1 “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you...

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“After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will

disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21What other text that we have studied sounds like this?

“that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory

which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the

world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” Jn 17:21-23

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This is a most amazing, curious, and hope-inspiring divine love fest. First of all, it is incomprehensibly staggering

that the Father loves you just as much as He loves Jesus! Let’s spend some time on these verses.

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But the real sticker is THIS part of the verse.

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I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Jn 14 Last week we opened a huge can of doctrinal worms that

goes against the interpretation of the vast majority of mainstream scholarship.

“ ‘I and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, ‘I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?’ The Jews answered Him, ‘For a good

work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.’ ”

Jn 10:30-33

Was He making Himself out to be God?

If He was, then nothing of this text makes any sense, but if He was teaching something else, it is mind bending!

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So the big question here is, was Jesus saying what the unbelieving Jews accused Him of saying, or was He teaching something else that sounded a lot like it?

If you are looking for a verse that looks like it is affirming that Jesus is divine, this one is very attractive. It is a lot

like this one too, which is another one I have changed my mind concerning my interpretation.

Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has

seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Jn 14:9

How many of you noticed that this passage is in the same chapter we started our lesson today? I have used this

verse many times to teach the divinity of Jesus. It’s NOT even though He IS!

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So the big question here is, was Jesus saying what the unbelieving Jews accused Him of saying, or was He teaching something else that sounded a lot like it?

If you are looking for a verse that looks like it is affirming that Jesus is divine, this one is very attractive. It is a lot

like this one too, which is another one I have changed my mind concerning my interpretation.



How many of you noticed that this passage is in the same chapter we started our lesson today? I have used this

verse many times to teach the divinity of Jesus. It’s NOT even though He IS!

Ok, so if these two favorite verses are NOT teaching the deity of Jesus, what ARE they teaching?

I believe they are teaching the magnificent position of redeemed man that the Last Adam delivered to us by His

death and resurrection!

I will build my argument in greater detail later, but for now I want to extinguish any possibility that I am teaching

heresy with the knockout punch that the Lord gave me, so that the nagging feelings of confusion over my

interpretation will not be a distraction.

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Let’s review the verses in question.

“I and the Father are one.”Jn 10:30



Does the bible use the concept of “being one with the Father” in ways other than being divine?

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“Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.”

1Cor 6:13

“Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. 1Cor 6:14

What are we seeing so far?

There is a relationship between our bodies, and the LORD!! And as the Father raised Jesus from the dead, so also He, because of His relationship to us, will raise up our

bodies.

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1Cor 6:13


“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and

make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!” 6:15

What in the world is being taught here by the statement that our “bodies are members of Christ”?

I was taught that the impact of this verse is that men should avoid prostitutes! That is certainly what is in the

text, but is that the primary premise?

NO! The primary premise is that our bodies are for the Lord and that we already ARE members of Christ!

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1Cor 6:13


“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and

make them members of a prostitute? May it never be!” 6:15

“Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, ‘The two

shall become one flesh.’ ” 6:16

Oh boy – We are getting into some REALLY incredible statements beginning right here! Watch how it unfolds.

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“But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man

commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body

is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” 1Cor 6:17-19

An THAT, my friends, is the slam-dunk we are looking for!

Paul is not claiming any kind of movement towards becoming deity. He is saying that just as a man who joins himself to a prostitute becomes “one body” with her, so

those who join themselves to the Lord become “ONE SPIRIT” with the Lord. THAT is the “oneness” that Jesus

is talking about in John 14 and 17.

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And why is this absolutely a fitting parallel?

This is the beauty of it. The “oneness” is the same concept between a prostitute and the Father. The

difference is that prostitutes have physical bodies. God is NOT a physical being like a prostitute is. He IS spirit – so

He is giving Himself to us in union spiritually, with FAR more abandon than a prostitute gives herself physically to

become one body with a man!

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“For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Co 6:20

So the way that Jesus lived as a man was exactly as Paul describes in this text. He joined Himself in one spirit to the Father and lived His life glorifying His Father in His

human body!

And this clarity concerning “one with the Father” absolutely paves the way for us to enjoy everything that

Jesus experienced as a man, one with our Father.

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Just so that you know, the nature of Jesus as a man has thrown many theologians into intellectual convulsions as

demonstrated by the explanation of one on the question of why Jesus did not know the day nor the hour of His return

in Matt 24:36.

“Some fathers in the Arian controversy, and so Wordsworth among; recent commentators, explain that Christ knew

personally, but did not know officially, i.e., did not make known, the hour of judgment;—but this is excluded by the plain

meaning of οί̈#δεν (know by seeing), as well as by οὐδεί̈ς (nobody) and οἱ ἄγγελοι, where such a distinction between personal and

official knowledge is inadmissible.” Lange’s Commentary

The Arian controversy was another group who did not understand the hypostatic union, the 100% deity and 100%

humanity in the Person of Jesus.

