Many people throughout history have expressed the deep longing in their hearts for a God that could be seen and touched. A little child was crying in the middle of the night, and when his parents came into his room, he said he was scared of the night and scared of being alone. His parents assured him that they were just in the next room, and told him that God was everywhere. He was right there in his room and would protect him. As the little boy clung to his mother’s neck, he looked at them both very seriously and said, “I know God is here with me, but I want someone with skin on!” Children aren’t the only ones who have this need for a God who can be seen and touched. In our passage of Scripture for today, John 14:7-14, the apostle Philip tells Jesus what would satisfy his own needs, and we have Jesus’ response to him.
I. JUSUS’ RESPONSE TO THOMAS (verse 7)
In verse 7, Jesus is still speaking to Thomas when He says, “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.” The word “know” is used 141 times in John’s Gospel, but it does not always have the same meaning. In fact, there are four levels of meaning. The lowest level of meaning is simply knowing a fact. The next level is that of understanding the truth behind that fact. However, we can know a fact and know the truth behind it and still be lost in our sins. The third level.involves a relationship. To “know” means to believe in a person and become related to him or her. In fact, in Genesis 4:1 and other passages of Scripture, to “know” was used to refer to the most intimate relationship between a man and his wife. The fourth use of the word “know” means to have an even deeper relationship with a person where your spirits and desires become as one. Jesus will be describing this deeper relationship in my next sermon. Here in verse 7, Thomas’ problem was not that he did not know the Father, but that he didn’t realize that he already knew the Father. Jesus is saying, “Thomas, you have had a face-to-face relationship with the God of the universe and you didn’t even know it! Then Jesus says, “From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” He is talking about the near future. When they see Jesus in His resurrected body, watch Him ascend into heaven, and are filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they will understand Him more clearly, and be empowered to proclaim Him to others. Because that understanding of Him would clearly come to them in the future, Jesus spoke of it as if it was a present reality.
II. PHILIP’S RESPONSE TO JESUS (verse 8)
The thought of knowing the Father interests Philip and, in verse 8,he proposes what he thinks is a solution to the problem. “Lord,” he says, “show us the Father and it is enough for us.” Philip wanted to see the Father as plainly as he could now see Jesus. Like many of us, Philip was a very practical person and a logical thinker. His thinking was: “If only God could be made visible to me; if He could be here so that I could examine Him, then I would be satisfied.” Philip and the other disciples had been with Jesus for three years, yet they still had a craving for something beyond Him. They wanted a direct, face-to-face knowledge of God like they had of each other.
III. JESUS’ ANSWER TO PHILIP (verses 9-10)
Jesus was disappointed with Philip’s reply, but not irritated or angry. In verse 9, He says something like this: “Philip, if you want to see the Father, take a good look at me.” If we want to see what God is really like, we should take a good look at Jesus Christ. What is implied here is that, not to see the Father in the Lord Jesus Christ, is not to know Jesus Christ. Verse 10 makes it clear that the Father and Jesus Christ are two separate Persons yet one God. No human being can fully understand this. If we could understand God fully, we would be as great as God and wouldn’t be able to truly worship Him.
You may be familiar with the Gallup poll. It’s a public opinion survey on various issues and topics. In 2022, one of the survey questions that George Gallup and his associates gave to a cross-section of the American population was: “Do you believe in God?” 81% responded by saying “yes.” When asked further questions, most of them said they believed in a Supreme Being who listens to our prayers. Beyond than, their answers were vague. There was little understanding of who God is. It goes to show that knowing a little about God is not the same as knowing God, is it?
