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Well, before we turn to our study 
in the gospel of John, I just want to mention something we've 
been praying for for the last several months. A man by the 
name of John Terpstra passed into the presence of his Lord 
last night, and he was attended by his family and by our dear 
brother, Daniel Slutweg. So I thought it would be fitting 
for us to pray and bless God for his kindness in the life 
of John, his reception of John, and also for those he's left 
behind. So let us pray. Our gracious 
God and our Holy Father, we know that you are most high, that 
you are glorious, that you are wondrous, that you have purpose 
to save a great multitude that no man can number. We know as 
well that this brother was yours, and we know that his suffering, 
his pain, his sorrows have now ceased as he's passed into the 
presence of his gracious Lord and Savior. And we rejoice in 
this, God. We give all praise and glory 
to you. We ask that you would bless his family, those loved 
ones that he's left behind. We pray that those who are in 
Christ would grieve, but not as the world grieves, knowing 
that he is in a better place. Those who are unsaved in his 
family, we pray that they would seek after his Lord and his Savior, 
and that they would know the Lord Jesus Christ by grace through 
faith in him. Lord, thank you. that though 
we do die physically, we die well, and we pass into the presence 
of that one who lived for us, who died for us, and who was 
raised again for us. And we thank you so very much 
for what we have in the gospel of our salvation, and we pray 
in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, you can turn in your 
Bibles to the gospel according to John as we continue our exposition 
in this fourth gospel. Our focus this morning will be 
verses seven to 11, but I wanna read verses one to 11. John 14, beginning in verse one. Let not your heart be troubled. 
You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are 
many mansions. If it were not so, I would have 
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare 
a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, 
that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go, you 
know, in the way you know. Thomas said to him, Lord, we 
do not know where you are going, and how can we know the way? 
Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one 
comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you 
would have known my Father also, and from now on you know Him 
and have seen Him. Philip said to him, Lord, show 
us the Father, and it is sufficient for us. Jesus said to him, have 
I been with you so long and yet you have not known me, Philip? 
He who has seen me has seen the Father. So how can you say, show 
us the Father? Do you not believe that I am 
in the Father and the Father in me? The words that I speak 
to you, I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father 
who dwells in me does the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, 
and the Father in me, or else believe me for the sake of the 
works themselves. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
gracious God, we thank you for the written word. We know it's 
given by inspiration of God, that it's profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. And as we look at this passage 
today, may we see the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, the expressed 
image of the invisible God. the blessed Savior of sinners, 
and may it be the case that our hearts would be drawn out in 
worship and in praise and adoration. We ask that you would guide us 
now by the Holy Spirit, that you would illumine our minds 
and hearts to receive these things, and for any and all who've come 
here this morning that are dead in their trespasses and sins, 
we don't appeal to them to exercise their free will, but we appeal 
to the God of free grace and power and majesty, and we ask 
that you would exercise that power in making men willing to 
come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Forgive us for all sin and all 
unrighteousness, and we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Well, we find ourselves in what 
has been called the upper room discourse. Our Lord Jesus Christ 
is about to die. This is the day before Good Friday. 
And so he takes this opportunity to encourage his disciples, to 
comfort his disciples, and as well to instruct his disciples, 
because they're going to go out and make disciples of all the 
nations, baptize those disciples made, and then teach those disciples 
to observe all that the Lord had commanded. In fact, if you 
drop down for just a moment in verse 12, you'll notice, most 
assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that 
I do, he will do also. And greater works than these, 
he will do because I go to my father. And whatever you ask 
in my name, that I will do, that the father may be glorified in 
the son. If you ask anything in my name, I will do it. So 
the foundation of a statement like that, specifically the mission 
of the apostles, is grounded in the mission of the son. And 
so we see that revelation here specifically in verses 1 to 11. It's about who Jesus is, specifically 
related to the Father. So I want to look first at the 
identity of the Son in verse 7, and then secondly, the unity 
he has with the Father in verses 8 to 11. But note first in terms 
of the identity. So this is connected. We stopped 
last week at verse 6. Verse 6, I am the way, the truth, 
and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. We've had a week off, but Jesus 
didn't take a week off. He continued to speak. He continued 
to exhort. He continued to instruct. He 
continued to teach them. And so in verse 7, he says, if 
you had known me, you would have known my father also. And from 
now on, you know him and have seen him. So again, that's something 
that speaks concerning his identity, his identification, who he is. 
I think verse 6 tells us what he does. I am the way, the truth, 
and the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through me. He does what he does by virtue 
of the fact he is who he is. In other words, if he's not the 
divine Son, if he is not one with the Father, if he is not 
the glorious Lord of glory, then he's not able to do what he says 
he's able to do in verse 6. Now, up to this point, we have 
lots of prior revelation concerning the identity of the Son. We have 
the prologue, chapter 1, verse 1 to verse 18. In the beginning 
was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Verse 
14, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld 
His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, 
full of grace and truth. We have verse 18 in the prologue. 
