As Acceptable As Jesus

The good news of God's grace is that through faith in Jesus Christ you are reconciled to God.  What does this really mean?  How relevant does this fact seem to you?  Is it something that fills your mind and heart daily?  Are you comforted by the good news of reconciliation?  Does it lift your spirits and motivate you to obedience when you otherwise feel apathetic and listless?  It is hard for us to really believe this good news.  That is why we need to hear it over and over and over again.  To be reconciled to God means that your are no longer condemned but are accepted by Him, as His child.  Let me put it another way.  God looks at you and says: "you are my dearly loved child and I am well pleased with you."  Or God says, "I am your Father and you are acceptable to me."

We can be that bold in proclaiming God's favor to ourselves.  In fact I find a parallel between the statements Paul and John make in their letters concerning our being God's children or sons and what occurred when Jesus was baptized by John.  Remember John was hesitant to baptize Jesus.   He knew that Jesus was the Messiah and as such should be the one that baptized him.  Jesus' response to John's objection is interesting.  "But John tried to deter him, saying, 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.'  Then John consented."  Jesus had to identify with us and in so doing fulfill all righteousness.  In other words Jesus came to obey His Father.  He was righteous by virtue of his Deity, but as a man he had to "learn obedience through what he suffered” and fulfill all righteousness.  It is on the basis of who He inherently is and the righteousness he actually fulfilled that He was given the mark and seal of approval, the Holy Spirit.  "As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.  At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him."

It is the same Holy Spirit whom the Father gives to you.  As the Spirit marked the reality of the special relationship between God the Father and His unique eternal Son, so the Holy Spirit marks and affirms your adoption as God's child.  "Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father'" (Galatians 4:6).  "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children" (Romans 8:16).

Your righteousness before God is real but it is not something you accomplished.  The good news is that the righteousness which Jesus accomplished, which was pleasing to God, is now yours.  You too are his beloved child in whom (through the merits of Jesus) He is well pleased.  When similar words were uttered from heaven they confirmed the relationship that Jesus as the unique Son had with His Father.  In a sense they were words of justification.  God the Father was proclaiming the truth that Jesus was His righteous Son.  The good news means that the gift of the Holy Spirit that marked Jesus as the Son (this is my beloved Son) and the declaration of God's complete acceptance of Him (in whom I am well pleased) are also yours. 

This should cause you to sing and rejoice with great delight.  Again it needs to be believed.  You are a son of God, dearly loved.  Do you hear this as good news?  Is it relevant to you?  Think and consider what this means.  He is your Father.  He cares for your.  You are not an orphan who is all alone.  You don't face your problems by yourself.  Call out to Him, “Abba, Father!” Pour out your soul to Him.  He hears you and has great compassion.  Jesus, your elder brother and great High Priest, encourages you to go to the Father.  You are welcomed and God the Father delights in you as His child.  What good news this is that we can cry “Father” because in Christ he finds us fully and completely acceptable as his dearly loved sons/daughters, even as acceptable as Jesus.

This also is the power and motivation to live as a son/child of God. The same Spirit who affirms our sonship also leads us to live as obedient children of God (Romans 8:14). He leads us to imitate our elder brother by obeying our Father. We do not obey to secure our acceptance as adopted firstborn sons but we obey because by God’s grace in Christ that is now our identity. Obedience to our heavenly Father is never the root system of our relationship but it is indeed the fruit of that relationship. What good news it is that we are loved by the Father with the love He has for His eternally begotten Son. Here is also the rock solid security and assurance needed to endure all things for the glory of God, knowing that we are brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus Christ!