Show Us The Father

Show Us The Father

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

John 14:9

We should carefully guard against separating Christ and God. This is what Philip was doing here. He ignored Christ and looked for God in heaven. He was thinking, “I hear Christ talking to me. But how do I know what God in heaven thinks about me or has decided to do with me?” What else is this than unbelief and a secret denial of God? Christ had to correct Philip in order to tear him away from such a misconception. He said, “Philip, why are you trying to separate the Father from me? With your thoughts, you’re climbing up into the clouds and leaving me here on earth talking uselessly. Don’t you hear what I’m saying? Whoever sees me sees the Father too. Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?”

Those are loving yet serious words from the Lord, for he can’t tolerate us fluttering around in uncertainty. Christ wants us firmly tied to him and his Word so that we don’t search for God anywhere else except in him.

A devout hermit named Anthony noticed that some of the young and inexperienced monks wanted to be smart and figure out God’s secrets and everything else besides. But Anthony warned his brothers that if they saw someone climbing heavenward and planting one foot in heaven, they should immediately pull that person down. For if he set his other foot in heaven too, he would come crashing down headfirst. These are appropriate words for those who like to speculate about lofty matters. Those people would like to drill a hole into heaven to peek in and see God himself and everything he is doing. In the meantime, they ignore Christ. We need to protect ourselves from ideas that go beyond God’s Word and that separate Christ from God.