The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #4499

My highlighted verses:John 14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me
7  If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
8  Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
9  Jesus saith 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, Shew us the Father?
10  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.
11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
12  ¶Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Note: We continue to see Jesus use the sacred name "I AM". It is the name He gave to Moses when Moses ask Him, "Who shall I say sent me?"

Exodus 3:14
And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
"I AM" later came Himself, to dwell in the flesh, and they called His name Jesus.

Now concerning the "way", if the Word of God is true and Jesus Christ is the Son of God, then there is only one way to be saved and abide forever in God's house, and that Way is through Jesus Christ. You see, He is the ONLY ONE who can prepare a place for you, for without Him you cannot enter in.

Does that mean that all the other religions of world are wrong? Well, Jesus did say that He has sheep of another fold, and we are not to judge others regarding their salvation, so let's not be arrogant or condescending toward others. But as John has documented several times, if you don't have the Son you don't have the Father either. In fact, Jesus just said precisely that in verse 6 when He said "no man cometh unto the Father, but by Him".

It is written that when the 1000 year Millennium is over, everyone (except those who take part in the 1st resurrection) will be judged at that time, by the Word of God. And as Jesus said in verse 6, He is the life, so if by that time you don't have Him, you won't have life anymore! Your life shall perish. John 3:16 means exactly what it says. It does not say that "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in the Buddah or the Mahaj or the Force, shall not perish. You must believe in the Son of God to receive eternal life. There is no other way for He is the Way.

The "flip side" of "if you don't have the Son you don't have the Father either", is that if you do have the Son then you also have the Father, for you cannot have either one without the other!

Herein lies a difficulty with the flesh mind, for this can only be understood on a spiritual level. The disciples were standing right there "seeing" Jesus also standing right there, the I AM dwelling in the flesh, which is something you and I will never see, nor does it matter. Here is what He said to them:

John 14:7
If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him.
If they had known Him, if they really "knew" who He was, if they understood that He was the I AM, understood that the real Jesus, the I AM, was not the flesh body standing before them which was about to be crucified, then they would have "seen" that the Father was in Him.

Do you see? You know you cannot see the wind with flesh eyes, but you can see its "works" when it blows. Neither can you see the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, with flesh eyes but you can see its "works" when it moves through His children. Neither can you see God the Father with flesh eyes, for He is Spirit, but the disciples could see His works that He performed through Jesus. Do you remember what Christ said back in chapter 4 of this Gospel of John?

John 4:24
God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
And there is only one God. But since our eyes are flesh we cannot "see" spirit, nor totally understand how it interacts with this dimension. How then can we understand that He is able to manifest Himself anyway He so chooses. You see, that is really what His name "I AM" means. He is whatever He is, or wishes to be. He has chosen to reveal Himself to us in three offices, the Father, the Savior (Son), and the Holy Spirit or Comforter.

Ok, then was Jesus God? Of course He was. He was the I AM come down from heaven, born from above, to tabernacle in the flesh, to pay the price on the cross as the Lamb of God, that His sons and daughters might believe in Him and be saved.

Let's return to John 14 where Jesus has just told His disciples that if they had known Him they would have known the Father also, and "seeing" the Son, they would also have "seen" the Father.

If you don't understand yet, don't feel too badly. The disciples are there with the best teacher who ever walked in the flesh and they are grappling with this "I and the Father are one" thing too! It is now Philip's turn to "take a stab" at this "look" "see" thing.

[8] Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
The flesh still wants that word "seen" in "you have seen Him" to mean visually, as in you open your eyes and you look at Jesus standing here, the Father standing there and the Holy Spirit standing over there. Nope, it doesn't work that way. You must use the "eyes to see", that see spiritually, not physically. Often it is easier to close the flesh eyes so as to open the "eyes that truly see".

Remember Jesus healed the blind man's eyes? Was that just to show that He could give physical sight to a blind man? No it was not, but it was so that we could see with our flesh eyes an example to help us understand what was happening spiritually! What was the result of the opening of his "eyes"? Did he take cruises and go "sight seeing" because he could now see? No, he was delivered before the Pharisees in the synagogue and easily "saw right through those hypocrites", which resulted in his excommunication from the church. Then Christ came to Him and asked if he believed on the Son of God. Do you remember the conversation? Here is what the once blind man said:

John 9:36
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
Just like Philip! Who is He, show Him to me! And yet the "I AM" is right there before him. You see, it takes more than flesh eyes to see the Lord. In fact, you cannot see the Lord with your flesh eyes.
[37] And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
Now his spiritual eyes were fully open.
[38] And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
Don't make it such a hard thing to understand that the flesh can't see that which is spiritual? You know you can't see a thought or an idea. Actually, even words are spirit. Oh you can see them in print, but you don't have to. You can hear them which you could say means they are sound waves and therefore physical. But words have meanings and you cannot see a "meaning" under a microscope or detect it on an oscilloscope. You cannot weigh it, nor can you measure it with a ruler. You can only understand it. The Word of God is spiritual. And so it is that the Written Word and the Living Word are one.

Here is what Jesus says unto Philip who wants to see the Father with his flesh eyes:

John 14:9
Jesus saith 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, Shew us the Father?
Have you "seen" the Father? You have if you've seen Jesus?
John 14:10
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.
You can "see" God in the works that He does, in the miracles that He performs, even unto this very day. You can "see" the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, when He manifests Himself in someone's life. Flesh eyes can see the works of God, though they cannot see the Spirit, the "Ruach" in Hebrew, which means the "Wind".
[11] Believe me that I AM in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.
Again, the works you can see with the flesh eye. Whether or not you can see Him in them is a spiritual matter requiring your other set of eyes.
[12] Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Not those who say they believe on Him, but those who actually do.
John 14:13
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
There is a qualification here in that what you ask Christ to do must be so that it glorifies the Father. Asking for a new BMW doesn't qualify.
[14] If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
There are those evangelists who tell uneducated Christians that if they just have faith, then whatever they ask God for He will answer their prayers and give it to them. That is a lie!

Does God not then take care of His own? Yes He does, but those who know and follow Him ask that nevertheless, His will be done, for it is their will too that the Father be glorified.

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.

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