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My point is that a lot of Christians and theologians did not grasp the full reality of our Christ, and that is not a

surprise given what God said on the subject.

1Cor 2:7-11 “but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but

just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS

PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit

searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the

spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”

How does this text explain the theological confusion?Men just can’t imagine that God could love us like that!

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My point is that a lot of Christians and theologians did not grasp the full reality of our Christ, and that is not a

surprise given what God said on the subject.

1Cor 2:7-11 “but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but

just as it is written, “THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS

PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.” For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit

searches all things, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the

spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”

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I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Jn 14

In order to understand what “You in Me and I in you” means practically, let’s see some biblical examples.

But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

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“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders

and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know.” Ac 2:22

“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 initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” Jn 14:10

“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went

about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

Ac 10:38

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“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders

and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know.” Ac 2:22

“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 initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” Jn 14:10



Ac 10:38

What is at least one aspect of what “the Father is in Me and I am in the Father” means from these verses?

It means that those in whom the Father dwells become the implements through which the Father accomplishes His

works.

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““I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own

will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” Jn 5:30

In the Greek this reads, “I have no power to do nothing from myself”. Double negatives in Greek intensify the

point rather than to undo it as it does in English.

Notice also that Jesus said that His judgment is right BECAUSE He did not seek His own will, but rather that of the Father, indicating His dependence upon the Father.

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Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of

Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also

does in like manner.Jn 5:19

Why do you suppose that Jesus is demonstrating dependence upon the Father if He is the Son of God?

It’s because He was truly dependent. He was sent to demonstrate pure human living.

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Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of

Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also

does in like manner.Jn 5:19



Ac 10:38

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“If you have seen Me you have seen the Father” Most of us take that to mean that Jesus is God, but then

why does He say, “Why do you call me good?” Could this also mean that the Father was doing His works in Jesus and that was why looking at Jesus would be to see the Father? Especially when Jesus asked “for what good work do you stone me, and they confused “I and my

Father are one” as a claim to deity when Jesus was saying “If you are in the Father and the Father in you, He will do His works through you just as He is in Me, and you will also be one with the Father just as the Bible says that

when man and woman marry they become one. If Jesus told demons to be silent when they said He was the Son of

God, and He only referred to Himself as such 3xs and 259xs as the Son of man, maybe a lot more of His

statements about union with the Father apply to us. 1cor 6;17

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I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Jn 14



Ac 10:38

“as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, that they may be one, just as We are

one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.”

Jn 17:21-23

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21This sounds a little conditional since it seems to say that the Father’s love is preconditioned upon keeping God’s

commandments.

First of all notice that it does not say that those who keep God’s commandments will be loved, as though keeping

the commandments is a prerequisite of being loved.

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21It says that those who keep God’s commandments ARE the ones who are loving and engaging Jesus. That is, it is not the choice of men to keep God’s commandments. The Law already proved that men cannot choose to keep the

commandments and do it by determination.

Keeping God’s commandments is the RESULT of knowing Jesus, not the prerequisite of being loved by God!

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21So keeping the commandments is not prerequisite to being loved, but rather identifies of those who love Jesus

and allow Him to live righteously in them.

Jesus is saying that in order to share the love that the Father and the Son share, we have to come with the love

that they gave to us and pour it into them as our choice in order to experience it with them.

In other words, if you want to play with the Lord, you have to come with professional equipment.

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21There is this amazing union that exists between the Father and the Son. That same union is what Jesus invites us to share. The Son is in us and we are in Him. But the Son is

also in the Father, and if we will pour our love into their union, we may come with a love to share with the same love and fellowship they share. That is what Jesus calls

us to enjoy with Him!

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become

partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” 2 Pet 1:4

Could it be that what we share with the Father and the Son is their nature when we come with our love? What do you

think this verse is saying? We have seen this before.

He has given to us His life to live on this earth and we share that with Him. Why wouldn’t we share

His nature?!

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“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become


What does it mean to be a “partaker” and what is this “divine nature” of which we may partake?

The word for “partaker” is the word “κοινωνός” which means to share something in common.

It means you come with empty hands and a heart that desires to be filled, and as you venture into this, the Lord

fills whatever capacity we have with His very nature.

That capacity is determined by the vacancy that is left when the thoughts and desires of the flesh is abandoned.

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“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become


What about the “divine nature”?

This is the word “φύσις” which describes the inherited or habituated characteristics that are natural to something.

God has given us His image when He created man, and following the cross, He gave us His very nature.

That doesn’t come anywhere near makes us gods; it simply means that His values are ours, His thoughts, His desires become ours as well. Just being able to love with

the same kind of love changes our being.

