WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT?



John 14:7-14

 ⁶ Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ⁷ If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

 ⁸ Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

 ⁹ Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. ¹¹ Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. ¹² I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. ¹⁴ You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

It is the night Jesus was betrayed.  The Lord is saying goodbye to his disciples and they are deeply saddened that he is leaving them and they cannot go with him.

In verse seven Jesus makes this significant statement, “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”  From these words of Jesus we can see the thing that is of greatest importance.  The most important thing in the world is knowing God.  And Jesus has just said the only way to come to the Father is through him.

But we also see the immense conflict between the flesh and the Spirit.  Fallen man cannot discern spiritual things.  This is what causes Philip to stumble.  Jesus is leaving his disciples and they cannot go with him and there is nothing they can do about it.  So how does Philip respond?  “Ok.  If we can’t go with you, at least give us something!  Show us the Father and that will be enough for us.  Show us God.  This one, last, fantastic miracle, and we will be satisfied to be left behind” (v.8).

Jesus gently rebukes Philip.  “Don’t you know me?  Even after I’ve been living with you for over three years?”  Here is evidence of the inability of the flesh.  The visible, tangible world still clings to Philip and pulls at him.  All the teaching of his youth makes it hard for Philip to see spiritual reality even when he is looking right at it.  That is the great struggle in our society and culture.  We are too much of this world.  We are too much of the flesh.  And even after the Holy Spirit has worked upon our souls and given us life, the flesh clings to us and pulls at us.

Jesus continues, “I am in the Father and the Father is in me.  The words I say to you are not just my own.  It is the Father living in me who is doing his work.”  Then in verse twelve Jesus shows why this is the most important thing.  “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing.”  What does he mean by that?  Does he mean that his followers will go around doing miracles and healing the sick like Jesus did?  To a degree, yes.  But here is the most important thing:  Jesus’ followers will have the Father living in them just as he was living in Jesus!  The Father will be doing his work in and through them just as he did in and through Jesus!  The very Spirit of the very God dwells in us and does the work of the Father.

This is the most important thing; that we know God who lives in us and is doing his work.  If we spend our entire lives learning God who is at work in us then our lives will be well-spent!