Tuesday: Knowing the Son Is Knowing the Father
Daily Lesson for Tuesday 10th of December 2024
Throughout the Gospel of John, the apostle describes how Jesus, the Son, does activities that point to the Father. Jesus explains who the Father is and shows what His relationship to our world is. This is all in keeping with John 1:18, which says that He makes the Father known (Greek exēgeomai: to explain, interpret, exposit). Again and again Jesus does this. The word Father (patēr) appears 136 times in John and 18 times in 1–3 John, more than one-third of the entire uses in the New Testament. The farewell discourse is one of the prime locations in the Gospel where Jesus makes the Father known.
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with and teaches the people who are gathered around Him.
Jesus was the Father’s representative on earth, and He came to live out, in human flesh, the Father’s will. In fact, Jesus said that in all things He sought to do the Father’s will, and not His own (John 5:30). This may seem at first a startling statement, but it shows how totally surrendered Jesus, as a human being, was to the Father.
Jesus said, too, that He had been sent by the Father to finish His work—the salvation of humanity—and that the Father Himself bore witness to His work (John 5:36-38).
Jesus proclaimed that the Father sent Him to serve as the only one through whom humanity may come to the Father (John 6:40,44). The Father wants people to have the eternal life found in Jesus, who promises to raise them up in the resurrection.
What do the following texts teach us about the relationship between Jesus and the Father? John 7:16; John 8:38; John 14:10,23; John 15:1,9-10; John 16:27-28; John 17:3.
Jesus’ claims about His relationship to the Father are astonishing. He asserts that all of His teachings are the teachings of the Father; that all He says He had personally heard from the Father; that belief in Him is the same as belief in the Father; that both His very words and His works are all of the Father; and that He and the Father are united in loving and working for the salvation of humanity. What a powerful testimony to the closeness of Jesus to His Father in heaven!
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How would your life be changed if your thoughts and actions were fully an expression of God’s will for your life? That is, how can we better live out what we know from Jesus is God’s will for our lives? |
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Jesus has quite a bit to say about his relationship with the Father. And while we know that both were part of the Godhead, Jesus being on earth in human form meant that his relationship with the Father had to be a God/human relationship. How did he do this?
I have told the story of how Carmel and I were separated from one another for 12 months before we were married. We lived in different countries and this was a long time before email, Facetime, messaging, and all the communication stuff we have nowadays. We wrote letters, sometimes twice a week. Paper, ink, envelopes, stamps, and letterboxes. We relied on the postal system and it took about 3 days for a letter to be delivered. I remember the posties went on strike for a couple of weeks but we still wrote our letters. Mine was 14 pages long by the time the strike was over and had to be sent as a parcel.
It was during the writing of those letters that we got to know one another even though we were separated geographically.
Jesus maintained communication with the Father during his earthly ministry. He wasn't guessing God's will; the heaven/earth communication channel was open.
Just has Jesus maintained his communication with the Father so we too must keep our communication open with God. God wants two-way (duplex, for the techies) communication.
I like the way Paul puts it:
Jesus' mission to reveal God the Father is central to His ministry. The Bible teaches that Jesus came as the visible, tangible representation of the invisible God, making Him known to humanity. "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15). By becoming human, Jesus made the unseen God visible and accessible. Jesus taught about the Father’s nature, character, and kingdom. John 14:9: "Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father." Jesus emphasized that His words and actions perfectly reflected the Father. John 12:49-50: "For I did not speak on My own, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me to say all that I have spoken." His teachings were direct revelations of God’s will and heart.
Jesus’s mission to reveal the Father was a very successful mission. Jesus Himself said, “I have brought You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave Me to do. I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me out of the world." (John 17:4-6). In fact, the Father was so pleased with Jesus to the point that He elevated Jesus’s name above all names in heaven and on earth.
"Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."- Philippians 2:9-11.
Through His life, teachings, and sacrificial death, Jesus fully revealed the Father’s heart, love, and plan for salvation. Today, believers continue to know God the Father through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
Why was it critically important for Jesus to reveal the Father? How important was that to the salvation of mankind? Revealing God the Father was central to Jesus' mission because it addressed humanity's greatest spiritual needs: the knowledge of God, reconciliation with Him, and the ability to live in a restored relationship. Sin had alienated humanity from God, resulting in misconceptions about His character (Romans 1:21-23). Many viewed God as distant, wrathful, or unknowable. Jesus revealed the Father’s love (John 3:16) and His justice, which required a solution to the problem of sin. Humanity's estrangement from God was the root cause of spiritual death. Jesus' revelation of the Father restored the possibility of communion with God.
The Father’s desire for humanity to know Him is the heartbeat of salvation. Jesus succeeded in His mission to reveal the Father, not only through His teachings but through His life, death, and resurrection. This revelation is foundational for salvation because it bridges the gap between humanity and God, offering a restored relationship that is the essence of eternal life.
