How wonderful to have the Lord Jesus with
me, and to be able to say with
Paul, I'm crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live,
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,
and the life that I now live in
the flesh, I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me and
gave himself for me.
Shall we turn in our Bible tonight to
the Gospel of John?
The Gospel of John, please, chapter one.
I would like to read two verses in
this chapter, one verse in the eighth chapter,
and then a few in chapter fourteen.
John chapter one, reading at verse fourteen, "'The
Spirit of God writing through excerpt in John
to say, and the Word which maketh flesh
and dwelt among us, and we beheld his
glory, the glory of the only begotten of
the Father, full of grace and truth.' Verse
eighteen, "'No man hath seen God at any
time.
The only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.'"
Chapter eight in the same Gospel of John,
and reading verse nineteen, "'Then said the Pharisees
unto Jesus, Where is my Father?
Jesus answered, ye neither know me, nor my
Father.
If ye had known me, ye should have
known my Father also.'" John fourteen, please.
The fourteenth chapter of John, reading at verse
six through verse eleven, "'The Lord Jesus saying,
Jesus said unto him, that is to Thomas,
I am the way, the truth, and the
life.
No man cometh unto the Father but by
me.
If ye had known me, ye should have
known my Father also, and from henceforth ye
know him, and have seen him.
Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the
Father, and it suffitheth us.
Jesus said 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?
Believest thou not that I am in the
Father, and the Father in me?
The words that I speak unto you I
speak not of, or from myself, but the
Father that dwelleth in me.
He doeth the works.
Believe me that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me, or else believe
me for the very works' sake."
May God bless the reading and the hearing
of this precious word.
By the help of God the Holy Spirit,
we surface to touch upon, in each evening
message, the subject of God the Father and
his family.
It is precious to recognize that the God
reveals the revelation of God from period to
period.
When we speak of the subject concerning the
revelation of God the Father, we do not
find this revelation particularly in the Old Testament,
but God is revealed, and has been revealed
in the Old Testament to his people.
May I give you three illustrations, and there
but two amongst many others that could be
given, but three illustrations wherein God revealed himself
to his people long ago.
God said to Abraham in chapter 17 of
the book of Genesis, verse 1, "'I am
the Almighty God.
Walk thou before me, and be thou perfect.'
And the revelation to Abraham was of an
Almighty Being, God in his omnipotence and almighty
power, and on the ground of that revelation
the Omnipotent One spoke to Abraham.
For God is omnipotent, he is the Almighty
One, he is the All-Powerful One, and
none of us can be able to fathom
the omnipotence of God.
It has been rightly stated that if you
could take the stars that we find in
the galaxy of the Milky Way, perhaps numbering
approximately 18 million, every one of those stars
they claim will weigh a million times more
than our little earth.
But, if you could take those stars and
place them in an adequate stack, if possible,
the omnipotence of God could move them as
if they were but a grain of sand.
It is an impossibility to fathom the omnipotence
of the Almighty.
But, later on in the word of God,
he revealed himself to Moses in chapter 3
and verse 14, when Moses stood before that
burning bush and God said to him, and
commissioned him to go to the people of
Israel and deliver them out of Egyptian bondage.
And Moses said, but they will say, who
sent thee?
What shall I say?
Who shall I say sent me?
And God gave him another revelation of his
mighty being when he stated, I am that
I am, meaning I am the self-existent
One, I am the Eternal One.
And God gave a revelation of his power
to Abraham.
He gave a revelation of his eternality to
Moses, an eternal being.
As in the words of Moses in chapter
32 and verse 40 of Deuteronomy, God says,
in the heavens I live forever, and he
is an eternal being.
There is no calendar to the eternal being.
Eternity has no calendar.
God cannot be measured by any calendar.
He is the Eternal One.
We are the fleeting worms of the dust.
We have a beginning, and we shall have
no ending.
But God has no beginning, and he is
the Existent One.
Later on in the book of Exodus, God
revealed himself to Moses as Jehovah, a name
whereby he had never before been known.
And that redemptive name of Jehovah became very
precious, and became very particular in relation to
Israel as a nation, and by the name
of Jehovah, and with many unnamed, he revealed
himself as their savior, the Jehovah of the
Old Testament.
