“He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7 NKJV)
“Where is your father?” they asked. Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” (John 8:19 NLT)
“Jesus replied, “Philip, I have been with you all this time, and still you do not know Me? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father?” (John 14:9 BSB)
I have noticed that I respond differently to the actions of those I know, then I do to those I don’t know. When I hear a negative report about a stranger I tend to believe what I hear without feeling the need to investigate further. However, if the report is about one of my family members, or a close friend, my first response is to check out what I heard before jumping to a conclusion. I tend to give the benefit of the doubt to those I know.
The Psalmist made a very important differentiation between Moses and the children of Israel. The Israelites did not know God personally. They only saw what they perceived to be the “acts of God” and developed their understanding of who He was based on that perception. He wanted to talk to them directly but they turned down His offer based on their fear of Him. They sent Moses to represent them in order to avoid facing Him themselves. Moses, on the other hand, knew God personally so His perception of God and His acts was totally different. He looked forward to spending time with His Father.
The disciples had many of the same misconceptions as those who lived before them. Jesus made it very clear that they didn’t know the Father. As a matter of fact, Jesus pointed out to Philip that he didn’t even know Him. The disciple’s flawed theology, traditions, and religion, skewed their understanding of the Father, and blocked them from clearly seeing Jesus for who He was. Sadly, many of us do the same today.
Our Heavenly Father is, was, and always will be a Good God of Love. He hates sin, but He has never been mad at us. His “acts” throughout the Old Testament were not the actions of an angry God looking for ways to judge and destroy people. His “acts” were last option actions that He was forced to take in order to stop the complete extinction of the human race due to the level of sin and destruction that existed at that time. For example, If the Father had not stepped in when He did to flood the earth there would have been no one left through which the Messiah (Jesus) could have come to save us and reconcile us to Himself. He gave Noah 120 years to preach righteousness, and give anyone who would respond the opportunity to repent. When He could not risk waiting any longer He took action to rescue Noah and protect the bloodline for the coming Messiah.
From the moment that Satan deceived Adam and Eve his driving ambition has been to kill every single human being. The Old Testament is filled with accounts of the human race becoming so corrupt that they were on the verge of self annihilation. Time after time, the Father waited as long as He possibly could before intervening as a skilled surgeon to amputate whatever was needed to save what could be saved.
I love the phrase that I have heard many times from Bill Johnson, “Jesus is perfect theology.” Jesus said that if we know Him we know the Father. All of the “acts” of the Father (Old and New Testaments) must be understood through the life, words, works, and ministry of Jesus. He only did what He saw the Father doing, and said what He heard the Father saying. If my current understanding of the “ways” and “acts” of the Father doesn’t align perfectly with my understanding of the “ways” and “acts” of Jesus then I do not “know” the Father.
I challenge each of us to take a fresh look at the Father through the eyes of Jesus as we ponder…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 159: “”My perception of the “Acts” of God is determined by how well I know the “Ways” of God.”