going to go. While Jesus had in mind Peter's spiritual and moral unfitness to face the danger he was going to face. Understand that? Peter was not spiritually or morally fit to face the danger that Christ was going to face.

So where does Peter's boast come from within him? Every action in a person has a source. This fleshly nature is what I wrote down. That's right, it comes from fleshly self-confidence. So I think true Christian confidence or courage is never presumptuous, but well consorts with fear and trembling, for it is confidence is not in the resources of self, it's in the circumstances of others, but in God himself. with a due sense of power of Satan and of our own weakness. That was a quote from William Kelly. It's interesting that Peter, I love Peter because he's just so human.

He brags, he makes rash statements, he says he's going to do all this terrific stuff and of course he can't. And the Lord tells himself, but he's not above sounding off. And I think this gives stark evidence of the fact that the Lord is talking about something that these disciples had no clue about. That's right.

They don't know what's going to happen here. He just told them he's going to leave them. And they view things because of who they are from a physical standpoint. Things have been pretty tough for the Lord Jesus in the last months. And there's an APB out for him. It must be my phone. There's an all points bulletin out for him if you remember that if anybody knew where he was, they were to report him to the Pharisees and they were going to arrest him.

So if he splits, these guys have left without him. What are they going to do? You know, so what is it? It did go off. What he's trying to do is to comfort them and to point them in a direction that will sustain them through this difficult period because he's going to go to the cross and die alone to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. They don't have any idea that that's what he's going to do.

So why would Jesus say that Peter couldn't follow him now? He said, you can't follow me now, but you're going to later. Why couldn't he follow him now? Sins hadn't been paid for. Jesus is talking about his substitutionary death to pay the penalty for the sins of the world. No human being can follow him in that. Right. But then question 14, what made Peter suitable to follow him later? I'm the one who didn't get any sleep last night. What's the matter with you?

He's identified with Christ's death, burial and resurrection in which Christ was separated from the sin nature. Peter absolutely is involved in that. But Christ alone handles and takes care of the penalty for the sins of the world. The substitutionary death of Christ only by him.

And Peter does follow him later. So why would Jesus prophesy about Peter's future? I mean, if you had a cursory reading, you might say, well, you know, Peter spouts off, does a little bragging, and the Lord just is going to slap him down a little bit. Is that what you think is going on here? Peter's mind clears and he realizes what he's done. He'll remember this. First of all he remembers that Jesus told him this was going to happen. But he'll also remember the other thing that he said. And he'll remember that he's not forgotten because of that.

It's very interesting. The restoration process that's going to go on is going to be profoundly effective on Peter himself. after the Lord is raised from the dead and he restores him. I don't know if it's in John or one of the Gospels, but when Peter denies him, he sees the Lord's face and knows what he's done instantly and remembers that Christ had said, you know, you're going to deny me. And what I wrote down is how infinite the grace which made the measure of Peter's sin to be the signal and the means of his repentance under the Lord's use of his own word and in his wonder working on mercy. And what he was to Peter, he is to us and nothing less. All right,

14. Everybody got Lesson 25? Okay, we're at chapter 14. Now, I don't know who decided that the chapter break was going to be here, but it shouldn't have been here, because verse 1 should be at the end of chapter 13.

Because after Peter, the Lord says to Peter, you know, you're going to deny me three times before the rooster crows. He says, let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. So it really does belong, that phrase, that really does belong in chapter 13 at the end because he's encouraging, like Ben said, he's encouraging Peter. So what must faith have in order to be solid? What's it got to have? Got to have an object. So the Lord Jesus said, look fellas, you believe God, believe also in me. Now, what's interesting here is that there's a change here from singular to plural. In verse 38, In verse 38, it's singular. The you there is singular. When he gets to 1, it's plural. Or in verse 2, it's plural.