No one has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, who 
is in the bosom of the Father, has declared Him. And then from 
the prologue, we move into the public ministry. Chapter 1, verse 
19, all the way to chapter 12 at verse 50. And a recurring 
emphasis in that section is on who Jesus is. He stresses his 
identity. He is the one sent by the Father. He maintains this special relation 
to the Father. And so all throughout the public 
ministry, we see his emphasis on his identification. Such that 
at various times, the unbelieving Jews, they pick up stones to 
throw at him. In chapter 5 and chapter 8, chapter 10. Why? Because they understood the claim 
that he was making. They understood that he, being 
a man, made himself equal to God. And then in the passion 
narrative, so beginning in chapter 13, verse 1, and continuing to 
chapter 20, in verse 31, we see a similar emphasis. Again, the 
one who says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes 
to the Father except through me, must be one who's able to 
deliver the goods. If he is not who he says he is, 
then he can't do what he says he does in verse six. So it's 
absolutely crucial that we get what's going on in verses seven 
to 11. So the previous revelation concerning 
the son, now here notice specifically in verse seven, he speaks of 
the knowledge of the son, the knowledge that others have of 
him. Notice in verse seven, if you had known me, you would have 
known my father also, from now on you know him and have seen 
him." So what is Jesus saying there? He is saying the knowledge 
of the Son is the knowledge of the Father. Brethren, that's 
not a statement any other person could ever make. We can We can 
tell people about the Father. We can instruct people from the 
Word of God. But it's not the case that if 
you've seen me, you've seen the Father. But that is precisely 
what our Lord Jesus Christ is saying. The mission of Christ 
was the revelation of the Father. That last bit in John 1, 18. No one has seen God at any time, 
but the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father. 
What has He done? He has declared Him. Now, there 
is in this statement, and he's going to stress this in a moment, 
unity between the Father and the Son. There's also distinction 
between the Father and the Son. The Father is not the Son, and 
the Son is not the Father. They are distinguished by what 
we call eternal relations of origin. The Father is unbegotten, 
the Son is begotten by the Father, and the Spirit proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. I'm going to tell you at the 
outset, we're going to do a bit of theology this morning, because 
we need to get what's going on here specifically in John's gospel 
with reference to the father and the son. So notice in that 
first place, if you had known me, you would have known my father 
also. And then he says, and from now on, you know him and have 
seen him. Cyril makes the good observation 
that the revelation of God's law at Sinai basically pulled 
Israel out of polytheism to serve the one and true living God. 
But the revelation in the gospel makes clear the Holy Trinity. Not that the Trinity is absent 
in the Old Testament, but the Trinity is in blazing glory in 
the pages of the New Testament. One of the best proofs of the 
Trinity is the mission of the Son and the mission of the Spirit. 
It shows us the relationship between the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit. And so with reference to this, 
we realize that in the gospel, when we look at Jesus, we are 
looking at the Father. And so when he says, from now 
on you know him and have seen him, interpreters kind of bat 
that phrase around, from now on. I think it's easiest to understand 
it related to the Incarnation. From now on, in the coming of 
the Word made flesh, from now on in the life and the death 
and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus, from now on in the fulfillment 
of the covenant promises of God, which are yea and amen and hymn, 
from now on, the way of approach to the Father is through the 
Son. So functionally, verse six, I 
am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father 
except through me. And then in terms of his nature 
or identification or who he is, He says that I am the revelation 
of the father himself. Now we move on to his emphasis 
on the unity with his father in verses eight to 11. We saw 
a bit of confusion in verse five with Thomas. Thomas said to him, 
Lord, we do not know where you are going and how can we know 
the way? Well, after a bomb like verse seven, you'd kind of expect 
a bit of confusion as well. I mean, listen to what Jesus 
says in verse seven. If you had known me, you would 
have known my father also. Again, no one can say that, the 
way that Jesus can say that. We can tell you about, we can 
point you to, we can open the scriptures, but we cannot say 
if you've seen me, you've seen the father. Jesus does this, 
and on the heels of that, we have a request by the disciple 
in verse eight. Philip, now Philip was the man 
who led Nathanael to the Lord Jesus Christ in John 1, verses 
43 to 46. Nathanael was given revelation 
by God to make that declaration, truly you are the son of God. 
So again, the disciples weren't completely foreign or oblivious 
to these things. They saw these things, they understood 
insofar as it went, but still they're walking around with a 
man. A man who breathed, a man who had hair, a man who had feet, 
a man who got weary, a man who drank water, a man who ate food, 
a man who sorrowed, a man who would suffer, a man who would 
bleed, a man who would die. So we can grant them or indulge 
them a bit for their ignorance at certain points in the ministry 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. So Philip here asks the question 
in verse eight and it sets the stage for the answer in verses 
nine to 11. So Philip said to him, Lord, 
show us the Father and it is sufficient for us. Now, notice 
that Philip's not asking only for himself. Show us, and it's 
sufficient for us. So in a sense, Philip is functioning 
as the spokesman of the others. In other words, Lord, we really 
kind of don't understand what you're saying. We're not really 
picking up what you're putting down. And I actually think that 
behind this is Exodus 33, that scene where Moses says to God 
Most High, show me your glory. So on the one hand, it's a declaration 
of confusion, but on the other hand, it's a declaration of what 
should be uppermost in the hearts of all creatures. Not just believers, 
but all men everywhere. Show me your glory. In other 
words, the creature should want to see the Creator. The creature 
should want to commune with the Creator. The creature should 
want and desire to know Him. Why? Because we're made in His 
image. Why? Because He's good. Why? Because He's kind. Why? Because 
He gives us food. He gives us water. He gives us 
houses. He gives us the sun. He gives 
us the waves. He bedecks this created order 
with all kinds of splendor. And when we see that, it should 
lead us to want Him. I mean, in the grand scheme of 
things, what's better, the gift that you receive under the tree 
or the giver of the gift? The gift is simply a token of 
the love of the giver. When your husband hands you flowers 
on Valentine's Day, it's not the flowers that's the terminus, 
it's your husband. It's how wonderful he is, how 
attractive he is, how handsome he is. You see, it's not necessarily 
the gift that we end with, but the gift leads us to the giver. 
