3rd May 2026
Seeing the Father in the Son
Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’ 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 14:8-9 (NIVUK)
Philip’s request feels very human: ‘Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.’ He wants clarity, certainty, something that is visible and unmistakable. Jesus’s response is both gentle and profound: ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.’ This moment reveals a central truth: God is not hidden behind Jesus – he is fully revealed in him. The Scottish theologian Thomas F. Torrance expressed this powerfully: ‘There is no God behind the back of Jesus Christ.’ 1 This passage beautifully affirms that:
- Jesus is the perfect and complete revelation of the Father’s heart.
- There is no contradiction between who God is and what we see in Jesus.
- The Father is not distant, harsh, or unknowable – he is exactly like Jesus.
When we look at how Jesus welcomed sinners, healed the broken, forgave freely, and laid down his life, we are not seeing just a part of God; we are seeing God as he truly is.
The good news of the gospel message is that humanity is included in the life and love of the Trinity through Jesus Christ. This means Jesus doesn’t merely show us God, he brings us into relationship with the Father. In Christ, we are not outsiders trying to reach God: we are already embraced.
So, when Jesus says, ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father’, it also means the same love Jesus showed is directed toward you and me, the same welcome he gave is our welcome, and the same relationship he has with the Father is shared with us by grace. Philip thought seeing God would be ‘enough’. Jesus shows us that we already have more than enough in him.
Today, instead of imagining what God might be like, look to Jesus. In your doubts, see his patience, in your failures, see his forgiveness, and in your fears, see his presence.
And rest in this sure and certain belief that the God revealed in Jesus is not against you, but is for you, with you, and has drawn you into his life.
Prayer
Loving Father, thank you that you have not left yourself hidden from us. In Jesus, you have shown us exactly who you are: full of grace, truth, mercy, and love. Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see you more clearly, so that in seeing you, we may truly know the Father. Holy Spirit, help us rest in the truth that we are already welcomed, already loved, and already included in the life you share with the Father, and the Son. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
1 Thomas F. Torrance, The Christian Doctrine of God: One Being Three Persons, pp.243-244.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church