John 14:9 is Jesus - God the Father?

John 14:9.


“He who has seen Me, has seen the Father.” John 14:9b. Oneness people use this verse in an attempt to argue that Jesus is God the Father.


Firstly, The word for “seen” in John 14:9 is not Blepo, which is the normal Greek word translated as “to see,” but “horao” (3708 in Strongs) which has the meaning here of to understand. For instance I can see my printer as I type, now to express this in Greek, I would use the word “Blepo.” But I could also say that I can see how my PC’s bios works, now this word for ‘see’ corresponds with the Greek “horao.” So Jesus’ use of horao instead of Blepo, means that he was not saying that he was the Father.

Secondly, God the Father is never seen; Colossians 1:15, “the Son is the image of the invisible God (Father),” which means that he is not himself the invisible God (Father). Also John 1:18 “No one has seen God at anytime …Son … he has declared Him.” At John 5:37 Jesus addresses his critics and speaking to their faces, tells them himself that they have not seen the Father’s face, nor heard his voice. What more must he say to convince us that he is the Son, and not God the Father (John 20:31, 2nd John 3), for it was the Son who was manifested in the flesh, and not God the Father (1st John 3:8).

Thirdly, John in a parallel verse to John 14:9, states of the Son; “He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.” John 12:45. John is here speaking of the Father, and reveals that the Father, though unseen, is only revealed to us in the incarnation of his Son. Jesus cannot be the Father, else how can he send himself into the world from himself?

Fourthly, John tells us that “the Son of God was manifested” (1st John 3:8), at the incarnation. Now Oneness pentecostals will try to read “God the Father” into the text of the KJV rendering of 1st Timothy 3:16. But in the light of 1st John 3:8, this verse can only be speaking of the Son, and not of the Father. John again confirms that it was the Son, and not God the Father who was sent into this world; “sent his only begotten Son into the world.” 1st John 4:9b. And that the Son was sent into this world by the Father; “the Father has sent the Son as saviour of the world.” (1st John 4:14b).

Finally, a distinction between the Father and the Son is clearly taught within John chapter 14. At John 14:6, a distinction is made between the Son and Father, as it’s only “through” the Son that we can gain access to the Father. So the Son is the intercessor, and the Father is the one through whom intercession is made. At verse 7 the word “also” again implies two distinct persons, who relate to each other, consequently proving that they cannot be each other. At John 14:10, Jesus does not say of himself “I am the Father.” Instead he again distinguishes between himself and the Father by using the word “in,” and saying; “I am IN the Father and the Father is IN me.” Then at John 14:23 Jesus refers to himself and the Father together not as “I” in the first person singular, but as “we are” which is the verb ‘to be’ in the first person plural present tense; “We will come to him and make our abode with him.” This plural form of verb ‘to be’ proves that Jesus is not the Father, but that he is rather “with” the Father. Then at verse 28 Jesus states that he is “going to his Father,” proving that he is other than the Father. Lastly in verse 31 the Son says that he “loves the Father.” But how can two impersonal natures love each other? Or can God be only one person who loves himself in different manifestations as Oneness claims?