6.4 The Witness of the Father
God’s Confirmation of His Son

Read John 5:36–38. What does Jesus say about the Father here?

In John 5:36–38, Jesus speaks about the testimony of His heavenly Father and establishes a profound connection between His own works and the Father’s will. The works and miracles that Jesus performed are not only evidence of His divine power but also expressions of the close unity and authority He received from the Father. These works confirm that Jesus does not act on His own initiative but on behalf of and in the power of the Father.

Jesus makes it clear that His life and ministry are living testimonies to the Father’s love and mercy. The Father Himself testifies about Jesus through the actions He performs, demonstrating that Jesus is indeed God’s messenger. The Father’s testimony is more than just words; it is shown through deeds that reveal God’s power, love, and compassion toward humanity.

This statement reminds us that true spiritual authority comes from a living relationship with God. Jesus’ life and works flowed directly from this connection and dedication to the Father. For us, this is a call to shape our lives so that our words and actions reflect what God desires from us. When we live and work in this unity with God, our actions will also testify to His character and love.

Read Matthew 3:17; 17:5; Mark 1:11; and Luke 3:22 (see also 2 Peter 1:17–18). What does the Father say about Jesus?

In the Gospel accounts, the Father speaks directly about Jesus at crucial moments in His life. At the baptism and on the mountain of transfiguration, the Father declares before those present that Jesus is His “beloved Son,” in whom He is well pleased. These words are not only a reaffirmation of Jesus’ identity but also a clear confirmation of His divine authority and special relationship with the Father. The Father points out that everything Jesus does happens in perfect alignment with His will and plan.

This divine confirmation reaches its peak in the final days of Jesus’ ministry. Facing the impending crucifixion, Jesus asks the Father to glorify His name, and the Father responds again from heaven: “I have glorified him, and will glorify him again” (John 12:28). This points to the great sacrifice Jesus will make on the cross for the sins of the world. The Father Himself testifies here that Jesus’ path to the cross is the culmination of His work and the fulfillment of the salvation plan God has pursued from the beginning.

Thus, the Father confirms Jesus’ role as the “Lamb of God,” who bears the full punishment for humanity’s sins through His sacrifice. This shows us that Jesus did not come to the world merely as a human but as God’s beloved Son who offers the greatest sacrifice out of love and obedience. The cross becomes the “hour of glory” because it reveals the depth of God’s love and justice.

For us as believers, the Father’s testimony is a source of hope and assurance. Through Jesus’ work on the cross, we are invited to receive forgiveness and new life. We do not have to bear the punishment for our sins ourselves but can live in the freedom and grace made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice. This testimony of the Father about His Son strengthens our faith in God’s love and assures us that the way to Him is open through Jesus Christ.

The connection of the Father’s testimony about Jesus with our daily lives and faith lies in the deep confirmation that God gives us through His own Word about Jesus. The heavenly testimony that Jesus is His “beloved Son” provides us with guidance and hope by bringing us closer to the meaning of Jesus’ life, work, and sacrifice. This divine confirmation can strengthen us in many ways in our daily lives and faith:

1. Trust in God’s Love and Plan The Father confirms Jesus as His beloved Son, thereby affirming His love and salvation plan for us. This invites us to trust that God also has a plan of love and redemption for us. Remembering that God Himself testified about Jesus gives us confidence in our faith and allows us to trust that God’s plan for us is good, even in difficult moments.

2. Motivation to Act According to God’s Will Jesus lived and worked in complete alignment with the Father’s will. We, too, can strive in our daily lives to seek God’s will and reflect it in our words and actions. This pursuit of unity with God means shaping our lives to show others God’s love and goodness—whether through compassion, forgiveness, or helpfulness.

3. Appreciation of Forgiveness and Grace The Father’s testimony directly points to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. This sacrifice enables us to receive forgiveness and a new life. When we make mistakes in daily life or face our own shortcomings, the cross reminds us that we can receive forgiveness and grace. This gift helps us approach ourselves and others with kindness and understanding.

4. A Life of Hope and Freedom Jesus’ sacrifice frees us from the burden of guilt and allows us to live in the freedom of faith. In moments of guilt or doubt, we can rely on the assurance that we have access to God through Jesus and do not need to earn our salvation ourselves. This awareness brings us daily joy, confidence, and the courage to live with trust and ease.

