When we look at Jesus we see the perfections of God, but when the Father looks at Him He sees, among other things, the perfections of man. Thus it is that Christ is the only qualified mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5).
When God created man, he created Him in His own image, but through unbelieving disobedience man fell from his position of intimacy with the Lord. Adam failed and every man since then, save one, has been born into the ranks of Adam’s rebellion.
From the time of Adam to Christ, untold multitudes of men came and went, but all of them were flawed, they were all imperfect, they had lost the image of God. They did not and could not love God with all of their being. They lacked perfection.
But then, 2000 years ago a baby was born to a virgin and in this child we witnessed the arrival of the last Adam, the second man (1 Cor 15:45, 47). He was and is the representative man, man as God had intended. This new man, though truly human, was holy, righteous and perfect in all that He did, thought and said. In man’s spiritual blindness, however, few saw anything in Him that should be desired (Isa 53:2), but no matter, in Christ, the Father saw His own thoughts and intentions for us realized. In Christ, the Father saw a sinless, righteous life lived out before Him in perfection.
No human eye saw what the Father saw in His Son. In Christ, man saw a carpenter, a travelling preacher and a miracle worker, but in Christ, the Father saw the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person (Heb 1:3). In Christ’s teachings men heard wisdom, but in these same teachings the Father heard His very own words. In the Son’s worship, men saw only that Christ withdrew to a quiet place, but in that quiet place the Father saw and received perfect worship. Men heard Him pray but the Father heard in the Son’s prayers, perfect pleading and perfect petitioning according to His own will. Praying and worship like this has not been heard ever since nor does it have to be, for it is already credited to our account. What a perfect substitute, therefore, we have in the Lord Jesus. This is why He is the only one suited and qualified to save us to the uttermost (Heb 7:25). By the way, is He your only confidence or is there something else you would like to add to Him?
When it comes to Jesus, is it any wonder that when the Father speaks of Him, He speaks in superlatives? He could have simply said, “This is my Son in whom I am pleased,” but He didn’t; He said much more. He declared, “This is my ‘BELOVED’ Son in whom I am ‘WELL’ pleased.” The Lord Jesus was a sheer delight to the Father for he loved the Father with His entire strength, soul and mind.
In Christ we see the unfolding of the Father’s glory. We sometimes forget that we have been saved for the glory of God and the honor of His Son. We center too much on ourselves as being the hub of attention in salvation. We, for example, consider Christ Jesus to be our Shepherd, and so He is, but He is also Yahweh’s shepherd (Zech 13:7); the chosen shepherd who would be smitten. We say that Jesus is our Lamb and yes He is, but He is also God’s Lamb (John 1:29). He is the Lamb the Father has provided, not only to save us, but also to ensure that His justice would be satisfied. How the Father delights in the Son! Do we?
In Christ, both God and man are loved perfectly. In Christ, all who believe are perfectly justified, acquitted, sanctified and glorified. In Christ, sin and Satan have been destroyed. We are called to believe on Him, rest on Him and trust in Him, the One who is perfect, who has lived and died perfectly on our behalf for the Father’s glory.
Upon a life I did not live Upon a death I did not die Upon His life, His death I stake my whole eternity
And that’s the Gospel Truth