33. The Lord has not left in doubt or
obscurity the teaching conveyed in this great mystery; He has not
abandoned us to lose our way in dim uncertainty. Listen to Him as
He reveals the full knowledge of this faith to His Apostles;—I
am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father
but through Me. If ye know Me, ye know My Father also; and from
henceforth ye shall know Him, and have seen Him. Philip saith
unto Him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus
saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and ye have not
known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father
also. How sayest thou, Shew us the Father? Dost thou not
believe Me, that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The
words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself, but the Father that
dwelleth in Me, He doeth His works. Believe Me, that I am in the
Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe for the very works’
sake St. John xiv. 6–11.. He Who
is the Way leads us not into by-paths or trackless wastes: He Who
is the Truth mocks us not with lies; He Who is the Life betrays us not
into delusions which are death. He Himself has chosen these
winning names to indicate the methods which He has appointed for our
salvation. As the Way, He will guide us to the Truth; the Truth
will establish us in the Life. And therefore it is all-important
for us to know what is the mysterious mode, which He reveals, of
attaining this life. No man cometh to the Father but through
Me. The way to the Father is through the Son. And now
we must enquire whether this is to be by a course of obedience to His
teaching, or by faith in His Godhead. For it is conceivable that
our way to the Father may be through adherence to the Son’s
teaching, rather than through believing that the Godhead of the Father
dwells in the Son. And therefore let us, in the next place, seek
out the true meaning of the instruction given us here. For it is
not by cleaving to a preconceived opinion, but by studying the force of
the words, that we shall enter into possession of this
faith.