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"Calvin aptly compares the incarnation of Christ. As His human nature partook of the Divine, so believers are to become partakers of the Divine nature.—The reference, consequently, is not only to a moral resemblance, to an

ideal communion, but to a veritable communion of being, which begins here below in our regeneration, 1 Jno. 1:3, but will be consummated hereafter. Cf. Rom. 8:29; Jno.

17:21. This involves the glorification of the body, Phil. 3:21, seeing God and sharing in His glory, 1 Cor. 13:12, and increasing resemblance to Him, 1 Jno. 3:2. “When He shall appear we shall resemble (ὅμοιοι) Him.” “This does not mean that the partakers of the Divine nature

shall be exactly like (i. e., equal to) God. God reserves to Himself His Person, although He shares with us His

nature."

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Let’s break this incredible quote down so that we may benefit by their wisdom.

"Calvin aptly compares the incarnation of Christ. As His human nature partook of the Divine, so believers are to become partakers of the Divine nature.—The reference, consequently, is not only to a moral resemblance, to an ideal communion, but to a veritable communion of being, which begins here below in our regeneration, 1 Jno. 1:3,

Both Lange and Calvin were not willing to dilute the punch of the impact of this verse on us. They are clearly saying

that as Jesus, as a human being, participated in the Divine nature, so WE are called to partake of the Divine nature!

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Ok, so we have the concept of 2Peter 1:4 in hand, now let’s see what scholarship has to say on the matter.

"Calvin aptly compares the incarnation of Christ. As His human nature partook of the Divine, so believers are to become partakers of the Divine nature.—The reference, consequently, is not only to a moral resemblance, to an ideal communion, but to a veritable communion of being, which begins here below in our regeneration, 1 Jno. 1:3,

What is Calvin saying?

Partaking of God’s nature is not just trying to “act” in a manner that pleases God, but rather to intimate sharing of

essence or being.

It only BEGINS on earth – have as much as you like now!

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“what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.”1 John 1:3

Let’s look at 1John 1:3 from Lange’s quote.

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“The reference, consequently, is not only to a moral resemblance, to an ideal communion, but to a veritable communion of being, which begins here below in our

regeneration, 1 Jno. 1:3, but will be consummated hereafter. Cf. Rom. 8:29; Jno. 17:21. This involves the

glorification of the body, Phil. 3:21, seeing God and sharing in His glory, 1 Cor. 13:12, and increasing

resemblance to Him, 1 Jno. 3:2. “When He shall appear we shall resemble (ὅμοιοι) Him.” “This does not mean that the partakers of the Divine nature shall be exactly like (i. e., equal to) God. God reserves to Himself His

Person, although He shares with us His nature."

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“The reference, consequently, is not only to a moral resemblance, to an ideal communion, but to a veritable communion of being, which begins here below in our

regeneration, 1 Jno. 1:3, but will be consummated hereafter. Cf. Rom. 8:29; Jno. 17:21. This involves the

glorification of the body, Phil. 3:21, seeing God and sharing in His glory, 1 Cor. 13:12, and increasing

resemblance to Him, 1 Jno. 3:2. “When He shall appear we shall resemble (ὅμοιοι) Him.” “This does not mean that the partakers of the Divine nature shall be exactly like (i. e., equal to) God. God reserves to Himself His

Person, although He shares with us His nature."

Do you realize that this concept is so incredible that many scholars would not have the courage to say what Lange and Calvin said about it? It was

just too spectacular for them to believe God would do that for us.

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“If nature determines appetite, and we have God’s nature within, then we ought to have an appetite for that which is pure and holy. Our behavior ought to be like that of the Father, and we ought to live in the kind of “spiritual environment” that is suited to our nature. We ought to associate with that which is true to our nature (see 2 Cor. 6:14ff). The only normal, fruit-bearing life for the child of God is a godly life.”The Bible exposition commentary

What is out of kilter with this comment?

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“The adjective κοινωνοί̈ which is derived from the noun for “fellowship” (we lack an equivalent English adjective) is inexactly rendered by “partakers”; we should keep the idea of fellowship lest, as Besser

warns, we decorate ourselves “with a foreign feather.” For this “divine nature” is not the substantia but the qualitas; it is more than the

imitatio, it is rather the imago Dei. As a foreigner is naturalized, so we are fully transplanted into God’s kingdom and are naturalized in it so

that what is in that kingdom is properly ours. We are to be children and sons of God (John 1:12), begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever

