“That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honors not the Son honors not the Father which hath sent him.”
(John 5:23)
Christ states plainly in this passage that the Father cannot be honored apart from the Son, because the Father is known, revealed, and approached only through the Son whom He has sent.
He also tells the Samaritan woman that the true worshipers must worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Yet the Father they worship is the God who sends the Son, speaks through the Son, and is known by the Son. The same Christ who speaks of worshiping the Father commands baptism in the single name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Worship, prayer, and salvation all stand on the same ground: the unity of God in three persons.
The early church understood this clearly. The Father cannot be properly acknowledged without the Son and the Spirit, because the divine nature is one and the honor due to God is undivided. To address one person of the Trinity is to address the whole, because the divine essence is fully present in each person. And to worship the Son is to worship the Father, not because the Son replaces the Father, but because the Son perfectly reveals Him. “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”
Moreover, this trinitarian order does not weaken worship; it grounds it. Baptism and doxology would be meaningless if the names used to reference God were only temporary roles. Rather, they are acts of worship directed to the eternal being of God.[1]
So when believers say, “Our Father which art in heaven,” they are not addressing a divine essence stripped of Son and Spirit. They are addressing the God of revelation, the triune God, who has made Himself known fully and finally in Jesus Christ.
This is why Christ speaks so plainly. Honor given to the Son is honor given to the Father. Honor withheld from the Son is dishonor to the Father. There is no safe middle ground. True worship is trinitarian because God is trinitarian. So to honor God rightly is to bow before the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Anything less is error clothed in religious language.
Contemplations:
- My view of Christ in worship. I need to ask myself whether I truly honor the Son as I claim to honor God. If my prayers, my obedience, or my trust stop short of Christ, then I am not honoring the Father at all, no matter how sincere I think I am.
- My comfort with vague faith. I see how easily I drift toward a faith that feels safe because it is undefined. But Christ does not allow that. He ties worship to Himself. I cannot hide behind general spirituality or broad language about God. I must reckon with the Son, as He truly is, or I am avoiding the God who has spoken.
- My understanding of the Trinity. I often think of the Trinity as a difficult doctrine rather than a necessary one. Yet if I misunderstand who God is, my worship will inevitably move away from truth. I need humility to receive what God has revealed, not to reshape Him into something simpler or more comfortable.
- My reverence and awe. I am reminded that Christ is not honored when He is treated as an assistant to the Father or a means to an end. He is honored when I bow before Him as fully God, worthy of trust, obedience, and praise without reserve.
Prayer (Adoration)
Holy and eternal God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God in three persons, I come to adore You as You have revealed Yourself, not as I might imagine You to be. I praise You that You are not hidden in silence or mystery beyond reach, but have made Yourself known in Your Son. I bless You that the Son is not a lesser light, but the true and living revelation of Your glory.
Father, I adore You as the unbegotten source of all being, wisdom, and life. You are not solitary or distant, but eternally Father to the Son whom You love. Son of God, I honor You with the same honor due to the Father, for You are God from God, worthy of worship, trust, and obedience. Holy Spirit, I adore You as the living bond of life and truth, opening blind eyes and drawing hearts to behold the glory of the Son.
I praise You that You have told us who You are, how You are to be known, and how You are to be honored. I adore You that the Father is never honored apart from the Son, and that the Son never draws glory away from the Father. In You there is no rivalry, no division, no shadow of change. All honor flows in perfect unity.
I praise You that when I worship the Son, I am not turning away from the Father, but coming to Him. I praise You that Christ is not a barrier to divine glory, but its fullest display. In His humility, obedience, and exaltation, I see the beauty of Your eternal purpose. In His name above every name, I see the honor of Your own being upheld.
Receive my worship offered through Christ, in whom You are well pleased. Teach my heart to honor the Son without hesitation, reservation, or fear. And let my praise be shaped by truth, my reverence by awe, and my faith by what You have revealed of Yourself.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Further Scripture References for John 5:23:
1 John 2:23; Luke 10:16; John 15:23; Matt. 11:27
[1] WGT Shedd, Dogmatic Theology, ed. Alan W. Gomes, 3rd ed. (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Pub., 2003), 253–256.
