Higher/Lower Order of Belief

You would think that the Apostles had a strong faith, but the reality is that even after three years together, Jesus still had to encourage them to believe in his tight relationship with the Father, a relationship he described as him being ‘in the Father’ and ‘the Father in him.’

The Lord Jesus defined two levels of belief in this relationship:

1) belief on the basis of his words, and

2) belief on the basis of his works (his miracles).

That’s why Jesus said:

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;

otherwise believe because of the works themselves (John 14:11; NASB).

The ‘believe me’ part means taking Jesus at his word--that is, believing in what he said about his relationship with God. The ‘believe because of the works’ refers to believing in that relationship through Jesus’ miracles. Those are the two means by which we believe in the Father-Son relationship God has with Jesus.

Otherwise

And, you’ll note that Jesus said that if we cannot believe in this relationship on the basis of his verbal communication, then otherwise we should believe on the basis of his miracles. So you can believe in his words or in his works, but belief in Jesus’ words is the superior degree of faith.

Do you have that superior level of faith?

Let’s be clear on the significance of the word otherwise. In context, the two options (belief through words or belief through works) pivot on the word otherwise.

Otherwise is the axis of the statement ‘Believe me… otherwise believe because of the works.’ And Jesus meant that among the Twelve Apostles, those who couldn’t simply trust what he said (again, this is specifically regarding his tight relationship with the Father) should at least believe in that relationship based on his miracles.

What’s the logic there? Well, the logic is the same Nicodemus expressed when he thought out loud and asked what person could perform the miracles Jesus performed ‘unless God is with him’ (John 3:2)?

What's Impossible for Man...

A person who does miracles must have a close relationship with God because it’s impossible for a man to do miracles in his own strength. Supernatural miracles are not within the scope of natural man. Even doctors (as much as they can cure diseases) can't heal people with a touch of their hands. They need to administer medicine or perform surgery.

And astronauts, who we see floating on the Moon, cannot walk on water because on Earth they are subject to gravity. They too would need God's power to walk on water. They are only men.

So the miracles Jesus performed are miracles precisely because it's impossible for a man like him to do them alone! Nicodemus observed this and concluded that Jesus was in a unique relationship with God. He was right! Jesus is close to God. In the Beginning he was with God.

So Jesus put the otherwise in his argument to help us distinguish between the “higher order” reason for believing Christ’s bond with God—his words—and the “lower order” reason for believing—Jesus’ works. We see that Nicodemus believed in Jesus on that lower level, and you?

Immaturity

The shocking issue here is that Jesus directed his words/works exhortation straight at the Twelve Apostles. He said it in the Upper Room sitting at a dinner with them. Did they really have so much uncertainty regarding Jesus’ relationship to God even after spending three years with Jesus?

Yes, sadly they did have uncertainty. On that very night, Judas betrayed him. And on that very night, Peter denied Jesus--not once, not twice, but thrice. And what of the other ten Apostles? That very night each of them abandoned the Lord, fleeing into the darkness from the High Priests and the Temple guards.

So, Jesus was very justified to categorize the Apostles into two groups. Again, he said that there was Group A: those who believed that Jesus was “in the Father and the Father was in him” on the basis of his words, and there was Group B: Those who believed that Jesus was “in the Father and the Father was in him” on the basis of his works.

So, we’ve resolved what these two categories of belief are, but why do both of these categories of belief get Jesus’ approval? Why did he act like it is it acceptable to believe in his relationship with God merely on the testimony of his miracles--his "works"?

The Apostles’ Revelation

The Apostles, after three years alongside Jesus, finally acknowledged that God was Jesus’ Source. In other words, they came to believe that God was behind Jesus in everything: wisdom, knowledge, words, power, miracles, healing, and purpose.

God supported Jesus’ mission. That’s what the expression ‘you came from God’ means when the Apostles unanimously stated:

Now we know that you know all things… by this we believe that you came from God (John 16:30; NASB).

So, the Twelve finally came to understand the true nature of the relationship between Jesus and God: Jesus got everything he had, including his vast knowledge of all things, from God. He was so close to God that God revealed not just a lot, but ‘all things’ to Jesus.

The big question is: Have you come to understand that relationship too?

What Do You Know?

For example, do you understand that Jesus ‘came from God’?

Do you understand that the Father is the Fountain of all Jesus’ wisdom and power?

Very few people today understand these truths. Most people in churches would even deny them. Instead, they would give the textbook "Trinitarian" retort that Jesus is "coequal" and "coeternal" with the Father.

