Audio Download

What Christ Revealed About His Father

[Study Aired August 12, 2025]

Introduction

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth… No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him” (John 1:14, 18). The apostle John’s testimony captures the supreme purpose of Christ’s incarnation—to declare the Father completely, drawing back the veil to show Him fully. This declaration means to lead out completely, to explain fully—Christ didn’t merely teach about the Father but made Him known through His very being. This divine revelation had been prophetically anticipated: “The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD… And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:3-5). What Isaiah foresaw found perfect fulfillment in Christ’s ministry, as John the Baptist prepared the way for the ultimate revelation of God’s character through His Son.

The Son’s purpose was not self-revelation but the manifestation of the Father’s character in truth and spirit. “God is Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). To see Christ was to see the Father, for He is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). As David prophetically declared, “Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:7-8), words the writer of Hebrews applies directly to Christ (Hebrews 10:7).

This revelation was transformational. As Paul writes, “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The Perfect Mirror: Christ’s Complete Dependence

Christ’s relationship with the Father was one of absolute dependence and perfect unity. “The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do” (John 5:19). The Greek word for “nothing” here is οὐδέν (ouden, G3762), meaning “not even one thing”—emphasizing complete dependence upon the Father’s initiative. This was not limitation but love; not weakness but willing submission to reveal the Father’s heart.

This dependence finds its typological foundation in the Old Testament relationship between Adam and Eve. Just as Eve was formed from Adam’s substance yet remained distinct, so Christ shares the Father’s nature while maintaining His distinct personality. Paul confirms this when he calls Christ “the last Adam” (1 Corinthians 15:45).

When Christ healed the sick, He manifested the Father’s compassion. When He cleansed the temple, He displayed the Father’s holiness. When He wept over Jerusalem, He expressed the Father’s grief. As Isaiah prophesied, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek” (Isaiah 61:1-2). Christ read these words in the synagogue at Nazareth and declared their fulfillment in Him, revealing the Father’s heart for restoration and freedom: “And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:18-21).

The Father’s Voice and Works Through the Son

Christ consistently emphasized that His teaching originated with the Father: “My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me” (John 7:16). He declared plainly, “The word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:24). This fulfilled the ancient promise: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him” (Deuteronomy 18:18).

Where the prophets spoke partial words from God, Christ became the complete Word of God. As Hebrews explains, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:1-3).

When Philip requested, “Lord, shew us the Father” (John 14:8), Jesus responded: “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father… the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (John 14:9-10). These “works” encompassed far more than physical miracles; they were signs of the Father’s spiritual labor in redemption. Every miracle revealed deeper spiritual reality about the Father’s character.

The Father’s works through Christ had been foreshadowed throughout Scripture. When Moses struck the rock and water flowed (Numbers 20:11), it prefigured how the Father would provide spiritual water through the smitten Christ: “that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). When Elijah raised the widow’s son (1 Kings 17:17-24), it pointed to the Father’s power over death that would be demonstrated through Christ’s resurrections and ultimately His own victory over the grave. The feeding of five thousand echoed how He fed Israel with manna (Exodus 16), yet Christ explained the deeper meaning: “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger” (John 6:35). The physical bread pointed to the spiritual sustenance that the Father provides through His Son.

Christ challenged His hearers to recognize this perfect unity: “If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him” (John 10:37-38). As He declared, “I can of mine own self do nothing… because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father” (John 5:30).

The Father’s Character Unveiled Through Parables and Teachings

Christ’s parables consistently portrayed the Father’s character with stunning clarity. Through the prodigal son account (Luke 15:11-32), Christ reveals the Father’s eager forgiveness toward the repentant. When the wayward son declares, “Father, I have sinned” (Luke 15:18-19), Christ shows us the Father’s heart through the father’s response: “But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).

Through this parable, Christ reveals the Father’s proactive love—running to meet every repentant sinner just as the earthly father ran to his son. The elder brother’s reaction allows Christ to demonstrate the Father’s patient correction of our misconceptions: “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine” (Luke 15:31-32).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ points to the Father’s providential care: “Behold the fowls of the air… yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26). Through this teaching, Christ reveals that the Father knows our needs before we ask—“your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” (Matthew 6:8)—yet delights in our prayers. Christ shows us that the Father’s provision becomes a means of drawing us into deeper relationship.

Christ also unveiled the Father’s righteous judgment through the parable of the unmerciful servant. The king’s forgiveness of an enormous debt (Matthew 18:27), followed by judgment when the servant refuses mercy to others (Matthew 18:34-35), reveals through Christ how the Father’s mercy flows from His righteous character, and those who receive it must reflect it.