So on the one hand, it's a statement concerning their confusion, but 
on the other hand, it is what we should be asking. Now, we 
don't ask that because we sin. We don't ask that because in 
Adam, all die. We don't ask that because in 
that connection to Adam, we turn the back to God rather than bow 
to God. We don't even like to retain 
the knowledge of God in our thoughts, according to Paul in Romans chapter 
1. But by virtue of our creation under the Creator, we should 
long to see Him. We should long to know Him. We 
should long to benefit even more so by the smiling face that He 
has for His creatures. So confusion, but as well a great 
expression of what ought to be in the hearts of men. Lord, show 
us the Father and it is sufficient for us. Now that brings us to 
the revelation of the Father in verses 9 to 11. I just want 
to remind you of a statement I read at the outset of our study 
here in the Upper Room Discourse. Sinclair Ferguson made the observation 
concerning chapters 13 to 16, what we call the Upper Room Discourse. 
He says, I've often reflected on the rather obvious thought 
that when his disciples were about to have the world collapse 
in on them, and they were. This isn't, you know, some meeting 
where Jesus imparts a few nuggets of wisdom to them. They go out 
and, you know, sell a few shares or, you know, make a few investments, 
and then they live on easy street for the rest of their lives. 
Study what happened to the early apostles. Study what happened 
to Peter when they wanted to crucify him, and he said, I'm 
not worthy to be crucified like my Lord, so they crucified him 
upside down. John the Apostle ends up on the 
island of Patmos for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Do you realize he ended up on 
that rock, which is essentially a prison, that he ended up there 
after they had tried to boil him to death? I always thought, 
you know, that the boiling to death would pretty much seal 
the deal. Didn't know you could survive 
that, but he did. And so he ends up on this rock 
out in the middle of nowhere for the Word of God and the testimony 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you look at these apostles, 
the world is going to collapse in on them. And I think that 
that helps us to appreciate the way or the direction that Jesus 
goes and shed some light on Ferguson's observation. I've often reflected 
on the rather obvious thought that when his disciples were 
about to have the world collapse in on them, our Lord spent so 
much time in the upper room speaking to them about the mystery of 
the Trinity. Now, when you hear that word 
mystery, don't think secret, think impenetrable. When you 
hear the word mystery, don't think, oh, that's just for a 
handful of doctors and reverends in the life of the church. No, 
think that God the infinite cannot be fully explored by man the 
finite. Mystery is one of the glories 
of our religion, because if we could figure out our God completely, 
we would be as God. God is comprehensible only to 
himself. Now, he makes known, through 
31 plus thousand propositions in the Bible, what we are and 
can believe about him. But in terms of the divine nature, 
in terms of divine essence, in terms of the tri-unity of persons 
in that divine essence, revelation informs us But it doesn't exhaust 
the theme. So back to Ferguson. He says, 
if anything could underline the necessity of Trinitarianism for 
practical Christianity, that must surely be it. The world's 
about to collapse, and the nuggets of wisdom aren't, you know, get 
strapped, load up some canned hams in the pantry, because things 
are going to get tough. No, the way that he equips them 
is by revealing his glory. The way He equips them is by 
showing who He is. The way He equips them, and us 
today, is by the beauty and splendor of His person. And then that 
brings us to His reproof and then revelation of the Father. 
Notice in verse 9, the reproof here isn't screaming at them, 
He doesn't pick up a phone and chuck it at them. No, but He 
makes this statement in verse 9, Have I been with you so long, 
and yet you have not known Me, Philip? Now, we won't blame the 
apostles for not having the prologue, they didn't, but they had the 
public ministry, they had his declaration, they had verse six, 
they had all those things that he had been informing them of, 
so essentially it's, I've been with you this long, I've been 
telling you these things so long, and you still don't understand 
it? You see that along the way, you 
know, amongst the disciples. Now, I don't think that's for 
us to pile on the disciples. I think it, in a kind of weird, 
indirect way, should encourage us, right? We don't come out 
of the womb of regeneration, you know, a John Calvin. We don't 
come out of the womb of regeneration an Apostle Paul. We don't come 
out of the womb of regeneration already a PhD in Bible and theology. We grow in the grace and in the 
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 2 Peter 3.18. We 
move forward, we try to listen, we try to pay attention, we read 
our Bibles, we read our confession, we read good books. So he's not 
piling on them, but again, I think he's underscoring the point. 
They didn't understand not because he hadn't told them, he had told 
them repeatedly. He had told them to the point 
that when the unbelieving Jews were around, they would pick 
up stones to throw at him for blasphemy in light of Leviticus 
24, 14. So now notice, in terms of the revelation of the Father, 
and this we'll spend the rest of the time, he does three things 
here. First, he highlights the nature of the Son. Secondly, 
he highlights the words of the Son. And then thirdly, he highlights 
the works of the Son. And again, this validates or 
this demonstrates or confirms his claim to being the only begotten 
Son of the Father, the one who has the same nature. It validates 
that later Nicene formulation, God of God, light of light, very 
God of very God, begotten not made, one in substance with the 
Father, one that is consubstantial with Him. So notice, first, with 
reference to the nature of the Son, you see that in 9b and 10a. 
As I said, we're going to do a bit of theology here. There's 
not going to be a quiz afterwards. I'm going to use a Greek word 
in a moment. Just kind of preparing everybody, you know, give your 
thigh a bit of a squeeze and make sure you're awake so that, 
you know, it's your fault, not my fault if you don't get it. 