I have a question..Why is JESUS in the book of John (especially today's Lesson)👉 seems to focus much on revealing the father's identity?! I mean He is lifting the father up. Why?! Help plz
Jesus was teaching the disciples the Messiah was not just a powerful king. He was/is God. Note how John emphasises that in the firse chapter:
This was a new idea for the Jews in Jesus time.
Our view of God has been distorted. Satan has portrayed God as being despotic and judgmental, distant and uncaring. We give others a distorted view of God by our actions and words. Often even the Church has proclaimed a picture of God that repulses. If we are to be drawn to God, we must see Him as He is: loving, merciful, just, good, and beautiful. God has to clear His name so that we are attracted to Him. This was an important part of Jesus' life and ministry.
Hello Lynn! You ask an excellent, thought provoking question. I believe that John's Gospel is purposely written the way it was to dispel any lingering doubt about the true character and nature of our heavenly Father. The Jews largely served God out of fear, which is why they enacted so many laws regarding religion. They, as we, need(ed) to see that the Father is infinitely better than advertised by both Satan, and religion. John lifts up the Father to dispel the darkness around his reputation by connecting the Father to Jesus. John 3:16. John is essentially saying, if you have seen one, you have seen the other. One is not the "big meanie," and the other "Mr. Nice Guy." They both are love, Jesus is the love of the Father personified.
Ellen White puts it so eloquently in her book, The Desire of Ages;
"The earth was dark through misapprehension of God. That the gloomy shadows might be lightened, that the world might be brought back to God, Satan's deceptive power was to be broken. This could not be done by force. The exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government; He desires only the service of love; and love cannot be commanded; it cannot be won by force or authority. Only by love is love awakened. To know God is to love Him; His character must be manifested in contrast to the character of Satan. This work only one Being in all the universe could do. Only He who knew the height and depth of the love of God could make it known. Upon the world's dark night the Sun of Righteousness must rise, "with healing in His wings." Malachi 4:2. The Desire of Ages, p. 22
We need to see the Father through "new eyes," through the lens of Jesus.
I hope that helped to answer your question. we need to keep asking, seeking, and knocking as we continue growing in our knowledge of, and devotion to God. Many blessings!
Lynn, I've had a beautiful picture of my heavenly Father for many years! Among the many Bible passages revealing His love for us, here are just two to consider:
John 16:26,27: "...I am *not* saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father Himself loves you!.."
2 Corinthians 5:17-21: Quoting verses 18,19, (but, please do read all): "All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ...and He has committed to us the message of reconciliation!" Herein is the Gospel of John 3:16 with different words!
Lynn,it is so important to know our Father did not have to be reconciled to us--He has always loved us with the same perfect love the Trinity has for each other--and us!
Hi lynn! I hope this answer your question.
Jesus focuses on revealing the Father in John because it is central to His mission. He came to make the Father known (John 1:18), restore humanity’s broken relationship with God, and show His love and authority. By lifting up the Father, Jesus highlights their unity in saving the world, teaches us how to relate to God, and points us to the source of eternal life (John 6:40). This emphasis helps us understand God’s character and purpose.
My response is more personal, Lynn. Growing up as a Christian child, I always prayed to Jesus. To me, Jesus was kind and loving and wanted to be my friend. I was a little afraid of God the Father. To me, God the Father was about judgment and justice and keeping the law. The Old Testament God seemed harsh. And while I knew His judgments were fair, the New Testament is where I found grace and mercy. I respected the Father and drew before him with fear and trembling, but I loved the Son and longed for his embrace.
I don’t believe that anymore. Why not? Because the more I fell in love with Jesus, the more He drew me to the Father. I began to see grace and mercy in the Old Testament. From Geneses to Revelation, I saw that God the Father is Love. While I had heard this, it took years to get it from my head to my heart.
I heard from someone that we should stop praying to Jesus but pray to the Father. They are the type of person I saw as a well-intentioned but theologically argumentative person that puts one off. So, I didn’t listen. I can’t tell you how they defended their argument.
I was surprised one day, many years later, to realise that when I wake up in the morning and my heart is raised to heaven, the first words that come to my mind are “Good morning, Heavenly Father”. When did I stop praying “Dear Jesus”? I cannot tell when it happened, but I know it is not a theological argument that drew me to talk directly to my heavenly Daddy in the name of Jesus. Jesus drew me to The Father.
I thank my Heavenly Father for his patience with me. For giving me Jesus who is more than wonderful! And for drawing me to Himself with loving kindness.
What's true religion? To be connected to God. Being in a relationship with Jesus, the Son, connects us to God, the Father. Jesus is the link to God.