He first answered Peter's question individually and now he's including all of the disciples to exercise faith in him. Now, why would the Lord Jesus say to them, You believe in God, believe also in me. Now these are Jews, right? And Jews believe in God, don't they? Yahweh, Jehovah. So what's he saying to them? He's telling them he's God. That's what he's saying to them. And here he is, he's a man, standing in front of them, and he's saying, you guys do believe in God. You godly Jews. believe also in me. And he wants them to start to focus in on him because he recognizes that faith is the, along with loving one another, is the thing that will carry him through. Do you think they understand what he's talking about? I haven't got a clue. I don't think they have a clue. And there's this thing being set up here. as we'll go through hopefully we can see it.

Every human being that comes on the planet has a destiny, doesn't he? What's the destiny? My buddy lives across the street who doesn't know the Lord. What's his destiny? Death. Separation from God for all eternity, right? But God would prefer it not be that way, right? So God wants to change the destiny of humankind. He wants the destiny of every human being to be with Him. So what the Lord Jesus is beginning to show here is that He's about to change the destiny of humanity. And the way that men click into this change of destiny is by faith in Him.

That's how they do it. Because as we're going to see here, He's the link with God. And without him, there is no link with God. There is no destiny going that way at all. Does that make sense? So keep that in mind as we go through. If a personal God exists, which he does, who is a judge and a redeemer of man, there must be a destiny for man beyond the grave. There has to be.

So did the disciples see that this was God with them? Not a clue. Thought he might be the Messiah. Wasn't quite sure what the Messiah was going to be. Was hoping really beyond hope that he was going to be a really strong, powerful political figure who could command armies of men and kick the Romans out of Dodge and take over. That's what they were hoping.

But what's standing in front of them is God himself. And he's saying to them, you believe in God, you believe in me. I want you to make me the object of your faith." And they're thinking, really? They don't understand that's really what he's telling them. What's the vehicle by which we enjoy God? It's faith, isn't it? So if they are to enjoy Christ, they're going to have to believe in him also. and that's what he's trying to convince them.

They were all a little apprehensive because he had told them he was going to leave them, but then he says, I'm going to leave you, but you believe in me. Now, if I stood up in front of you and said that, what would you all do? You'd laugh, wouldn't you? I mean, I can see these disciples. What is he talking about? I mean, just like you believe in Jehovah, you believe in me.

And all they have is a physical presence of a man in front of them. Now watch how he lays this out to them. In my father's house are many mansions, and if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. Now, he's referring to the temple in verse 2 where the father is and telling them that there will be room for them where he's going. Why is he trying to comfort them?

Does he really mean that they're all going to have a single family residence? Being a realtor, that's how I look at it. In oriental time, the head of the family had a big house and the members of the family all lived in that house. So he's not talking about he's going to, you know, he's going to create the subdivision of peaceful heaven and everybody gets a plot.

What he's saying is, is that in my father's house there's room for every one of you. Because you belong to me. See, that's what he's saying to them. And he's saying to them, your faith in me guarantees you that space. You see that? Your faith in me, and he says, if it wasn't so, I wouldn't have told you. See how he's trying to comfort them?

They understand that in a oriental environment, what it means to be a member of a household and to have space living in there. It's that way in the Middle East now. A wealthy sheik, his whole family lives in the same house. They all live there. They're not like we Americans, we all got to have our own address. Question four, he's speaking to his disciples who were Jews. Why is it difficult for them to grasp what he's saying?

Earthly for the Jews. Say that again? Earthly for the Jews. Yeah, see their frame of reference is earthly and his frame of reference is heavenly. Because if he's saying, in my father's house there's lots of rooms, who do they think his father is? They think he's God, but not in the sense that they're one, that they're both God. But they're thinking earthly. They're not thinking heavenly. So it's difficult for them to understand. And it isn't their fault in that sense, is it? What do you think? Is it their fault?

We'd probably be the same way. We shouldn't be because we're different. We have the Holy Spirit. They didn't. They don't have a spiritual understanding just yet. The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, their foolishness unto him, he cannot know them. So the Lord Jesus is speaking to them spiritually, and he's saying, you may not understand, but you need to believe me.

You see where he's going with this? It's the same thing with us. We may read the Word of God and not understand, but what does God expect us to do about it? Believe Him. Believe Him. Does He have to explain it to you before you believe it? No, he does not. He says it, and that ought to be good enough. And then he will work out the understanding of it. But I think God sometimes comes to us and shows us things in the word, and then he waits for us to believe him. Because we look at it and say, oh, no, really? The first time you ever heard that you were crucified with Christ, you went, oh, hallelujah, right? You went, huh? I died? Did I really? What does that mean?

