chapter five
THE FATHER
No one knows
who the Son of God is, except the Father in heaven: and no one can
know who the Father is, except the Son; and those to whom the Son
will reveal him. Until now you have not known him as I do; but I
have come, sent from him to you.
The One who
has sent me is present with me now. There is no separation between
us, for I always do what pleases him. In fact, in seeing me you
have seen the Father. Why then do you keep saying, "Reveal
God to us?" Do you not believe that I am one, and equal with
my Father?
I and my Father
are one. Everything that the Father has is mine. I have come from
the Father to this world; I will leave this world again, and return
to my Father.
The Son can
do nothing on his own, but does only what he sees the Father do.
The Father loves the Son, and has revealed to him his universal
plan; and you will witness even greater miracles than those which
you have already seen. Even as the Father raises the dead, and gives
new life, so the son will give new life to whomever he will.
And yet, I can
do nothing on my own; I judge only as God guides me; my ways are
perfect, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father
who has sent me. As the Father has the power to give life, so the
Son has the gift of life, and has been given the authority to execute
judgment, because he is the Messiah, the Son of Man.
I have said
this from the beginning: there is much in your lives that I could
condemn, but I have come with another message, given to me by the
One who is the truth. This is the message that I speak to the world.
When at last
you lift up the Son of Man (on the cross), you will know who I am,
realizing that I did nothing according to my own plan or authority,
but delivered to you the words which my Father instructed me to
proclaim.
turn to chapter six: THE GOOD SHEPHERD
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