No one has ever seen God,
but the one and only Son,
who is himself God and
is in closest relationship with the Father,
has made him known (John 1:18 NIV).
There are two ways to answer the question, “What is God like?” And both answers are equally true. One answer is, “He isn’t like anything—for nothing compares to God. God is God. He is uniquely other”. And the second answer is, “God is like Jesus—for Jesus is God. And the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3).”
Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, is eternally God.
Jesus, in some Bible translations, is called “God’s only begotten Son,” or monogenés in Greek—which means one of a kind. He is the one and only Son. While the Spirit testifies that those in Christ are called children of God (Romans 8:16), we are not children in the same sense for we’ve been adopted—where Jesus is begotten.
The Godhead shares a unique relationship. As the text states, Jesus is in the closest relationship with the Father. The Father perfectly loves the Son and the Son perfectly loves the Father. I believe the world will never know a more perfect love than that of the Father for the Son and the Son for the Father. But that love overflows, spills down—bathing the children of God.
Though Jesus is a Person, the Persons of the Trinity are indivisible—with the same essence and attributes. Yet anyone who has seen Jesus has seen God (John 14:9). It is all so vastly complex; it will take all of eternity to begin to graze the surface of understanding who Jesus is and all He has done!
The Bible also tells us that God has put everything under the feet of Jesus (Hebrews 2:8-9). Being God, Jesus is due nothing less than complete lordship . . . over all things. And in the gracious economy of God, we have received this promise: Those who serve Jesus, God will honor (John 12:26).
What’s more: Every blessing from God is given through His Son, Jesus Christ. Which is what we will explore as we continue in the #Family series. But until then, let us rejoice, reflecting with this hymn by Samuel W. Beazley:
Rejoice in Him who rules today
Upon the heav’nly throne,
Where saints their heartfelt tribute pay,
And make their homage known!
No earthly king so great as He,
Who rules all worlds in majesty.
Rejoice, rejoice in Him who gave
His well-beloved Son
As love’s great sacrifice, to save
A world by sin undone;
O crown Him, crown Him king alone,
Who sits today on heaven’s throne.
Rejoice, and let our homage soar
On wings of songs above,
To Him who rules forevermore
In majesty and love,
To Him in adoration raise,
Redemption’s song of prayer and praise;
Rejoice, rejoice in His great name!
Rejoice forevermore in Him who reigns;
Let choirs of earth and heav’n unite
Their songs today
All glory to the King of kings,
New life and light to all He brings;
Rejoice, rejoice in His great name.
