The Information Jesus gives of God

"The third point was somewhat covered under the first. In showing the illogicality of Bultmann's inference, it was also made clear that John cannot be accused of never having heard of Matthew and Luke. Now, to continue the quotation:
[']Though Jesus says in departing from the earth, 'I have manifested thy name to the men whom thou gavest me out of the world,' still he has imparted no information about God at all, any more than he has brought instruction about the origin of the world or the fate of the self. He does not communicate anything, but calls men to himself.[']

The first chapter of the Gospel contains important information about the creation of the universe, the spiritual plight of man, the nature and mission of Christ, and something of Old Testament prophecy. The occurance of this information does not contradict the quotation made just above because these verses are the words of John and not of Jesus. Bultmann claims that Jesus offered no information. On this two things should be said. First, a Christian cannot permit himself to be restricted to the ipsissima verba of Jesus, as if the author's words were less true, less authoritative, less important. Redletter Bibles, if they do not strain the eyesight, have some small use; but only a small part of Christianity is found in the red sections. In the second place, there can be no objection to asking the question, Did Jesus himself impart any information about God? Did he only call men to himself without instructing them concerning their state and their fate? Did he communicate nothing at all?
Well, obviously he communicated several bits of information; and Bultmann himself quotes a part of it. Jesus, in the verse Bultmann cites, informs his disciples that God has given him a certain group of men chosen from out of the world's population. In fact, chapter 17 contains considerable information about God. It tells us that God gave authority to Jesus to give eternal life to those people God had chosen. Eternal life is defined as knowledge of God. God sent Christ into the world. All that belongs to God belongs to Christ. And a second time God sent Christ into the world. God is in Christ and Christ is in God. Again, God gave Christ a certain people. God loved Christ before creation of the world. These several items of information about God, to which no doubt a few implications could be added, are by themselves enough to contradict Bultmann's rash assertion that 'Jesus . . . has imparted no information about God at all.'" - Gordon H. Clark, What is Saving Faith?