In John 14:9, what is the meaning of the phrase “He who has seen me has seen the Father”?

Question

In John 14:9, it is written,

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, Shew us the Father? ^{KJV, 1769}

λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς τοσοῦτον χρόνον μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν εἰμι καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωκάς με Φίλιππε ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακεν τὸν πατέρα καὶ πῶς σὺ λέγεις Δεῖξον ἡμῖν τὸν πατέρα ^{TR, 1550}

The phrase “he who has seen me has seen the Father,” taken literally, seems to suggest that the Father looks exactly like the Lord Jesus Christ, physically (since, to be seen, something must be physical and tangible). Ergo, the Father must be corporal, having flesh and bones, and the Father must be Jewish, too. Yet, elsewhere, it is written that “God is spirit,”¹ and “a spirit does not have flesh and bones.”² Hence, there appears to be a contradiction.

That being said, if it is not to be understood literally, what then is the meaning of the phrase “he who has seen me has seen the Father”?

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Footnotes

¹ John 4:24
² Luke 24:39

Answer 1

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 14:9 (ESV)

The phrase "he who has seen me has seen the Father" refers to the works of the Father being seen in the words and deeds of Jesus Christ, who is God in flesh (cf: John 1:1,14; Colossians 2:9, 1 Timothy 3:16).

The immediate context of John 14:9 supports this exegesis:

8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

John 14:8-11 (ESV)

The Father does his works in Jesus Christ because He is in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is in Him. In other words, they are united and this union they have is a unity of nature.

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me,is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.

John 10:28-39 (ESV)

Conclusion

The Father and the Son are of same nature (John 10:28-39; John 14:8-11). We see the Father when we see the Son means we see the Son in unity of nature with the Father. This reveals that John 14:8-11 recalls John 10:28-38 and even John 5:17-19. The writer of Hebrews perfectly sums up the message of John 14:9: The Son is "the very image of the Father's substance" (Hebrews 1:3 ASV). Both John 14:9 and Hebrews 1:3 are not speaking of a physical image.

Answer 2

You state regarding John 14:9:

The phrase "he who has seen me has seen the Father," taken literally, seems to suggest that the Father looks exactly like the Lord Jesus Christ. Ergo, the Father must be corporal, having flesh and bones, and the Father must be Jewish, too. Yet, elsewhere, it is written that "God is spirit" (John 4:24), and "a spirit does not have flesh and bones" (Luke 24:39). Hence, there appears to be a contradiction.

I contend it is literal in meaning, but not truly contradictory in light of the following points:

From the Context of John's Gospel (NKJV quoted)

• John chapter 1 equates the "Word" with "God" ("the Word was God," v.1). That "Word became flesh ... the only begotten of the Father" (v.14; this is the first notation of the Father), which incarnation is Jesus Christ (v.17), the Son of the Father (v.18). So there is immediately both an equating of the Being of God with the incarnated Word, the Son, while also the beginning of the distinction of Father (the begetter) vs. Son (the begotten). This begotten one is recognized by some as the promised Messiah (v.40), which the Hebrew scriptures in Isaiah 9:6 had revealed would be:

  For unto us a Child is born,
  Unto us a Son is given;
  And the government will be upon His shoulder.
  And His name will be called
  Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
  Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
  

• John chapter 3 has Christ make this statement (v.13):

  No one has ascended to heaven [cf. Jn 6:62] but He who came down from heaven [cf. Jn 6:50-51], that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.

  So Jesus is asserting that in some sense, even as he stands talking to Nicodemus, He (who is the "Son of Man" that came down) is also still "in heaven." He has not ceased, in becoming incarnate, from His Being, that is, being God. Yet there is still a distinction of Persons, for "The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand" (v.35).

• John 4:21-34 is the most explicit statement made (by Jesus) up to this point in the Gospel that indicates the designation of "Father" is equated to "God" also (though it is certainly implied earlier in the gospel with 1:14), so the same Being of John 1:1. This is the same passage that mentions "God is Spirit":

  21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

  We further have Jesus affirming He is the Messiah (v.25-26), and so the one of Isa 9:6.

• John chapter 5 shows that Christ was equating His works to the Father's works, and that the Jewish religious crowd picked up on this as Jesus equating Himself with God, found in v.17-18:

  17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” 18 Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.

  Unity of Father and Son, yet with distinction of roles, persists in Jesus' explanation in v.19-38. He also begins asserting that the Hebrew Scriptures speak of Him (v.39-47). Specifically, in light of the Isa 9:6 reference above, note his statement here in v.43:

  I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.

  He is not likely simply saying as a typical "representative" of the Father, but again making reference to the Messianic fulfillment of "His name will be called ... Everlasting Father."

