#84 Lu. 10:22 GETTING TO KNOW THE FATHER THROUGH THE SON Introduction: I am talking about getting to know God the Father through God the Son. Everyone needs to know God the Father and be saved. Anyone can get to know God the Father through God the Son. I. Looking back to our previous text In our text last Sunday Jesus informed the disciples that one cannot understand the gospel and gospel related truth through mere human intelligence alone. This would mean then that one cannot understand any spiritual truth by mere human intelligence alone. One must be willing to turn to God and let God lead him to religious truth or he will fail to understand even the simplest things in the spiritual realm. By human intelligence alone one will fail to understand that he is such an unworthy sinner that he needs to repent and seek forgiveness of his sins from God. Mere human intelligence should be enough to cause a man to know that he has sinned. But human intelligence will compare one's self with others and will conclude that he is not such a bad fellow after all. It will conclude that if he will first do a little polishing up of his conduct he will surely make it to heaven. After all, he is not any worse than some who claim to be Christians. At the least he is not much worse than others. So human intelligence will fail to lead any man to a conviction of his sin and to the conclusion that he needs to seek the mercy of God through repentance of sin. By mere human intelligence one will fail to see himself in danger of the fires of hell. He thinks that he is good enough or, at least, almost good enough to make it to heaven as he is. But, in event he is not good enough, he can improve and become good enough. He does not understand that, when his righteousness is compared to the perfect standard of God's righteousness, he has failed miserably and is on the road to hell. One does not have to commit every sin in the Book in order to be a wicked sinner in the sight of God. It is not necessary to be an outlaw in the sight of men in order to be an outlaw in the sight of God. If one breaks just one of God's laws, he is a lawbreaker in the sight of God. If a man tells one lie he is a liar. If one gets drunk one time he is a drunkard. If one commits adultery one time he or she is an adulterer or adulteress. If one steals one little item he is a thief. But one need not actually do a wicked deed in order to be guilty in the sight of God. For instance, he need not steal in order to be guilty. If he covets, he is guilty. He need not actually kill in order to commit murder in the sight of God. If one hates a fellow human being he is guilty of murder in the sight of God. If one breaks just one of the laws of God, he is just as much a lawbreaker in the sight of God as though he had broken all ten of God's commandments. If one truly wants to know just how strict God is let him consider James 4:17. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin." One need not actually do an evil deed in the sight of God nor think an evil thought in order to be guilty in the sight of God. If he merely fails to do some good that he knows he ought to do then that, too, is sin in the sight of God. But mere human intelligence alone is not sufficient to cause one to see himself as a wicked sinner in the sight of God. As long as human intelligence alone is the determining factor, one will excuse his wrong doing and will see himself as being somehow capable of making it to heaven on his own merit. But if one wants to know how he really stands with God then he can turn to God and God will help him to know. Let him consider what the Bible has to teach. In John 16:8 Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will reprove the world of sin. That is, if a lost sinner really wants to know how he stands with God then the Holy Spirit will reprove him of his sins and let him know just how bad a sinner he really is in the sight of God. II. The authority of the Son given to Him by God the Father But let us get down to the text that we have for today. In this text Jesus continues the same thought He had started in the previous text and enlarges upon it. V. 22, "All things are delivered to me of my Father..." I think you know that the Bible teaches that God is a Trinity. That is, there is but one God, but there are three distinct persons in the Godhead. There is God the Father; there is God the Son; and there is God the Holy Spirit. All three in the Godhead are equal in their characteristics or attributes. For instance they are all three equal in their power, knowledge, wisdom, love and authority. But they are not all three equal as far as the offices are concerned. God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have willingly submitted themselves to God the Father and have acknowledged that God the Father has the highest office. Now in our text Jesus said that God the Father has delivered all things into His hand. Jesus first submitted Himself to the Father's will in coming to the earth, being born into human flesh and agreeing to go to the cross and suffer that sinful man might be saved. Because of this, God the Father has delivered all things into the hands of God the Son. He has delivered all things into the hands of Jesus Christ. God has placed Jesus in charge of all things in heaven and in earth. He has placed all things under the jurisdiction of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 28:18 we read, "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." The word that here is translated "power" means "authority." God the Father has given Jesus all power in heaven and in earth in the sense of authority. God the Father has given Him all authority in heaven and in earth. In John 3:35 we read, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." Let me clarify a point right here. The Father has only placed the Lord Jesus Christ to potentially be in charge of all things both in heaven and in earth. You will note that I used the word "potentially." The writer of Hebrews explains that even though it is in the plan of the Father for Jesus to eventually have complete authority in all matters, yet He does not actually have that full authority at this time. Hebrews 2:8 reads, "Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him." Not everything will come under the power and dominion of Jesus until Jesus returns to the earth and He sits upon the throne in Jerusalem. When He takes His place on the throne in the millennium, all the world will be placed under His dominion and He will rule the whole world. Let me put it this way. As far as God the Father is concerned, Jesus already has full authority in heaven and in earth. That which is willingly submissive to Him is already submitted to Him now. But not all things are willingly submissive to Him at this present time. Not all people are willingly submissive to Him at this present time. Not all of the spirit world is willingly submissive to Him at this present time. But the time will come when all will be submissive to Him whether they are willing or not. III. The Son Father revealing the Son In the latter part of verse twenty-two Jesus speaks of the very personal acquaintance that exists between God the Father and God the Son. (V. 22), "...and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father..." God sent His Son, Jesus, to