And many other such names God revealed concerning
himself.
Every name was a revelation of his person,
and a revelation of his character, a revelation
of his being, more and more.
But he was never known in the Old
Testament.
By the intimacy that we find in the
New Testament, he may be known, and that
is Father.
Now, I'm aware of the fact you may
find five or six occasions in the Old
Testament that God is mentioned as Father, but
it is always in relation to the one
who has brought life into existence, and in
the relationship of his creatorial power and glory,
rather than in any intimacy of relationship as
the New Testament suggests.
But, if you have your Bible, let me
point out very definitely from Matthew 11 and
verse 27, the impossibility of God being known
as he can be known, and is revealed
in the New Testament as Father.
For it was not until the Son of
God came into this being sent by the
Father that the revelation of the Father became
manifested unto mankind.
So, isn't Jesus, in Matthew 11 and verse
27, a very significant?
When Jesus said, all things are delivered unto
me of my Father, and no man knoweth
the Son but the Father, neither knoweth any
man the Father save the Son, and he
to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.
And here I'm sure that we can recognize
it was not until the coming of the
Beloved Son into the world to bring the
revelation of the Father as such that mankind
could ever know God in such a relationship,
for this statement precludes the possibility of God
being known in previous periods as Father.
Now, look with me please, and see as
we have read in John chapter 1, the
words of the Apostle in the 14th verse.
They are very important, that declare to us
the glory of the Beloved Son of God,
and the one who alone could and has
revealed the Father.
Now, let's see what John says regarding that
lesson, Holy One, of whom he says the
word was made flesh.
The one who is the self-existent One,
the one whom at the beginning of the
chapter we find is the Eternal Word, is
the essential being in his eternality as well
as his deity, and dwelling with the Father
is declared in the first verse.
But here John says the word was made
flesh.
He took upon him in incarnation the likeness
of man, and the word was made flesh
and dwelt, meaning, tabernacled upon him.
And John writes, we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten, or as
of an only begotten of the Father, full
of grace and truth.
This is really the summation of this great
gospel according to John, the declared glory of
the Son of God.
For the great subject of the book is
unfashionably the glory of the Son of God,
and he was thus made flesh, and he
tabernacled among us, and we beheld his glory,
writes John.
Unquestionably giving reference to the fact that he,
with his companion disciples and fellow disciples, together
with others later who were added to the
family of God, we beheld his glory, and
that the one who was made flesh, Christ
the Son of God, came to be the
interpreter of the Father.
Why?
Because, as John says, when we beheld his
glory, it was the glory of one who
is an only begotten of a Father, full
of grace as well as full of truth.
And thus the Spirit of God tells us
through John that this one who came and
tabernacled amongst us was the one who thus
manifested the glory of his Father, and the
revelation of his Father was brought through him
when he came into this scene.
May I give some explanation for the unique
name that is given by John of the
begotten Son, the only begotten Son?
It is an important reference to Christ, and
it indicates as the only begotten Son he
was the soul.
Please let me emphasize this.
He was the only representative of the being
and the character of the one who sent
him.
That is the explanation of the expression, the
meaning of it.
One who alone could explain, could express, and
represent it completely in his being and character,
the glory of the Father, to make him
known.
And the expression implies not that he had
a beginning God forbid, but a unique relationship
as one who not had a relationship that
had no generation nor beginning, but was unique
in relation to the Father.
But note too, if you will please, as
you follow the verse carefully, this relationship, let
me impress it upon you, was an unoriginated
relationship.
He did not become the only begotten Son
by the incarnation.
You know one rejoices in the incarnation of
the Lord Jesus.
The word was made flesh, and as we
stated of his glory this morning as the
beloved Son, white.
He was perfect in all of his thoughts,
he was perfect in all of his deeds,
he was perfect in all of his works,
and all that he did, and all that
he was, in word, in thought, and in
deed.
That blessed one was perfect in the incarnation
that was him when he came to the
earth, but it was to reveal the glory
of the Father which he came.
