Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works” John 14:8–10 (ESV).
Philip’s request is one every sincere believer has asked in some form: “Show us the Father—it will be enough.” His request seems a good one, even godly in its aspiration. And yet the Lord seems, in his gentle response, to be disappointed. Philip’s request echoes our own often-held hesitation and doubt. We long for certainty, for a visible assurance of God’s presence and goodness. We want something we can point to and say, “This—this is God’s will,” or “This is what God is like.”
Even today, that same cry rises in the heart of the weary believer: “Lord, just show me what to do.” Yet Jesus’ response reminds us that the answer is not a roadmap—it’s a relationship. The Father’s heart and will are found in the person of Christ himself.
Jesus’ answer does not fit into many of the typical theological discussions that have happened throughout time. He doesn’t just give Philip another lesson; He connects Philip’s search to what he has already seen in Christ. “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me?”
The Lord’s words in John 14 cut through centuries of speculation, philosophy, and theology. Jesus is not merely a representative of God; he is the revelation of God. He is not just a prophet; he is the source of prophecy. He doesn’t just describe the Father; he exemplifies God’s character. He doesn’t just speak divine words; his very life is the Word made flesh (John 1:14).
Christ’s every act of compassion, every word of truth, every rebuke of hypocrisy, and every embrace of the brokenhearted reveals to Philip and to us the very character of God. When Jesus reaches out to touch the leper, it is an expression of the Father’s desire to restore. When he weeps at Lazarus’s tomb, it reveals the Father’s sorrow over the pain and plight of his people. When he suffers on our behalf, it reveals God’s deep desire for reconciliation with humanity who has chosen rebellion.
If we want to know what God is like, we must not start with human ideas of power, justice, or holiness and then try to fit Jesus into them. We must start with Jesus and let him define what those words mean. Other religious teachers may know or speak truth; Jesus IS the Truth. He is the measure of truth, and therefore his definition of all things must become our measure.
This has drastic implications and necessary application in the Christian life. We must ask ourselves the questions: Does the biblical Jesus define my idea of love? Does his life and his words define my idea of grace? Of gentleness? Of success in speaking, serving, and giving?
It’s easy to call ourselves followers of Jesus while quietly redefining his example to fit our comfort. But the call of discipleship is not to adjust Jesus to our preferences, but to allow the Word and the Spirit to transform our hearts and our minds to align with Christ’s.
This also, then, must mean that every picture of God that does not look like Jesus must be understood as not truly representing God. To see Jesus is to see the Father. So, we must be careful to add no other human definition that is not revealed in the life and words of Christ. Jesus is sufficient.
Christ is therefore the measure of all doctrine, theology, preaching, and tradition. All things must be held up to the person of Christ. He is the plumb line of truth.
This is where much of Christianity loses its balance. We often begin with doctrines and then try to fit Jesus into them. But the order must be reversed: our doctrines must emerge from him. He is the lens through which we interpret Scripture, not the other way around.
The Pharisees in Jesus’ day knew the Scriptures well yet missed the God that those Scriptures revealed. Jesus told them, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). Doctrine that does not lead to the character of Jesus is not sound doctrine. Truth that does not transform us into his likeness is not truth rightly understood.
This is the great corrective for the modern church. We can win arguments and still lose the heart of God. We can defend orthodoxy and yet fail to resemble the one we claim to follow. Only when Jesus is the measure does everything begin to come into alignment.
Before we speak, teach, or post in God’s name, we would do well to pause and ask: “Does what I plan to say reflect the teaching and character of Christ? Or simply…Would Jesus say this? Would he say it this way?
Thus, when someone claims to speak for God, the question is simple: Does it look like the biblical Jesus (not our own or Hollywood’s idea of Jesus)? When we hear or read a message or take advice or correction that we are told is from God, we must measure it by the one who is our standard. If it does not reflect the biblical Christ, then no matter how persuasive it sounds or how authoritatively it is pronounced, it must not be received.
If Jesus reveals who the Father is and defines what truth looks like, then he also becomes the ultimate standard for discerning God’s will. So often we are looking for the grand design in our lives, but what we can know for sure is that, regardless of the circumstance, what our God desires is that his children follow the example of Jesus. He is the propitiation, the satisfaction of God.
When we stop chasing signs and start imitating the Savior, we begin to discover the will of God unfolding in our daily obedience. His will isn’t hidden; it’s embodied in Christlike love, mercy, and humility lived out through us.
Philip’s request still echoes through the centuries: “Show us the Father.” And Jesus still answers the same way: “Look at me.”
That is the heart of the gospel. God has not hidden himself; He has revealed himself. The Father has spoken not merely in words, but in a person. The invisible God has made himself known through the visible Christ.
If we want to know who God is and what he is like, we look to Jesus.
If we want to know what truth is, we look to and listen to Jesus.
If we want to know what God’s will is, we look to and follow Jesus.
He is the image of the invisible God, the Word made flesh, the exact imprint of his nature. Every doctrine, every sermon, every decision must bend to him (John 1:18; Colossians 1:15–19; Hebrews 1:3).
And as we behold him, as we no longer conform to the pattern of this world and allow the Word to renew our minds, we are transformed.
In Jesus, the cry of every human heart, “Show us the Father,” finds its everlasting answer: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”
Pastor Brian