John 14:9–Know The Father Through Christ

John 14:9–"Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."

Even Jesus' disciples struggled with some of what He was trying to teach them.  Most of them did not understand the real gravity and depth of who Christ was until after His ascension when the Holy Spirit finally came upon them.  This, I believe, is one of those instances in which the block-headed disciples had trouble grasping the reality of who Jesus was.

But don't some of us still struggle with the same things?  Sure, we may recognize Jesus' distinctiveness as the Son of God but do we truly recognize Him in His oneness with the Father?

This is precisely the point that Jesus is trying to make with this statement.  He wants us to know without ambiguity that to know Him is to know God, to see the Son is to see the Father, and to love Christ is to love God.  This is the essence of Jesus: God.  This is the essence of the Son: the Father.  It is for this reason that Jesus can say that whoever has seen Him as seen the Father.

1 John 2:23–The Son & Father Are Conjoined

1 John 2:23–"No one who denies the Son has the Father.  Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also."

This verse is an important assertion about the intimate relationship between two members of the Godhead, Jesus and the Father.  It is not unique in that it is affirmed and asserted throughout Scripture that one may not possess an honest belief in God the Father save through the Son, and vice versa.  The Son is the gateway to the Father (John 14:6), just as those who are in the Father must possess the Son as well.

Christmas, in reality, is a unique convergence between these two members of the Godhead, completed by the presence of the Holy Spirit who indwells Mary with a son, the Holy Son of the Heavenly Father.

We should not easily forget or neglect the real interconnected intimacy of the Godhead as we seek to worship God in His infinitude this season.

Praise God Who is Near

During the so-called Age of Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries, a great many thinkers and philosophers began to exalt the limits and capacities of human, especially reason and empiricism.  As reason and the perfectibility of man were heralded, a new stream of pseudo-Christianity arose that had a huge affect on how the world, particularly the leaders of a certain fledgling North American nation, thought about God.  This ideal has been called Deism and while their are very few who would still call themselves Deists, the philosophies of this heresy are still in play today.

Deism, very simply, is the idea that God the Father created creation and then left it alone.  A common word-picture used to describe Deism is to think that God wound the clock of creation and then closed it within a glass case ne'er to be touched or interrupted or tinkered with.  In its essence, Deism would say that God is transcendent over creation in that He is the creator but He is not imminent in that He has never and will never become involved with creation.  It can quickly be seen that this type of spiritual philosophy is still widespread today in the vast numbers of people who think of God as some far away being who is either too busy or too disinterested to become involved in our petty human affairs.

To be sure, this is blatantly false and grossly heretical.  For starters, Christ, the Son of God sent by the Father God to atone for the sin of mankind, is clear evidence of God's intimate involvement with and in the world.  Moreover, God is immensely near.  In fact, the Bible is direct and unified in expressing how ever-present God always is, particularly to those who call on Him and the brokenhearted (Deut. 31:6; Psa. 16:8, 34:18, 46:1, 145:18).  This should always be on our minds and be the reliable source of our constant comfort, security, and hope.  For God is always near.  His omnipresence deems that He is always everywhere.  Wherever we are, there He is.  This should be more than comforting, it should be overwhelming.  To consider that the Holy Lord, who is infinite and without need, is here with us for us should rock us with love to our very cores.  Let us praise the Lord for who He is and for being near us to love us!  Praise God!