If
you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.” Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
John 14:7-8
John 14 [5.] Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
John 14 [6.] Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.”
John 14 [8.] Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
John 14 [9.] Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it.
Meaning:
Jesus had just answered Thomas with the words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6). In these verses he goes further: to know him is to know the Father. Philip’s request shows how hard it was for the disciples to grasp this.
- “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also”
Jesus is not only the way to the Father; he is the one in whom the Father is made known. John’s Gospel began with this truth: “No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him” (John 1:18). The disciples had walked with Jesus for about three years. They knew him as teacher, healer and friend, but they had not yet understood that in him they were meeting God himself. Jesus had said publicly, “He who sees me sees him who sent me” (John 12:45).
- “From now on, you know him, and have seen him”
“From now on” points to the turning point that was arriving: the cross, the resurrection and the coming of the Spirit. Through these events the disciples would come to see clearly what they had already seen dimly. They had in fact been looking at the Father’s character every day in Jesus’ compassion, holiness, truthfulness and power. Paul would later describe Christ as “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15).
- “Lord, show us the Father”
Philip was one of the first disciples called; he had told Nathanael, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote” (John 1:45). Yet his request shows that he was still looking for something more, perhaps a visible appearance of God’s glory like those granted in the Old Testament. Moses had prayed, “Please show me your glory,” and God answered, “You cannot see my face, for man may not see me and live” (Exodus 33:18-20). Philip wanted a vision like that.
- “And that will be enough for us”
Philip’s words express a deep longing that every human heart shares: to see God and be satisfied. He thought one clear sight of the Father would settle every doubt. Jesus would answer, with gentle disappointment, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). The vision Philip longed for had been in front of him all along.
The Significance of John 14:7-8
- God made known in Jesus
People often ask what God is like. The Christian answer is to look at Jesus. In his life, words, death and resurrection God has shown his heart fully and personally.
- Satisfied in Christ
Philip thought he needed something more than Jesus. Believers can fall into the same trap, seeking spiritual experiences beyond Christ. But the deepest longing of the heart is met in knowing him.
- Growing in understanding
The disciples knew Jesus but understood him only in part. Christian growth is a lifelong journey of coming to know him more deeply, and through him the Father.
Cross-References:
John 1:18: "No one has seen God at any time. The one and only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him." The Son reveals the Father.
Exodus 33:18-20: "Please show me your glory." Moses' prayer, like Philip's request.
Colossians 1:15: "who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation." Christ shows the invisible God.
John 12:45: "He who sees me sees him who sent me." Jesus' earlier public claim.
Conclusion: Jesus told his disciples that to know him is to know the Father, and that from now on they had seen the Father in him. Philip, longing for a visible sign of God, asked Jesus to show them the Father. His request set the stage for Jesus’ great reply that whoever has seen him has seen the Father, since God is fully revealed in his Son.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible