Show Us the Father

Gabriel Yoder

The Gospel of John • Sermon • Submitted a year ago

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John 14:7-11

John 1:14- And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

You know the Father and have seen Him

But…

Noone has ever seen God

John 1:18a- No one has ever seen God; the only God…

John 6:46- not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.

1 Timothy 6:15b-16- he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

1 John 4:12- No one has ever seen God

Show us the Father, and it is enough

Philip can’t make sense of what Jesus is trying to say

There is a real sense of unbelief left in the disciples

Yet, there is a genuine desire for God Himself

This is the heart of true faith

Not a desire have God be a means to an end

But that God would be the end for which our hearts long

Philip wants one thing: to see the Most High God

This was the great desire of the OT saints

Rewind for a Reminder

Moses

Exodus 33:18-23- Bible

David

Psalm 27:4- One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

Isaiah

Isaiah 6:1-5- Bible

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 1:26-28- Bible

Daniel

Daniel 10:5-9- Bible

The problem was that none of them could see God

They would have been struck down on the spot

Whoever sees me has seen the Father

Have you been with me so long?

They have been walking with Him for about 3 years and yet they do not fully understand

They will not fully understand until after He is crucified and raised again from the grave

There is a reason for this which we will see in a few minutes

We say “show me your glory” and we see it

John 12:45- And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.

John 10:30- I and the Father are one.”

Colossians 1:15- He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Hebrews 1:1-3- Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Believe

He has said and done everything for our faith

John 10:38- but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

Don’t desire something more

We say “show me your glory” and we see it

This is what the OT saints longed for but couldn’t have

We have it and so often take it for granted

Sometimes we treat it as if it is not enough

Perhaps it is because we are lazy or even sloppy students of the Bible and have not really taken the time to think well about what the Bible says and how it effects our lives

Maybe some of us do not actually believe in the Jesus that we read of in the Bible and the result is searching for something more

Could it be that we don’t actually believe that the Bible is sufficient for us?

We, with unveiled face, behold His glory

2 Corinthians 3:12-18- Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord,are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Christ died so that the veil might be removed from your heart

I think that one of the reasons that the Disciples couldn’t fully see who Jesus was earlier was because it is a blood-bought gift from God

Praise God if you see!

He is faithfully working in you to conform you to the image of Christ

May you be so captivated by Christ that you want nothing more than to be with Him

May you be so captivated by Christ that, until that day, you want to be more and more like Him

He will be faithful to work this in your heart by His Spirit

John 1:14- And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Manuscript

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” That’s John 1:14. I wonder what that verse does to you as you hear it read or as your eyes take the words in. If I can be honest for a second, I have to admit that earlier this week it did not do what it ought to have done. It was normal, not magnificent. It was ordinary, not extraordinary. It was received by a heart that was far too unmoved by what I was reading. My prayer this morning is that your heart might receive these words in a different way. That you will be absolutely astonished at the wonder of what you are reading and hearing.

You know the Father and have seen Him

Jesus says something pretty remarkable. He says, in verse 7, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” He tells them that he is going to His Father, that they will know the Father if they know Him, and that they now know and have seen the Father. But some of you might remember an important reality that is clear and constant in the Old Testament. This reality is that noone has ever seen God. Not only does the Old Testament speak to this, but so does the New Testament. In fact, John tells is in John 1:18a that “No one has ever seen God; the only God…”. Also, in John 6:46, he says “not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.” Paul even mentions this in 1 Timothy 6:15b-16, when he says “he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.” And John says it as directly and clearly as possible in 1 John 4:12: “No one has ever seen God”.

Now is when Philip interjects and says “Show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” It seems that he can’t make sense of what Jesus is trying to say, and his request shows that he is no the only one. He says “show us the Father, and it will be enough for us.” There is a real sense of unebleive left in the disciples. They do not yet fully understand or believe who Jesus is. If they would, then this would not be anywhere near the mind of Philip or the others.

Yet, there is a genuine desire for God Himself. Do you see it? Philip’s desire is not for material things or for personal success or for comfort and ease in his life. What he really wants is to set His eyes on the Father. To gaze at Him in all of His splendor and beauty. Why is this important? It is because this is the heart of true faith. True faith does not have at its heart a desire have God be a means to an end, but rather that God would be the end for which our hearts long. Is that your heart? I mean do you really desire God? Do you yearn for His presence? Do you have an insatiable appetite to behold His glory? Philip wants one thing: to see the Most High God, and this was the great desire of the OT saints. I think for this passage to really mean for us what it was intended to mean we must take a walk back through the Old Testament and see a few important things.

