Devotional: Jesus And the Father are One

Jesus And the Father are One

Table talk: Jesus is the perfect picture of the Father.
Read John 14:5-10
Here is an image for children: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/mp/r1/lp-e/jy/2015/159

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.

Say: Because of Jesus, we don't have to wonder what God the Father is like, as Philip and Thomas did. God the Father is like Jesus, and Jesus is like God the Father. Jesus made it clear that the only way to be made right with God was through himself. Just a few verses later, Jesus told his disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit and how the Trinity cannot be separated. Jesus taught that One God in three persons is always at work to reconcile the world back to himself.

Tell: Each person should tell what it means to them that Jesus is the perfect picture of the Father.

Ask: Why does it matter that Jesus is the only way to be made right with God?
Why do you think Philip and Thomas struggled to understand that Jesus and the Father are the same?
Where do you see the Trinity at work in your life right now?

Pray: Jesus, thank you for clearly showing in your life and explaining with your words what God the Father is like. Help us to believe that only through you can we be made right with God. Give us eyes to see where you are at work in our lives in different ways.

Ministry activity for the week: Read & Think
Read all of John chapter 14. Take notice of the words Jesus spoke to his disciples. Is there anything that resonates with you personally or more deeply at this point? What might Jesus be saying to you or inviting you into through this passage?