Just kidding. So we're going to move slowly because I want 
you to understand this. So nature of the Son in 9b and 
10a. And he does two things here. 
If you're taking notes, we're really getting over in the margin 
now. There is the revelation of the Father in the Son, and 
then the relation of the Father to the Son. The revelation of 
the Father in the Son, verse 9b. He who has seen me has seen 
the Father. And then the relation of the 
Father to the Son in 10a. Do you not believe that I am 
in the Father and the Father in me? Again, brethren, we can't 
say that. We can say that the Holy Spirit 
dwells in us with absolute positive biblical propriety, but the Holy 
Spirit dwells in us by virtue of grace, by virtue of adoption, 
by virtue of our having been justified by faith. He doesn't 
indwell us by nature. We don't have the same substance. We don't have the same essence. 
So for the Lord Jesus to say, the Father is in me and I am 
in the Father, that is a claim much more powerful than for us 
to say, I've got the Holy Spirit dwelling in my heart. But first, 
notice the revelation of the Father in verse 9b. He who has seen me has seen the 
Father. You can't say that, and I can't 
say that. I know that's the case. Please 
don't look at me to see the Father. Please look at Romans. Look at 
John. Look at Jesus. Look at, I mean, John's gospel. 
Look in the Bible. Well, they'll see our great works, 
yeah, and give glory to God. Not our great faces. not our 
shining example, not our virtuous life. For the Lord Jesus to say 
in verse 9b, He who has seen me has seen the Father, so how 
can you say, show us the Father? That is a monumental claim. The 
apostles picked that up in later New Testament documents, and 
they tell us amazing things like this. The Son is the image of 
the invisible God, Colossians 1.15. The Apostle says He, Christ, 
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Now, firstborn doesn't mean there 
that He was the first created being. Firstborn is a term of 
preeminence, a term of priority, a term of majesty. So He is the 
firstborn. In Colossians 2.9, we learned 
that the Son is the one in whom dwells all the fullness of the 
Godhead bodily. For in him dwells all the fullness 
of the Godhead bodily. What are the apostles doing? 
What's Paul doing here? He's commenting on verses like 
this. He who has seen me has seen the 
Father. So how can you say, show us the 
Father? See, the world's religions don't 
offer that. Christianity alone has that. 
Christianity alone is the religion of I am the way, the truth, and 
life. No one comes to the Father except through me. Why? Because 
the me there has the nature of the Father. Because the me there 
has identification with the Father. Because the me there is God the 
Son. As well in the book of Hebrews, 
the Son is the brightness of the Father's glory and the express 
image of His person. Hebrews 1.3, who being the brightness 
of His glory and the express image of His person. Again, we're 
created in the image of God, brethren, but we're not the express 
image of his person. We do not possess divinity. We 
do not have a divine nature. We do not have the divine essence. There is something fundamentally 
different between God, the creator, and man, the creature. It's the 
distance between infinity and finitude. It's the distance between, 
you know, not just a chain of being. God's not just the best 
version of us. God's not the holy one of us. 
God is separate. God is in a different order. 
God is not like us. We're created in His image, but 
we're not the expressed image of His person. I've already alluded 
to the Nicene Creed. The Son is God of God, light 
of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made. Brethren, 
you've probably heard, maybe from the Jehovah's Witnesses 
at your door, some other cultists, some other unorthodox heretics 
say, well, you know, the doctrine of the Trinity, it was conceived 
at Nicaea. No, it was not conceived at Nicaea. It was recognized, 
defined, described, and delineated at Nicaea. In the beginning was 
the Word, and the Word was with God. The Word was God. Nicaea comes along and says, 
okay, how do we protect that statement from all the heretics? 
They come up with, not come up with, but they use the language, 
God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not 
made, one in being with the Father, through whom all things were 
made. There is something categorically different about the Word. He 
is God who assumed our humanity so that He could live for us, 
He could die for us, and He could be raised again for us. But He 
never alters, He never changes, there's never been a diminishment 
in terms of His divinity or His consubstantiality with the Father. 
And so the Lord Jesus makes this powerful statement to the reproof 
of the disciples. He has seen me, has seen the 
Father. So how can you say, show us the Father? Now, then he goes 
on to the relation of the Father to the Son. Notice in verse 10a, 
do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father 
in me? Just to rehearse once again, 
the Spirit indwells the people of God. I'm not minimizing that. I'm not diminishing that. I'm 
not suggesting it isn't true. The Spirit indwells us by a gracious 
gift of God the Father and the Son. The Spirit proceeds from 
the Father and the Son. The Spirit takes up residence, 
if we can use that language, in the sinner's heart when he 
believes the gospel. And when that happens, we have 
the indwelling of the Spirit. But again, it's not by virtue 
of our same essence, it's not by virtue of our divinity, it's 
not by virtue of the fact that we have brought Him into humanity, 
but rather it's based on the grace of adoption. But that's 
not what's happening here in verse 10a. Do you not believe, 
and I love his language, what's he suggesting? You should believe 
this. Well, you know, the Trinity, 
it's really just sort of out there. It's not really essential 
to my Christian faith. It is the Christian faith. It's 
absolutely, positively, 100% essential. Jesus assumes that 
you're gonna believe it. Jesus will later command that 
you believe it. So this idea that, well, it's 
just for the theologians, just for Athanasius, just for Augusta, 
just for those guys that are coming to speak at the conference, 
it's for you and me, brethren. If we don't know our God, if 
we don't know our blessed Savior, how do we sing Psalm 46 without 
that knowledge of the triune God? How do we get through the 
troubles and the collapses in this present evil age without 
the knowledge of our blessed God? Without knowing Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit? Without knowing the Infinite? 
