Day 44: Our Daddy

“We Shall Be Like Him”

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” (1John 3:2-3)

            We are coming to the soon conclusion of the mystery of God. The veil is to be removed and we will see Him as He is. The mystery will end and we will look upon our Father directly for the first time. Since man has fallen in the garden, our sin has hidden God’s face from us. Let us read, “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” (Isa 59:1-2) Because of Sin, God’s glory is too much for our sinful frame to handle. The greater will always consume the lesser. There is no fellowship between darkness and light. We read an explanation of this in the following verse, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” (2Co 6:14-18) If humanity was not provided a way, we would be lost forever. We would never see the face of God ever again. Our Father has not left us alone and helpless; He declares, “Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more. For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called. For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God. For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer. For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.” (Isa 54:4-10)

            We are now ever looking for the face of our Daddy. Our sin has hidden it from us. Our Father has promised that His grace and mercy will provide a way once more. We can now understand why Jesus said, “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (Joh 1:18) If God’s glory is too much for our mortal frames to withstand, then how was God going to reveal Himself to the world? This is why God, our Daddy, has sent His Son. It was the way He could reach out and share Himself once more with humanity. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?” (Joh 14:6-9) You see, it is through the Son we receive a window into the throne room of Heaven to see our Daddy. Jesus tells us His mission and calling, “I am come in my Father’s name [YHWH],” (Joh 5:43a) Without Jesus we could never understand, know, be with, or truly worship God. Let’s read, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.” (Luk 10:21-22) It is through the Son the Father reveals Himself. This is the Good News, the Gospel message. We have been freed from our sin to be with the Father once more. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” & “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.” (1Jn 4:10+14)

            Now we can understand our Daddy, The Son has come to represent our Father. Jesus tells us, “As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.” (Joh 6:57) There once was a time when God would speak directly to His people. This frightened them so severely that they told Moses to tell God to no longer talk to them. Let’s look, “And it came to pass, when ye heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, (for the mountain did burn with fire,) that ye came near unto me, even all the heads of your tribes, and your elders; And ye said, Behold, the LORD our God hath shewed us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire: we have seen this day that God doth talk with man, and he liveth. Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?” (Deu 5:23-26) I officially opted out of that arrangement when I first read it. I long for the voice of our Daddy. Good thing for us all, our Father speaks through His Son now, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” (Joh 5:25) Let us read even deeper, “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;” (Heb 1:1-2) We now hear the precious and sweet sounds of our Father’s voice. The melodic vibrations reverberate in the words of our Lord Jesus.

            We cannot in this moment in time, see the face of our Daddy. This is explained wonderfully when God talked to Moses, “And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.” (Exo 33:19-20) We would be consumed by His glory if we seen His face right now. We find that Jesus once again is revealing this mystery to us so we can understand. Let us read, “And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:” (Eph 3:9-11) In Jesus these mysteries are revealed. When we see the Son, we see the Father. This is how God intended it to be. The very glory of our Daddy is now reflected from the face of Jesus our Lord, “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2Co 4:4-6) Praise God. Let us read some more, Jesus, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Heb 1:3-4) Now we see the reflection of the light of God from the face of Jesus the Christ. Then one day we will again see the face of our Father. We are told, “But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” (Rev 10:7) Then we will receive our greatest reward, our Daddy! “He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his [Gods] face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.” (Job 33:26)

            Now we are going to dig deep and discover the parallels in Adam and Jesus. The First Adam bares the image of God. Remember it says, “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:” (Gen 1:26a) Then we see that Jesus, who is the second Adam, is the image of God, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:” (Col 1:15) The Bible calls Adam the Son of God. We read this in the lineage of Jesus, “Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.” (Luk 3:38) Again, Jesus is also called the Son of God, “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:” (Rom 1:3-4) There remains a pivotal difference though. Jesus was begotten, or born, from God, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten [Born] of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (Joh 1:14) Jesus tell us “…for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.” (Joh 8:42b) Adam on the other hand was created from the dust of the earth. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Gen 2:7) I have great news for you. When we believe and trust in Jesus, we become born or begotten of God, just like Jesus. Let’s read, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” (Joh 1:12) “We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.” (1Jn 5:18) We are no longer of the dirt; we are born of the spirit. Let us read, “For since by man [Adam-made of dirt] came death, by man [Jesus-born from God] came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die [back to dirt], even so in Christ shall all be made alive. [Alive in the Spirit]” (1Co 15:21-22, Emphasis added) When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, He could not understand this very exact thing. Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?” (Joh 3:5-10) Now you know. We have been begotten or reborn of God through our faith in Jesus!

            When we are born of the spirit, our physical appearance does not change. The inward man is what becomes renewed through rebirth. It is the spirit of the man and woman that becomes regenerated. We talked about this earlier in the book when we studied baptism. Let us read further about this new birth, “The first man [Adam] is of the earth, earthy: the second man [Jesus] is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.” (1Co 15:47-50) This is the very reason why we are being transformed into the image of Jesus. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (Rom 8:29) We are inwardly being conformed into the Spirit of Jesus. “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.” (2Co 3:18) In this book, we have talked about how Jesus is giving us everything The Father had given Him. We are bearing the image of the Son, so we can then bear the fullness of the image of the Father. That is why the equipping process, which Jesus has bestowed upon us, is happening. It is a key part of the process to share in the divine nature of the Godhead. We know that the fullness of God dwelled in Jesus. “For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell;” (Col 1:19) I have great news: did you also know that in this equipping of the saint, through Jesus, we are being filled with the fullness of God? “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” (Eph 3:19) We must become as Jesus is, born of the Spirit, then we can become as our Father is. This is accomplished through Jesus, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Joh 14:6) This all begins with our transformation first into and by the Spirit of Jesus. “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” (Col 3:10) Then upon our Lords return the process will be completed.

            We have been created from the very to beginning in the image of God. We are created to be in His likeness. Physically we retain this blessing. “…men, which are made after the similitude of God.”  (James 3:9b) Jesus is now implementing the spiritual aspect of being in God’s likeness. “But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Eph 4:20-24) This is why this book is called “We Shall Be Like Him” We have spent a lot of time understanding how Jesus is conforming us into His image. This is just the first step of the process. The finality and conclusion of the entire issue is that “We Shall Be Like God.” Let us read, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” (1Jn 3:1-2) Our spirit is being transformed to be exactly like our Daddy. Ever since the beginning of time the “Divine Nature” of our Daddy has been made manifest in His creation, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:” (Rom 1:19-20) As the end of time draws near. We receive the invitation to share in the Divine Nature of our Father God. “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (2Pe 1:2-4) Jesus is the expressed image of the Father. As we become like Jesus, we are becoming like our Father. When the completion of all things come; the process will be complete and we will live in unity with our Daddy for “We Shall Be like Him!” AMEN!          

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