For the expression the only begotten Son not
only implies this unoriginal relationship to the Father,
but it implies that he was in the
deepest affection of the Father's heart, and the
thought of being in the deepest affection of
the Father's heart is implied by the expression
the only begotten Son of the Father.
Now, go with me down to verse 18.
Let's look into that heart as we look
at verse 18 of chapter one.
No man has seen God at any time.
The only begotten Son, which is in the
bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
Now, let us carefully and carefully consider the
solemn words, and the deep and eternal character
of these words relating to the Son, and
that declared union and intimacy that was his
with the Father.
No man has seen God at any time.
The full revelation of God had never been
made, nor could it have been made.
Moses had a great experience with God.
Now, this is not saying that the Old
Testament did not have fellowship with God.
They did, but the complete revelation of that
heart of God in all of its affection
could never be revealed until one came who
knew that Father's bosom, one who had been
resting upon that bosom of the Father, one
who knew every corner of that eternal heart
of his Father God.
Do you remember when he paused in worship
for wonder, wouldn't you?
To recognize, here is one of whom the
apostle says, and will you note the expression?
It's not always emphasized as it should be.
The only begotten Son which is, not was,
which is in the bosom of the Father.
And may I point out to you, in
relation to the only begotten Son, and his
intimacy and union with the Father, it was
a timeless relationship, an intimacy that has never
been interrupted, indicating the absolute and the permanent
and the indestructible relation between the Father and
the Son, and eternal is.
Oh beloved, listen.
Would you and I know God?
How can we know him?
There are many revelations of God without question
of doubt, and in the glory of his
creation he can be known, and the glory
of the Godhead is suddenly revealed in the
wonders of the creation around us.
And then when we think of his omnipotence,
when we think of his omnipotence, when we
think of his omnipresence, those relative attributes, the
tremendous, they are great and glorious, but then
I could not.
Here is one who knew greater than all
the relative attributes of God, who knew the
intimate affection, who knew the great resources and
the infinite affection of that heart of God.
So, there's a heart.
God has a heart.
It would take God long to tell me
how much I've got in my heart, and
if I read the word of God all
right, I can find them.
You know, one thing is tremendous when I
realize even the intellect of the Almighty, the
great intellect of the eternal God is beyond
human comprehension.
But, you know, what reaches a poor sinner
like me is to know my God above
has a heart, and who can redeem that
heart?
Only one who's been dwelling in that heart,
in the bosom of the father.
Aren't you glad Christ came, I ask?
He has declared him.
Know my beloved, please may I say, God
in his eternal being, the father in his
eternal character, and the eternal character of his
love would never have been known, would never
have been manifested, could never have been manifested
had not Christ, the beloved son, left that
bosom to come to the earth.
Well, he never left the bosom, but he
left the glory of his father's presence, and
he came to the earth.
You know, beloved, I don't know how long.
Who knows?
No one.
But, throughout the eternal ages, the son has
been the ineffable delight of the father's heart,
and the father has been the ineffable delight
of the son's heart.
They never fell out of love, and through
endless existence that you and I are unable
to fathom, they dwelt together, and the son,
in his eternal relationship and intimacy, was in
the bosom of the father.
As though he was resting there, resting blessed
be his name, with complete fellowship, in love
of the father, and in the father's presence.
You know, it's a strange thing, but you
remember there are two expressions, one in Luke
and the other in John, but in Luke
chapter 16 you remember that the rich man
in hell saw Lazarus afar off in Abraham's
bosom, and that was the most delightful place
that a pious Jew wished to be when
he left with us.
But, you remember in John 13, that we
read that lovely truth in verse 23, now
there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, the disciple
whom Jesus loved.
And may I say, that no person will
ever know the meaning of leaning on the
bosom of Christ without acknowledging that that blessed
one is in the bosom of the father
to reveal the father to his own.
O beloved, the ineffable intimacy and love between
the father and the son, the son sharing
all the father's counsel, and enjoying all the
father's love, his place of intimacy or stay
he never lacked.
It was one of an eternal privilege, not
one who was but is in the bosom
of the father.
Now, may I make a very qualifying remark?