• Further chapters of John continue discussing the Father/Son relations, such as unity of teaching (7:16), and significantly—in light of Jn 1:1 of the "Word" being "with" God as well as God—Jesus incarnate is still "with" the Father (8:16), to know One is to know Both (8:19), and while there is debate about the "I am" statements in John 8 referring to Christ's association to God or not (such as 8:58), or in what way the statement should relate to the OT phrasing, the points thus far in the Gospel do show a strong equating already, of which 8:58 still affirms the preexistence of His Person prior to His birth.

  John 10:30 has the statement:

  I and My Father are one.

  Which the Jews did not misinterpret when they sought to stone Him for that statement (10:33):

  The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”

  They interpreted the "one" of John 10:30, based on the reaction, as the "one" of Deut 6:4—

  Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!

  And Christ clarifies this oneness in 10:37-38

  37 If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; 38 but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.

Conclusions

I believe we have come far enough in John's writing to make some conclusions now about what Christ means in 14:9 by

he who has seen me has seen the Father

The Person of the Father is dwelling within the incarnate body of the Person of the Son along with the Son. There is no distinction in their Being, for they are both God. The human incarnation of God, the Messiah, has the Father (Who is Spirit alone) dwelling fully within the body that the Son explicitly took on, and as such, looking upon that body literally means a person is also looking at the Person of the (Everlasting) Father through the image of the Son. The Father is dwelling both in the Son and in heaven, just as the Son is both incarnate and in heaven—they are inseparable in their Being,¹ though distinguishable in their Persons, and it is God, as Being, through the Person of the Son, who by the incarnation became "corporal, having flesh and bones ... Jewish."

And yes, other Scripture indicates indeed that "the Father looks exactly like the Lord Jesus Christ," for Hebrews 1:1-4 states:

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son [indicating "God" refers to the Father], whom He [Father] has appointed heir of all things, through whom [Son] also He [Father] made the worlds; 3 who [Son] being the brightness of His [Father's] glory and the express image of His [Father's] person [This is ὑπόστασις; BDAG essence, being], and upholding all things by the word of His [Father's] power, when He [now the pronouns switch to referring to the Son] had by Himself [the Son] purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty [Father] on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He [Son] has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

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NOTES

¹Christ's being forsaken by God (Mt 27:46, Mk 15:34) I do not take as separating of their Being (it cannot be that), but forsaking the sustaining of Christ's life (which needed to be done for Him to die, but was still the only time God had failed to sustain Him).

Answer 3

He just means that Jesus is God. If you've seen Jesus, then, therefore you've seen God.

I would also disagree that your interpretation is the 'literal' interpretation of this phrase. (or at the very least not the most literal translation). Regardless, literal translations are often troublesome in the Bible anyway.

Answer 4

The continuing dialog of Jesus in John chapters 13,14, and 15 was spoken to comfort his disciples through what was to be their toughest time, his arrest and crucifixion. One of the themes of comfort was to emphasize the unity between himself and the Father. Yet the disciples knowledge of the deep things of God, at that time, was imperfect. In order for us to appreciate the words of the Lord found in John 14:9, we need to back up a several verses and capture the hunger for clarity in the questions of Thomas/Phillip and the masterful sharpness of our Lord's answer.

John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

It goes without saying how crucial having faith in Christ is in our relationship with the Father. You cannot have true faith without Christ. But here Christ is not simply requesting his disciples belief, they'd confirmed that several times. He was saying that in the coming troubles, and in spite of their feelings of doubt, their comfort should rest in Him, and His words, as much as in the Father in heaven. Jesus had told Peter that he would deny him three times some time before (ch 13). And later Philip demands some manifestation of the Father to ease his worried mind. So these were times of intense worry. But back to vs 2-3.

John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I come again, and will receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Here Jesus takes their minds from the earthly things to heavenly things. Again, notice the unity of purpose in his words. He assures them the things to be done in heaven will be done by none other than by Him. And those things that were to be done are purposed in His unity with the Father.

John 14:4 And whither I go, ye know the way.

Here Jesus alludes to something he'd told his disciples several times before, his path to the cross and subsequent ascension to heaven. Although they'd heard Him speak of the cross before they either did not understand it, want to understand it, or downright rejected it as Peter did in Matt 16:21-23. Peter was rebuked in Matt 16 because he denied the way salvation was to come, the cross. Jesus told them emphatically they knew the way because they'd had similar conversations before on the topic. It mattered little that they did not want to hear it.

John 14:5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; how know we the way? John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus words are clear to us, but of course were dim to his disciples. The way to the Father can come by no other path than Christ's work of the cross.

