When God told Moses to build the tabernacle as an exact replica of the tabernacle in Heaven, it was
done as a prophetic sign of Jesus, Who would later come to put on display, in the earth, the exact
likeness and image of His Father (Ex. 25:40; Heb. 8:5; Jn. 1:14).
Jesus, the Word, became a flesh-n-blood human being just like us to reflect our Father, as plain as day
for all to see (Jn. 1:18; Lk. 10:22; Col. 1:15; 2:9). He lived His Father’s life. As His Father lived, He lived.
As His Father spoke, He spoke. As His Father worked, He worked. As His Father decided, He decided.
As He received orders, He carried them out, as He was directed (Jn. 10:18b). His judgments were
always right because He never chose His own will. He had no desire to please Himself, but sought only
His Father’s pleasure (Jn. 5:30).
A Paradigm Shift
Now, how many of us, when reading or hearing about Jesus, think of Him as merely a distant, historical
figure, rather than our near and dear brother and friend Who lived to show us how to live? Are the four
Gospels merely a story about our Savior and Lord? Or are they more than that - pointing to Jesus, what
He did and our potential in Him because of what He did?
The first Adam was given the freedom, in the Garden, to obey or disobey, to choose his own master,
but he did not choose the Lord. Jesus came to give us another chance to choose but before He could
help us, He first had to walk in obedience, as a man. Since man lost his glory through disobedience, a
Man had to restore it all through obedience. Only then would He be able to show us the way out of
darkness.
Jesus was that man, graced by God (Acts 2:22). Everything He did, He did as a flesh and blood man
fully yielded and dependent on His Father. He “stripped Himself of all privileges and rightful dignity”
(Phil. 2:5-8, Amp), as the First-Born of many brothers and sisters to come (Rom. 8:29); He gave up His
God-ness, His essence (His all-powerfulness, His all-knowledge and His ability to be everywhere at the
same time), and became a human-being, just like us, to show us how to live, to show us it’s possible to
be just like Him.
And yet we’ve so lifted Him out of His humanity that we’ve been unable to relate to Him and realize
that we can walk in so much more than what we are currently walking in. We’ve so deified Him, beyond
Who He really was, as a man, that we’ve disqualified ourselves from the true Christian life, from
authentic Christ-likeness. And now, the majority of Christians believe we have to die or “go to Heaven”
before we can ever be like Him.
But this is simply not so because when we see Him, as He really was, in the Gospels, we will see and
know our potential in Him.
It’s time to know Who Christ really is, so we can know who we are and how He wants to live in us and
through us, in this world. It’s time to be real Christ-ians.
Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches, connected directly to Him, and our Father is the Farmer
(John 15:1-6). The life-blood of His sap is flowing through us – as long as we stay vitally joined to Him
– causing us to bear His fruit, like Him, for our Father’s glory. Jesus is our Source and He is sharing
Himself, His life, with us. There is, therefore, no reason why we cannot be just like Him.
His life shows us who we can be, in Him, as long as we live surrendered to our Father, as He did. Let
Him be your example. Let His attitude, purpose and humble mind be in you.
He is the Pattern-Son.
Now, let’s peer into His life.
His Words
Every word Jesus spoke was not His own, but His Father’s, for He said, “He Who sent Me is true
(reliable), and I tell the world [only] the things that I have heard from Him… I tell the things which I
have seen and learned at My Father's side… I have never spoken on My own authority or of My own
accord or as self-appointed, but the Father Who sent Me has Himself given Me orders [concerning]
what to say and what to tell. And I know that His commandment is (means) eternal life. So whatever I
speak, I am saying [exactly] what My Father has told Me to say and in accordance with His
instructions… What I am telling you I do not say on My own authority and of My own accord…” (Jn. 8:
26, 38; 12:49-50; 14:10, Amp).
Every teaching Jesus gave was not His own but came from His Father Who sent Him (Jn. 14:24). What
His Father said, He said – no more, no less. He didn’t have any “pet-answers” for anything and didn’t
entrust Himself to the traditional or popular prescriptions of His time. Nor did He rely on the religious
training He received as a boy. He simply spoke as He was spoken to by His Father. Of course, this
mystified the religious leaders of His day who said, “How is it that this Man has learning [is so versed in
the sacred Scriptures and in theology] when He has never studied?”
