Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your good spirit lead me on level ground. This evening, we continue our series on the Gospel of John. If you have your Bibles, please open up to John chapter 14, verses 8 through 14, the hymn Bibles. found on page 901, John chapter 14, verses 8 through 14. The context of this story is the Last Supper. Jesus has just eaten that Passover meal with his disciples, and Judas, the betrayer, has left the scene. So this is the night that Jesus is betrayed, and will go to trial and be crucified the very next day. And we are in what is called the upper room discourse where Jesus is speaking to his disciples. And it's not a one way talk here. They are asking him questions because he has told them that he is leaving them to go to the father. As we see, they don't quite understand. He tells them, don't let your hearts be troubled. But yet, as we will see, their hearts are greatly troubled. So let's turn to our passage, John chapter 14, verses 8 through 14. This is God's holy and inerrant word. Philip said to him, to Jesus, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, have I been with you so long, you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, show us the Father? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the father and the father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do. And greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. Father, I pray that you would strike our hearts and our minds as with a hot poker, that you would sear this text upon our hearts, to the glory of Christ Jesus. And it's in his name that we pray. Amen. Let me begin by asking you a question. Are you anxious about what tomorrow might bring? Do you have troubled hearts about what tomorrow is going to be? Do you have troubled hearts regarding what the church may soon face. Are you worried and concerned about the direction of our country? Are you fearful that persecution may be just around the corner for Christians or that it's already here and it's going to intensify? You have troubled hearts. Interestingly, this is Just how the disciples are feeling in John chapter 14 before us. Jesus has just told them again that he is leaving them, that he is going away, that he's going to be with the father. Look up at the end of chapter 13 in verse 33, what he said to them. Little children, yet a little while I'm with you. You will seek me and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you where I am going You cannot come. So they feel abandoned. Jesus is leaving them. The disciples are uneasy about what lays before them, even though Jesus has said to them in the first verse of the chapter, let not your hearts be troubled. Reality is they are deeply apprehensive, concerned for the future. Jesus told them, don't let your hearts be troubled because he knew that their hearts were troubled. Let us mark in the passage before us how the apostle or the disciple Philip wants to deal with his anxiety of the unknown. Then how Jesus responds to him. Verse eight, Philip said to him, to Jesus Lord, Show us the Father and it is enough for us. Philip, one with a troubled heart, makes a request of Jesus that Jesus would show all the disciples the Father, that is, God the Father. Lord, show us the Father and it's enough. Show us the Father, that will be sufficient. Philip is clear here that if they, as he's speaking for all the disciples apparently, that if they only saw the father, that is in some type of physical form or some kind of shape or some kind of what theologians call theophany, an appearance of God in some kind of physical form, then it would be enough for the disciples, that would be sufficient for us. Then if you left, we'd be fine, we'd do okay. Philip seems to believe that an appearance of the Father would give the disciples enough courage and life-changing assurance that they could face anything that might happen to them after Jesus departs. It's an amazing request, isn't it? Jesus, show us the Father, and that will be sufficient for us. That such an appearance would be sufficient to acquire their troubled souls, give comfort to their insecure hearts, and that they could carry on. Give us a vision of God. And we'll carry on. Now Philip's request is interesting because it ought to remind us of another text. Philip's request should remind us of Exodus 33 in which Moses is on top of Mount Sinai meeting with God. In Exodus 33, verses 12 through 16, there's great anxiety on Moses' part regarding his calling to lead Israel to the land of promise. Moses is anxious that God's presence won't be with him, that God's presence won't be with Israel as they travel to Canaan. His heart is troubled. He says to the Lord, if your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. Then Moses in Exodus 33 makes a request that God would show himself to Moses. Verse 18 of Exodus 33, Moses says, please show me your glory. Show me your presence. Show me who you are. Moses wants a physical sign, an appearance of God to strengthen him and to encourage him in his forthcoming arduous task. I cannot lead this people to the land of promise, oh God, without your presence among us. Moses doesn't want to go it alone. And who could blame him? Well, this is the request of Philip to Jesus. Oh, if we only saw a physical manifestation of the Father, oh, then we'd truly believe and we'd be strengthened for troubled times ahead. That would do it. That would be sufficient. Then we could go on. That's an amazing request. of this disciple. As Jesus responds to him, his response is found in verses 9 through 11. It begins in verse 9, we'll look at first. 