Monday, March 27, 2017

Knowing the Father through Jesus


7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. (John 14:7-10)

When I was reading this, it struck me that Jesus knew He looked like Heavenly Father, that He was saying what Heavenly Father would say and doing what Heavenly Father would do, so seeing Jesus was just like seeing Heavenly Father.  So everything we read about Jesus doing and saying is just as if Heavenly Father were doing and saying it—the healing, the teaching, the chastising, and so on.

This is striking in this era of individuality, when everyone wants to establish their own identity to separate themselves from everyone else. If Jesus wanted to be His won person, He never said anything about it, but rather spoke often about doing what His Father did, saying what His Father wanted Him to say. He said specifically, “I speak not these words of myself,” meaning they weren’t on His own impetus.

If only we could become more like this ourselves!

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