KNOWLEDGE OF THE FATHER

JOHN 16:25–30

“… the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language, but I will tell you plainly about the Father”

(John 16:25).

Before our hearts are regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are blind to spiritual truths. While we can know something of God, His eternal nature, His divine attributes, and His worthiness to be worshiped, we do not know Him intimately (Rom. 1:19–29). It is Christ Himself who leads us into intimate knowledge of God. It is He who makes plain the plan of redemption and the purposes of God for us.

Jesus here declares, “I will show you the Father.” This is what Christ does for the believer, and it is the desire of every Christian: to know God, to see Him plainly, to be rid of the shadows that dim the glory of heaven. This is the greatest favor that Christ intends for His people. To know the Father and to see the Lord face to face is the happiness of heaven and the hope of every child of God. And this is exactly what is promised.

Until this point in John’s narrative, Christ had spoken in proverbs and parables. His instruction had been general and full of shadows, but now He promised to speak to the disciples plainly. When the Spirit came, the apostles attained a much greater knowledge of divine truths than they ever had before. But there is a fuller dimension to Jesus’ promise than this. It is only in heaven that we will see the Father as He is, for now we see “through a glass darkly” (1 Cor. 13:12). There is coming a day when all questions will be answered, when all shadows will be removed, and the glory of God will illuminate our minds and fill our hearts.

Before we became Christians, we did not understand anything of God’s redemptive love. All was confused and distorted because of sin. But when the Spirit illuminated our minds to the truth, we began to see things more plainly. Christ’s teaching made sense when before it seemed foolish. The Bible was not so disconnected and antiquated as it had before seemed. But even in this redemptive state, there is much that we do not understand. This can be frustrating and can cause conflict in our personal lives and in the church as a whole. But Christ has promised that we will “know God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We will see Him as He is, and we will finally be completely content.

CORAM DEO

Proverbs 28–29

2 Corinthians 7

Even though we will not know things clearly until we see God “face to face,” we can know Him through His Word, which is illuminated by His Spirit. So, we cannot know Him if we ignore His Word. If you do not already have an appointed time every day to read the Scriptures, make one, and keep that appointment.

For further study: Prov. 1:1–7 • Hos. 6:3 • Mic. 4:12 • Rom. 10:3 • Eph. 4:18

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