To Know the Father
Joh 14:6-10 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (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.
No one comes unto the Father except through Jesus Christ. Is this an arbitrary paradigm decided upon by the council of three great heavenly beings or is this really the way it is; meaning the reality of the universe is that it is impossible to come to know the Father except through Christ.
The context of this discussion is “to know.” It is not simply the ability to stand in the presence of. It means to know Him at His heart; to experience intimacy and closeness with Him that engenders warmth, love, security and all the things the human heart needs.
If we read the Bible plainly then we must take Jesus at His word that there is no possible way to know the Father except through Him. The KJV says no man, but the Greek word oudeis actually means no-one or nothing, so not even the Angels can know the Father except through the Son of God.
The obvious question is why?
This is where we must have an understanding of the Father’s kingdom. Listen to what He says:
Jer 9:23-24 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: (24) But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
To truly know God is to know His character and His person. Yet since the God of the universe commands unlimited power and has an endless list of achievements skills and abilities, it would be impossible for us as created beings to really know Him for who He is rather than what He does.
Just think about that for a moment: it would be impossible for us as created beings to really know Him for who He is rather than what He does. Why? Here is a being that we do not know where He came from or how he does all these things. All we know is that He does things including keeping us alive. His lack of origin makes it impossible for us to know Him on a purely relational basis. Again why? Because when you know someone’s origin you can know them for who they belong to and not necessarily for what they do.
This is where the Son of God comes to our rescue. Listen carefully
John 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father:
The inheritance that Jesus received from the Father enabled Him to truly know the Father in a purely relational context. The ability for Jesus to know the Father in this way when the Father has no origin while Christ does is evidence enough of His divine pedigree. A created being could never “know” a being without an origin. This is an impossibility. Yet Jesus, the divine Son of God knows the Father. Therefore in looking to Jesus we can connect ourselves to a being that is known purely in a relational context. The term Son of God is His highest majesty and glory. He is the one that came from the Father. His relational origin ensures a relational kingdom platform upon which the works and deeds are done. This is why:
Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
The government of the universe must rest upon the Son because His origin from the Father ensures the purely relational nature of the Father’s kingdom. On this basis knowing the Son is the only way we can truly know the heart of the Father. This is why Jesus said
John 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
Only through Christ can we discern the heart of our infinite God. It is through one that has an origin that we can know the heart of one that does not. Oh how glorious is the person of Jesus. I am moved to tears of joy at the thought of it.
JESUS IS THE WAY TO THE FATHER!
The very thing that is anathema to the Trinitarian is life to the believer in the Son of God and this that Jesus has an origin. We know Him first and above all by whom He belongs to not because of what He possesses or can do. It is the mind of Satan that created the idea that we can’t know the origin of the Son of God
John 7:26-27 But, lo, he speaketh boldly, and they say nothing unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? (27) Howbeit we know this man whence he is: but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence he is.
The Jews had been seduced by the satanic lie that the origin of the Messiah would not be known. Yet this is exactly what the Trinity of Adventism is seeking to tell us today. We are told that Christ has no origin and that if He did this would prove Him not to be divine.
The Trinitarian cries “if you believe Jesus is truly a Son by inheritance then you make Him a derived being and therefore inferior” But in taking from Jesus His origin, you destroy the capacity to know Him in a truly relational context. You can only know Him by His deeds and works and here is the height of human idolatry. The worship of a being that is known by His deeds and works is exactly what Satan desired and every carnal fallen human being desires. This is the absurdity of the Trinity, in order to preserve his divinity, you destroy His identity. The beauty of pioneer Adventism is that both the identity and divinity of Jesus are preserved and that is through a rejection of the mysterious Trinity.
The Sonship of Jesus and His origin means everything to us and is the very glory of His person. I do not use the word beginning because this word is related to time and time can never be used as a measure of divinity in a relational context. The word origin only speaks of source it does not speak of age. The origin of the Son of God is the critical link that allows us to truly know the Father. Without it, we can never truly know Him.
he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; John 14:9