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? Jesus' response to Philip, it's kind of a gentle rebuke. And as D.A. Carson remarks, he said, with a tinge of sadness, a tinge of sadness. Philip was one of Jesus' earliest disciples. And John gives a great account of the episode of Jesus and Philip. We read, beginning in chapter 1, verse 43, it says this, the next day, Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, follow me. Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, we have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathanael said to him, can anything good come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, come and see. One of his earliest disciples. been with Jesus for three years. Now Jesus calls Philip by name underscores the intimacy between Jesus and Philip, and then he mildly admonishes him with the question. You still don't know me, Philip. After three years, you don't know who I am. And then Jesus directly proclaims the reality. Did you see that in verse 9? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Leon Morris, New Testament commentator, says that this statement is staggering in its simplicity and its profundity. It's simple, but it's profound. Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. The truth is that Philip has seen the Father. Jesus is the partaker of the very same nature and essence with the Father. As Paul says in Colossians chapter 1, he is the image of the invisible God. John Calvin remarking, and Philip said, Philip had God present in Christ, yet he did not behold him. And Jesus, with that simple profound statement, whoever has seen me has seen the Father, he now builds on that idea in verses 10 through 11 so that we would have understanding of this. He says to Philip, do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? Look at verse 11. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. He says it twice. Morris again comments that this is a complete interpenetration of the father and the son. This is a complete interpenetration of the father and the son. This is, it's mind boggling, isn't it? It's an amazing doctrine of Christianity, an amazing central and principle doctrine of Christianity, and never did Jesus speak so freely concerning his eternal Godhead. There he is with his 11 believing disciples, and he speaks so freely. This is his proclamation of his own deity, that he has unity of essence with the Father. I mean, it's basically comes down to this. Phillips says, show us the father. And Jesus says, you see the father. Now, since Dr. Barkley was so doctrinal this morning on election, I'm going to do the same thing, but I'm not going to talk about election. We need to be theologically careful here with what we're looking at. When Jesus teaches, I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or in John chapter 10 where he says, I and the Father are one, we need to be careful what we mean by that. As D.A. Carson says, Jesus describes their unity, the Father and the Son, but does not obliterate their uniqueness. We have to be very careful. We're walking a very careful line here when we're talking about the nature of Christ and the nature of the Father. Let's take some time to examine this doctrine a little more closely because it can help us better understand what Jesus is saying to Philip and the other disciples. Here's where we get doctrine. A. A. Hodge, in his wonderful book called Outlines of Theology, comments about the nature of God that there are three great points about the nature of God. You have to stick with me here. Point number one, Hodge says, there is absolutely but one God and one self-existent, eternal, immutable, spiritual substance. There's one God. one essence. Secondly, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are each equally this one God, are each in common, constituted of the whole of this inalienable, indivisible essence, having the same identical numerical essence and the same identical attributes. Point three. Nevertheless, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three distinct persons, distinguished each by his several personal properties. One God in three persons. One essence in three persons. The truth is this, when we understand that properly, the truth is that Philip needs no special theophany. He needs no special appearance of God the Father. When he sees Christ, he sees the Father. That's the answer. Indeed, do you understand? The sight of God in Christ is enough to answer man's needs and yearnings and longings. The disciples are troubled, but this claim of Christ can comfort the troubled heart, for in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form. Show us the Father. Now confirmation of this truth in verse 10, Jesus says that his words and his teaching are from the Father. He says, do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you, I do not speak of my own authority. on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works." That's a confirmation. Jesus said that his words and his teaching, they're all from the Father. And his works, his miracles, his raising Lazarus from the dead, his causing the lame to walk, all of these are from the Father who dwells in him. You believe that? You believe what's being said here? Jesus