Jn.1:18 – No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

As John finishes his prologue he comes to the very heart of what his gospel is all about and gives us a glimpse into the spiritual mystery that becomes ours when we become children of God. This phrase describes the intimacy that Jesus has enjoyed with His Father from eternity, at the same time it gives us a first look into this life we have been called to enjoy. You can’t get any closer to someone than being in their bosom, this is the oneness that Christ has always enjoyed and is calling us to enjoy. This is a first look at what Jesus would declare in His final prayer in Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion. What was the essence of His prayer that night? That you and I could enjoy this life of intimacy He has always enjoyed. Here is how Martin Luther described this passage.

“Holy Writ employs its own peculiar mode of expression, and we must familiarize ourselves with it. Here we have to ascertain the meaning of the phrase “to sit in the bosom of the Father.” Ordinarily one does not speak of a father’s “bosom” or of a man’s “bosom” at all. Fathers take children into their “arms” or hold them against the “chest.” It is customary, however, to speak of a mother’s bosom or to say that a maiden holds children to her bosom. The bosom is that which is encompassed by the two arms. We Germans use the terms “to embrace” or “to enfold in one’s arms.” The German translation does not fully capture the meaning of Saint John’s peculiar phrasing. He wants to say: We have received it from the only Son of God, who clings to the Father and rests snugly in his arms. John wishes to assure our hearts that the Word revealed by the Son must be absolutely trustworthy, because the Son rests in the bosom and in the arms of the Father, so intimately close to the Father that he is reliably informed about the decisions of his Father’s heart.”

This is what Calvary was all about, to bring us back to God. This is what the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was about as it was poured out on the day of Pentecost. This is the essence of why Christ came, He wanted to bring us to God. Looking at this relationship between the Father and the Son is what stirs us to press in. This is what we are called to, to love God and to enjoy Him forever.