Passage
If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.”
John 14:7 (WEB)
Nearby Context
John 14:5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
John 14:7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.”
John 14:8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”
John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "known", "father", and "seen". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "known" and "father", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Jesus said to him I am the..." into verse 8's "Philip said to him Lord show us...", so "known" and "father" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "known" and "father" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.