John 14:8

ON KNOWING GOD

‘Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.’

John 14:8

Was it well or ill spoken, this word of St. Philip? It evidently came from his heart. It was no captious objection. Shall we then commend or blame him for his inquiry? We must blame him for the sad ignorance betrayed. But we commend him for the splendid faith evinced. ‘And it sufficeth us,’ he says in the midst of his heaviness of heart.

I. Faith in God was the sheet-anchor of his soul.—But his knowledge of God was so limited and indistinct. To really see God this would solve all his difficulties, lighten his burdens, and sweeten every bitter sorrow. Then the world could no longer deceive and ensnare, sin would be powerless to conquer and corrupt, the old enemy self would vanish out of sight. This was his splendid faith. Surely for this splendid faith, and for this sublime ambition in his hour of disappointment and suspense, St. Philip deserves all praise. In spite of the ignorance it betrays, we are glad that he made the appeal in such a tone of enthusiastic and confident expectation.

II. How do we compare with St. Philip?—Nineteen centuries have passed since his day. We have had revealed to us the full meaning of all that was then troubling and perplexing those disciples. We know that their immediate loss was ultimate gain and the world’s salvation—that Christ went to the Father by the way of the Cross, that He might open the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers, and return in the power of the Spirit to dwell in our hearts. We have learned to believe in and to draw near to the living God. In what spirit do we draw near? Have we St. Philip’s strong desire to see the Father? Is it our one ambition to know God? Have we the same sublime assurance that complete and lasting satisfaction is found in knowing God? Are we entirely freed from his sad ignorance? Or has the Saviour to utter the same sad reproach to some of His professed disciples to-day? ‘Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip?’

III. To desire to know God should be the supreme longing in every Christian heart.—This is the end of our redemption. Christ died to bring us to God. This is the object of the gift of eternal life. This is the condition of all spiritual progress, of all increase in likeness to God. This is the remedy for all earth’s sorrows and disappointments, the secret of abiding satisfaction and delight. It should be the constant cry of every believing heart, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.’

Rev. F. S. Webster.