Without knowing the Creator? Without knowing the Redeemer? 
You think that nuggets to a successful life is gonna help you pass through 
the valley of the shadow of death? What's gonna help you pass through 
that? Well, the fact that Christ, my shepherd, is there with me, 
guiding me through it, with the knowledge of my blessed God. 
After this sermon, or after this discourse, we have what's called 
the High Priestly Prayer in John 17.3. Jesus says something, and 
again, assumes something there that seems to have been lost 
on the church in our generation. He says, this is eternal life, 
that they may have plenty of nuggets on how to wage their 
best life now. No, this is eternal life, that 
they may know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ whom 
thou hast sent. If I could be so bold, nothing 
else really matters. I mean, yeah, you should learn 
how to cook. You should learn a good skill, 
good trade, make money, love a woman, love a man, raise children, 
all that. Those are valuable things. But 
when it comes to that high priestly prayer, that they may know thee, 
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. And 
again, what creature, what man that isn't the God-man could 
say that he's a compound object of knowledge with the Father? 
So notice our text specifically. Again, we're going to do a little 
bit of theology here. The Greek word is called perichoresis. 
Perichoresis. Again, no quiz, no exam, no verbal 
at the door. Do you not believe that I am 
in the Father and the Father in me? Perichoresis simply means 
mutual indwelling. Mutual indwelling. It means what 
the text says. Don't you believe that the Father 
is in me and I am in the Father, mutual indwelling? It's a pretty 
easy concept. Well, what does it yield? Or 
what is the profit? What is the practical application? 
Well, it serves two purposes. One, it protects the unity of 
the divine essence, but it also highlights distinction among 
the persons. Remember, when we're dealing 
with God, there's a oneness and a threeness. The oneness is his 
essence or his substance, who he is. And then there is the 
three-ness, again, who He is, but at the level of personhood, 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our Confession sets it up this 
way. It says, In this divine and infinite being there are 
three subsistences, or persons, the Father, the Word, or Son, 
and the Holy Spirit, of one substance, power, and eternity, each having 
the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided. It's not 
like the divine essence is there and the Father accesses 33 and 
a third percent, the Son accesses 33 and a third percent, and then 
the Spirit accesses... No, no, no, no. That's not the 
doctrine of the Trinity. He is one simple being who subsists 
eternally as three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
Spirit. You say, well, you know, that's a bit tough for me to 
wrap around. Remember the word mystery? Remember the chasm that 
there is between the finite and the infinite? Remember the difference 
between creature and creator? Yeah, it's a mystery. We don't have that same being. We don't have that kind of an 
essence. We're not simple. We're not pure 
act. We're not God. So we would expect, 
I think, that God would be different than us. See, the problem in 
theology lies when we try to make God just like ourselves. 
We reason from the family, and we believe then that the father 
is, you know, the father, the son is the mother, and the spirit 
is the children. That's heresy, brethren. That's 
bad stuff. Very, very, very, very bad stuff. Don't do that. No bueno. Just don't do that. We cannot 
argue from the creature to the creator without sacrificing the 
creator. It is to bring God down. Isn't 
it better to look at Scripture and to try, by God's grace and 
Spirit, to be built up a bit? To maybe go, wow, I guess I'm 
not as smart as I once thought I was. I guess I got a lot of 
study to do. I guess I better get busy with 
those 31,000 plus propositions in Scripture and start reading. 
The works of the Lord are great. They are studied by all who delight 
in them. Psalm 112. So the word in Greek 
is perichoresis. The idea is mutual indwelling. 
The particular definition that Muller gives it is this. It refers 
primarily to the co-adherence of the persons of the Trinity 
in the divine essence and in each other, in such a way that 
each person is fully possessed of the entire divine essence. 
Again, it protects consubstantiality of the persons and the distinction 
of the persons. Stephen Duby makes the observation, 
one of the entailments of the Father, Son, and Spirit having 
one and the same divine essence is their mutual indwelling. In 
other words, it provides the basis upon which Jesus can say, 
if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. And why he can say, 
the Father is in me, and I am in the Father. We've got to get 
beyond creaturely analogies in verse 10a and reckon with the 
theology that is in there. As well, Emory, or again, Dubey 
says, the mutual indwelling is an implication of the essential 
unity. They each have the divine essence, 
yet not three essences. So it necessarily follows the 
father's in the son, and the son is in the father. Again, 
maintaining distinction among the two persons. Emory says, 
the mutual indwelling of the divine person shows their personal 
distinction in the most profound unity. Again, later theology 
reflected upon propositions in the scripture, and later theology 
got a lot right. But they didn't invent the doctrine. 
