The Importance of John 1:18 - "No One Has Seen the Father"

 

“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has revealed him.” – John 1:18

The Gospel of John is my favorite book of the Bible for a couple of reasons. First, it gives us more glimpses of the life and teaching of Christ than are found in the other three gospels, and second, it’s explanatory in a way that the other gospels are not. All four gospels have theological content, but John is especially rich. This is to be expected given that John was the last gospel to be written. After decades in which Christianity had spread far and wide, and persons of all nationalities and backgrounds had been brought into the faith, issues had arisen that needed to be addressed authoritatively, particularly concerning the person and work of Christ. In a real sense, I would call John an apostolic “commentary” on the gospel, illustrated with examples.

One of the challenges to understanding this gospel is noting the nuanced ways in which John repeats himself in order to convey emphasis and provide explanation. Connected references are scattered all throughout the book, and are sometimes expressed in slightly different terms. There are also some passages that are explanatory narration but are usually treated as dialogue.

One of John’s points of emphasis and explanation is found in chapter one, verse eighteen, where he tells us that “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son [Christ], who is in the bosom of the Father, he has revealed him.” Taken by itself, this reference may seem rather vague and disconnected from the context, but its importance becomes clearer when considered in light of other passages in the gospel, such as the following:

 

“If I told you earthly things, and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.” – John 3:12-13

 

“He who comes from above is above all, he who is from the earth is of the earth and speaks of the earth. He who is from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. He who has received His testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for he gives the Spirit without measure.” – John 3:31-34

As these passages illustrate, John 1:18 establishes the authority of Jesus Christ as the unique messenger sent from God, and thus uniquely bearing the authority of God. No one has seen the Father (God) except the Son. No one else has ascended into heaven (that is to receive a message from God), or descended from heaven (that is, to relay a message from God). Christ has come down from above, from God with the truth of God, and is thus supremely authoritative in what he says about God.

“And He was saying to them, ‘You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” – John 8:23

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” – John 5:19

 

“No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.” – John 15:15

What Christ did before men, he had seen the Father doing. What he said to men, he had heard the Father saying. This is what John is referring to when he says of Christ, “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies.” In relation to this testimony, John tells us that “no one receives it,” but he does not mean no one at all, for he immediately follows this with: “Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.” When John says that “no one receives his testimony,” he means no one who is “of the earth.” Those who are Christ’s he considers to be “not of this world,” and it is they who receive the testimony concerning Christ, as evidenced by the fact that they keep his word:

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” – John 15:18-19

 

“I have manifested Your Name to the men whom you gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word…I have given them Your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” – John 17:6, 14

This is the purpose of John’s repeated declarations concerning Christ and the Father, as attested to by Christ’s miracles, which were performed by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1, Acts 10:38), for as John tells us, “the one whom God sends speaks the very words of God.” And how do we know who it is whom God has sent and who thus speaks his words? “For he [God] gives the Spirit without measure.” The power of God—and thus the authentication of Christ as God’s son and his message as God’s message—was confirmed in the miracles of Christ, some of which were unique in scripture and were even reluctantly acknowledged as authentic even by his enemies.

So when you read John’s gospel in the future, look for these phrases and note how often they’re repeated. These are John’s way of explaining why the word spoken to men through Christ is the uniquely authoritative word of the Father.

“These things been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ [the one true Son of God who has come from God with the word of God]; and that believing [keeping his word] you may have life in His Name” (John 20:31).

*All scriptures are taken from the NASB.

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Echoes of Eden

For many, the biblical story of God’s judgment on Adam and Eve in Eden must sound like an overreaction of epic proportions. After all, what’s the big deal with eating fruit? Even if God really said not to, what’s the big deal?

The devil here is quite literally in the details. Go back and look at the temptation that came to Eve again, and how she reacted to it:

“The serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it [the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil] your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” – Genesis 3:4-6

Here are the key elements in this passage: “You will be like God, knowing good and evil,” and “the woman…saw that the tree was desirable to make one wise.”

In these few words, we have the real downfall of the Adamic race. Prior to this time, Adam and Eve were dependent upon God to show them what was right and what was wrong. The temptation they responded to was to become as wise of God, to know good and evil so that they might judge for themselves. In so doing, they cast off the authority of God and became their own authorities.

Beyond this, they also sought to cast off the consequences of their rebellion. God had told Adam, “On the day you eat of the tree, you will surely die,” but the serpent assured Eve that this was not so. Some have been confused by God’s statement because Adam lived on for many more years after he fell, but if you examine the underlying Hebrew and how the same terminology is used elsewhere in scripture, it becomes apparent that God meant that Adam’s death would become certain on the day that he ate from the tree. Prior to that time, Adam had access to the Tree of Life, and as long as he had access to it he could live indefinitely. But after this incident, God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden, denying them access to the Tree of Life and thereby ensuring their ultimate deaths.

By choosing to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they not were not only rebelling against God but asserting that they could escape the consequences of their rebellion. Doubtless, they thought they could keep going back to eat from the Tree of Life and go on forever, making their own decisions and benefitting from God’s provision on their own terms.