And God doesn't say to you, well, you know, move over to Missouri, figure it out, and then come back, and then we'll, no. He says, just believe me. When I tell you something, believe me. So when you get to Paul's epistles and you see all this incredible language about who you are in Christ, like when we were doing the grace study, and what they're doing upstairs now, the 33 things that we have in Christ, what are you supposed to do about those 33 things? Simple, you're to believe them. That's it. That's it. No fair saying to God, unless you sort of make it real to me, I'm not buying it. Now, there's enough doubting Thomases around.

If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go, you know, and the way you know. Really. Remember what I said about destiny a minute ago? What is he saying, Joe? I'm skipping a question. I'll go back to it in a minute.

What is he saying to him? You know where I'm going. And you know the way. What is he saying? Where is he going? He's going to his father. Why is he going there? Okay, and he says, you know where I'm going. So they know he's going to the Father. Why there? He's a man. Why is he going there? He's recreating the link back to God for mankind. That's what he's doing.

And he says, I'm telling you, you know where I'm going. I'm going to the Father. I've told you this all along. And they know why he's going, I think, or at least a cursory understanding of the reason that he's going there is to re-establish this link. But then he says in question 5, quickly, what does his coming again say to the disciples? When he says to them, look, my father's got a mansion, and there's places there for each one of you, and I'm guaranteeing that you'll have a place there.

What's the guarantee? The guarantee is that I'm going to come back and I'm going to take you there personally myself. That's the guarantee. That's why he says it that way. Do you see that? He said, I'm telling you something and I'm going to guarantee that it's true because I'm going to come back and I'm going to take you there. I'm the guarantee. See that? They say a guarantee is only as good as the person who backs it up.

In verse 4, 4 and 5. In verse 4 he says you know the way. Thomas says he doesn't know the way. What is the reason that he says they should know? Look what's going on here. I don't know if you've noticed this. If you sit down and read 13 and 14, like we talked about last time, you're going to see the Lord Jesus starts out on this teaching track and Peter interrupts him. Then he goes back and now he's back and he's on it again.

Now Thomas interrupts him. And when Thomas says to him, hey, Lord, we don't know where you're going, and how can we know the way? What's he saying about what Jesus just told him? He's telling him he's a liar. Isn't that what he's saying? Because he says, if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself. And where I am, there you may also be. And where I go, you know, and the way you know. And Thomas says, no we don't. We don't know. And we don't know where you're going.

So what's he saying? Lord, you're not telling us the truth. Isn't that what he's saying to him? If I say to you the moon is made out of cheese and you say to me, oh no way. What have you just called me? A liar. That's what Thomas is doing. The liar is not understanding still. He doesn't understand, so he's not living by faith, is he? He's challenging what the Lord Jesus is saying to him.

Gee, I've never done that. You never have either, have you? Is a liar still thumping this thump? He still doesn't understand. He hasn't come out and said exactly, you'll walk this path, A to B to C to D. We still don't understand. More than a liar, they just have not put the whole picture together about if they're still the messiah. And they're trying to fit what he's telling them into their vision of a messiah. So I don't know as much as a liar, I still have no clue. But he's challenging them.

And Merle Tenney said this, this is a great line, he said, Thomas's question contradicts what Jesus had just said. Thomas was like a man who created a dust in a fog and then complained that he couldn't see. Jesus had just explained that faith in him was the key to where their destiny was, where they're going and where he was going, and the way. He just told him that. Jesus was going to the Father, and they should have seen the Father in seeing Him. Hasn't He told them that? Because He's about to tell them again. And thus, having seen the Father in Him, they knew the way. The way was that Jesus Christ Himself is the way to the Father. He is the way. For in coming to Him, they came to the Father, who was in Him as He was in the Father.

