Jesus had an interesting conversation with Philip in John 14.

Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake. (John 14:8-11)

Philip desires to see God the Father. Jesus essentially says, “Here He is! He’s standing right in front of you.” (vs. 9) This was a startling revelation to Philip who, based on the context, was obviously looking elsewhere for the Father.

Jesus further confirms that when He speaks, God speaks. (vs. 10) So Jesus’ words are the very words of God which bring about the works of God. This is because Jesus is in the Father and the Father is in him. This emphasizes the close relationship between the Son and the Father, similar to that referred to in the previous lesson in this series.

For this reason, Philip should believe that Jesus and the Father are one in the same based on the confession of Jesus Himself. (vs. 11) Otherwise, Philip should at least believe “for the very works’ sake.” Philip, nor anyone else, could argue against the works performed by Jesus being the work of God, due to their miraculous nature and the power displayed.

This passage is just one example of Jesus attributing deity to Himself. There are scholars who state that Jesus never claimed to be God, but they do this only by discounting Jesus’ own words. On the contrary, Jesus said it and we need to accept it.