Show Us the Father: How to Have the Right Vision of God
It is easy to read familiar Bible passages and miss the deeper truth they contain. John 14 is one of those passages. Most people know it as a comfort in troubled times, but there is something more being revealed. Jesus says in verse 9, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." That single statement opens up a vision of God that stretches from the upper room all the way to the throne room of heaven.
Why Our Vision of God Matters
God designed life and civilization to revolve around the family. Fathers, in particular, are meant to reflect something of God Himself to their children. A child's eyes follow their Father's every movement. They listen for the tone of his voice. They run to him when they are hurt. This is not accidental. It is by design.
When mankind moves away from God's design, suffering increases. The farther we drift from God's Word, the greater the consequences become. This is true in families, in communities, and in the church.
Romans 3:23 is a verse most believers know well: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But the passage does not stop there. Romans 3:24-26 (ESV) continues: "being justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."
Propitiation means "mercy seat." Jesus is the place of substitutionary sacrifice, the atonement for all of mankind's sin. And it was God the Father who made this gift possible.
Vision One: Seeing Jesus Clearly in John 14
What Did Jesus Mean When He Said "I Am the Way"?
In John 13, just before the passage in John 14, Jesus had told His disciples He was about to die. He washed their feet. He identified His betrayer. Their hearts were troubled, and understandably so.
Then Jesus says, "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me." (John 14:1 ESV). This was not a gentle suggestion. The verb tense is imperative. It is a command. To a Jewish audience that had worshiped God alone for thousands of years, Jesus placing Himself alongside God the Father was a radical and deliberate statement.
Thomas pushes back, asking how they can know the way if they do not know where Jesus is going. Jesus answers plainly: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6 ESV).
Then Philip asks, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us." (John 14:8 ESV). Philip is thinking physically. He wants to see something with his eyes. Jesus responds with a gentle but firm correction: "Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9 ESV).
What Does It Mean That Jesus Reveals the Father?
Jesus was not acting independently of the Father. His words came from the Father. His miracles, healing the blind, raising Lazarus after four days in the tomb, giving speech to those who could not speak, were all signs that pointed to God's Messiah. No prophet before Him had done these things.
As believers, we need to make corrective evaluations throughout our spiritual walk. It is never wrong to question the Lord when the goal is to understand and grow. But when God's Word corrects us, we must be willing to accept that correction and change.
Vision Two: Isaiah Sees God on His Throne
What Happens When We Truly See God's Holiness?
Isaiah 6:1-5 (ESV) records one of the most striking visions in all of Scripture: "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim... And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!'"
Isaiah's response was immediate: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips." (Isaiah 6:5 ESV). When we truly see God in His holiness, the natural response is repentance.
King Uzziah had reigned for 52 years, longer than David's 40-year reign. He was largely righteous, but pride became his downfall. He entered the temple to burn incense, a role reserved for the Levitical priests. When confronted, he became angry, and God struck Him with leprosy. He died isolated from his people.
Isaiah had grown up under Uzziah's reign. When the king died, Isaiah needed encouragement. God responded by showing Him the throne room of heaven. The message was clear: God is still in control.
As David prayed in Psalm 25:11 (ESV): "For your name's sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great." That is a humble heart. That is the posture God calls each of us to take before Him.
Vision Three: Daniel Sees the Ancient of Days
How Do We Surrender Our Will to God's Plan?
Daniel 7:9-14 (ESV) describes a vision of the heavenly throne room where God, the Ancient of Days, sits in judgment. The Son of Man is brought before Him and given an everlasting kingdom. This is a direct picture of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, receiving His rightful dominion.
Daniel was a teenager when he was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC. He was trained in a foreign language, a foreign culture, and surrounded by a foreign religion. Yet Daniel 1:8 (ESV) says: "Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank."
Despite living in captivity for most of his life, Daniel remained faithful. He served under four different kings. He gave God all the credit for every gift and every success. He purposed in his heart to serve the Lord regardless of His circumstances.
The application for believers today is direct. We are, in some measure, passing through a world system that is not our home. Like Daniel, we must purpose in our hearts not to be defiled by it. As 1 John 2:15-17 (ESV) warns: "Do not love the world or the things in the world... For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever."
God has a plan. Throughout all of human history, He has worked that plan despite the failings of His people. He does not need us, but in love He chooses us to carry out His purposes.
Vision Four: The Victorious Christ in Revelation 19
What Does the Return of Christ Tell Us About Who God Is?
Revelation 19:11-16 (ESV) gives the final and most triumphant vision: "Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war... On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords."
This is the same Jesus who wept at Lazarus's tomb. The same Jesus who washed His disciples' feet. The same Jesus who said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." He is returning as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
When we see Jesus as Savior, we see God the Father. When we see God the Father working throughout Scripture, we see Jesus the Son working alongside Him. They are inseparable.
The Good News We Cannot Keep to Ourselves
Romans 5:8-10 (ESV) says: "but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by His life."
The world around us has already been offered reconciliation through the cross. They simply do not know it yet. That is why we go. That is why we tell them.
Life Application
This week, purpose in your heart to do one specific thing: open God's Word daily and ask Him to correct your vision of who He is. Like Philip, many of us have been walking with Jesus for a long time and still see Him through a limited, physical lens. Like Isaiah, we need to bow before His holiness and let His Word change us. Like Daniel, we need to decide in advance that we will not be shaped by the world around us.
The challenge is simple but not easy. Choose one area of your life where you have been relying on your own understanding rather than submitting to God's Word. Bring it before the Lord this week and ask Him to give you a clearer vision of who He is.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:
When I picture God, am I seeing Him as He has revealed Himself in Scripture, or am I seeing a version of Him shaped by my own experience and preferences?
Is there an area of my life where I have been resisting God's correction because it requires me to change?
Like Daniel, have I purposed in my heart to serve God regardless of my circumstances, or does my faithfulness depend on how comfortable my situation is?
Am I sharing the good news of reconciliation with the people around me who do not yet know Christ?
God is on His throne. He is still in control. And He has chosen, in love, to use His people to carry out His plan. The question is whether we will let Him.