John 14:8 kjv
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.
John 14:8 nkjv
Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."
John 14:8 niv
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
John 14:8 esv
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."
John 14:8 nlt
Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."
John 14 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jesus as the Father's Revelation | ||
| Jn 1:18 | No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. | Jesus uniquely reveals the unseen Father. |
| Jn 12:45 | And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. | Seeing Jesus is seeing the Father. |
| Jn 10:30 | I and the Father are one. | Unity of Jesus and the Father. |
| Jn 14:7 | If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him. | Jesus prefaces Philip's request. |
| Jn 14:9-10 | 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... | Jesus directly answers Philip. |
| Col 1:15 | He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. | Jesus is the perfect representation of God. |
| Heb 1:3 | He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he uphits the universe by the word of his power. | Jesus mirrors God's essence perfectly. |
| God's Unseen Nature | ||
| Ex 33:20 | But he said, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” | God's essence cannot be seen directly by man. |
| Dt 4:12 | Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire... but saw no form; only a voice. | God is beyond physical form. |
| Judg 13:22 | Then Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” | Seeing God brings fear of death. |
| 1 Tim 1:17 | To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. | God's eternal invisibility. |
| 1 Tim 6:16 | who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. | God dwells in inaccessible light. |
| Is 6:1 | In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. | Prophetic visions of God's glory. |
| Knowing God through Relationship, not just Sight | ||
| Jer 9:24 | ...let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness... | Knowing God is understanding His character. |
| Jn 17:3 | And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. | Eternal life is knowing God and Jesus. |
| Phil 3:10 | that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, | Knowing Christ involves experience and transformation. |
| Human Inadequacy and Divine Sufficiency | ||
| Lk 24:25 | And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!" | Disciples were often slow to comprehend. |
| Mk 4:40 | He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” | Jesus often rebuked lack of faith/understanding. |
| Is 40:8 | The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. | Divine sufficiency contrasted with human transient desires. |
| Phil 4:19 | And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. | God's sufficiency provides for all needs. |
| 2 Cor 12:9 | But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” | God's grace, not a mere sight, is sufficient. |
John 14 verses
John 14 8 Meaning
John 14:8 presents Philip's heartfelt plea to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." This verse encapsulates a common human longing to directly apprehend God, believing that a singular, definitive manifestation would resolve all doubts and satisfy every spiritual yearning. However, it also highlights the disciples' prevailing spiritual incomprehension regarding Jesus's intrinsic identity as the full revelation of God. Philip sought an external, visible display of God the Father, mistakenly assuming such an event would provide complete clarity and contentment, unaware that God was already fully manifest before him in the person of Jesus.
John 14 8 Context
John 14:8 is nestled within Jesus's extended farewell discourse to His disciples in the Upper Room, a conversation permeated with comfort, promises, and crucial theological truths about His identity and His relationship with the Father. The preceding verses (John 14:1-7) established Jesus as "the way, and the truth, and the life" and the sole means of access to the Father. Jesus had just stated, "If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him." Philip's request, immediately following this profound statement, highlights the disciples' persistent difficulty in grasping Jesus's divine claims and the true nature of God's revelation. Historically and culturally, the Jewish people yearned for a tangible manifestation of God's glory (the Shekinah) as experienced in the Old Testament, and Philip's plea reflects this deep-seated desire for an incontrovertible display of the divine, misinterpreting Jesus's profound words about seeing and knowing the Father.
John 14 8 Word analysis
Philip: (Φίλιππος - Philippos). One of the twelve disciples, notable for his literal understanding and direct questions, as seen when he questioned the feeding of the 5,000 (Jn 6:5-7). His sincere, yet simplistic, desire for a tangible sign is characteristic.
said to him: Direct address to Jesus. It emphasizes the personal nature of the plea from disciple to Master.
“Lord,” (Κύριε - Kyrios): This title signifies respect and acknowledgment of Jesus's authority and mastership, but not necessarily a full grasp of His divine nature yet. The disciples were still coming to terms with who Jesus truly was.
“show us” (δεῖξον - deixon): This is an aorist active imperative verb, meaning "point out," "display," or "make visible." It reveals Philip's expectation of a sensory, perhaps visual or tangible, manifestation of God the Father, indicative of a concrete, rather than spiritual, understanding.
“the Father,” (τὸν Πατέρα - ton Patera): This refers to God the Father, the first Person of the Trinity. Philip yearns for a distinct, observable display of God separate from Jesus, not yet comprehending the complete union and revelation of the Father in Jesus.
“and it is sufficient for us.” (καὶ ἀρκεῖ ἡμῖν - kai arkei hēmin): This phrase conveys Philip's conviction that such a revelation would be perfectly adequate, satisfying all their questions, fears, and longings. "Sufficient" (ἀρκεῖ - arkei) means "to be enough," "to be satisfied," or "to be contented." It speaks to the ultimate desire for complete assurance and understanding through a divine vision, implying that without such a vision, their understanding or faith felt incomplete. It highlights a reliance on external proof over faith in Jesus's person.
“show us the Father”: This phrase captures the intense human desire for direct, unmediated communion with the divine and an unequivocal proof of God's existence and nature. It echoes Old Testament yearnings for God's manifest presence (e.g., in the tabernacle or temple), but misses the new covenant's fulfillment where God is revealed not through a cloud or fire, but in a Person.
“it is sufficient for us”: This reveals Philip’s misapprehension of what truly "suffices" for salvation, understanding, and spiritual peace. He believes an immediate, spectacular theophany would bring complete satisfaction and assurance, failing to grasp that eternal life is in knowing God through Christ, a continuous, transformative relationship rather than a singular event.
John 14 8 Bonus section
The concept of "sufficiency" in Philip's request is crucial. He presumed that a singular visual event of God would bring final and complete peace, ending their spiritual journey. This stands in stark contrast to the New Testament's teaching that true "sufficiency" is found in God's grace (2 Cor 12:9) and in the ongoing work and presence of Christ. The request reveals a common human tendency to seek an ultimate external validation rather than cultivating internal spiritual conviction through relationship and faith. This desire for tangible proof overlooks that ultimate sufficiency is found in Christ himself, who perfectly reveals God not through a transient spectacle but through a transformative life lived among men, culminating in the cross and resurrection. Philip's question, therefore, inadvertently sets the stage for Jesus to unveil deeper Trinitarian truths about His intimate, co-equal relationship with the Father.
John 14 8 Commentary
John 14:8 presents a pivotal moment highlighting the ongoing spiritual immaturity of the disciples, specifically Philip's sincere but profoundly misdirected request. Despite Jesus having declared His unity with the Father just moments before (Jn 14:7), Philip, in a literal and experiential mindset, longed for a distinct, physical manifestation of God the Father, believing this visible display would bring ultimate satisfaction and end all uncertainty. His desire, while deeply human, reflected a common Old Testament expectation of visible theophanies and overlooked the revolutionary truth Jesus embodied: that He was the perfect, complete, and sufficient revelation of the Father. Jesus’ subsequent gentle rebuke and clarification (Jn 14:9) reveal that to truly "see" the Father is not to witness an external, separate divine entity, but to recognize and believe in the intimate oneness of the Father and the Son, where Jesus’ words and works are the very actions and voice of God Himself. What Philip believed would suffice was already before his eyes, not as a separate phenomenon, but woven into the very fabric of Jesus's existence.