We have a magnificent and unfathomable God who is wrapped in impenetrable mystery.
As believers, we are called to have a love relationship with this infinite God, and that can be a tad daunting if we don’t understand how loving and good He is.
The good news is that Jesus, who came from His Father, revealed an inside look at Father God’s heart throughout His earthly ministry. And it’s a lovely picture He painted for us.
Jesus Reveals the Father
When Jesus’ disciples asked Him to show them the Father, Jesus answered, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9).
Through Jesus, we too can see the Father as He truly is.
The revelation of the Father through Jesus has far more clarity than any previous revelation we have of Him in scripture (Luke 10:22).
Jesus clearly revealed to us what was previously cloaked in mystery. Jesus Himself said that “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him” (Matthew 11:27).
“If You Have Seen Me…”
Since Jesus said that seeing Him was the same as seeing the Father, let’s look at Jesus to see who the Father is.
Jesus spoke of Himself as gentle and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29). In addition, scripture refers to Him as filled with “exultant joy and gladness” (Hebrews 1:9, Amplified Bible). He must have been loads of fun to be around. The common people were drawn to Him. And He happily associated with the most disreputable of society. He was called a “friend of sinners” (Matthew 11:19).
The tone of Jesus’ speech is revealed in Luke 4:18 when Jesus announced His mission from the pages of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. He spoke of “preaching the gospel to the poor”. “Preaching the gospel” is a single word in the Greek, and is the same word that was used when the angels brought the “tidings of great joy” at Christ’s birth (Luke 2:10). It means to bring good news of any kind and to announce glad tidings.
Just imagine this exultantly joyful Jesus travelling around proclaiming glad tidings everywhere He went, and saying His message was from God His Father.
Jesus was completely approachable on earth, and He is still approachable today. We are told that He is our compassionate High Priest who can relate to us in our struggles (Hebrews 4:15). He is still modelling the Father to us.
Direct Teachings About the Father
Here are a few things the scriptures say regarding the Father:
- The hallmark of the Father’s character is love — pure, agape love (I John 4:8; I Corinthians 13:4-7).
- Jesus said His Father is kind even to evil and ungrateful people (Luke 6:35).
- Scripture says that “every good and perfect gift comes from the Father” (James 1:17). He is the Source of everything good.
- Scriptures explain that the Holy Spirit cries out from our hearts calling, “Daddy!”, which models the kind of relationship we are to have with the Father (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6).
How loving and good our Father God is! And Jesus, the only procreated offspring of His Father, told us we have the right to call His Father our Father. What a blessing!
My Blessing To You
May the revelation of Jesus further open your eyes and your heart to Father God. I bless your pursuit of a heart-based love relationship with your unfathomable heavenly Daddy.
Be blessed.
Gail Ruth