This was true when he was even upon
the cross.
I know it is written, he cried, my
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
The day I caught the words of the
Lord Jesus in John 10 verse 17, when
he said, no man taketh my life from
me, I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it up
again.
This commandment received I of my father, and
then he preceded those words by saying, therefore
doth my father love me, because I lay
down my life.
And may I say, my beloved friends, never
forget when in the agony of Calvary, and
the darkness of that scene, and the impenetrable
suffering of the judgment of a holy God
upon sin, he was in, still in, the
bosom of the father, the object of ineffable
love and of ineffable delight.
And, oh how precious!
Did you know?
If he wasn't, he couldn't have declared all
the father's love.
John said, note these words, no man hath
seen God of any kind, the only begotten
son which is in the bosom of the
father, he hath declared him.
He's made him known.
He is the perfect moral representative of his
father, blessed be his name.
And wherever you follow the life of the
Lord Jesus from the beginning to the end,
on the earth, as he passed through this
scene, every feature, every moral character, all the
perfectness of the father's heart and mind were
fully exhibited in him and by him.
He was the perfect revelation of his father.
Now, let me go with you to three
texts.
In the same Gospel of John, where the
Lord Jesus declares himself that he was the
perfect revelation of his father.
John chapter eight, please, if you will.
John chapter eight, verse 19.
Here are words which our Savior spoke, and
said even to the Pharisees, which we have
already read in the beginning of our reading.
In verse 19, John 8, they said unto
him, where is thy father?
Oh, what a great chapter this is, as
well as the preceding ones.
But they say unto him, where is thy
father?
Jesus answered, you neither know me, nor my
father.
If he had known me, ye should have
known my father also.
Now, look those last words carefully.
If he had known me, ye should have
known my father also.
I am the perfect revelation of my father's
heart.
I am the perfect representative of my father,
and if you knew me, you would have
known my father too.
And he said those words to his enemies.
Come with me to the 14th chapter of
John, from whence we read, and verse 7,
where he speaks to his disciples, and there
he similarly states his perfect revelation of the
father, as he said to Philip.
Chapter 14, verse 7.
If ye had known me, ye should have
known my father also, and from henceforth ye
know him, and have seen him.
And there to his disciples, he declares himself
to be the perfect revelation of his father.
Go with me to John chapter 17, please,
the last verse.
John chapter 17.
May I read verse 25 to get the
connection clearer, and especially to emphasize the words
he is speaking are addressed to his father.
In verse 25, O righteous father, the world
has not known thee, but I've known thee,
and these have known that thou hast sent
me, and I have declared unto them thy
name, and will declare it, that the love
wherewith thou hast loved me may be in
them, and I in them.
Note the opening of verse 26, particularly.
I have declared unto them thy name.
What name?
Father.
And, praise God, I will continue declaring it.
And so, on three occasions, one to the
Pharisee, another to his disciple, and addressing his
father personally, he declares himself to be the
perfect revelation of the father.
May I again repeat, for the thought dwells
in my heart and in my mind, and
I wish it to sink deep within.
Who could ever explore in heaven the vastness,
the greatness, and the completeness of the father?
You know, the heart of God, the infinite
character of the heart of God, who can
ever comprehend?
It's beyond human comprehension.
But, O beloved, let's dwell for a moment.
It's infinite.
The coming of the Lord Jesus into this
world was to reveal the vastness, the greatness,
and the completeness of that father's heart.
How could he do it?
How did he do it?
That you and I might not only know,
yet God is, as we know.
He is the Almighty One.
He is the King of Eternity.
He is the Eternal One.
He is Jehovah-Jireh, and Jehovah-Shah, and
so on.
Here is all the names that he claims,
but here is one who's known him through
endless ages past, the only begotten son of
the father, and he comes to the earth
to reveal his father to mankind.
We're lost in an ocean of wonder to
know all the heart of the father.
Now, let me go back to John 17
26 again, will you please?
I want to emphasize this point, and in
those opening words of the 26th verse in
the 17th of John, Jesus said, I have
declared thy name, and he certainly has, but
he has, and I'll continue declaring it.
I shall continue declaring it.