They didn't develop the truth. They didn't write John 14.10. They rather understood the implications 
of John 14.10, and then they wrote their commentary and theology 
in light of that, standing in awe at the glory of the one who 
says, the Father's in me, and I am in the Father. Well, he 
does that by virtue of their essential unity. Now to bring 
this a bit more Practical. I've never thought Gill would 
be the practical in this particular lineup, but a little bit more 
so than Duby or Emery at this point. He says, phrases, this 
father in me and I'm in the father, he says, phrases which are expressive 
of the sameness of nature in the father and the son, of the 
son's perfect equality with the father. That's what he's doing. Why can he say he does verse 
6? Why can he say who he is in verse 
7? It's by virtue of his identity 
as the only begotten son of the Father, who has the divine essence, 
just like the Father, yet not two essences. Just like the Spirit, 
yet not three essences. In this divine and infinite being, 
there are three persons. That's the mystery of the Trinity, 
the glory of our religion, the truth we die for. That's what 
he's saying here. So back to Gil, of the son's 
perfect equality with the father, since the son is as much in the 
father as the father is in the son. And also, of the personal 
distinction there is between them, for nothing with propriety 
can be said to be in itself. Remember, I mentioned this when 
we looked at John 1.1, in the beginning was the Word, the Word 
was with God, and the Word was God. Always, in Trinitarian theology, 
you're fighting two fronts. You're fighting what is called, 
we'll just summarize those two fronts. One is Arianism, which 
is basically basic subjugating the Lord Jesus to the Father. 
He's not fully God. He's not divine. He's not like 
the Father. There's not a consubstantiality 
between the two. Then there's something called 
Sibelianism or modalism, which gets rid of the distinctions 
of the persons. Isn't that interesting? John 
1.1, in the beginning, was the Word. The Word was with God, 
distinction, and the Word was God. unity, identity, sameness 
of essence. So that's what 10a is doing in 
this particular section of Holy Scripture. So then Gil goes on 
to say, the father must be distinct from the son who is in him, and 
the son must be distinct from the father in whom he is. The 
father and son, though of one and the same nature, cannot be 
one and the same person. So at the level of essence or 
substance or God, there is one. The level of person, there's 
three, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this incidentally 
is how you sort of combat the Jehovah's Witnesses and say, 
well, that's a contradiction. You can't have one and three 
at the same time. Sure you can if one is in one sense and three 
is in another sense. You can't have one in one sense 
and three in the same sense. I have one apple and three. You 
can't do that. but one in one sense and three 
in another sense. Now here, specifically in verse 
10a, we see the mutual indwelling, this perichoresis, with reference 
to Father and the Son. But the Lord Jesus does not leave 
the Spirit out in the upper room discourse. Notice in John 14 
at verse 16, I will pray the Father and He will give you another 
helper. I don't want to get all weird 
here, but there's two words in Greek that mean another. You've 
heard one of them. We call it heterodox. You've got orthodox, that means 
true. You've got unorthodox, that means wrong or bad. Heterodox 
is just kind of out there weird. It hasn't become fully bad, but 
it's on its fast track to being that. It's something other than 
dox. Then there's another word for another that means of the 
same kind. Which word do you think Jesus 
uses when he refers to the spirit? The other kind? or the same kind. So notice in John 14, specifically 
at verse 16, I will pray the father and he will give you another 
helper, comforter, advocate, paraclete, that he may abide 
with you forever. The spirit of truth whom the 
world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows 
him, but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in 
you. And again, not to diminish the dwelling of the Spirit in 
the people of God, but is by the grace of adoption and salvation 
through faith in Jesus. That's the means by which the 
Spirit is in the Father and in the Son because of the one essence. And then notice in verses 25 
and 26, But this happened, that the word might be fulfilled, 
which is written in their law, they hated me without a cause. 
But when the helper comes, now notice, whom I shall send to 
you from the father, the spirit of truth who proceeds from the 
father. This is why we speak of the relation of the spirit 
to the father and the son. Father is unbegotten, the son 
is begotten, and the spirit proceeds from the father and the son. 
Again, not a Nicene formulation built on thin air, but what the 
scripture teaches. And if the scripture teaches 
it, it must be believed, it must be preached, it must be died 
for. And you will bear witness because 
you have been with me from the beginning. Notice in 15, 20, 
I'm sorry, 16, 4 to 7. Well, 5 to 7. But now I go away 
to Him who sent me, and none of you asks me, where are you 
going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has 
filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the 
truth. It is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not 
go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, 
I will send him to you. And when he has come, he will 
convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment." 
So we see not just the father and the son. It's not just a 
duality. It's a trinity of persons in 
the Godhead. It's a trinity of persons in 
the essence, the one divine essence. So that's what Jesus is saying. 
He gives that revelation in verse 9b. He who has seen me has seen 
the Father. And then he follows up by the 
relation that he bears to the Father in verse 10. Do you not 
believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me? Now, he 
now moves on to two further confirmations of this. Again, brethren, he's 
not standing there saying, you know, I'm the best cowboy there's 
ever been. I roped this big bull one time. Nobody else could do it. That's 
not the nature of his claim. He's not saying, I was such a 
wonderful Air Force combat pilot. I flew F-16s. I flew the B-2 
bomber. We went on. He's not making that 
sort of a claim. He's making the claim to be of 
the same nature as God the Father. So again, if we think about ourselves 
and, you know, are slow to get things at times, and we sort 
of put ourselves into the disciple's shoes, we might just be scratching 
our heads going, what's he saying? This is huge. He is saying that 
if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. And the way that 
he proves that is by saying, I'm in the Father and the Father 
is in me. Well, Jesus knows that they're 
going to have these sorts of struggles as they're trying to 
receive these things into their created minds. So he gives them 
two proofs. to further confirmations, to 
further demonstrations. His words and his works. That's what we see in the remaining 
section in this passage. So 10a, do you not believe that 
I am in the Father and the Father in me? I'm gonna pony up two 
evidences right here, and I want you to follow that. That's the 
Jim Butler loose translation. But that's what he's doing. I've 
made this incredible assertion that I have the same nature as 
the Father. But this incredible assertion that I have the same 
nature as the father isn't done in a vacuum. I didn't just sort 
of pull this out of the sky. I didn't just say I wrote the 
biggest bull there ever was. I actually did, to use the analogy. His words and his works. Look at the words of the son 
in 10b. The words that I speak to you, 
I do not speak on my own authority. Now brethren, be careful of an 
Arian or a Sibelian, not Sibelian so much, mistake of saying, well, 
he's like an instrument or a conduit. Pastor Butler, you're preaching 
the word right now. That's sort of an instrument. 
