MH page 420

“Lord, show us the Father,” said Philip, “and it sufficeth us. 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, Show us the Father? 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.” John 14:1-10 .

To have seen Jesus is to have seen the Father, as the Father dwells in Him. This paragraph quotes dialogue from the Gospel of John regarding the identity of Christ and the Father.

The disciples did not yet understand Christ's words concerning His relation to God. Much of His teaching was still dark to them. Christ desired them to have a clearer, more distinct knowledge of God.

Spiritual understanding develops gradually as disciples receive instruction from Christ. The paragraph discusses the disciples' spiritual comprehension of Christ's teachings about God without making empirical medical or scientific assertions.

“These things have I spoken unto you in parables,” He said; “but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in parables, but I shall show you plainly of the Father.” John 16:25 , margin.

Christ promised to reveal the Father plainly to His followers in time. This is a direct biblical quotation regarding spiritual revelation and teaching methods.

When, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the disciples, they understood more fully the truths that Christ had spoken in parables. Much of the teaching that had been a mystery to them was made clear. But not even then did the disciples receive the complete fulfillment of Christ's promise. They received all the knowledge of God that they could bear, but the complete fulfillment of the promise that Christ would show them plainly of the Father was yet to come. Thus it is today. Our knowledge of God is partial and imperfect. When the conflict is ended, and the Man Christ Jesus acknowledges before the Father His faithful workers, who in a world of sin have borne true witness for Him, they will understand clearly what now are mysteries to them.

Human knowledge of God is currently partial, awaiting complete revelation in the future. The text focuses on theological understanding, spiritual enlightenment, and eschatological hope rather than empirical science.