John 1:43-51

43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He *found Philip. And Jesus *said to him, "Follow Me."
44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter.
45 Philip *found Nathanael and *said to him, "We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46 Nathanael said to him, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Philip *said to him, "Come and see."
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"
48 Nathanael *said to Him, "How do You know me?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you."
49 Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel."
50 Jesus answered and said to him, "Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these."

Faith is the confident belief in the truth that does not necessarily rest on logical proof or physical evidence. Jesus commends many for showing great faith in the midst of very little physical evidence. At a time when many were offering slight-of-hand tricks and illusions trying to convince people that they were prophets or even the promised messiah himself, Nathaniel could have easily brushed off this statement of Jesus, but through such a simple expression of God’s omniscience, Nathaniel believed and knew that Jesus was the Son of God. This was not through eloquent speech or convincing argument, as so many believers today try to evangelize, this was through the Holy Spirit opening Nathaniel’s eyes and giving him the faith necessary to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. What we can take from these passages is that when we share God’s truth with unbelievers, it is the Holy Spirit who opens a person’s eyes to see or leaves them shut. Remember that a heart of stone is dead and can not have the faith necessary to believe. It is only through the sovereign act of God removing a heart of stone, replacing it with a heart of flesh, and then giving that heart faith, that a person can receive salvation. God uses our words, but He uses them in His way and in His time, and He is not dependant upon them.

51 And He *said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Many individuals and sects (e.g., Jehovah’s Witness) believe that Jesus was merely an angel specially blessed and empowered by God. These and similar passages draw a clear distinction between Jesus and the angels. Here it is stated that the angels of God will descend upon the Son of Man (i.e., Jesus). There is no indication that scripture is referencing a sub-set of God’s angels allowing for at least one to remain upon whom the stated angels will descend upon. The statement is that the angels of God (created beings) will ascend and descend upon Jesus (God incarnate). These are difficult passages for holders of the false doctrine that Jesus is merely an angel to explain.