When Jesus finished His Sermon on the Mount, “the crowds were astonished and overwhelmed with
bewildered wonder at His teaching, for He was teaching as one Who had [and was] authority, and not as
[did] the scribes” (Matt. 7:28-29, Amp). They were amazed, and at times, terrified, saying, “What is
this? What new (fresh) teaching!” (Mark 1:27, Amp); while, at other times, they perceived His words as
hard, difficult, strange, offensive and unbearable, saying, “This is tough teaching, too tough to
swallow” (John 6:60, Message). But, in general, “they were amazed at His teaching, for His word was
with authority and ability and weight and power” (Lk. 4:32, Amp).
But, as Jesus simply explained, “My teaching is not My own, but His Who sent Me…I say [exactly] what
My Father has taught Me” (Jn. 7:16; 8:28, Amp). So Jesus taught as He was taught. Of course,
everything He said was in riddle and parable form, but that, too, was not His idea, but His Father’s
(Matt. 13:34-35; Mk. 4:2, 33). And yet, only those who loved and desired God’s will, could discern, for
themselves, whether His teaching was from God or from Himself (Jn. 7:17). So, when He was
misunderstood, He didn’t take it personally because He knew that His words weren’t for everyone (Jn.
8:43). He knew His only responsibility was to give what He was given.
His Works
Every action Jesus took was not His own, but His Father’s for He said, “…The Son is able to do nothing
of Himself (of His own accord); but He is able to do only what He sees the Father doing, for whatever
the Father does is what the Son does in the same way [in His turn]… I am able to do nothing from
Myself [independently, of My own accord--but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]… I
do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own authority)… He Who sent Me is ever with Me;
My Father has not left Me alone, for I always do what pleases Him… the Father Who lives continually
in Me does the (His) works (His own miracles, deeds of power)… I do as the Father has commanded Me,
so that the world may know (be convinced) that I love the Father and that I do only what the Father has
instructed Me to do. [I act in full agreement with His orders]…” (Jn. 5:19, 30; 8:28, 29; 14:10, 31, Amp).
Jesus used a simple metaphor to describe His way of life:
“We must work the works of Him Who sent Me and be busy with His business while it is daylight; night
is coming on, when no man can work” (Jn. 9:4, Amp).
Light (“daylight”) speaks of understanding while darkness (“night”) speaks of ignorance. Therefore,
Jesus was saying, “I must do what My Father is doing while I can see what He is doing.”
This is part of the reason why Jesus wrote twice, in the dirt, while being tested by the scribes and
Pharisees regarding the woman caught in adultery – He was waiting for understanding (Jn. 8:6, 8). This
is how He passed their religious test.
Jesus always walked in the Light, therefore, He never stumbled (Jn. 11:9-10). He never “did His own
thing” or made things up as He went, because He never left room for creative or poetic license or an
independent thought. He didn’t follow a democratic process and certainly didn’t allow men to steer any
part of His life.
He was simply an obedient Son Who loved His Daddy.
BUT, He Struggled Too
Of course, just like us, He had times, as in Gethsemane, when He wrestled with rebellion, between
doing His will or His Father’s. His soul (His mind, emotions and will) was filled with sorrow, grief and
extreme mental and physical anguish; so much so, that His skin perspired great drops of blood on the
ground, as He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not
what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire.” He went back and forth with this prayer,
enduring severe pressure as He fought to submit His “will and desire” to His Father’s (See Matt. 26:36-
44; Mk. 14:32-41; Lk. 22:39-46; Amp).
Jesus obviously still had the option of choosing His own way but He said, “I do not seek or consult My
own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the
will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me…I do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own
authority)…My food (nourishment) is to do the will (pleasure) of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish
and completely finish His work” (Jn. 5:30; 8:28; 4:34, Amp. See also Jn. 6:38).
The Father & Son Are One
In John 10:30, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one.” He even spoke of His hands and His Father’s
hands, in the same breath, as being one (Jn. 10:28-29).
Today, if the average Christian said they and the Father were one, those listening would invariably
think that person was arrogant, at best, or crazy, at worst. But this wasn’t the kind of reaction Jesus
received at all.
In fact, the Jews, who heard Him say this, were so angry that they started gathering rocks to throw at
Him.
Why? Could it be that they understood Jesus’ statement to mean something entirely different from
what we think today? Certainly!
When Jesus asked the would-be-rock-throwers why they were set on stoning Him, they said, “We
are…going to stone You…for blasphemy, because You, a mere Man, make Yourself [out to be] God”
(Jn. 10:33, Amp).
So, when the Jews heard Jesus say, “I and the Father are one” they actually heard Him say, “I’m God.”