As we approach the core of your question, keep in mind several things. God is indeed a Spirit. Yet He has manifested Himself to prophets throughout history. In Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 He physically manifested His glory as the Ancient of Days. In Revelation 4:1-11 and 5:1-14 he appeared to John (notice John saw His right hand Rev 5:1). Yet we can not logically understand the being of God the Father other than existing as a Spirit who reveals Himself to mankind as only He chooses to. Paul says this of God:

1Tim 6:16 who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power eternal. Amen. RV

But there is indeed a way we do see the Father:

Joh 1:18 No one has ever seen God. The unique God, who is close to the Father's side, has revealed him. ISV

St. John says that Jesus reveals the Father to mankind. Not dimly, but perfectly. Consider this verse.

Heb 1:3 who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his substance and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

So it can be said, without hesitation, that to see Christ is to see the Father. Jesus will forever be man, and will eternally be our physical manifestation of who God is. In fact, Jesus not only claimed to be one with the Father (John 10:30), He expresses his unity with the Holy Spirit this way:

Joh 14:17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him, or know him; but ye know him, for he dwells with you and shall be in you. Joh 14:18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

After Jesus speaks of His departure, He claims the Holy Spirit will come to them, and by way of relationship its the same as Jesus coming to them.

Now for your answer

John 14:7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also; and from now on ye know him and have seen him. John 14:8 Philip said unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it will suffice us. John 14:9 Jesus said unto him, Have I been such a long time with you, and yet thou hast not known me, Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? John 14:10 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 dwells in me, he does the works. Joh 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the very works' sake.

When Jesus responded to Philip's request to see the Father, it was to point Phillip and the other disciples minds to one deep and indisputable truth: That the unity of one God in three persons is so unified in purpose, being, and glory, that the person and works of Christ imprints the same indelible marks on creation as the Father we pray to in heaven. When Jesus commented that they should have believed in Him for the works he'd done vs 11, they should have been at least mildly grieved. His works were done to convince the hard at heart to acknowledge who He was. To have seen Jesus, as all who witnessed Him on earth, was the same as seeing the Father. No, not literally as Christ's manifestation as man (Servant) does not allow that. But in the truest sense of being and majesty.

Answer 5

In John 5:19-21, Jesus is recorded as saying:

Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will.

If Jesus was only doing what he saw the Father do (nothing of himself), such that whatever the Father does, the Son does in like manner, then anyone witnessing Jesus actions, was clearly seeing the Father.

In John 14:10-11, Jesus says,

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.

"The Father who is in Me does the works ... believe me for the sake of the works themselves." So, those who witnessed the works of Jesus, where also witnesses to the works of the Father.

Obvious conclusion: "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father"

Answer 6

Methodology

Hermeneutics is the theory or methodology of text interpretation. In 1964, Methodist scholar Albert C. Outler presented John Wesley's 4 step method for interpreting Scripture, the Weslyan Quadrilateral. Outler rightly observed that all Hermeneutic interpretations use some or all of these 4 steps in their interpretations whether the interpreter knows it or not. Therefore, let us apply this method to your question.

You have already provided a major piece of the foundational step in this method by providing the scripture, which Wesly and Outler considered to be the first authority on how we should interpret a text. In this text, however it is not so obvious whether this statement is literal in terms of God having a body or not. As such, I will provided some additional scriptures for consideration.

Furthermore, When a text was ambiguious, Outler and Wesley believed that we needed to look to Tradition, Reason, and Experience/personal revalation to be the difinitive judges as to the right answer to any question. Obvbiously, I am unable to speak to your personal revelation or experiences, but according to Outler, each square of tradition, reason, and experince were to be give equal weight in order to definitely answer a question, so if I am able to make a compelling case on two of three points, your answer will be clear.

Scripture

In order to answer you question whether Jesus looked like the Father (was corporeal and had a body of flesh and bones) we should begin by looking at a few other scriptures. First, John 1:14 makes it clear that not even Jesus had a body of flesh and bones at first.

Now the Word became flesh and took up residence among us.

The word "Became" tends to indicate that Jesus was first something other than flesh and bone and then became flesh and took up residence among us.

Philippians 2:5-7 reiterates this idea stating,

You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had, who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature.

Reason

Because Jesus is described as first being in the form of God, but then becoming like other men in Philippians, this indicates that the form of God is not the same form as Man and that God instead became (or was incarnate) as man in the form of the man Jesus Christ. From the above scriptures (as well as Hebrews 2:17) we know that Jesus' body was identical to all men's bodies (like you and I). This is important, because if his true form were a corporeal body (human, like yours or mine) then Jesus (and by extension God) would be completely human with all of the limitations that entails including (but not limited to) finitude, our inability to control or create the universe and our corrupt nature. All of these things disqualify normal humans from being Messiah and Saviour and would disqualify Jesus as being savior too were he merely human and not God incarnate as human. Clearly Jesus' true form must not be Human, but instead he must be in the form of God (like the father).

