The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
Authority is a funny thing. Often we like to have it. We imagine that with authority comes respect and obedience only … it doesn’t.
Bosses don’t get the respect and obedience they would like. Parent complain that their kids don’t do what they are told to do. Teachers wish their students would pay attention. Kids get mad at their pets when they chew up kid toys instead of pet toys.
To speak with authority is to have authority. Oddly, Jesus doesn’t even claim to have authority of his own. He points to the Father, living in him as the source of his authority. This is where we get back to the oneness of God and Jesus. They are inseparable. They are one. God speaks and Jesus moves his lips. Oneness.
Let’s Discuss: Some people spend their lives trying to make people notice them. Jesus spent his life trying to get people to notice his Father. Are oneness with God and uniqueness as a person compatible?
Yes, I think so. Jesus is God, but the Godhead is three distinct Persons in one essence. Very hard to grasp, but the Bible teaches this consistently. We also, as humans, have been created with unique personality and a unique fingerprint (as in your photo), yet we are called to be one with God and one with each other.
Thanks Rich!
It is a challenge. I see Jesus as unique but also totally submissive / obedient to God the Father. I can be obedient and unique, too, but I can also be disobedient and unique. The piece of our uniqueness that we give up is the part that wants to be disobedient. Like the leaves and blossoms on a plant, they are each unique. Yet to be part of the plant they must stay attached. When we go our own way, we, like the leaf that falls off, lose our connection to God.
I think there is an incredible and eternal display of unity (essence) and diversity (personality) in the Godhead. He/This reality is the basis for all attributes like love, justice, fellowship, kindness, etc… It is also the basis and example for the unity we should have in the church. We are all distinct members of one body. We the church are set apart as a whole, but each individual is personally saved and follows Christ.
The unity, love, and fellowship between the Father and the Son is something I greatly desire for the Church. May we be one as He and the Father are one!
Amen!