November 21 | By Faith Jesus Submitted to the Father

Series | The Life of Amazing Faith

Scripture | Matthew 26:39, “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

Lesson 21 | By Faith Jesus Submitted to the Father

The Bible teaches us that when Jesus came in the flesh He humbled Himself by becoming a servant.  Philippians 2:7 states, “Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”  Jesus did not think of His position in heaven (the second person in the God-nature, equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit) as something that He had to forcibly grasp.  Rather He was willing to empty Himself of His divine privileges to become a man so that He could be sacrificed for all mankind’s sins, Philippians 2:6-11.

Luke records in his gospel that because of Jesus’ incarnation He even humbled Himself to “grow” both in wisdom and stature with God and man, Luke 2:52.  At the same, Jesus never stopped being fully divine; He simply limited His divine attributes while on earth to operate as a normal man in serving the Father.

For this reason Jesus said in John 5:19, “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.”  Also, because of His humility He limited His knowledge of the future and said in Matthew 24:36, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

Before Jesus’ crucifixion Matthew records that He expressed His weakness to the Father because He knew the suffering that was before Him.  However, Jesus also knew that there was no other way to redeem mankind and satisfy the wrath of God, therefore, He truly placed His faith in God and fully obeyed the Father’s will.

Hebrews 4:15 declares, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are —yet he did not sin.”  Therefore, we can be encouraged by Jesus’ obedience and trust with the Father in our own situations and weaknesses.  If Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, expressed his weakness and still fully obeyed the Father in all things; may we also completely trust the Father in all that He commands us to do!

 

Reflection | Do you have enough faith in God to say, “Not my will but your will be done in all the areas of my life?”    

Action | (1) Repent for the times you have not submitted yourself to God’s will for your life. (2) Make a decision to humble yourself under the mighty hand of God. (3) Lastly, by faith, live your life fully submitted to the will of God!

One Year Reading Plan (Optional) | Ezekiel 42:1-43:27, James 5:1-20, Psalm 119:1-16, & Proverbs 28:6-7. Click here to read online.