Have You Seen God? John 14:7-11

Review Jesus has told His apostles that He will not be with them much longer Peter asked for more information, and Jesus revealed He was going to His Father –He would prepare a place for them –Then He would return for them Thomas asked for more information on the way and the destination –Jesus said He is the way and no one comes to the Father except through Him As part of His explanation, Jesus says...

Knowing God John 14:7-8 –Knowing Jesus is the same as knowing the Father And knowing God is the same as seeing God –Philip reacts literally and asks to see the Father But what did Jesus mean about knowing God and seeing God? –Both ideas had an OT basis

Seeing God Ex 33:12-23 –God knew Moses “by name” –Moses wanted to know God “show me Your way” (v13) “show me Your glory” (v18) –God said He would... Make His goodness pass before him (v19) Proclaim the name of the LORD (v19) Not allow Moses to see His face (v20) Allow Moses to see the “back” of His glory –You can know God by knowing His way, His goodness, and His name

Seeing God What does knowing His name mean? –Ex 34:5-9 Knowing His character –Merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and truth, forgiving and just What does knowing His goodness mean? –Knowing His nature –“Goodness” means everything that is good His sinlessness, His holiness, etc The only thing left is knowing His way –How does God put all these aspects together?

Seeing God If you understand His character and nature (and your own), then you know why no man could see God and live –Justice and holiness would demand that our sins be punished Isa 6:1-5 –Isaiah knew he was a sinner and unworthy to see God even in a vision Isa 6:6-7 –But God is also forgiving –It may be difficult for us to comprehend how God can be all those things So God showed us His way (more about this in a moment)

Knowing God The OT also speaks about “knowing God” –In the days of Hosea, God charged the people with ‘not knowing God’ Hos 4:1-3 –God has a charge (a legal case) against Israel –The charge is against the nation The nation, as a whole, had entered a covenant with God –The charge is “no truth, no mercy, and no knowledge of God” All were things required in the covenant and all were reflective of God’s nature and character Some specifics of the charge –Swearing, lying, killing, stealing, adultery

Knowing God Hos 4:4-10 –No need to argue about the charge or blame others All had a share in the guilt –Either they had committed the sins or did nothing to stop others –The people had rejected knowledge of God They didn’t want to know what God said was right or wrong (knowing God is knowing and obeying His commandments – His way for man) –Therefore God didn’t want them to be His priest »Ex 19:5-6 They will get exactly what they deserved

His way Recall Jesus just said “I am the way” (Jn 14:6) –He has added to that by saying if you know Jesus, then you know and have seen the Father In Christ we have the nature, character, and way of God all revealed –Philip wanted to “see the Father” –Jesus answered (John 14:9-11) You “see” and “know” the Father when... –You believe in Jesus –You believe in His words –You believe in His works John explained more about this concept of knowing and seeing God through Jesus...

Knowing and Seeing God 1 Jn 2:3-6 –To “know” God is to keep His commandments Jesus kept the commandments, so He knew the Father If we know Jesus, then we know the Father 1 Jn 4:7-12 –To “know God” is to love like God loved –When we see that kind of love, then we see a reflection of God In Christ, we see God, because He showed that love perfectly and kept the commandments –1 Jn 4:17 - 5:3

Conclusion Do you know God? –If you’ve never obeyed Him, the answer is “No” –If you obeyed the gospel, but are no longer keeping His commands, the answer is “No” If you need to know God, then look to Jesus –Showing us God’s nature, character and way