Christ's Doctrine of Faith: A Study of "Believing" in John's Gospel (John 14:10)
- A Writer for Christ

- Jun 26, 2024
- 2 min read

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The eighty-first occurrence of the idea of belief in John's Gospel is John 14:10. Here, the Lord Jesus Christ says: "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 dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (KJV). So, as always, what are the context and facts about faith here? And a note before starting: I think I will go back to the old format of how I talked about the immediate contexts of passages I cover in this series, because it's hard to cover the contexts meaningfully otherwise.
First, what is the context? Right after Jesus tells His disciples that they believe in God [the Father] and that they should also believe in Him. He then says that, in His Father's house, there are many mansions (i.e., abodes-[1]), and that, if it wasn't so, He would have told them, before telling them that He goes to prepare a place for them. He goes on to say that, if He goes and prepares a place for them, He will come again and receive them to Himself, so that, where He is, there they may be as well. He tells them that they know both where He goes and the way, to which Thomas interjects that they do not know where He goes before asking how they can know the way. This question is the occasion in which Christ declares that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no man comes to the Father but by Him. Then, He says that, if they had known Him, they should have known His Father also, before saying that, from henceforth, they knew Him and have seen Him. Philip then interjects, asking the Lord to show them the Father and it would be enough for them. Jesus responds by asking Philip if He has been with them that long with Philip not knowing Him, before clarifying that the one who has seen Him has seen the Father and asking Philip how, given all that, he could make that request. Then, Christ asks him if he doesn't believe that He is in the Father and the Father is in Him, before stating that the words He speaks to them He does not speak of Himself, but the Father who dwells in Him does the works. This is the context of John 14:10!
Second, what are some facts about faith? First, belief in Jesus means believing He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. Because He specifically asks Philip (and perhaps, by extension, the other disciples) if this is the content of their faith. Second, faith in Christ means recognizing that God the Father is the Source of His words. Because, right after He asks Philip about the content of his belief, He says that the words He is saying do not come from Him, but the Father is the One doing the works. These are some facts about faith from John 14:10!




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