IV. JESUS’ ANSWER TO THE DISCIPLES (verses 11-14)
In verses 11-14, Jesus gives an answer to His disciples. The word “believe” in verse 11 is plural in the Greek, so Jesus is again speaking to all of His disciples, not just Philip, because He knows that Philip is a spokesman for what all eleven of them desired. Jesus again stresses the truth that they have seen the Father because they have seen Him. His purpose is to comfort and strengthen them in preparation for His departure from them. The basis for their belief in Him is His words and His works. What an encouraging promise He gives them in verse 12: “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Can you imagine the disciples’ surprise when Jesus told them that they would do greater works then He? These miracles that the disciples would perform would not be greater in quality because Jesus said, in John 13:16, “A slave is not greater than his master.” but they would be greater in quantity. His promise came true. On the day of Pentecost alone, 3000 people were converted to Christ. Jesus is saying, “my going away is the key to your having real power in you, to do greater things than I have done, because it’s only when I return to the Father that I can send the Holy Spirit to be in you and empower you. You are going to be better off when I’m gone physically.” In this present age of electricity and rapid transportation, evangelism is reaching much larger audiences and conversions to Christ have increased dramatically. Evangelist Luis Palau addressed a crowd of 700,000 in a stadium in Guatemala CIty. Dr. Billy Graham once preached to over a million people gathered at a public square in Seoul, Korea. Jesus’ promise in verse 12 keeps coming true
Jesus then gives a tremendous promise in verses 13-14. He says, “Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do.” Does this verse mean that a Christian can get anything he or she wants from God? Verse 14 is often misinterpreted and misused. Some people believe that the use of Jesus’ name in their prayers becomes a kind of magical formula that guarantees that they will get what they ask for. This is not true. The key to understanding this promise is in the words, “in my name.” To ask in Jesus’ name is not simply to say the words “in Jesus’ name” at the end of our prayers. It is to ask in accordance with Jesus’ mind and will. It is to ask for those things which will bring glory and honor to God, and which will be for our spiritual good and for the good of others. In order to ask “in Jesus’ name,” we must be in close fellowship with Christ in His word. Otherwise we will not know His desires. The closer we are in our fellowship with Christ, the more our desires will be the same as His. Such prayers will be answered because they are pleasing to God and will bring glory to Him. Jesus repeats the promise in verses 13 and 14 for emphasis and for encouragement.
Have you ever received a check with two signatures on it? Have you ever signed a check that also had to be signed by someone else in order to be valid? John 14:14 is like a check requiring two signatures, Jesus’ and the Father’s. Any request in Jesus’ name needs to be aligned with the will of both Jesus and God the Father to be truly authorized or granted; it emphasizes that a prayer or request must not only be made through Jesus but also be in accordance with God’s purpose and glory. In the case of prayer or physical healing, we must pray with a spirit of submission which says, “Lord, if it is not your will to grant my request, give me the grace to be victorious in this trial.” Remember, nothing lies beyond the reach of prayer except what lies outside the will of God.
Sometimes God answers prayer in very unusual and unexpected ways. Here is one example. A businessman picked up a hitchhiker and drove with him for several hours. The hitchhiker was a Christian and he shared the gospel with the businessman. Before he dropped him off, he put his faith in Christ as his Savior and Lord. He left his business card with the hitchhiker and said, “If you ever come to Chicago, drop by and see me.” Several years went by before the hitchhiker was in Chicago again. He stopped by the man’s office and handed the card to a woman and asked if the man was in. The woman’s face froze and she asked, “Where did you get this card?” The man used the question to tell the woman the story of how the man had become a Christian that day. The woman broke down in tears and said, “He was my husband. I had prayed for years that he would come to Christ. But he never made it home from that trip. He was killed in an automobile accident after he dropped you off. I’ve been bitter at God all these years because I thought that He didn’t answer my prayer.” Not all stories end that way, but the point is, we don’t have all knowledge about how God may be working in response to our prayers. So, pray that God will do far more through you than you can ask or think. But if things don’t go exactly as you have prayed, trust Him that, if not in this life, at least in eternity you will understand how He answered and used you to do even greater works than He did.
There are other times when God answers prayers quicker than we expect, and He seems to delight in making it obvious that it is His doing. Shortly after Dallas Seminary was founded in 1924, it came to the point of bankruptcy. All the creditors were going to foreclose at noon on a particular day. That morning, the founders of the school met in the president’s office to pray that God would provide. In that prayer meeting was Dr. Harry Ironside. When it was his turn to pray, he prayed in his characteristically refreshing manner: :Lord, we know that the cattle on a thousand hills are thine. Please sell some of them and give us the money.”
While they were praying, a tall Texan came into the business office and said, “I just sold two boxcar loads of cattle in Fort Worth. I’ve been trying to make a business deal go through and it won’t work, and I feel that God wants me to give this money to the Seminary. I don’t know if you need it or not, but here’s the check.”
A secretary took the check and, knowing something of the financial seriousness of the hour, went to the door of the prayer meeting and timidly tapped on the door. When she finally got a response, Dr. Lewis Chafer took the check out of her hand, and it was for the exact amount of the debt. When he looked at the signature, he recognized the name of the cattle rancher. Turning to Dr. Ironside, he said, “Harry, God sold the cattle!”
God knows what is best for each of us. As we pray to Him, let’s not try to tell Him what to do. Any request that does not glorify God’s name should not be asked in His name. For any request that does glorify God’s name, let’s continue to ask in faith without doubting. Do you remember Jesus’ parable of the woman and the judge in Luke 18? Luke begins by saying, “And He [Jesus] told them a parable that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”
CONSTRUCTION SITE: Completed .