Thus we can conclude that Jesus is not claiming to have the same body as God the father, but instead the same spirit as God the father.

Tradition

Wesley wrote that generally, traditional evidence is weakened by time due to the scrutiny of so many scholar through the ages. Therefore, of that evidence or reasoning which withstood this test of time Wesley wrote,

Do not undervalue traditional evidence. Let it have its place and its due honour. It is highly serviceable in its kind, and in its degree

The origional Nicene Creed of 325 A.D. which was published with the endorsement of over 300 bishops at the first ecumenical council of Nicea holds to the idea that Jesus was something more than a coporeal body identical to any man, stating,

Jesus Christ, the Son of God ... came down and was incarnate and was made man ... But those who say: .. The Son of God is created... they are condemned by the holy catholic and apostolic Church.

This indicates that Jesus was regarded as having more than a man's body, but instead was of the same substance as the spirit of God as early as A.D. 325. This view has persisted until recent centuries with A.W. Tozer noting on page 8 of his book Knowledge of the Holy that,

When the Scripture states that man was made in the image of God, we dare not add to that statement an idea from our own head and make it mean “in the exact image.” To do so is to make man a replica of God, and that is to lose the unicity of God and end with no God at all. It is to break down the wall, infinitely high, that separates That-which-is God from that-which-is-not-God. To think of creature and Creator as alike in essential being is to rob God of most of His attributes and reduce Him to the status of a creature.

Many scholars have noted that the agenda of John seemed to be to prove that Jesus was, in fact, God with things like the 7 "I AM" statements in the book of John (harkening back to Exodus 3:14) and many similar argumentitive devices.

Conclusion

John's statement in John 14:9 is not intended to indicate that Jesus had a body identical to the Father's, and just like all the other work of John, John 14:9 was meant to indicated that Jesus shared in the deity of the father vis-à-vis the Trinity.

Answer 7

Jesus is the incarnate Image (human form) of God the Father A.K.A. Ancient of days. God the father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit exist as the God head. All are the same and all are one in the same, hence Jesus saying if you have seen the father you have seen me. We are made in the image of God. So God clearly has a body . It is in the form of Jesus Christ. I hope this helps.

Answer 8

There are a lot of people that answered according to the believe in trinity. OK!

But I'ld like to show the alternative: It just means that Jesus is "the spitting image" of his father - not himself.

Note that Jesus also said (Joh 6:46):

No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.

Contradiction? Not if we understood it as stated at the beginning. Before Jesus lived on earth, he did already have a long time together with his father (Pro 8:22-31):

22 “The Lord [JHWH] brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old; 23 I was formed long ages ago, at the very beginning, when the world came to be. 24 When there were no watery depths, I was given birth, when there were no springs overflowing with water; 30 Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, 31 rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind.

A son that lived for so much time together with his father - he would really know how his father thought and feeled.

But the understanding of their relationship depends on your believes - and on the quality of the translation used.

Just one example to not step into discussion on trinitry. Please compare Joh 1:1 with Acts 28:6 in the greek. There's no difference in grammar between the two scriptures. But a lot of bibles translate Joh 1:1 with "the word was god" - though in Acts 28:6 they read "Paul was a god". Biblical Greek does not know about indefinite articles, it just uses the definite article. Best example: Joh 1:1 - both forms are found in that verse.

So - I suggest to start with a bias-free or interlinear translation to look deeper into that matter...

Jesus said:

You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. (Joh 14:28)

and:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Mat 7:21)

So - why not read "father" as "father", "son" as "son", "brother" as "brother" - as used in daily life: relationships between different persons.

Answer 9

horáō – properly,"to see with the mind" (i.e. spiritually see), i.e. perceive (with inward spiritual perception).

Because God's spirit was fully upon the man Jesus, when one looked to Jesus for spiritual things, they observed the spirit of God. Certainly God does not look like the lowly man Jesus. His flesh was merely a vessel used for God's work. BTW, Jesus is an English name. A more accurate name is JOSHUA. WHY it was translated to "Jesus" is a question you must all ask yourself, for in seeking for the answer you find deception.

God PURPOSELY created the man "Jesus aka Joshua to be average/comely....He PURPOSELY gave him a common name. Why?? Reasoning will tell you that Jesus was not supposed to be worshiped...but alas, that is EXACTLY what has happened :( Verse after verse, we are told THERE IS ONE GOD. How on earth have we been deceived into believe that Jesus is God? ASK, SEEK, KNOCK...God WILL show you if you remove the lies from your mind: “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. 11 I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior. 12 I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and I am God. 13 Also henceforth I am he; - Isaiah 43