The problem is that the only way that these disciples would ever understand that is how? What must they do? They've got to believe it. They have to believe it or they won't understand. So he says to them, I just told you, believe me. That's what he's saying. But isn't Thomas just interpreting it physically? That's exactly right. But what's interesting is, I love Thomas too, because he's representative of us.

We read something in the word of God that we don't understand. And rather than just saying to the Lord, OK, I believe you, what do we do? We say, oh, that can't be true. I don't know anybody who's ever experienced that. My buddies never talk about that. That can't be true.

Rather than saying, well Lord, you said it, it's good enough for me. I don't understand it, but if you said it, I buy it. You think that's a proper attitude to have when you're studying the Word of God? I absolutely think so. Because there isn't a man alive, which we'll see in a minute, that can read the word of God and understand it. All of it. You can't.

Because it's by revelation alone and by faith on your part. Miles Stanford used to say that if God reveals something to you and you believe it, hold on because you're going for a ride. Hang on because here we go. He's going to make what he told you real to you in the person of his son and you're going to abide in it and live in it. Your job and my job is to believe him. And that's what he's saying, that's what he's pounding on these guys right now.

Even though they're not spiritually alive like we are, he's saying to them, you can believe me, anybody can believe me, right? A non-believer, that's why we call him a non-believer. Does a man believe in the Lord Jesus Christ because God has regenerated him? No, he believes in his Adamic state, right? That's the last thing Adam ever does, but that's what he does. You believe me. Now, one of the great verses in the Bible, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Okay, let's describe these. I want you to notice a couple of things. Jesus did not say he knew the way. He did not say he knew the truth, or he knew what life was. Nor did he teach them what the way was, what life was. He did not make himself the exponent of a new system. This isn't a new program. This isn't a government sponsored deal.

He declared himself to be the final key to all mysteries. All of them. He says, I am the way. Explain what the way means here. We've discussed it enough. And Jesus says yes you do. He says I'm the way. The way to where? To the Father. So here's the problem as I explained before. Between the present man's failure and the future of God's design for man is a gulf. And man can't span it, only the Lord Jesus can. So it's unbridgeable, maybe, that's a new word.

So he had led the disciples to follow him on high through the knowledge which acquaintance with his person, which the Father was revealed, gave them. of where he was going and that he was the way. In other words, to shorten that up, he was bringing man back to God. That's what he was going to do. He says, I'm the way. Every single human being that ever shows up on the planet or has ever showed up on the planet, that has been the issue. Hasn't it?

Or like one man says, what think ye of this man? What do you think of the Lord Jesus? And what do you think about God? Think you're in trouble with Him? I mean, all you have to do is look at cultures and study anthropology and you'll see that every society knew that they were separated from God and God wasn't happy. And the Lord Jesus says, I am the only way back to God. That's what He's telling them. I'm the way. Then He says, I'm the truth. Truth is what?

All philosophers have sought truth, and not a single one has ever attained it. I wish Craig was here. He has this great definition of what a philosophy is. No one's mind was great enough to achieve truth, right? I know some people who think they have, but truth is neither an abstract system of integrated propositions, nor is it an impersonal ethic contained in many rules. I understand what both of those are, I'll read them again. Truth is neither an abstract system of integrated propositions, give you an example, TM, yoga, those kinds of things, nor is it an impersonal ethic contained in many rules.

Catholicism, Presbyterianism, you know, religion. Truth isn't religion. It is the scariest commodity in the world. Truth is. He is truth itself in the perfect revelation of God and the soul's relationship to him and in bringing out the real condition and character of all things in the real light of God.

If you grew up like I did and been educated in our school system, our school system functions based on Greek philosophy and primarily Aristotle. Which means that I'm the center of the universe and what my job is, is to learn as much as I can about truth, things, science, and then I bring them into me and I cogitate about them and I decide what truth is. Isn't that our education system? That's what it is, right?

The Lord says, no, that's not it. I am truth. I'm not the truth. I am truth. Anything outside of me is not truth. So, don't you love it? The truth is actually a person, not a thing, not an abstract idea, not a set of rules. It is a person. So, is it important to know Christ? Yeah, I would think so. Because you get to know, not only the way, but you get to know truth and life. What does life mean? Those are the difference between truth and facts. Truth and facts? Well, from a biblical standpoint, what you get when you study the Word of God are facts, biblical facts. which are designed to reveal the person of Christ. Because the facts and the person are not separated.

