Introduction

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“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (Matthew 17:5, NIV) This is the testimony that we are going to discuss in this article. This is how we are going to discuss the Father’s testimony: (1) As the revelation of the Son (2) As the command that leads to eternal life (3) As the revelation of the Father’s Love and the good pleasure of God in Christ. It is my prayer that the glory of God revealed in this truth about our Lord Jesus will transform our lives and shape our worship for His glory, Amen!

PART 1: The Father’s Revelation of the Son

“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him! (Matt 17:5, NIV) This is not the first time the Father revealed Christ as His Son. In Matthew 3:17(cf. Luke 3:22; Mark 1:11), the Father spoke from heaven revealing Jesus as His Son to Israel on the day of His baptism. Concerning this revelation John the Baptist says, “This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel” (John 1:30-31, NIV).  In Matthew 16:13-20, we see that The Father reveals the testimony through Peter to all the disciples so that their faith stands on what the Father desire everyone’s faith to stand. In Matthew 17:1-3, the testimony is confirmed for the third time in a manner glorious and majestic laying a great foundation for our faith in Christ.

Why we need the Father’s revelation of the Son

1. Without God the Father’s revelation of Christ, man has a false view of Christ

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?(Matthew16:13, NIV)” This question demands an answer which no man can reveal except the Father. It was necessary that the Lord ask this question so that we may believe and know that we can only know the Son through the Father. In our Lord’s days the disciples reported people’s view of Jesus our Lord, they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets (Matthew 16:14, NIV).” This answer shows that people did not know the Lord. This view of Jesus in people’s minds shows that they knew him as just a person used mightily by God not as one who is the Messiah who came to save them from their sins. Now, we also have those today who claim to know who Jesus is but their teaching reveals that they do not have the testimony of the Father in them. An example of such people is the Muslims. In their false religion they hold that Jesus is just one of the prophets. Their view of Christ is just like the people in our Lord’s days that did not know him and thought of him as one of the prophets.

“The Lord asked ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ “Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (Matthew 16:15-17, NIV).” The revelation of the Son in us is not in accordance to the work of man but in accordance to the work of the Father in us. Therefore, all those who claim to have something about Jesus but have the testimony that is different from what is revealed of Him by the Father in the Holy Scripture are walking in the broad road leading to destruction and they have not the Father’s testimony in them. The Jews rejected Christ as their messiah because they had wrong expectation of who he was going to be in his first advent. Other people today also reject him as God’s messiah. “Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist — he denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:22-23, NIV)”

2. The Father’s revelation of Christ is trustworthy because the Father is reliable

The testimony of the Father about the Son is trustworthy because the Father is reliable. Jesus said, “He who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world” (John 8:26, NIV). Upon this reliable testimony of the Son by the Father, the church stands and is built up by Christ. “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-20,NIV).

What are keys of kingdom of heaven? Through the gospel (the message which proclaims Christ as the Son of the living God) the church holds the keys of the kingdom of heaven. In her faithful preaching of the gospel of the Son of living God, the kingdom is opened to those who believe and shut to those who willingly do not believe in Christ the Son of living God. To their loss, they reject eternal life in their unbelief. As Paul says concerning the works of the lawless one which deceives those who are perishing, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,  and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie  and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12,NIV)

But those to whom the testimony is revealed and believe are considered blessed because they have been brought to the Father through the Son whom He loves.  “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you  to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.  He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15, NIV).

Part 2: The Father’s Command leads to eternal life

The testimony of the Father about the Son is the ultimate reason why we should listen to Christ and believe Him for eternal life. The Father said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5, NIV). We are commanded to listen to Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus in his teachings shows us that the command of God leads to eternal life to those who believe in him: “For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. (John 12:49-50, NIV).” The command leads to eternal life because it leads to the Son who is that life: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:11-12, NIV).”

It is necessary unto salvation that one believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God: “We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.  If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. (1 John 4:13-16).” “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31, NIV).

It is this faith that holds to the truth that Christ is the Son of God, the Bible explicitly says we have overcome the world: “This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God (1 John 5:4-5, NIV).”

 Many are things that burden the soul of man but in this command of the Father to believe Jesus Christ, the soul finds rest by faith. Our Father wants us to believe all that the Son is: For we are called not believe something about Christ but everything about Christ.

Summary

• Without the Father’s testimony about the Son, man has a false view of the Son (Matthew 16:14)
• Without the Father’s testimony about the Son, man cannot know the Son (Matthew 11:28)
• The testimony of the Father about the Son is trustworthy because the Father is reliable (John 8:26).
• The testimony of the Father about the Son is the ultimate reason why we should listen to Christ and believe Him for eternal life (Matthew 17:5)
• It is necessary unto salvation that one believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (1 John 4:13-16, John 20:31)
• The revelation of the Son in us is not in accordance to the work of man but in accordance to the work of the Father in us  (Matthew 16:17)

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