the world in human flesh and no man could tell just by looking that He is Deity God dwelling in human flesh. When one looked upon Jesus all he saw was a man. The human eye and the human intellect could not detect that He is God. It was the work of God the Father who has revealed to mankind that Jesus is His own beloved Son. No man could know by mere human intellect that Jesus is the Messiah of God, the Savior of men. Yet God the Father has revealed this to man in many ways. He first revealed it by the Old Testament Scriptures. The Old Testament Scriptures have so graphically described the work of the promised Messiah that this one man, Jesus of Nazareth, is positively identified as being the Christ. For instance, it is said that the Christ would cause the deaf to hear, the blind to see, and the lame to walk. No other man prior to Jesus performed these specific miracles. God the Father revealed that Jesus is the Christ by His own voice from speaking from heaven. At the baptism of Jesus God spoke from heaven and declared, " This is my beloved Son." God the Father revealed that Jesus is the promised Savior by sending the Holy Spirit upon Him. This, too, took place at the baptism of Jesus. The Holy Spirit came down from heaven and lit upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Then Jesus gave evidence throughout His public ministry that the Holy Spirit continued to be upon Him. The Holy Spirit did not continue to be upon Him in the visible form of a dove. But the power of the Spirit was evident by the miracles that He performed. God the Father revealed that Jesus is the Christ by raising Jesus from the dead. In his famous sermon on the Day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter spoke about the crucifixion of Jesus. Then in Acts 2:32 Peter said, "This same Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses." God the Father revealed Jesus to be the Christ by receiving Jesus up into heaven. After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, He was out on the Mt. of Olives with some of His disciples when He just ascended up and went away through the clouds to heaven. Two angels of God appeared on the scene and informed the disciples that Jesus had gone into heaven. They also informed the disciples that some day this same Jesus will return from heaven to the earth. God the Father revealed to the Apostle Peter that Jesus is the Christ. In Matthew 16:17 we read, "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." The Father revealed that same truth to all the other true disciples of the Lord. Judas did not know it because he was not a true disciple. He was not saved. But all who were truly saved knew it. God the Father has revealed that Jesus is the Christ through the writings of the New Testament. It is true that the Scriptures were inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, but it is equally true that the Holy Spirit would not have placed one thing in the Scriptures contrary to the wishes of God the Father. There is no doubt about it. The New Testament abounds in evidence that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Savior of men. Even today God the Father still reveals that Jesus is the Christ. Any man who will repent of his sin toward God and sincerely seek to be cleansed of his sin will come to understand that Jesus is the Christ and that through Jesus his sins can be pardoned. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that one's sins can be pardoned. Otherwise he will pay for his own sin in hell. The Spirit deals with the hearts and minds of men and impresses upon them that Jesus is indeed the Christ of God and that through Him they can be saved. The Holy Spirit will not speak out loud to anybody and say, "Hey, fellow. Jesus really is the Son of God." But as the gospel message is preached and as the Holy Scriptures are read and studied, the Holy Spirit seeks to enlighten the understanding of men, women, boys and girls that Jesus is indeed the Son of God and that they need to trust in Him and be saved. If any man is willing to let God the Father show him the truth about Jesus Christ and who Jesus really is then let that man talk to God in prayer and ask God to show him the truth. Then let him open his mind to the truth God will guide him to the truth. He will soon know beyond any shadow of doubt that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. It is only when men rely on human intelligence and human learning instead of relying on God that they reject Jesus as Savior. Yet it is only when they are willing to rely on God that they accept Jesus as their Savior. IV. The Son revealing the Father (V. 22), "...and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him." On the other hand it is only Jesus who fully knows and understands God the Father. It is only Jesus who can reveal the Father unto man. Man can know there is a God even by his human intelligence, but he cannot really understand God until Jesus Christ the Son of God reveals the Father to him. Neither can he understand what God wants to do for him and do through him until Jesus reveals the Father to him. It is Jesus who has been with God the Father throughout all eternity past. Jesus, Himself, is in human flesh the express image of God the Father. Those who know Jesus only as a man will gain no special insight from Him about God the Father. But those who know Him as the only begotten Son of God can learn a great deal about God the Father from Him. Those who know Jesus as their own personal Savior can then learn about God the Father through Jesus Christ. Shortly before Jesus left to go back to heaven, Phillip said to Jesus, "Show us the Father." Jesus responded and said, "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not know me Phillip? he that hath seem me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?" (John 14:7). But now one does not have to actually know Jesus physically to know God the Father. Those who have never seen Jesus physically but know Him through faith, can also know the Father through the Son. Now we must admit that one cannot know all there is to know about any of the Trinity and certainly not about God the Father. He cannot know all there is to know about the Father any more than he can know all there is to know about Jesus. But the more he knows about Jesus, the more he will know about God the Father. If he will only get to know Jesus as his own personal Savior then he will get to know some valuable things about God the Father. Conclusion: I dare say that there is someone here this morning who needs to believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God. I mean there is almost surely someone here who is lost and on the road to hell. There is someone to whom the Holy Spirit is witnessing right now and is urging him or her to turn to Jesus Christ and be saved. I dare not do more nor less than the Holy Spirit is doing. I feel that I must urge you to turn to the Lord right here and right now in this service and place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul. Listen again to the Apostle Paul as he speaks in Acts 16:31. Paul said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." In Romans 10:13 he said, "For whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." Will you act upon that promise and come trusting Jesus Christ as your Savior?