Or you could say this... Well, I think it's in Colossians, that in Christ, all things consist. So inside of Christ, all science, all technology, everything that's material, spiritual, exists in Him. Yeah, that's his glory. Part of his glory, sure. Part of it.

Yeah, that's exactly right. And he starts that out with an I am, which is the ego I am. Good point. Does everybody understand what ego I am means? We've talked about that quite a bit. When the Lord Jesus used that term, that's I am who am. There's no question in it, and whoever hears it, that what he's saying is that I am God. Because that was the term, ego and me, I am who am. I am the pre-existent one. I am the pre-existent one who is way to God. I am truth and I am life.

Why life? Eternal life is life itself. What is life? What is life? define life? It's the Lord himself. Yeah, it's God himself. He is life. And what's interesting is that a lot of times when the word talks about life, especially here, it refers to the life that is unique to God alone. And that's what he's saying. Now, in context of the way and the truth, here's why life is important.

The way was the means of reaching the Father. The truth defined the righteous standards of the way, and the life adapted the dynamic which could make attainment possible. You cannot go to the Father unless you have His life. You can have human life that's infested with sin, but you're not going to the Father with that. You have to have His life. He was the life in which God and truth could be known.

Man found in him that which could enable them to come near and enjoy the Father. Life is the principle of spirituality that originates with God and that lifts man out of sin to himself. In the first chapter of John he says, In him was life and the life is the light of men.

And could you say life and righteousness are synonymous? Righteousness is part of the life. But you can't have life without righteousness. You can't have God's life without God's righteousness, that's true. Because with the life comes righteousness, holiness, all those things are included in the life.

So you see what he's saying to them there? Now, we've asked this question ten times today, do you think they understand what he's talking about? I think they do to some degree. I think he's telling them, look, I'm the only way to God. I am the truth, and I am the light. Now can you understand that with your natural mind? Yeah, I think you can. But to really understand it, what must you contribute to it? You have to believe it. No one comes to the Father except through me. So here's the gap. Anybody who wants to get to God, he's it. Not a religion, not a set of principles, him.

In verse 7, if you had known me, you would have known my Father also. And from now on you know him and have seen him. So what's he saying about himself? Because of the characteristic of the life that the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit share, if you have seen life active in front of you who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

You have seen the Father because the Lord Jesus is the Lagos of God. He's the exact representation of who God is. You can't know God outside of Christ. No human being can. So that's what he's saying to them. So he says the exact expression of the Father's character. If you want to know what God the Father is like, Just get better acclaimed with the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what Einstein said. Everything there is to know about God's character, His love, everything about Him, what's in His heart, is knowable by intimacy with Christ. Christianity is not a system of philosophy, nor a ritual, nor a code of laws. It is the impartation of divine vitality Without the way, there's no going. Without the truth, there's no knowing. And without the life, there is no living.

How does that relate to the Jews today, as far as the knowing part? Say that again? How does that relate to the Jews knowing God? Do you think they do? Yeah, see I think that's the key. Romans 9 or 10 talk about even unto this day there's a veil across their eyes and they cannot understand. Why not?

Because they don't believe that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. I live in a neighborhood with a lot of aesthetic Jews and yesterday you know they're all with that black hats and stuff and As a matter of fact, they bought Courtney's old building when they were adding on to it, and they have a school there. They know a lot about Jehovah. They don't know Jehovah. See the difference? That's what the Lord Jesus is trying to tell these guys. Look, the way to the Father and to know Him is personal. It's not to know about Him, it's to know Him personally. See that?

There's a difference. I could stand up here, and if none of you had ever met Donna, I could go on and on about all of her attributes, right? And you would say, ah, she sounds pretty cool. But that's not the same thing as if you walked in the room and all of you got to meet her. That's the difference.