And they would also say that Jesus is omniscient. But that’s patently wrong according to Jesus’ own testimony. He said:

But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32).

So, what about you? Could you say “the Father was in Jesus, and Jesus was in the Father” with the same meaning Jesus ascribed to his saying? Does it meant that there is a Being called “the Godhead” which is Three in One, or does it mean that God worked in our Lord Jesus while Jesus worked out God’s will? In fact, that's exactly what it means.

You decide. Does Jesus:

a) want to reveal a practical relationship to imitate, or does he

b) want to reveal an incomprehensible mystery to meditate?

Miraculous Power and Obedience

If your interpretation of Jesus' expression 'I am in the Father and the Father is in me' (John 14:11; NASB) is a mushy, opaque, cloudy idea of who God is, then you have failed. You have proven that you don’t know God.

Admit it. You’ve been brainwashed into thinking that God is a mystery. He is not.

James insists that ‘the demons also believe’ in the One God, the Father. So if you read Jesus’ statement ‘I am in the Father and the Father is in me’ as evidence that the One God is a Being of Three "Persons," then you’ve stooped to a lower level of comprehension than the level of demons in your understanding of God.

In addition, for relegating God to the category of “mystery,” you have ceased to think about him. You have ceased to “love God with all your mind.” That's your second sin.

You need to free yourself from your blindness. Come back to the Great Truths—the Seven Realities. The final Reality is that there is One God. And, who is he? He’s the Father.

Get Practical

From that Reality, you need to become pragmatic. You need to study how Jesus interacts with the Father and how the Father interacts with Jesus. If you can understand their interactions, then you will understand how you yourself should interact with authority.

The expression “the Father was in Jesus,” means that God sent his Holy Spirit to live in Jesus. It means that the Spirit empowered Jesus to do miracles. And that’s what the Bible means when it says that God worked through Jesus—or when it says that Jesus was a man ‘accredited to us by God.’

And the expression “Jesus was in the Father” means that Jesus immersed himself in the will of God. Jesus devoted himself to pleasing God. He was always doing what God wanted. Jesus was “in the Father” because he always obeyed the Father. Jesus was always striving to fulfill not his will, but God’s will.

No Option B

And Jesus said that we must believe in that relationship. He said:

Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me;

otherwise believe because of the works themselves (John 14:11; NASB).

Jesus used the expression ‘I am in the Father and the Father is in me’ to describe his relationship to God. That phrase was his summary of the most unique relationship of all of universal history—and it will continue to be the most special relationship for all Eternity!

So, Jesus’ wants you and I to believe in a relationship. He never lead anyone to imagine a mysterious Being of “Three Persons in One Essence.” In fact, that man-made theology runs contrary to what Jesus taught. It is a contradiction of the natural father-son relationship to which Jesus constantly hearkened.

These "Trinity" symbols are just plain weird! Don't buy into them! Get away from them.

The Pharisees: No Real Belief

For most people, the part where Jesus says ‘otherwise (meaning: if you cannot believe on the basis of my words, then) ‘believe because of the works themselves’ is difficult to understand. For example, the Pharisees recognized the authenticity of the miracles of Jesus, but that did not make them believers.

At a top secret meeting of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day, the Jewish leaders asked one another:

What are we accomplishing? …Here is this man performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him… (John 11:47-48)

So, although they recognized the reality of Jesus’ miracles by saying 'this man [is] performing many signs,' the Pharisees would not believe in Jesus as the Son of God!

Denial of Sonship

Although the Pharisees were witnesses to the fact that the blind recovered their sight, lepers (outcasts from society) were reinserted into village life, and the dead were resuscitated from death—they still would not believe in Jesus’ claim to sonship.

They could not recognize that he was sent by God. On the contrary, his miracles caused them to worry that “everyone would believe in him.”

So, we can now determine what exactly the Pharisees hated so much about Jesus. It was quite simply his Father-Son relationship with God. Jesus’ claim to a tight relationship with God was the most offensive claim he ever made, for them. Do you understand why they were so deeply offended by that point?

You will if people hate you for the same reason. Have you ever tried telling the people who hate you that God is your Father? Have you ever told the religious people who oppose you that God loves you? That's something they simply cannot believe. And it's something that offends them deeply--they think they have a corner on the market of Christianity.

In our next lesson, we’ll look at specific examples of how the Pharisees got offended by Jesus' claim to sonship and what those examples mean to us. See you next time.