That has been my fervent prayer the last two mornings, as I sat on our front porch in the quiet, cool light of the morning, steaming cup of coffee in hand.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus said to one of His doubting disciples:
“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John
20:29)
Lord knows I believe.
But I still want to see His face.
"Please, show me Your glory" said Moses to the Lord, in the tabernacle of meeting (Exodus 33:18). Moses wanted to see the face of God.
Don't we all?
God said to Moses:
God said to Moses:
God the Father is "spirit" (John 4:24). He is called the "Invisible God." (Colossians 1:15, 1 Timothy 1:17, Hebrews 11:27). The Bible says of God the Father: "No one has seen Him at any time." ( John 1:18).
“God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of
kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who dwells in
unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.” (1 Timothy 6:15-16)
Who is The Father?
Jesus told His Disciples:
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also;
and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:7)
Phillip, another of Jesus' doubting Disciples still didn't get it and said:
“Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.”
(John 14:8)
I don't feel so bad when I read that. Even one of Jesus' closest disciples, who walked with Him for over three years while He was here on earth, did not get it either.
Jesus replied to Philip:
“Have I 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’?” (John 14:9)
These verses in John 14 began to unveil a glimpse into the greatest mystery in all of history; the glorious, triune nature of the Godhead ("Trinity").
I cannot comprehend the full meaning of Jesus saying, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." And I've heard various theologians over the years try to interpret and explain this passage away with all kinds of lofty, intellectual explanations; none of which satisfy.
So, by faith, trusting in God, I am going to take Jesus at His Word, and simply accept His words here at face value.
For now we all see through a mirror dimly (or darkly). We cannot see the full picture. We can't understand it all at this time. But one day, when we are changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, we will see Jesus as He truly is, and the Bible says we shall be like Him, and we will know all things, just as we are known. (See 1 Corinthians 15:52, 13:12, and 1 John 3:2).
Jesus is said to be an exact representation of God the Father. John wrote of Jesus, "He has declared Him."
“No one has seen God (the Father, the invisible Spirit) at any time. The only
begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.”
(John 1:18)
The word "declared" literally means; to unfold.
Ah, the glorious mystery of the Godhead!
If anyone thinks they can put God in a neat little box, where they can fully understand, explain and comprehend Him, they have not searched the pages of Scripture to see what His own Word says about Him.
Something that really spoke to my heart this morning about God's glory and grace was from the words He spoke to Moses in the tabernacle of meeting:
"So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by." (Exodus 33:22)
The mystery of Jesus saying to Phillip; "He who has seen Me has seen the Father" begins to make some sense to me when I read this passage from Exodus 33:22.
Jesus has "declared" the Father. We read that in John 1:18. So how can we, (like Phillip) see the Father when we see Jesus?
God said that as His glory (unapproachable light) passes by, He would put Moses in the cleft of the rock, and cover him with His hand, so Moses could see His back.
Who is the "Rock" of our salvation? Jesus. Was there a cleft in the Rock? Yes; when the soldier pierced Jesus' side with a spear, and blood and water gushed out. (See John 19:34). Jesus was "wounded (pierced) for our transgressions" (See Isaiah 53:5). Has God put us in the cleft of the Rock, Christ Jesus? Yes.
We are in Jesus. (See 1 Peter 5:14, John 14:19-20, 17:21).
“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more,
but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. At that day you
will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.” (John
14:19-20)
Did God cover His people with His hand? (Psalm 18:35)
“When I passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says the Lord God.” (Ezekiel 16:8)
“You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin.” (Psalm 85:2)
“You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin.” (Psalm 85:2)
“For Adam and his wife the Lord God made
tunics of skin, and clothed (covered) them. Then the Lord God said, “Behold,
the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put
out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— therefore
the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground
from which he was taken.” (Genesis 3:21-23)
Is Jesus referred to as God's hand?
“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your right hand has held me up, Your gentleness has made me great.” (Psalm 18:35)
“Indeed My hand has laid the foundation of
the earth, And My right hand has stretched out the heavens; When I
call to them, They stand up together.” (Isaiah 48:18)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing
was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3)
Moses wanted to know God. He asked to know the way.
“Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight,
show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your
sight.” (Exodus 33:13).
Moses said, "Show me now Your way, that I may know You."
Here, a man is asking God to show him how to know Him. To, "show him the way."
Several thousand years after that, God is speaking to men how they can know Him:
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
Jesus didn't say 'I can show you the way.' No. He said, "I am the way."
The same God who was on Mount Sinai, who said to Moses, "Tell them, I AM Who I AM has sent you", told the Jewish authorities thousands of years later:
"Most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM!" (See John 8:58)
The good news for us who believe is, like Moses, we have found grace in God's sight. Moses said:
“Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight,
show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your
sight.” (Exodus 33:13).
It's all about Grace.
When we see Jesus revealed in the pages of God's Word, we see an exact representation of the invisible God—The Father—who demands perfect justice, and whose perfect love and mercy is from everlasting to everlasting.
God's justice and mercy met on the Cross, that day when Jesus Christ—the Son of God—gave His sinless life as a perfect ransom for the sins of imperfect humanity. The Father placed us in the cleft of His Son—The Rock—and covered us with His right hand. Through the sinless blood of the Lamb; Jesus Christ, our sin is covered. Washed away. Forgiven and forgotten, forever.
Because we have been placed in the cleft of the Rock, when the fiery glory of God the Father passes by, we are not consumed. Because we are now "in Christ" what was once "inapproachable light" to us, is now perfect peace. God is now our Father, and we are His children. We are no longer under His wrath. We are in God's Grace. In Christ.
When God looks at us, He no longer sees condemned sinners; He sees His Son.
I can now see more clearly why Jesus would say to his confused Disciples, who wanted to know who "The Father" was,
I can now see more clearly why Jesus would say to his confused Disciples, who wanted to know who "The Father" was,
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” (John 14:7)
If you want to know God the Father, get to know Jesus.
Once you know Jesus, from now on, you will know The Father and will have seen Him.
I can't fully explain it. It blows my mind.
But Jesus said it. It's the Truth.
Just "stand on the Rock" and believe it.
—God is Love and Love Never Fails.
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