We are being taken by the Lord Jesus Christ into the presence of the Father so that we can know him personally. Not know about him, know him personally. Human beings are designed by God to interact with the God of the universe on a personal level. So being a theologian doesn't work here. Being really, really biblically intelligent doesn't work here. What works here is intimacy with Christ. And that is the one thing that you will see not taught in most churches today. Nobody ever talks about intimacy with Christ, do they? Going through verses like this and trying to explain exactly what the Lord Jesus is saying, who he is, and what he's been sent to do, to bring us back to an intimate fellowship with the Father.

Maybe put it this way. George. I think it is, Todd. I just don't think it's... I think it's... I don't think it's tough to write. It's a scary proposition. People think it's too much. God wouldn't be that cool. If you sin, then you've broken the relationship with God. And if you sin too much, then that means you don't really have a relationship with God. The idea that Jesus is talking about here, being the one and only link between the Father and that being the end of the story, isn't something I can understand. I'm probably not going to make it, but the last thing we were going to talk about today was the gray circle, which is the last question. And I'll leave it at that. My last question is what does love motivate? And what it does is it motivates obedience, but it presupposes that you know the one you love.

Love's not an abstract, just like way, truth and life aren't abstract. They're actual real things. I think also the way it's taught too, I think of the J.I. Packer, knowing God, it's kind of set rules and His life is our life. So it's just a different way. It's like knowing a set of facts. But it's not the intimate knowledge of who Christ is. It's who we are. That's who I am. I think people are scared to death of intimacy with Christ. I really do.

They don't think it's a privilege that God has granted them because they're under some sort of a lost system thinking that they've got to do some things in order to earn the grace of God. It's totally backwards. God has expended every effort, and it cost him the greatest thing he owned, which was his son, to get you to be in fellowship with him.

What does Philip do here? Don't you love Philip? After all of this discussion, right? Philip says, hey. Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father and it suffices for us or be sufficient for us. Duh. I mean, that's what I'm thinking. Hey, Phil, where you been, boy? Why does Philip ask? I've got to read this to you because Jack's going to love this. This is a brand new thing to Philip, and Philip is one of those guys that understanding of spiritual reality is pretty limited. He's a worldly, practical man.

It can be inferred that from this question that the disciples had not come to an intimate knowledge of his person, even though they'd been with him three and a half years, and so were incapable of understanding his revelation of the Father. Philip was a statistically thinking man, a man that wanted concrete, tangible evidence. He was an engineer. He was slow to apprehend anything abstract. He was not indifferent to the truth, but he was dull, but an earnest seeker who desires to know God, but who finds that no concept of him adequately fulfills his desire. And this is a part for Jack. He must have been from Oklahoma. You've got to love Philip. Philip is a guy who's looking for the building blocks.

After all of this, he says to Jesus, well show us the Father and that will be good enough. And the Lord is saying, what did I just say? If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. And he says, show us the Father. Duh. See? So Philip is a terrific guy because he does express his desire. I want to see the father, which is really cool. But he thought the father was going to be another human being. He didn't recognize the fact that the father is character, is life, is a person. So, in verse 10 and 11, I'm going to read 9, 10 and 11. Jesus said, I have been with you so long, and yet you have not known me, Philip.

He who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak of my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.

So, what's the issue here? What's the Lord Jesus trying to teach Philip and the rest of the disciples? Same issue we've been teaching all along. Is that the first or second Bill? What's he teaching? What's he trying to teach them? It should be the second one. Alright, let's finish up with this question. What's he teaching them? He's been teaching them the same lesson from the beginning. What's he telling them? You are one and you must believe it.

Philip, you are not going to understand unless you believe. If you don't believe me, look at what I do. That's what he's saying to them. If you don't believe me, and I am in the Father, and the Father is in me, and the manifestation of the Father's character is what you see me doing, if you don't buy that, buy what I did. Because nobody can do what I did, if God weren't with them. Even Nicodemus knew that. Okay, you get four questions. Let's close.

Dear Father, we thank you for the fact that you have determined that we are to know you and to know your Son intimately. And Father, by faith, we trust you with that. We believe you when you tell us. And we rely on the Spirit of God to make all that we read and understand real to us in the person of your dear Son. And we pray in His name. Amen.