calls you to believe that. Look at verse 11. Believe me, he says. Believe me. I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Believe that. It's true. They need to take him at his word and his works confirm his identity. He indeed is one with the Father. No greater answer has ever been given to a question in history. Show me the father. Philip, do you not know me? Indeed. So what we see so far is that Philip is greatly troubled, as are the other disciples. And he asked Jesus to show him the father. And that will be sufficient if we see the father. We can go on if we see the Father. And indeed, Jesus says to Philip, I have shown you the Father, for Jesus is the image of the invisible God. See, Jesus is sufficient. Everything the poor sinner needs is to be found in him. He is sufficient to answer all of men's yearnings and hopes. Here's the glorious all-sufficiency of Christ. Disciples don't need a glory cloud to appear before them. They don't need God to appear before them as a man wrestling with them. They don't need God to appear to them in the burning bush. No, they have Jesus, the very essence of God, standing before them. or in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. How do you face tomorrow? You need a glory clap? You need a man wrestling you by the river tonight? Do you need a burning bush? Indeed not. Oh, sufficient Christ. That's what we have. Yet Christ is leaving the disciples. There's still that reality. Christ is leaving the disciples. And so they see that and the presence of God will no longer be with them is what they say. Yet you are leaving us. But the reality is this, and this is the last part of the passage, verses 12 through 14, is that Jesus is sufficient even after he leaves and goes to the Father. He is sufficient there at the right hand of God the Father. Look what these verses say. Beginning at verse 12, truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do, and greater works than these will he do. because I am going to the Father. Are the disciples not left to themselves? Do they not have to fend for themselves? No, indeed. Jesus begins with, amen, amen. Truly, truly, I say unto you, there's something that they need to know. It's something that the disciples need to know, that the church needs to know, something that the church can count on. And Jesus tells them that because he is going to the Father, the believer will continue the work of Jesus in the world. In fact, didn't it come out at you that it says his disciples will do greater works than he has done? They're like, how can that be? How can his disciples do greater work than he has done? It means that after Christ is exalted and sits at the right hand of the father and he's glorified, he will work in and through his followers and they will spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Is Christ with us? Yes. Indeed. After the cross. will be a more advanced stage in God's economy of salvation, salvation to the very ends of the earth, indeed. Matthew Henry, looking at this passage, said, truth is the captivating of so great a part of the world to Christ under such outward disadvantages was the miracle of all. The miracle of all. But, didn't Jesus leave us? Again, without Christ in the flesh, how will the disciples carry out their mission? How will they take it to the ends of the earth? Look at verses 13 and 14. Jesus says, whatever you ask in my name, this I will do. But the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. Christ is yet with them, although not in the flesh. He will answer prayer from the throne of glory. If one prays in the name of Christ and all that his name stands for and prays to the glory of God, Jesus will answer. The fact that Jesus answers prayer underscores his deity, underscores his oneness with the Father. There's a wonderful book written by Charles Ross. It was a book of his sermons that he preached in the 19th century. It's called The Inner Sanctuary. and it's a number of sermons on John chapter 13 through 17. And Charles Ross in the book Inner Sanctuary has this to say about our passage. But who again is to answer the prayers of his people thus offered up in the name of Jesus? It is Christ himself. We should perhaps have thought that Jesus would have said, that the father will do. But no, he takes it to himself, thus giving us clearly to understand that he is the almighty God together with the father. Are the disciples left alone? Has Jesus abandoned them? By no means. So let me ask you, the same way I began this sermon, you have a troubled, apprehensive heart because you don't know what tomorrow might bring? Are you worried about the unknown days that lie ahead? What we learn from this passage before us is that not only is Christ fully sufficient to deliver us from sin, but he is fully sufficient to meet all our needs and longings and yearnings and hopes and the unknown. His presence is with us, and he is sufficient to stay our fears, our anxieties, our worries. The glorious all-sufficiency of Christ He is everything the poor sinner needs. As Spurgeon said, if Christ be anything, he must be everything. Amen and amen. Please pray with me. Most Heavenly Father, we thank you for this passage. teaches us that Christ is sufficient for all our needs, that he is anything he must be everything. Thank you for Christ Jesus, and it's in his name that we pray. Please stand for the benediction. Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.