[Jnd from lienceforth... known.. ..seen Ilim.] The meaninr^ of these words seems to be, " Understand from this time for- ward, that in knowing Me you know the Father, and in seeing Me see the Father, so far as the Father can be seen and known by man." Although the Son and the Father are two distinct persona in the Trinity, yet there is so close and mysterious a union between them that he who sees and knows the Son, in a certain sense, sees and knows the Father. Is it not written of the Son that " He is the express image of the Father." (Heo. i.2.)
The whole difficulty of the verse arises from the extreme mysteriousness of its subject. The relation between the eter- nal Father and the eternal Son and the eternal Spirit, who, while three Persons, are one God, is precisely one of those things which we have no minds to take in, and no language to ex- press. We must often be content to believe and reverence it, without attempting to explain it. This only we may lay down with certainty, as a great canon and maxim, — the more we know of Christ, " the more we know of the Father."
fe. — [Philip. ..shew us the Father. ..sufflceth us.] We are not told Philip's motive in making this request. Perhaps, like Moses, he and the other disciples had a pious desire to see a more full vision and revelation of God's glory, as an authentication of their Master's Divine mission. " Show me Thy glory." (Ex. xxxiii. 18.) Perhaps Philip's petition is recorded to show how little clear knowledge the Apostles yet had of their Master's nature, and how little they realized that He and the Father were One : — " If we could only see once for all the Divine Be- ing whom Thou dost call the Father, it would be sufficient. We should be satisfied and our doubts would be removed." At any rate we have no right to think that Philip spoke like the unbelieving Jews, who always pretended to want signs and wonders. Whatever sense we put on the words, we must care- fully remember not to judge Philip too harshly. Living as we do in the nineteenth century, amidst light and creeds and knowledge, we can have faint ideas of the extreme difficulty that must have been felt by the disciples in fully realizing their Master's nature, in the days when He was " in the form of a Servant," and under a veil of poverty, weakness, and hu- miliation.
Melancthon remarks that Philip's petition represents the nat- ural wish of man in §very age. Men feel an inward craving everywhere to see God.
9. — [Jesus saith...so long time. ..Philip.'] This verse is undoubt- edly a gentle rebuke. The expression, " so long time," is note- worthy, when we remember that Philip was one of tlie very first disciples whom Jesus called. (See John i. 48.) The mean- ing seems to be, " After three long years, Philip, dost thou not yet thoroughly know and understand who I am V "