(1 Pet. 1:23). Ours is the restored divine image, righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:24) plus knowledge (epignosis, Col. 3:10). The two

former are divine attributes. When they are restored in us they do not deify us; yet they are derived from God and make us κοινωνοί of divine nature. Here belong all those passages that speak of the unio mystica

such as Gal. 2:20: “Christ lives in me”; Phil. 1:21: “For me to live is Christ”; John 15:4, 5, “you in me, and I in you”; 14:23 and 1 John 2:24,

also Rev. 3:20, which describe the koinonia.” Lenski

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“The adjective κοινωνοί̈ which is derived from the noun for “fellowship” (we lack an equivalent English adjective) is inexactly rendered by “partakers”; we should keep the idea of fellowship lest, as Besser

warns, we decorate ourselves “with a foreign feather.” For this “divine nature” is not the substantia but the qualitas; it is more than the

imitatio, it is rather the imago Dei. As a foreigner is naturalized, so we are fully transplanted into God’s kingdom and are naturalized in it so

that what is in that kingdom is properly ours. We are to be children and sons of God (John 1:12), begotten again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, through the Word of God which lives and abides forever

(1 Pet. 1:23). Ours is the restored divine image, righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:24) plus knowledge (epignosis, Col. 3:10). The two

former are divine attributes. When they are restored in us they do not deify us; yet they are derived from God and make us κοινωνοί of divine nature. Here belong all those passages that speak of the unio mystica

such as Gal. 2:20: “Christ lives in me”; Phil. 1:21: “For me to live is Christ”; John 15:4, 5, “you in me, and I in you”; 14:23 and 1 John 2:24,

also Rev. 3:20, which describe the koinonia.” Lenski

It is good to render honor to the glory of God, but there is a point where we push ourselves so deeply into what we think is “respect” that we are unwilling and unable

to receive something God is determined to give us.

Let me tell you that if you are following the Lord in your pursuit of God, you need never give a second thought

to “decorating yourself with a foreign feather”.

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21How is He going to pull off that little wonder?

The world didn’t see Him because His physical body was crucified, buried, resurrected as a

glorified eternal body which now resides inside each believer. We see Him because He indwells, empowers and animates everything if we let Him.

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21The resurrection of Jesus is two things to us: the proof of His offer to us, and the actual vehicle of

living operations.

We walk away from our former life, our way of thinking, our values, fears, memories, and drive

off in Jesus’ car that He gave to us!

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21How would you explain this to a cynic if you really

believe it is true and not just figurative speech?

Spiritual realities, while not necessarily visible, are not less real or impacting because they

cannot be seen with the naked eye.

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The only way for a spiritual being to be sensed by a sensory world is by impact, like the wind

moving the leaves of a tree

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God may choose to use the wind to lift a semi, but I can guarantee you that it requires more work on God’s part to get a human being to allow God to

love another through a human being!

It takes a lot more work to get a selfish human being to love another person more than he or she loves self, than it does to split a mountain with a

bolt of lightning.

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In fact it is less work to get an unbeliever to do what God wants than it is for Him to convince a

believer to love.

“It is I who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd! And he will perform all My desire.’ And he declares of Jerusalem, ‘She

will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’ … For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also called you by your name; I have

given you a title of honor though you have not known Me.” Is 44:28, 45:4

All God had to do to get Cyrus to rebuild the temple was to prophecy it 175 years before his birth, but look at what

happens when God tries to get one of his people to love.

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“Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up

before Me.” But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was

going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the

presence of the Lord. … Then the men became extremely frightened and they said

to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.” Jonah

1:2-3, 10

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believer to love.


will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’ ” Is 44:28

But notice what happens

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21Can you think of a more wonderful situation or

condition than that?

“Disclose” is the word “ἐμφανίζω” which literally means “to make visible”.

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believer to love.


will be built,’ And of the temple, ‘Your foundation will be laid.’ ” Is 44:28

But notice what happens

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“…not the ordinary word phaneroo, it is emphanizo, which suggests more than an appearance, it carries the thought of a disclosure of what the person is in His own nature, character, counsel and work.” Vine's Collected Writings

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21Can you think of a more wonderful situation or

condition than that?

How can we secure this indescribable blessing?

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disclose Myself to him.” Jn 14:19-21We all have His commandments so half the

requirements are already in place. So what does “keeps them” mean?

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τηρέω – from a basic meaning keep in view, take note, watch over; (1) literally; (a) guard (AC 12.6); (b) keep, hold in reserve, preserve for a purpose or until a suitable time (JN 2.10); (c) maintain, keep (JU 6a), opposite ἀπόλλυμι (forfeit, lose); (d) protect, keep intact, keep inviolate (1C 7.37); (2) figuratively; (a) spiritually, of persons guard, preserve, protect (JN 17.11); (b) as maintaining the essence of the Christian life keep (2T 4.7); (c) with reference to doctrine, commandments, precepts observe, obey (MT 19.17)

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