You know, someone once said, and in these
words of John 17 verse three I can
see the meaning implied, but in that third
verse of John 17, Jesus said, This is
life eternal, that they may know thee the
only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou
hast sent.
Now, what is eternal life?
Eternal life is going on, and on, and
on, and on, forever, and ever, and ever,
knowing thee the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom thou hast sent.
As my beloved, may I say, though this
son has declared the name of his father
to mankind, and revealed it perfectly, it will
take all eternity for you and for me
to go on knowing the father's heart, and
have the son who is the fullness of
the father's expression make him known to end
his days.
I would take you long to find out
all about me.
You'd soon exhaust your knowledge of this person,
but to realize the exhaustless timeless ages to
come, that the believer will continue knowing the
know the father through the revelation of God
the son.
Now, let's ask the question again.
How did the son redeem the father when
he was here?
Go to John 14 with me again, the
14th chapter of John's Gospel.
Let me read verses 10 and 11, and
realize with you that there was a two
-fold manner in which, or a two-fold
channel through which, the father was revealed.
John 14 reading verse 10 and 11.
As Jesus continued speaking to Philip, Believest thou
not that I am in the father, and
the father in me?
The words that I speak unto you I
speak not of myself, but the father that
dwelleth in me he doeth the works.
Now, notice two words particularly.
My words, my works, and verse 11 he
mentions the works again.
Believe me that I'm in the father, and
the father in me, or else believe me
for the very worst sake.
By his words he revealed the father to
mankind.
By his works he has revealed the father
to mankind.
These are the only two means by which
any man can express himself.
What is?
Being.
By my words I express myself what I
am.
By what I do I express what I
am.
These are the only two means that any
being can express himself and make himself known
to others, and the Lord Jesus tends to
make known the father to you and me,
and by the words which he spoke, by
the works which he did, he has revealed
the father.
Now, go with me to some scriptures very
carefully.
By his words.
Look in John chapter 8 please with me.
I want you to see two verses in
John chapter 8, and I want you to
note his reference to his words.
I wish you could note that his very
words which he spoke originated with his father.
The words that he spoke came not from
himself.
Verse 28 of John 8.
Then said Jesus unto them, when ye have
lifted up the son of man, then shall
ye know that I am he, and that
I do nothing of myself, but as my
father hath taught me.
I speak these things.
Go to verse 38 please, the same chapter,
and in this 38th verse we hear the
Saviour say, I speak that which I have
seen with my heart.
O beloved, so complete, so perfect is the
revelation of the father by the words of
the Lord Jesus.
The very words he spoke were not self
-originated.
They originated with the father.
What the father had spoken to him, the
son spoke to others.
O beloved, let's go to another scripture.
Chapter 5 first.
Chapter 5 please.
Chapter 5 and verse 19, as well as
verse 30.
Chapter 5 and verse 19.
Here he gives the authority that his words
were of the father.
Verse 19.
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, verily,
verily I say unto you, the son can
do nothing of himself, but what he seeth
the father do.
For what think soever he doeth, these also
doeth the son likewise.
All that the father I have seen do,
and all whatsoever he doeth, that is what
I do.
My words come from my father.
But look at verse 30.
Verse 30.
I'm here in confess.
I can of mine own self do nothing.
O beloved, what perfect dependence, what complete dependence
upon the revelation his father gave him to
make known to mankind, and nothing of instance
I came not to do mine own will,
but the will of him that sent.
And in his words, and in his words,
they were completely the revelation of his father,
what the father would see, what the father
would do.
Thanks be to his name.
And, as we read in John 14 and
verse 10, both the words and the works
are displayed to be the revelation of the
father.
And, in this way, do you recall in
Hebrews chapter 10, a quotation from Psalm 40,
but in Hebrews chapter 10, the Savior said,
the son declares, he makes a promise to
the father when he acknowledges the body, thou
hast prepared me, and in that promise he
declares, Lord I come to do thy will,
O God, and in the perfection of his
life below, from the manger to the cross,
by his words, by his works, he revealed
the father who sent him.
Now, beloved, we must say, and compel to
say it, that his death was the confirmation
of that revelation, without doubt.