That's not the context, brethren. The context is his nature with 
the father. The Father doesn't speak the 
word through the Son as an instrument or conduit. The Father speaks 
through the Son as having the same nature as the Son, such 
that the word that comes from God comes from the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Spirit, the one true and living God. Look 
at the testimony of others relative to this statement. Look at chapter 
4. I've already mentioned 118, but look at chapter 4, specifically 
at verse 29. You've got the testimony of others 
along the way in John's gospel who saw this, the divine authority 
of his words, the divine authority behind his words. Notice in John 
four, specifically at verse 28, then the woman left, the one 
then left her water pot, went her way into the city and said 
to the man, come see a man who told me all things that I ever 
did. Could this be the Christ? Why does she say that? because 
he told her all things that she ever did. Who does that? God. Look at 668. 668, the departure of the would-be 
disciples, the part-time followers. Then Jesus says in verse 67, 
do you also want to go away? But Simon Peter answered him, 
Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal 
life. Now, whatever Peter meant there specifically, I think what 
John intends us to understand is that Jesus speaks, not just 
like a preacher speaking the words of eternal life, but in 
that sort of context of Matthew. Remember the summation of the 
Sermon on the Mount? What did the people do after 
Jesus finished teaching? Yeah, that was good. Yeah, I'd 
come back, provided I didn't have a hangnail or something, 
you know, really debilitating to keep me out of church. Yeah, 
yeah. They marveled, they were amazed, why? Because he spoke 
as one having authority, not like their scribes. Whatever 
good the scribes may have done, and I know we demonize them, 
they were the worst people in the world, there was probably 
a scribe at one point or another got something right. But they 
marveled because he spoke not as the scribes, but as one having 
authority. And then notice in 746. 746, 
this is his enemies. These are his haters. Do your 
haters and enemies describe you this way? You ever gotten a note 
like this on Twitter? You know, I despise your guts, 
but this much I'll admit. Verse 46, the officers answered, 
no man ever spoke like this man. No one. Lots of rabbis, lots 
of tradition, lots of teaching, Moses in our history, Jeremiah 
in our history, Isaiah in our history, Elijah in our history, 
but no man ever spoke like this one. But what about the son? 
Look at 716. Jesus answered them and said, 
my doctrine is not mine, but his. who sent me." And again, 
not a difference, not separation, but by virtue of the unity of 
the essence, by virtue of the fact that the Father has the 
divine essence, the Son has the divine essence, the Spirit has 
the divine essence, yet not three essences. One essence, three 
persons. Notice in 8.26, 826, I have many things to say and 
to judge concerning you, but he who sent me is true, and I 
speak to the world those things which I heard from him. And when 
it says that, again, it's spoken in the manner of men. Do you 
think the father and the son had Sunday school in heaven? Son, I want you to sit down at 
my feet, and I want to teach you a thing. He's using language 
that you and I can understand, that we can process. He doesn't 
launch into a theological treatise here, well, by virtue of the 
one essence and by virtue of the fact that I'm one of those 
persons, the father is, he doesn't do that. He uses common parlance 
to tell us about the authority of his word. And then notice 
as well in verse 47, he who is of God hears God's words, therefore 
you do not hear because you are not of God. Well, what words 
is he talking about? He's talking about his words 
that are God's words. As Thomas says, the Father, therefore, 
who speaks in me is in me. Cyril of Alexandria says, you 
should realize that when you hear my words, you hear the words 
of the Father. So he sets forth this idea of 
perichoresis. He doesn't use that Greek term, 
but that's his meaning, mutual indwelling. I am in the Father, 
the Father is in me. Well, we can see that, we can 
confirm that, we can validate that based on the words that 
I speak. But then he continues in John 14 to highlight his works. Not just his words, but his works. Notice again in verse 10, he 
makes this declaration after the words that I speak to you, 
I do not speak on my own. But then notice this declaration 
of mutual indwelling, but the Father who dwells in me does 
the works. Huh? What's he doing? He's confirming 
what he said in verse 7. He's confirming what he said 
in verse 9. He's confirming that he has the 
same nature as the Father. You see that or validate it by 
his words. You see that or you validate 
it by his works. And that's what he's saying. 
Again, it's not instrumentality or conduitness. He just picks 
Jesus because Jesus is a great fellow, so I'm gonna go ahead 
and do these works through him. No, it's because Jesus has the 
divine essence. Now, in the gospel, you have 
seven signs, the water and the wine, the healing of the official 
son, the healing at the pool, the feeding of the 5,000, the 
walking on the water, the healing of the blind man, and the resurrection 
of Lazarus. You have the testimony of the 
son concerning his works. Turn back to John 5. John 5, 
after the healing at the pool. Verse 16, they want to kill him. 
They want to persecute him because he had done these things on the 
Sabbath. So what does Jesus do in verse 17? He makes himself 
equal with the father. They were right to understand 
him that way. He says, my father has been working 
until now and I have been working. Therefore, the Jews sought all 
the more to kill him. Again, I'm not saying it's okay 
that they wanted to kill him, but they understood the nature 
of his claim. See, there's many today that 
don't understand that. We call them Jehovah's Witnesses. Those 
are Aryans. There's others out there, but they're kind of sometimes 
in the professing church, and we need to be careful of that. 
