Jesus said: "All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knows the Son, but the Father; neither knows any man the Father, save the Son, and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him." (Matthew 11:27)
Again we read, "No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him." (John 1:18)
And accordingly, when Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and it suffices us," (John 14:8)
Jesus answered, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet have you not known me Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, Show us the Father?" (John 14:8)
Man cannot by searching find out God. It is true that God has promised to make known His ways to men, that they may know Him; but the ways of God cannot be found out by human reasoning. No one can find out anything about God, if he studies with a critical or a selfish spirit. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him, and He will show them His covenant." (Psalm 25:14)
No man is understood except by his friends; who could expect to understand God except by loving Him?
But, more than this, it should be understood that God is known only in Christ. The life of Christ is the life of God, but the life cannot be studied critically, as an artist would study a picture. We can know the life of God only as it is lived in us. "For with You is the fountain of life; in your light we shall see light." (Psalm 36:9)
Christ is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8)
Therefore we must, like Paul, determine to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified, if we would know the truth about the ways of God. "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2) The cross of Christ reveals the deep things of God. Every conclusion arrived at outside the light of the cross, will be but a libel on the character of God.--Present Truth, September 21, 1893--Original title: Front Page--Timeline: IV-32 (Jesus' Eulogy of John)--Matthew 11:27