Go again with me, if you please.
We'll get to John 10.
Let me read those two verses with you.
Verses 17 and 18, which the Savior spoke.
John 10 verse 17.
For his death was the confirmation of the
revelation of his father's heart.
Therefore doth my father love me, because I
laid down my life, that I might take
it again.
No man taketh it from me, but I
lay it out of myself.
I have authority to lay it down.
I have authority to take it again.
This commandment have I received of my father.
Beloved, may I pause for a moment of
adoration, contemplation, and worship, and think of him
hanging upon that tree, in all the agony,
and trust him that was his to bear
under the judgment of the Holy God, for
your sins and for mine.
And may I in worshipful wonder adore the
one who verily hung, completing the revelation of
his father's love.
Therefore doth my father love me, and realize
this was the final revelation in completeness of
his father's heart, and that was the only
way he could ever reveal that heart to
me.
To show me completely, it was the full
revelation of the father's heart.
John declared it in 1st John chapter 4
and verse 14.
So, this is what John testified, and we
have seen and testified that the father sent
the son, what ought to be the savior
of the world.
Hallelujah!
What a savior!
To be the savior of the world!
Oh beloved, when a man and woman believe,
when a man and woman will not see
that the father sent his son, and acknowledge
he sent him to be the savior of
all who will believe on him, when that
man and woman believes upon that son who
died on that crop for his and her
sins, that man and woman gets a glimpse
for the first time into the unfathomable heart
of the father.
Beloved, do you realize how much the father
has loved you?
To give his son.
Romans 5.8 The apostle Paul wrote that
God tremendous his love toward us, in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for
us.
For God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish for that everlasting
life.
And, I see through the word of God,
as I trace the life, the word, the
work, and the consummation of the death of
the son of God, I see in declaring
his father's heart, and I find that the
father loved.
Or, can I close by just reminding you
of what John said in the 14th chapter
of this book?
In verse 6, he says, you've come to
the father.
I'm the way, the truth, and the light,
known as cometh to the father, but by
me.
He said to Philip, you've seen the father.
He said, you know the father, and my
beloved, do you know him?
I think it's almost 50 years ago, 45
to 50 years ago.
We were preaching the gospel on the street
corner in the city of Rochester, New York,
and I noticed on the sidewalk there was
a man standing with a little girl, taking
deep interest in the message, and following the
close of the service, he came to me.
He said, sir, I'm a socialist.
Now, he would have said, I'm a communist
today, but he said, I'm a socialist.
And, he says, I don't believe there is
a God, but he said, I'm interested in
what you've been preaching, and I'd like to
talk with you.
And, I made an appointment and visited the
man in his home, and I recall sitting
with him in his kitchen, at his kitchen
table, with my bible, trying to bring before
him the realities of a God.
But, I never will forget when I made
a statement that electrified, astonished him, and caused
him to reel back in his chair, and
look at me in wonder and amazement.
I said to the man, I know God
as my father, and he gasped, and he
said, your father?
Yes, I know him as my father.
I wish that man did.
Oh beloved, the God who made you, the
God who feeds you, the God who thinks
of you, the God who loves you, gave
his son that you might know that God
as your father too.
Do you know him?
Shall we pray?
Oh blessed God, how great thou art!
We bow in adoration and wonder when we
know and realize what sinners we are by
nature, and by practice.
And, the great God of the universe, who
could righteously put every one of us in
eternal hell, instead of doing so, he sent
his beloved son who is in the bosom
of the father constantly, and he sent him
to declare the father's heart, and manifest the
father's love for all mankind.
And, every one of us can bow, if
we will, in humble acknowledgement.
He loved me, and he gave himself for
me, if we will.
Oh father, how we pray that somehow we'll
receive the son, and come to the father
tonight.
For we thank thee, this is the purpose
of the son's coming into this world.
Hear our prayer, and ask for it for
any precious soul tonight who is without this
father in his adorable name.
Now may the grace of our Lord Jesus,
the love of our father God, of the
fellowship or the conviction of the Holy Spirit,
according to that which is needed, be upon
us.
Amen.