²⁵ “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me…”

Worldly ignorance of God is no excuse because sinfulness has blinded the eyes of fallen man, rendering him incapable of seeing or knowing God. It is true that God has left the evidence:

… that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Rom 1:19–20)

This is what we call “General Revelation,” that God has revealed Himself in a general sort of way through creation. But humankind rejects even that:

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Rom 1:21)

The author of this gospel account at the beginning made this point:

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. (John 1:5).

This is the judgment that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light for their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

The good news, the Gospel, pierces the darkness, with what we call “Special Revelation.” And that is the person of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the revelation of the true knowledge of God. “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18). The term “explained” translates the Greek word “exegeomai” from which we get our English word “to exegete.” This means Jesus fully drew out the meaning of who God really is, and made it clear to all who would receive Him and become children of God (John 1:12). The Word became flesh and through Him we learned the grace and truth of God (John 1:14). The result is that we who believe have come to God through Jesus Christ. Or as Jesus prayed to His Father, “…these have known that You sent me.”

Lord, what a joy it is to know You and the Father, grace and truth revealed! I believe that You have been sent by Your Father and that some day You will be coming back for us. I am so looking forward to being with You for eternity.