In John 17:1-7 Jesus prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was. I have manifested your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they kept your word. Now they have known that all things which You have given me are from You.”
Jesus is looking back and He’s praying: “Father, I have glorified you; I have revealed you; I have manifested your name to those who would listen.”
The most misunderstood of the trinity is the Father. We’re able to relate to what Jesus did. We see the crucifiction. When you think of Him, you see a figure, a man. Your senses can relate to that. But the Father is blurry: He doesn’t conjure up an immediate image. A lot of times, we see Him in judgment, and we don’t really know what to think of Him. But it’s important to learn who He is. The ministry that Jesus had was to show us the Father.
Over the next 4 weeks, I want to look at some scriptures that reveal some of God’s attributes and try to instill in us some things about Him. First, I want you to understand that the trinity is three separate entities. Some denominations teach that they are one, each manifesting differently. I believe, and I think the Bible lays it out pretty clearly, that they are three separate beings, acting in concert together.
In the scripture above, Jesus says that He was sent by God. He didn’t send Himself. How can He do that? In John 14:15-18, Jesus says that He will pray to the Father to give us another helper, which is the Holy Spirit. If you look at the trinity, the Father develops the plan, Jesus usually executes the plan and then the Holy Spirit reveals the plan. They are separate but they are working together. This is evident in Matthew 3:13-17:
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the end of the Jordan to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?” But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then He allowed Him. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God, descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying,“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
They are all manifesting differently but all three are there. There are many denominations that believe that they’re one. And the Bible does repeatedly refer to them as one. But it also says that the church is “one body.” Obviously, we’re many members in the body. You don’t give up your individuality, but we’re acting together.
The Bible says that Jesus the Son sits on the right hand of the Father. How can He sit on the right hand unless there are two seats there? The Father is a separate entity unto himself—and He really is at the top of things. He makes the plans.
In John 16:23, Jesus says: “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
This is the structure of New Testament prayer. Jesus says, “You’ll ask me nothing” and He taught them how to pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name…” Our prayers are directed to the Father in Jesus name. We go to Him in Jesus’ name because it’s a covenant relationship that we step into as a result of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But God is the all in all we pray to in the name of Jesus Christ to bring His power, grace, love, mercy—whatever we need—into our lives. So it’s very important that we understand who God is.