Progressive Revelation: From Types to Ultimate Reality

The Father’s revelation through Christ represents the culmination of progressive unveiling that began in Eden. Looking back through Christ’s lens, we see the Father’s provision when God clothed Adam and Eve after their sin (Genesis 3:21), His righteousness in the Abel-Cain account (Genesis 4:3-5), and His redemptive purpose in calling Abraham to bless all nations through his seed (Genesis 12:3). These early acts pointed forward to their complete fulfillment in Christ.

Christ reveals that each patriarch experienced foreshadowings of the Father’s character: Abraham’s covenant relationship prefigured the Father as covenant-keeper (Genesis 15:7), Isaac’s experiences pointed to His unchanging nature (Genesis 26:2), Jacob’s transformation foreshadowed His transforming power (Genesis 32:28), and Joseph’s trials demonstrated His sovereign control over circumstances for good (Genesis 50:20). Moses received the most complete Old Testament glimpse: “The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6-7)—finding perfect embodiment in Christ, as John testified when he declared the Word became flesh among us.

Through Christ, we understand that the prophets provided glimpses of His coming revelation of the Father. Isaiah saw the Suffering Servant revealing the Father’s redemptive heart (Isaiah 53:4), Jeremiah prophesied the new covenant showing the Father’s transforming grace (Jeremiah 31:31-34), Ezekiel envisioned dry bones living as the Father’s life-giving power (Ezekiel 37), and Daniel saw the Son of Man displaying the Father’s eternal kingdom (Daniel 7:13). The principle of “precept upon precept, line upon line” (Isaiah 28:10) governed this progressive revelation, preparing His people for the Father’s complete manifestation in Christ.

The Ultimate Revelation: Cross, Resurrection, and Continuing Work

The supreme revelation came through the Son’s obedience unto death. Jesus declared, “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4). The cross reveals the Father’s character uniquely—His justice (sin must be punished), His love (He provides the sacrifice), His wisdom (turning Satan’s victory into defeat), and His power (raising the dead).

Paul writes, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The word “commendeth” (συνίστημι, synistemi, G4921) means to demonstrate conclusively. Through the resurrection, the Father confirmed His testimony about His Son and revealed His character as God of life (Acts 2:32-33). “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”

Even in suffering, Christ continued revealing the Father’s heart: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). This prayer reveals the Father’s heart toward ignorant sinners—not vindictive anger but merciful intercession. It shows that the Father’s default response to human failure is not punishment but forgiveness for those who know not what they do.

The Father’s revelation didn’t end with the ascension. Through the holy spirit, Christ continues revealing the Father’s character through His body, the church: “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular” (1 Corinthians 12:27). John writes, ” Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17). The same spirit that enabled Christ now dwells in us, transforming us.

Paul reveals the church has become the Father’s dwelling place: “In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). Just as Christ was the perfect temple revealing the Father’s presence, the church corporately serves as the Father’s temple today. This means that our unity, love, and service to one another become ways of revealing the Father’s character to the world. Jesus prayed, “That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:21). Our unity becomes revelation of the Father-Son unity, convincing the world of God’s love.

From Natural to Spiritual Understanding

The revelation of the Father through Christ requires spiritual discernment to perceive. Paul explains: “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14). This is why Christ said, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15).

Those who witnessed Christ’s ministry with natural eyes saw a remarkable teacher. Those with spiritual discernment see the Father Himself at work. This understanding develops through consistent meditation on God’s Word and fellowship with His spirit. As we compare spiritual with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:13), we see deeper connections between Old Testament types and New Testament realities.

The process requires humility and dependence on the holy spirit. As Jesus taught, “I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes” (Matthew 11:25). The Father’s revelation comes to the humble, not the self-sufficient.

Conclusion

Everything Christ said, did, and suffered served as perfect revelation of the Father’s nature, will, and purpose. He manifested the Father’s compassion, holiness, justice, and sovereignty in living reality. To behold Christ is to behold the Father’s mind made flesh: “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

This revelation is progressive, comprehensive, and transformative. It continues today through the holy spirit’s work in Christ’s body. The Father’s revelation through Christ establishes the pattern for spiritual understanding—depending not on natural wisdom but on spiritual discernment.

The ultimate purpose extends beyond individual enlightenment to all of mankind being restored. The Son’s mission continues until He delivers the kingdom to the Father, “that God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). The promise remains: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). In this revelation, we find eternal life itself: “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).

The Father’s glory was made manifest in Christ, and through Christ, continues to be revealed in all who walk in His light. This is our blessed hope—not merely intellectual understanding, but experiential knowledge through His Son, reflecting His character to a world that desperately needs to see His glory.