Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
The Father gives us our identity, testimony, and purpose. If you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father (Heb. 1:3). In the same way, our lives are to be a testimony of our heavenly Father to our world. Our identity, testimony, and purpose is found in Him. We can only find the completeness of who we are meant to be in Him.
Jesus came to reveal the Father to us. He comes as a life-giving Spirit to reveal the Father in and through our lives. The work that the Father gave Him to do was to manifest the Father’s name to His disciples.
John 17:4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.
John 17:6 “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.”
How did Jesus manifest the Father? Jesus was led by Holy Spirit in all things (Rom. 8:14). He did what He saw the Father doing. He was led by His Father’s desires, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and an awe for His purpose and will. Jesus demonstrated the character, nature, and way of the Father through the things that He suffered – He endured chastisement and manifested as a Son of His Father (Heb. 12:3-11). He was rejected, but He never rejected us. He was lied about, but He remained as the truth. He was shamed, but He refused to be ashamed of us.
Hebrews 12:3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
Hebrews 12:5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
The Father chastises us as sons and daughters. Chastisement is not a punishment for being bad. It is a process by which re remain in path of life. Jesus was chastised, not because He did something wrong. He was chastised to manifest His true character, nature, and way. He demonstrated this to His disciples. He showed them the way, the truth, and the life. He demonstrated to them the identity, testimony, and purpose of a son of the Father.
The Father is a giver. He doesn’t need anything. He gives life, breath, and all things. As sons and daughters of God we are givers of life to our world. It isn’t a conditional truth. It isn’t dependent upon others treating us right or things always turning out right. It is dependent upon us manifesting the testimony of the Father in all that we are and do.
How can we recognize the Father? How can we reveal the Father to our world? How did Jesus reveal the Father?
John 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
As sons and daughters of God we are to be people of grace and truth. Grace is the testimony of the manifest presence of God in our lives in every circumstance of our lives. Truth brings freedom. It destroys every lie, not because it is a destructive judge but because it cannot be changed by any lie.
Blessings,
Ted J. Hanson
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Our Ministry Information Is:
House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
Bellingham, WA 98225-1728
