JOHN 14.7-9: “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” (8) Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” (9) Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?'” (ESV)
There are a number of world religions which hold a variety of teachings about Jesus. One holds that Jesus was a prophet sent from God, and nothing more. One asserts that Jesus was specifically not God’s son and therefore not God in the fullest sense. Another holds that Jesus is a son of God, but also has a brother. Still another believes he was only a trouble maker.
All of these views miss the mark and diminish just exactly who Jesus was and is. I have had members of a religious group tell me on my front porch that since there is no definite article associated with the word “God” in John 1.1, that it means Jesus was just “a” God, and not God’s Son. The words spoken by Jesus in the verses above take us right back to the first four verses of the Gospel of John and give us certainty that Jesus, the “Word”, is fully God. For us to understand that Jesus is God, and as John 3.16 tells us, “His only Son”, we do not have to be concerned with the absence of a definite article.
I believe Philip struggled to see the full connection between Jesus and God the Father, because Jesus was fully human as well, and therefore subject to the physical difficulties of life. It can be noted in the other gospel accounts that the human appearance of Jesus was not extraordinary or distinguished. But Jesus lived His life in full humanity so that He could satisfy the requirements of the Law and give His life on the cross.
In the verses above Jesus teaches us that He is God in the same way God the Father is God. The difference is that Jesus is the Son of God who had a specific, preordained mission of making the way of redemption for us, by giving His life on the cross and thereby being the mediator between God and all of the people of the world. Jesus becomes the Savior of every person who will put his or her trust in Him for the forgiveness of their sin.