Exclusive Intimacy
Opening Prayer
Father God, as I read Jesus’ words, help me to know and trust him and You more deeply.
Read JOHN 14:1–14
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Jesus the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
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 know me, you will 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 I do not speak on my own authority. 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 works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they 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 Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
The cure for heart trouble is to be found in this passage. This cure fixes a broken heart, an angry heart, a desperate heart or any other malfunctioning heart.
Think Further
Jesus wants his followers not to have troubled hearts (1) but to be comforted and strengthened by knowing him and his Father more intimately, thereby realizing that trusting in God supplies all encouragement. These verses incentivize us to seek and find God in more ways, thus becoming more stable in our faith and able to transfer this source of confidence to others.
It’s worth noting that even followers of Jesus can be plagued with anxiety. Yet Jesus urges us to have faith (1). The high Christology here also presents Jesus unambiguously recommending himself as the object of faith, a faith that involves knowing both him and his Father. Jesus wants to convince his followers that there are solid grounds for trusting this great and dependable God, so he assures them that his necessary departure will lead to wonderful blessings (John 16:7). Their future destiny will be assured by his going away (2–6). Jesus appeals to their knowledge of his kindness, for he would have warned them if the promises of these verses were not true. That’s the sort of loving protector he is.
Philip expresses their struggling, groping faith (8). Jesus gives yet more reassurance for them and for all troubled followers. We need a firm and certain knowledge, and this comes through seeing and knowing Jesus and having a vision of all that he promises through his relationship with the Father. The solid unity of Father and Son gives us grounds for our witness (12) as well as for seeking his help and strength through prayer (13,14). Through hearing Jesus’ word and believing it, we will be seeing the Father and his work! What a great privilege!
Apply
How do these verses encourage us to seek greater intimacy with God and deeper understanding of Jesus’ promises through his departure from this earth and his relationship with his Father?
Closing prayer
Lord, cure all of my spiritual insecurities through a firmer knowledge of our relationship.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.