Aryanism and Sabellianism hasn't died or haven't died. So we've 
got verse 517. Notice in verse 519, then Jesus 
answered and said to them, most assuredly, I say to you, the 
son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the father do 
for whatever the son, whatever he does, the son also does in 
like manner. Again, the point there is the 
stress or the emphasis upon the same essence. As Dewey says, 
the son does not do certain works after the father has done other 
works. Rather, the persons affect the 
same work by their one operation. That's his point. That's what 
he's saying. That's where he now turns. And finally, the confirmation 
of this mutual indwelling and the exhortation to contemplate 
the works. Notice verse 10, I do not speak 
on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does the works. 
Now notice in verse 11, this is a confirmation of what he 
has said. Believe me that I'm in the Father 
and the Father in me. Believe it, because I said it. 
Believe it, because I've shown it. Believe it, because I've 
said it. You see, it's his nature, one with the Father at the level 
of essence or substance, but as well, it's the words and the 
works that confirm it. And notice what he says there 
in verse 11. You can take this or leave it as you will, because 
all that's important is a happy life here and now. You know, 
as long as you feel good about yourself, you get up in the morning, 
you do good, be kind, be courteous. He's not Bonnie Henry. He's the 
Lord Jesus. Believe me, he says. In other 
words, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to 
the Father except through me. It's not a throwaway idea that 
Jesus is the mediator. That's, again, some insubstant 
stuff of our religion. You need to believe this. You 
need to believe that the Son is in the Father and the Father 
is in the Son. Whether you understand perichoresis, mutual indwelling, 
or all those things that I said, you need to get this, that Jesus 
is both Son of God and God the Son. And that's the confirmation 
that he gives of this. And then he ends on, if not, 
then look at the works. You say, well, other men did 
works in the history of redemption that were absolutely amazing. 
Poole has a great response to that. I'm going to end here and 
then we'll have a couple of thoughts and then close. He said, Elijah 
raised the Shunammites' dead child to life by prayer to God 
that he would do it. And the apostles bid the lame 
man arise and walk in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ's 
doctrine terminated in himself. He called men to believe in him. He wrought miracles by his own 
power and by a virtue proceeding out of and from himself, though 
by the power of his father also, because he and his father were 
one in essence. That's what Jesus is talking 
about here. It's not some functional subordination. It's not some messed up Trinitarianism. We are witnessing what the later 
divines at Nicaea would describe as God of God, light of light, 
very God of very God, one in being with the Father, through 
whom all things were made and through whom there is salvation. Our brother this morning was 
teaching on the doctrine of justification by faith. And I think we forget, 
again, this isn't I Know Latin, but I've seen it in enough books, 
pro nobis. Pro nobis. It's a little phrase 
that means for us. there's a for us-ness about this 
idea of the Trinity, a for us-ness about the idea that Jesus is 
God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not 
made. Because after it stresses his 
consubstantiality with the Father, after it stresses the fact that 
he made all things, it then says, who for us men and for our salvation 
came down from heaven. He took upon Himself our humanity. He lived the life that we were 
supposed to do, exact, entire, perpetual, and personal obedience 
to the law of God in every one of its jots and tittles. And 
because we couldn't do that, He did it. And then He goes to 
the cross. Why? To satisfy divine justice. to pay the penalty for our sin, 
to take upon himself that bruising, that crushing, that decimation 
that should be ours because of our violation of God's holy law. So brethren, let the idea of 
the Trinity and the glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ 
always be mingled with that pro nobis, with that for us-ness 
about the work of the Redeemer on our behalf, that this God 
would go to these lengths to save us, Brethren, that is amazing 
grace, and it certainly is a sweet sound. And it ought to be the 
one that evokes the people of God to praise, to glorify, to 
honor, and to adore Him. And if you're not the people 
of God, it should cause you to flee to Him. He's the way, the 
truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except 
through Him. That stresses exclusivity to 
be sure. All other religions are false, 
but it highlights accessibility. We can get to the Father by virtue 
of His Son. And what the Bible tells us is 
to believe on Him and we will be saved. So never forget the 
for us-ness about what Jesus Christ has done and who Jesus 
Christ is. Well, let us pray. Our gracious 
God and Holy Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you 
for this upper room and what Jesus teaches here concerning 
our triune God. And help us to stand in awe. 
Help us to reflect upon these things and help us to give all 
praise and glory and worship unto you. And Lord, bless the 
proclamation of your gospel here and elsewhere. We pray that it 
would run swiftly and be glorified, that you would save from every 
tribe and tongue and people and nation, and that a multitude 
would come to the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy 
Spirit, singing the praises of God Most High. And we ask through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, we'll stand and we'll 
sing a closing doxology, an inscription of praise and glory to our triune 
God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 568 in the hymn book. We'll stand as we sing together. 
♪ Peace on earth, you always be 
true ♪ ♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Praise Him, of 
what we have behold ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit 
be with you all. Amen. Lord, thank you for this. Thank 
you for the Lord's house, and the Lord's day, and the Lord's 
people, and for the blessed joy it is for us to gather together 
to sing your praises. We pray that you would go with 
us now, that we would know your peace, your nearness, your protection 
over us, and help us, God, to be faithful in this present evil 
age, to shine as lights, and to hold forth your word of truth. 
And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, please 
be seated for a brief time of meditation.