"All things are delivered unto me of my Father; and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."
The quality of "knowing" that Jesus is alluding to above has been tried to be simulated by religion from the beginning of time. In abject failure, religion has tried to substitute the implied intimacy by creating laws in a futile attempt to appease God. Mankind knows there is a God, somewhere out of his sensory perception, so how can he reach out to this Spirit without losing his carnal integrity. Therefore he comes up with rules and regulations to follow,which in his finite mind would please Divinity and by some misguided hope, God would respond and legitimize man's adherence and devotion to these statutes. But it is clear from Jesus' statement that there is no other way to relate to Father but by the Son. Then is Jesus saying just believe in the Son, Jesus Christ and you will know the Father?. No, Jesus is alluding to something much more intricate.. Let's examine His statement..
1/ There are only two entities that qualify for the intimate relationship...Father and Son. There's no place for man in the equation.
2/ For any other entity to qualify, it must occur through a revelation by the Son.
3/ As Jesus said "ALL THINGS" , it would mean that this relationship is universal and that everything outside of the Father/Son amalgamation is spiritually illegitimate.
4/ Since no man can know the Father except the Son, then the "know" Jesus is referring to is beyond cognitive reasoning and intellectual logic.
Jesus is referring to having a oneness with Divinity that results in a total assimilation and absorbing so that a basic nature is shared. Where two shall become one. John 10;30. Where the Father and the Son are of the same nature. Therefore, if man is to enter, he must be assimilated into the Son. This goes beyond just being a follower, as Christianity teaches, but it means that all that man is must disappear and must be through absorbsion into the Son. Man's carnal nature must be released to the Spirit of the Son and a transformation, from son of man to son of God must be allowed to take place. Jesus alluded to this when He said "And he said unto them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9;23. The basic humanity of mankind must be sacrificed, for there is no place for carnality in the spiritual integration of Father and Son. It is even more than an intimate relationship. It is about losing your base nature and allowing a new creation, in all essence, to emerge, totally different from what pertained previously. It would mean you no longer think like a man, you think like how God thinks, automatically. Your perception of things is not naturally based but your foundation of existence is now spiritual. "Man" can now come into the intimacy but not in his present state, but in a renewed existence which is soundly accommodated by the son of God. Jesus set the stage for us to come in by declaring unto the Father, "That they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one; in us, that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. " John 17;21.
Now, it becomes clear that "Father" and "Son" goes beyond titles and actually refer to relational intimacy. Now we understand why it so important to be in the Son and not adhere to any religious following and belief. Man must be in the Son, for it is only the Son who can relate to the Father. Christianity is disqualified since its basic teachings are along the lines of religious and doctrinal following. To be a son of God takes you beyond yourself; allows self awareness and control to be dissolved; and is the only result of the born-again experience Jesus preached to Nicodemus.
This all means that any structure, relationship, or association that is outside of the Son is spiritually inert and cannot reach or understand Father. No matter how many times prayer is offered or devotional works are performed, in the absence of the Spirit of the Son, all activities would be illegitimate, null and void.
As Jesus said "so that the world may believe", there is a greater level of SON that Jesus is hinting at. In part 2 we would go universal and see how creation is taken of in the Father/Son liaison.