Rewind for a Reminder

I want to rewind about 1400 years to Moses. We arrive in the wilderness at the establishment of the tent of meeting. We read in Exodus 33:18-23: “Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” Moses’ request was that the Lord would show him His glory. That was His heart’s great desire. Do you catch what happened? God was gracious enough to give Moses as much of His request as possible, but anything more would be deadly. God would pass by and show Moses His back, but in order for Moses to even be able to see this God had to hide him in a cleft in the rock.

If we fast forward about 400 years we arrive at David. The man after God’s own heart sought Him continually, and yet he was found desiring something specific. He says, in Psalm 27:4, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.” His longing is to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. The reason that this is his desire is because he can’t yet do it.

Again, moving forward about 300 years, the prophet Isaiah recounts an amazing scene in his life in Isaiah 6:1-5, where he writes: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train[a] of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” All that he was allowed to see was the train of God’s robe and it was so glorious that he fell down in declared that he is destroyed because of God’s holiness and his sinfulness. This is not a blaspheming unbeliever. This is one of the prophet who God used to write perhaps the most important prophetic book in the Bible. He gets a glimps of the robe of God and it is enough to cause him to cry out that he is destroyed.

Not long after Isaiah came Ezekiel, who sees a vision of God. Not a real life sighting of God, but a vision of Him. This happens in Ezekiel 1:26-28- And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance. And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him. Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” Ezekiel’s response is to fall on his face, which doesn’t seem so amazing as the other’s but I think that Daniel’s similar account helps us to see what is really being described by Ezekiel. Daniel picks up on this same language as he describes what he sees in a vision as he stood along the Tigris River. Daniel 10:5-9 says: “I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground. Now I think we see what falling with his face to the ground means. Daniel is literally knocked out as the sight of the vision, and Ezekiel must have had no less radical of an experience.

What do all of these Old Testament saints have in common? They have a common problem, and the problem was that none of them could see God. They all would have been struck down on the spot because Isaiah is right when he says that he was undone because of the sight of God’s train, and burning coals were put to his lips since he was a man of unclean lips just like all of us are. This is important to know as we read our passage this morning.

Whoever sees me has seen the Father

Jesus tells the Disciples that “Whoever sees me has seen the Father” and they clearly don’t understand. I mean, how could they understand if they knew all that we just saw in the Old Testament? And in response to Philip’s request to see the Father, Jesus responds in clear disappointment. He says “have you been with me so long, and you still don’t know me?” They have been walking with Him for about 3 years and yet they do not fully understand. They will not fully understand until after He is crucified and raised again from the grave. I think that there is a reason for this which I will mention in a few minutes. But I don’t want us to miss the wonder what what Jesus is saying.

We say with Moses “show me your glory” and, unlike him, we see it! We don’t just see this in this passage either. Back in John 10:30, he said, I and the Father are one.” And then ahain on John 12:45, he said: “And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.” Paul says this in Colossians 1:15: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” And finally, the writer to the Hebrews says, in Hebrews 1:1-3, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Do you desire to see God? You can open up your Bible and see what Moses, David, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel could never see. You can see God in the face of Christ Jesus. Do you desire to dwell in the magnificence of His presence? You aren’t only about to behold His glory and beauty, but you also, though not fully, dwell in His presence by the indwelling Holy Spirit who lives in all of His people.

Believe

Therefore, we must believe. He has said and done everything for our faith, just as He ppinted out in John 10:38- but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” We must not to diminish the importance of our response. So, how should we live in light of this passage?

First, don’t desire something more. So many Christians will walk away from a passage like this, seeing Christ and His majesty, and desire something more. A visual picture or a display of His glory or a sign of His presence. But why? I can think of three reasons. Perhaps it is because we are lazy or even sloppy students of the Bible and have not really taken the time to think well about what the Bible says and how it effects our lives. Or maybe some of us do not actually believe in the Jesus that we read of in the Bible and the result is searching for something more. Or perhaps it is because we don’t actually believe that the Bible is sufficient for us.

We say “show me your glory” and we see it

This is what the OT saints longed for but couldn’t have

We have it and so often take it for granted

We, with unveiled face, behold His glory

Christ died so that the veil might be removed from your heart

I think that one of the reasons that the Disciples couldn’t fully see who Jesus was earlier was because it is a blood-bought gift from God

Praise God if you see!

He is faithfully working in you to conform you to the image of Christ

May you be so captivated by Christ that you want nothing more than to be with Him

May you be so captivated by Christ that, until that day, you want to be more and more like Him

He will be faithful to work this in your heart by His Spirit

John 1:14- And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

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