44 Then Jesus cried out, "When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me.
Make no mistake about it, when we reject Jesus, we reject God. There is an entire unity between Jesus and the Father – there is a complete and mysterious Oneness. In our verses for today, Jesus boldly and earnestly declares this Truth, desiring that all might take notice of it. To trust in the Son – the sent Savior of sinners - is to also trust in the Father – the One who sent Him to save. Though distinct Persons of the Trinity, they cannot be divided. The unity of Jesus and the Father are so complete that to honor God is to honor the Son as well and conversely, to dishonor One is to dishonor the Other.
22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. John 5:22-23 (NIV)
God makes Himself known through the face of Christ. Jesus is the perfect manifestation of God therefore to believe in Jesus is to believe in God. God’s essential nature is disclosed in our Lord Jesus. Knowing God comes through knowing His Son – reading His Words, paying attention to His deeds. Jesus came to make God known to us. Scripture gives us the following Truths:
18 No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known. John 1:18 (NIV)
6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Cor 4:6 (NIV)
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Col 1:15 (NIV)
3 The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Heb 1:3 (NIV)
When we look upon Jesus with careful observation of details - beholding Him closely – we will see also the One who sent Him as well. This was certainly a point our Lord wanted His original disciples to grasp. isHWe find Jesus answering Philip’s request to “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us” with the following response:
9 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'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. John 14:9-11 (NIV)
Jesus carries this even further. As believers and followers of the Son of God, we are to be reflecting His glory. He tells us in Matthew:
40 "He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me.” Matt 10:40 (NIV)
16 "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." Luke 10:16 (NIV)
Paul tells us quite clearly that we are to be a reflection of our Lord’s glory in ever increasing measure:
16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Cor 3:16-18 (NIV)
As believers manifest more and more of the fruit of the Spirit, they are progressively being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. Christlikeness is the goal of every believer. Scripture tells us through the pen of Paul that we are to be about taking off the old self and putting on the new!
7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Col 3:7-10 (NIV)
“Being changed and sweetly breathed upon by the Spirit of God, the will desires and acts not from compulsion, but responsively.” Martin Luther
“When we allow the love of God to move in us, we can no longer distinguish between ours and His.” Austin Farrer