ICS Daily Devotions
Jesus Gives a Clear Picture of God
John 14:7,9-11 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”… Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
There were many things and people in the Old Testament that represented types and shadows of Christ. There is not a very clear picture of who God is compared to the New Testament. Aren’t you glad that we are living in and after the declaration of what Jesus said and revealed to us? He said it very clearly and plainly that “From now on you know Him and have seen Him”.
Heb 1:1-3 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
In the Old Testament, the Law and the Prophets warned us of a holy, just and righteous God whom no man is able to fully stand right before Him. The Law was a school master who teaches us what sin was but was never able to make us righteous. God has to judge sin because He is holy, just and righteous. The Prophets spoke for the Lord but never were able to fully reveal God to us. The Law and the sacrificial system reminded man of their sins. They were not able to take away sin and the wrath of God from mankind. It revealed to man the weakness of the flesh and it pushed men to seek for the Messiah. The author of Hebrew revealed to us that Christ has purged our sins, finished the work of redemption and sat down beside the Father. He came to reveal to us the Father.
John 10:30 (NKJV) I and My Father are one.
John 1:18 (NKJV) No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
Jesus has declared Him. He has made known to us what the true God is like! There is no more guessing, no more types and shadow but the real picture of who God is regarding how He acts, His ways and His character. What you see is what you get about God and that is found in Jesus! God doesn’t live a double life. Jesus spoke with the authority of the Father and does the work of the Father. Everything that he did was in line with will of the Heavenly Father. Therefore, it will be very helpful for you to know while reading the Gospel what are the things that God will and will not do.
Romans 5:1-5 (NKJV) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Isn’t it comforting that God doesn’t save us in order to make our lives more miserable? He came to restore the relationship with us, thus we have peace with God. God is not against us when we are at peace with Him. We come to a position of rest when we know that we have peace with God. We will relax and begin to know God and walk with Him. We are aware that the source of tribulations in this life is not God. In fact, God is the one who sustains us in time of tribulations where He grants us access by faith into having his grace in our heart. It is His grace that grants us the strength to persevere. Our character is moulded in the perseverance process. We have hope and confidence that there is an eternal home waiting for us. The love of God that warms our heart through the Holy Spirit who is our teacher, help and, comforter keeps us going when it gets tough!
Sermon Series: He Came to Show us the Father
