God's Fatherly Relation To Jesus

According to our Lord's own testimony in John's Gospel, God's fatherly relation to him implies four things.

First, fatherhood implies authority. The Father commands and disposes; the imitative which he calls his Son to exercise is the initiative of resolute obedience to his Father's will. "I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." "I have..[completed] the work you gave me to do." "The Son can do nothing by himself." "My food is to do the will of him who sent me" (John 6:38; 17:4; 5:19; 4:34).

Second, fatherhood implies affection. "The Father loves the Son." "The Father hath loved me...I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love" (John 5:20; 15:9-10).

Third, fatherhood implies fellowship. "I am not alone, for my Father is with me." "The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him" (John 16:32; 8:29).

Fourth, fatherhood implies honor. God wills to exalt his Son. "Father...Glorify your Son." "The Father...has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father" (John 17:1; 5:22-23).

Adapted from Knowing God by J.I. Packer