We run our website the way we wished the whole internet worked: we provide high quality original content with no ads. We are funded solely by your direct support. Please consider supporting this project.

light

Jesus: Our Vision of God

At the beginning of his Gospel John taught that “no one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (Jn 1:18). He is claiming that, outside of Christ, no one has ever truly known God.

In the preceding verse John contrasted the “grace and truth” that “came through Jesus Christ with “the law” that “was given through Moses” (Jn. 1:17). Taken together, these two verses suggest that people didn’t really know the truth about God through the law. The truth about God was disclosed only when God’s grace was revealed through the one and only Son, who is himself God.

Jesus is consistently presented as the only one who truly knows the Father and the only one through whom people can come to know the Father (Jn 17:3). Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life,” and “no one comes to the Father except through [him]” (Jn 14:6). The definite article before “way,” “truth” and “life” precludes any other ways to God, any other truths about God, and any other means of receiving life from God.

In this same passage Jesus immediately goes on to say, “If you really know me, you will know my Father was well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him” (Jn 14:7). Jesus was of course referring to himself as the personal revelation of the Father. His disciple Philip missed the point, however, for he went on to ask Jesus to “show us the Father” (14:8), to which Jesus makes the astonishing reply: “Don’t you know me, Philip…? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’” (14:9)? Jesus was emphasizing the point that, if we want to know who the Father truly is—if we want to “see” him—we must not look to anyone other Jesus.

So close is the connection between the Father and the Son in the theology of John that anyone who knows the Son thereby knows the Father, while anyone who denies the Son thereby denies the Father as well (I Jn. 2:22-23). We cannot theoretically separate knowledge of the Father from our knowledge of the Son. So too, whoever honors the Son thereby honors the Father while whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father (Jn 5:23).

This intensely Christocentric focus is summed up in John’s teaching that Jesus is the eternal Word of God (Jn. 1:1). There has been much scholarly debate about what exactly the Greek term for “Word” (logos) entails, however, it at least entails that Jesus is God’s self-communication. The definite article is once again all-important. It is not that there are many “words” of God: there is one, and it is Jesus. As Poythress notes, John’s identification of Jesus as “the Word” implies that “all particular divine words, from the words of creation onward, are manifestations of the one eternal Word.”[1] If any words reveal God, therefore, it is only to the extent that they participate in and agree with God’s one and only Word, Jesus.

Similarly, John repeatedly describes Jesus as God’s light in the world (John 8:12). It’s not that there are many “lights” of God in the world: there is one, and it is Jesus. If anyone’s words shed light on who God truly is, therefore, it’s only to the extent that they participate in and agree with God’s one and only light, Jesus.

[1] Poythress, God Centered, 58.

Photo Credit: Riley McCullough via Unsplash

Related Reading

You’re Not a Pacifist Are You?

 Jayel Aheram via Compfight Brian Zahnd wrote a great piece the other day on this topic. He contends that when he is asked this question, it often has the same flavor of the question, “You’re not a pornographer are you?” Why is this question so contentious among believers? Brian has some interesting ideas about it.…

Lighten Up: Square Peg, Round Hole Theology

This comic was featured in The Bohemian Bowmans. If you don’t follow them, you probably should check them out. They’re great.  

Was Jesus Fully God and Fully Human?

In the previous post I argued for the logical possibility of the Incarnation, so today I’d like to establish its biblical foundation. This will be review for some readers, but it’s important review because this doctrine is the absolute bedrock of the Christian faith. For example, this doctrine alone is what allows us to claim…

Why the Rapture is a Bad Idea

Is the Rapture really what you think it is? Most Christians believe that God will take his followers up to heaven before the really bad stuff starts on earth, but is this what the bible says? Is this view consistent with the loving God that Jesus shows us in the New Testament? View the full…

Is the Jesus of Revelation Wrathful?

In the second coming of Jesus, will he turn with wrath? Will he come as a roaring lion, ready to put on his display all of his anger, power, and might? What does the Jesus revealed in Revelation look like? This is a short clip that addresses these questions. If you want to watch the…

Why Did It Take SO Long for God to Reveal Himself in Jesus?

Greg talks about why it took God so long to reveal himself in Jesus. http://traffic.libsyn.com/askgregboyd/Episode_0048b.mp3