John 14:8-9 KJV – “Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?”
Devoted sports fans know a lot about their favorite athletes whom they have never met. They can rattle off obscure statistics on touchdowns, home runs, or shooting percentage.
News junkies spend hours reading online articles and watching video commentaries given by their favorite pundits. They talk about them as if they were best friends, even though they have never met.
Movie buffs follow their favorite celebrities on social media and watch their interviews on late night talk shows even though the stars they are obsessed with would pass them on the street without so much as a nod.
Similarly, many Christians are fascinated with God, but they know very little about Him. Do you know God? Do you really know Him? You may know many things about God, but knowing God is an entirely different matter.
Near the end of Jesus’ three-and-a-half-year ministry one of His disciples discovered that he had a lot of knowledge about the Lord, but he did not really know Him. As Jesus sat with His disciples around the Passover table in the upper room, He explained to them that if they knew Him, they knew the Father also.
Philip was confused by Jesus’ words and said, “Lord, show us the Father” (John 14:8). Jesus’ response must have cut Philip to the heart. He said, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know Me, Philip” (John 14:9)?
For more than three years, Philip had walked with Jesus, talked with Jesus, and learned from Jesus. Yet, he did not really know Him. He knew who He was, of course; and no doubt he could recite many obscure facts about Him. But in the final hours just prior to Jesus’ crucifixion, it became clear that Philip’s relationship with Jesus was not as close and intimate as it should have been.
Do not misunderstand; there is no doubt that Philip was a believer. He understood that Jesus was his Savior, and he had believed in Him for eternal life. But his relationship with his Savior was akin to that of a fanatic who idolizes a superstar he has never met. It was academic. It was distant. It was cerebral.
To know Jesus is to know God. Jesus had said, “I and My Father are One” (John 10:30). The fact that Philip missed this point shows he had not taken the time to really know Him intimately. Jesus went on to explain to Philip and the others that they needed to abide in close fellowship with Him because without Him they could do nothing, and by abiding in Him their joy would be full (John 15:1-11).
Nearly thirty years later, as the Apostle Paul sat in a prison cell, he expressed his desire to know Christ more deeply. He wanted to know the “power of His resurrection” and the “fellowship of His sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). It had been twenty-seven years since Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and became a Christian. Amazingly, he still desired to know Him better.
Let me encourage you today to find out what it means to know God—really know Him. How can we know God better? By saturating ourselves in His Word. The Bible is God’s way of saying, “Here I am! Look at Me!”
In Scripture, God reveals His most intimate attributes. He shows us His heart, and He beckons us to come closer. Have you been a Christian all these years and yet you do not know Him?
