In the gospel, God has revealed Himself in Christ Jesus (Col 1:15). He has done this so that there might be no mistake about who He is and what He is like. God is not some vague spirit being out there Who chooses to conceal Himself. He is not a God Who refuses to or is unable to communicate with us.
One of the astonishing truths discovered in the gospel is that Christ Jesus is the revelation of God. He is fully God and fully man. He is in the Father, and the Father in Him (John 10:38). It is in Christ alone that we see the exegesis and full declaration of God (John 1:18). In Jesus Christ we have the express image of the Father’s person (Hebrews 1:3). Christ is the crossroads between heaven and earth. Don’t think for a moment that it was an angel or a created dignitary who went to the cross for sinners. A created angel could never save depraved and fallen rebels – our sin was too great.
So what is God like? Is He humble? Without a doubt He is; one look at the feeding trough in which Jesus was lain when He was born shows us that. Is God Holy? Yes He is; one look at Christ cleansing the Temple confirms His holiness. Is God gracious? Yes He is; Christ’s conversation with the adulterous woman who was hijacked and dragged before Him demonstrates that (John 8). Is God compassionate? Yes He is; the Lord Jesus on the Mount of Olives weeping for Jerusalem displays that. Is God loving and yet just? Yes He is; the Lord Jesus, at the cross, “hanging” as Stephen Charnock says “between heaven and earth like a disinherited son” makes that clear. Is God powerful? Yes He is; the empty tomb fully illustrates that.
Christ is the revelation of God. If we, like Philip, say, “Show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us;” He answers, “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:8-9). When we look at Christ, it’s as if the Father says, “I have nothing further to reveal about myself than that which I have revealed in my Son. Look unto Him and you will find me.”
Jesus is the way to the Father and no one comes to the Father but by Him (John 14:6). Too often we use this verse merely as an evangelism verse. And yes, it is indeed a good verse to use when talking to the lost, but it also a verse that helps us grow in our knowledge of God. Listen to what it tells us. It declares that only in Christ Jesus can we comprehend, see and come to an understanding of the Father.
And that’s the Gospel Truth.