5. Invitation to a Deeper Relationship with God Through the Father’s testimony, we experience the inseparable connection between God and Jesus. This connection is a model for our own relationship with God. We are invited to deepen our relationship with Him through prayer, Bible study, and striving to live a godly life. When we live in this unity with God, it not only strengthens our faith but also shapes our actions and allows us to radiate God’s love more in our surroundings.

6. Willingness to Make Sacrifices The crucifixion of Jesus, described as the “hour of glory,” shows us that true service and love often require sacrifice. In daily life, we encounter many opportunities to stand up for others or to put ourselves aside. Jesus’ example motivates us to seize these opportunities and to approach others with love and patience.

The Father’s testimony about Jesus invites us to live in trust, gratitude, and hope that comes from God’s love and grace. It reminds us that through Jesus’ life and work, we have an unwavering foundation for our faith and an invitation to a fulfilled and transformed life.

God’s love is often shown in the unremarkable—the quiet trust, the small service, the faithful faith.

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/lesson-6-more-testimonies-about-jesus-6-4-the-witness-of-the-father-themes-in-the-gospel-of-john-living-faith/

November 6, 2024

DAILY BIBLE READING – Acts Chapter 10

¹ There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,

² A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.

³ He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.

⁴ And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.

⁵ And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter:

⁶ He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.

⁷ And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually;

⁸ And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹ On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:

¹⁰ And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,

¹¹ And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending upon him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:

¹² Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.

¹³ And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.

¹⁴ But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

¹⁵ And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

¹⁶ This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.

¹⁷ Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate,

¹⁸ And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there.

¹⁹ While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.

²⁰ Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them.

²¹ Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?

²² And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.

²³ Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

²⁴ And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea. And Cornelius waited for them, and he had called together his kinsmen and near friends.

²⁵ And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.

²⁶ But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.

²⁷ And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together.

²⁸ And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

²⁹ Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as soon as I was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent ye have sent for me?

³⁰ And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing,

³¹ And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.

³² Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.

³³ Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.

³⁴ Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

³⁵ But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

³⁶ The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)

³⁷ That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;

³⁸ How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

³⁹ And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:

⁴⁰ Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;

⁴¹ Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead.

⁴² And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.

⁴³ To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.

⁴⁴ While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

⁴⁵ And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.

⁴⁶ For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter,

⁴⁷ Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?

⁴⁸ And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

King James Version. Public Domain

 

Commentary

Introduction:

Acts Chapter 10 marks a pivotal turning point in the history of Christianity. Peter receives a revelation that removes the barriers separating Jews from Gentiles, opening the way for the mission to the Gentiles. Through the encounter between the Roman centurion Cornelius and the Apostle Peter, who experiences divine guidance, it becomes clear that the gospel is open to all people, regardless of their background.

Commentary:

Chapter 10 conveys the theme of divine universality. Cornelius, a non-Jewish yet devout and God-fearing man, is prepared by God through a vision that aligns with Peter’s own vision. Peter’s vision, in which he is instructed to eat animals considered unclean under Jewish law, signals that God no longer judges people based on their cultural or religious origins. This revelation represents a transformation in Peter’s understanding of the gospel. His realization that God “shows no partiality” (verse 34) reflects a spiritual insight that had profound implications for the mission of the church. With the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon Cornelius and his household, it is affirmed that Gentiles have the same access to God and His gifts as Jewish believers.

Peter acknowledges and affirms that through Jesus Christ, the gospel brings peace and forgiveness, and that God calls all people who fear Him and do what is right. This passage demonstrates how the work of the Holy Spirit expands the mission’s boundaries and overcomes all social and cultural barriers. Peter’s experience also introduces a new perspective on purity and holiness that goes beyond ceremonial laws, emphasizing spiritual purity through faith. Cornelius’ baptism and the subsequent integration of his family into the community reflect the inclusion of Gentiles and make the message of salvation universal.

Summary:

Acts Chapter 10 recounts the encounter between the Apostle Peter and Cornelius, a devout centurion in Caesarea. Through a vision, Cornelius is instructed to send for Peter in Joppa. At the same time, Peter receives a vision showing him that God’s kingdom is open to all people. When Peter preaches the gospel to Cornelius and his family, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon the Gentiles present, prompting Peter to baptize them. This event marks a crucial step in the spread of Christianity among the Gentiles and underscores God’s intention to make the message of Christ accessible to all.

 

 

Source: https://fulfilleddesire.net/6-11-2024-acts-chapter-10-believe-his-prophets/