To disbelieve isn’t just not believing something God says, but it is not believing Who He Is. And specifically, Who God Is is found in Jesus. John 20:30-31 states, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples (His unique witnesses), which are not written in this book: But these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Sent One of the Father); and THAT BELIEVING you might have life through His Name!!! (The Name that declares Who He Is.)
Jesus plainly declares in John 14:7, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also, and from now on you know Him, AND HAVE SEEN HIM.” Good old unbelieving Philip expresses his blindness, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” He was right–seeing the Father, knowing the Father is the total Sufficiency that we need for now and eternity. But He did not see the declaration right in front of Him–Jesus. (Vs 9) “Jesus said unto him, ‘have I been with you so long, and yet you haave not known Me, Philip? HE WHO HAS SEEN ME HAS SEEN THE FATHER; so how can you say, ‘show us the Father’?” The entire written Word of God is given to us that we might see the Declaration of the Christ, Jesus, the Son of God. Remember the lesson on the road to Emmaus? “And beginning at Moses (the whole Pentateuch) and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” And in seeing Christ Jesus, we might know the Father. John 6:29 sums it all up this way, “And this is the Work of God, that you believe in Him Whom He has sent.”
Here is the point, the conclusion of all of this–to believe in Jesus isn’t just believing what He did, it is foundationally believing Who He Is! He is the Sent of God, the manifestation of “that Eternal Life which was With the Father and was Manifested to us.” (I John 1:2) What He Did was only effective for us because of Who He Is–The Christ, the Son of the Living God, God come in our flesh.