The refusal to acknowledge any authority beyond oneself, even principles of conscience, is at the core of every form of evil in the world, including man’s own inhumanity to man. In this way, the first sin of man has become the defining sin of mankind. The rebellion of Eden echoes down to the present time. The New Testament tells us that the last era of human history will be characterized by lawlessness, a wholesale casting off of authorities and limitations beyond the satisfaction of one’s own desires. As a result, Christ said that “the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). A person who is totally absorbed in himself has the capacity for the most astonishing forms of cruelty and indifference.

The New Testament also tells us that the rebels of the last days will think they can go on getting by with it forever, enjoying the all things that God has provided while they spit in his face. They will think that they can escape the consequences God has declared against them simply because he hasn’t moved against them yet. And so they act like nothing is wrong.

“For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.” – Matthew 24:37-39

“Know this first of all that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of the creation’…

“But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” – II Peter 3:3-4, 8-9

Just as Adam’s ultimate death became certain when he rebelled, so death is also certain for this lawless, self-absorbed final generation, but God has not acted yet because he is giving everyone a chance to turn from their rebellion and be reconciled to him through Christ. Christ is able to perform this because he reversed the fall of Adam through his obedience to God, consistently setting aside his own will in favor of the Father’s will. In the Garden of Eden, Adam effectively said, “My will be done.” In the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ said to the Father, “Your will be done.” For this reason, scripture refers to Christ as “the last Adam” (I Corinthians 15:50), and all who are in him are reconciled to God through him, for God has imputed his righteousness to them (II Corinthians 5:21). There is a beautiful symmetry here. Whereas death became certain for Adam on the day he rebelled, life becomes certain for us when we are reconciled.

“Because I live, you will live also.” – John 14:19

“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” – John 11:25

* All scripture references are from the NASB.

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Calvary at Cana

"On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, 'They have no more wine.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does your concern have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.'" - John 2:1-4

For as long as I can remember, I have puzzled over Jesus' statement to His mother at the wedding in Cana, where He performed His first public miracle: changing water into wine. I thought about it again recently while I was watching my favorite Bible film adaptation, "The Gospel of John". At first glance, the Lord's reply to His mother: "Woman, what does your concern have to do with me?" sounds rather disrespectful, and then He follows it with the cryptic statement: "My hour has not yet come." What is He saying here?

The Mission

First, while it may sound strange to us in our day, Jesus' referring to His mother as "Woman" was, apparently, not disrespectful in His culture, nor do I believe it was a rebuke as at least one well-known commentator has speculated. Jesus referred to Mary as "woman" again at His crucifixion (John 19:26), when there were no evident grounds for rebuke (indeed, He was seeing to her care at the time). He also addressed other women in this manner, including the woman at the well (John 4:21), a woman whom He healed of a painful spinal condition (Luke 13:12), and Mary Magdalene (His own disciple), when she was weeping in the garden on the morning of His resurrection (John 20:15). In the culture of the time, the use of "woman" was probably not unlike our use of the term "Ma'am," which can be used to show respect, or as a manner of addressing a woman whose name is not known, or where an acquaintance has not yet been made to the point of allowing for a more familiar manner of address.

The term could also be used as a formal manner of address on the part of one who speaks with authority. I believe that this is how Jesus used the term at least part of the time: when He was making a declaration based on His authority from the Father. This seems to be how He used it when He spoke to the woman at the well (answering her implied question about worship), and when He pronounced healing to the woman in Luke 13. In the instance where He assigned the care of His mother to the apostle John, it seems fitting that He was speaking as the legal heir of Joseph and head of his human family.

I believe that He is speaking from a position of authority at the wedding in Cana as well. The wedding was likely that of a near relative, possibly even one of Jesus' sisters, given that Mary had authority over the servants (v 5) and appealed to Jesus for help with entertaining the wedding guests. But Jesus' reply here shows that a change has taken place in their relationship. He has recently begun His public ministry as Messiah, having been "revealed" to Israel (through His disciples) by the baptism of John. One could say that He is a man with a mission now, and domestic affairs are not His primary concern. He is about his Father's business: the business of the Kingdom. In John chapter 4, He refers to this business of the Kingdom as being as essential to Him as food. Thus He answers Mary here, not as her son but from the position of Messiah. In this context, He treats Mary as He would any other woman, and addresses her as such. In effect, He is saying: "Woman, why is this of any concern to me, given the business my Father has sent me to do?"

Yet, having said this, Jesus went on to help with the situation anyway. Why? The answer is in verse 11, and is consistent with Jesus' reply to Mary:

"This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him."

Performing this miracle turned out to be Kingdom business after all, for it strengthened the faith of Jesus' disciples, helping to affirm in their minds the truth of what John the Baptist had said about Him. Having seen this miracle, they had even greater reason to continue with Him.


The "Hour"

What, then, does Jesus mean when He says, "My hour has not yet come."?

I believe there was more to Mary's request than a concern for the happiness of the wedding guests that day in Cana. She knew who Jesus was, and I think it's likely that she was prompting Him to reveal Himself with a great, substantiating sign. All throughout His ministry, Jesus was constantly prompted for signs, including by people who had already seen Him perform miracles (see John 6:25-34). Satan prompted Him for a sign after his forty days of fasting in the wilderness: "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones be turned into bread." (Matthew 4:3). At the very end of life, while He was hanging  on the cross, He was still being goaded for a sign: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!" (Matthew 27:40). Even His own brothers taunted Him along these lines:

"Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to him, 'Depart from here and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. For even his brothers did not believe in him.'" - John 7:2-5

Jesus' reply to them is interesting:

"Then Jesus said to them, 'My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.'" - John 7:6-8

Again, Jesus says that His time has not yet come.

As we see demonstrated all throughout the gospels, Jesus never fully manifested Himself to the people at large. He revealed His identity very selectively, and only to single individuals or just a handful of people at a time. As far as the people at large were concerned, He spoke in parables and confusing figurative teachings that left even His own disciples scratching their heads. On a number of occasions He forbade people to talk openly about His miracles. The only recorded exception to this general pattern appears to have taken place at the Samaritan village of Sychar (see John chapter 4), where Jesus revealed His identity as the Messiah to a people who were also descended from Abraham, but whom the Jews despised as a whole.

Then, as now, the Jews were looking for a political/military Messiah, a great leader who would come on the scene, deliver Israel from her enemies, restore her independence and long-vanished national power, and usher in the era of eternal blessings that the Old Testament prophets had predicted. They did not realize that Messiah must first "suffer many things, and be rejected." The "hour" that Jesus' mother and disciples had in mind was His revelation in power: His coronation as King of the Jews. By contrast, however, the "hour" that Jesus had in mind was His being offered as the Lamb of God, the perfect, once-for-all sacrifice for sin.

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life." - John 3:14 

"When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing of my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me." - John 8:28 

"Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'" - Matthew 27:54

"Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know -- this man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death...therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ -- this Jesus whom you crucified. 

"Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Brethren, what shall we do?'" - Acts 2:22-23, 36-37

True to His word, it was after Jesus was lifted up that "all men" began to be drawn to Him, beginning with Peter's sermon in Acts, at which time the gospel began to spread exponentially, being preached in "Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Jesus was destined for glory, but it was the Father's glory that He sought first and foremost, not His own:

"'Now my soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name.' Then a voice came out of heaven: 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.'" - John 12:27-28

Mary sought glory and recognition for her son, but she sought these things in accordance with human definitions -- just as His disciples did -- and did not then know what this would mean in terms of the plan that Jesus had come to fulfill. He did perform a miracle that day, and did receive glory from it, but He did so only in the Father's perfect timing. From the statement that Jesus made in John 8:28: "I do nothing of my own initiative" -- and similar statements recorded elsewhere, I can only conclude that Jesus answered Mary as He did because He had not received instruction from the Father to perform this miracle; and when He finally did it, it was because the Father had told Him to. It is impossible to rightly understand Jesus' ministry without first understanding that He was always in submission to the Father, always seeking the Father's will and glory. His own ultimate glorification only came when His obedience was complete -- after He had gone to the cross:

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." - Philippians 2:5-8 

"Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation." - Hebrews 5:8-9

Calvary at Cana

"Now there were six stone waterpots set there for the Jewish custom of purification, containing twenty or thirty gallons each." - John 2:6

It's interesting that this first public miracle Jesus did involved turning water into wine. Wine, of course, is a symbol of the blood of Christ, of "the new covenant in My blood" (Luke 22:20), "...which is poured out for many, for forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28). Further, note that John tells us that the water that Jesus used for this miracle was set apart "for the Jewish custom of purification."

The Jews, particularly the religious leadership, had many physical purification rites that they engaged in and in which they took great pride. Yet, inwardly, they were full of hypocrisy and corruption, which Jesus called them on:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also." - Matthew 23:25-26

While the religious Jews placed much emphasis on external purification, Jesus placed emphasis on inner purification, an internal cleansing made possibly only by the new birth (John 3), which, in turn, is made possible by the shed blood of God's perfect Lamb who "carries away the sins of the world." Thus, at Cana, Jesus took water: a means of external, physical cleansing, and transformed it into wine: a symbol of His blood, through which we are granted internal, spiritual cleansing. The first sign He performed publicly at the beginning of His ministry foreshadowed the last act He would perform publicly in that same ministry: the offering of Himself at the appointed hour, in the very "fullness of time." It was a far cry from what His mother, or anyone else, expected, but it was in perfect submission to the will of the Father; and by His obedience He purchased our redemption:

"For as through the one man's [Adam's] disobedience, the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One [Christ] the many will be made righteous." - Romans 5:19

Conclusion

John's account of the wedding at Cana offers us so much more than the story of Jesus' first public miracle. There are treasures buried here that illustrate His entire ministry, the purpose for which He came, and the example He set for us in His perfect submission to the Father's will. It provides a beautiful illustration of the means of our redemption, hidden as it were in plain sight.