Of course, today, we would accuse the rock-carrying-Jews of misunderstanding what Jesus said, but,
notice, Jesus never corrected them. He actually proceeded to give them Scriptural evidence to
confirm their position (See Jn. 10:34 and Ps. 82:6).
When Jesus said He and His Father were one, He was saying He was “the Son of God” (Jn. 10:36) and
that His Father was in Him and He was in His Father (Jn. 10:38) and they accused Him of blasphemy
(See Jn. 10:39). Could it be that what is common t0 Christ is blasphemy to us? Sure.
But how many of us, Christians, today, would deny that we are children of God? Perhaps, we wouldn’t
presume to think or say that we and the Father are one and that the Father is in us and we are in the
Father, even though this is all true, if we have given our lives to Him; but why is it that we don’t truly
believe this? And why is it that we would only be accused of pride or insanity, if we stood up among
other “believers” and said, “I and the Father are one”? Could it be that we have no idea what this means
– to be “ONE” with our Father, to be “IN” Him and for Him to be “IN” us? The Jews knew what this
meant, called it blasphemy and sought to kill “the Child of God.”
But what does it mean to be “one” with the Father, to be “in” Him and for Him to be “in” us? What does
it look like, in shoe leather? Well, the answer is simple. When the people didn’t believe Jesus when He
said, “I and the Father are one,” He said, “If I am not doing the works…of My Father, then do not
believe Me…But if I do them, even though you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, [at least] believe
the works and have faith in what I do, in order that you may know and understand [clearly] that the
Father is in Me, and I am in the Father [one with Him]” (Jn. 10:37-38, Amp).
In other words, Jesus was saying, “If you see the works of my Father in my life, then you know we are
ONE. Otherwise, I’m a fake.”
This is how Jesus proved His Sonship: He displayed His Daddy to the world. So Jesus literally hung His
credibility as God’s Son upon the actions – the miracles, signs and wonders – of His Father, lived
through Him (Jn. 10:25). Selah.
How?
But how did Jesus live like He did?
By abiding in His Father.
Everything He did came from the overflow of His Father’s Presence in His life (Jn. 3:2). He knew that
His Father was always with Him because He always did what pleased Him (Jn. 8:29). This is where His
strength and confidence came from. He pleased His Father by living by faith, obeying His Father (Heb.
11:6). This is how He remained sinless (Rom. 14:23).
This explains why the Dove of the Holy Spirit descended upon Him at the River Jordan and remained
with Him for the rest of His life (Jn. 1:32-33). He lived His whole life, with the Presence of the Dove in
mind, ever sensitive to His Father’s pleasure. He lived care-fully, faith-fully and obediently toward His
Father and the Spirit, “timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God” (Phil. 2:12, Amp; also see
Heb. 5:7, Amp).
Prayer & the Presence of the Lord
When Jesus was questioned by the Jews about where He came from and Who His Father was, He said,
“…I come from His [very] presence” (Jn. 7:29, Amp). In other words, “I am from Him” (KJV) or,
literally, “I exist from Him.” This was Jesus’ way of life. His Father was His life, His true home and His
source of supply for everything He needed to accomplish His purpose.
Notice, Jesus didn’t say, “I came from His presence,” as if He left His Father’s Presence, hoping to one
day return. On the contrary, Jesus frequented His Father’s Presence on a regular basis, out of personal
need and gave to the world what He received from His Papa.
Jesus was a man of prayer and worship, who received instruction and direction from His Father in the
Secret Place. When He ascended the mountain, He ascended in more ways than one (through personal
one-on-one time with His Father), so that when He descended the mountain, He re-entered the natural
realm with fresh manna from Heaven, for those in need and want. Then, when He had given what He
had, He returned to prayer to re-charge, re-tool and re-new.
Jesus lived with His Father (Jn. 8:38). He practiced the Presence. This is why He said to the guards who
were sent to arrest Him, “…Where I am [presently] you cannot come” (Jn. 7:34). Then again, while
conversing with Nicodemus, He said, “No one has ever gone up to heaven, but there is one Who has
[past tense] come down from heaven--the Son of Man [Himself],Who is (dwells, has His home)
[presently] in heaven” (Jn. 3:13, Amp).
Question: How could Jesus come down from Heaven and yet still be in Heaven?
Jesus explained, “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you
[surrounding you]” (Lk. 17:21, Amp). So Jesus lived in Heaven, while in the flesh, and poured out, as a
conduit, all that He received from His Father.
While in prayer, in John 17, Jesus transcended His natural environment, as He fellowshipped with His
Father. For instance, in verse 11, He prayed, “And now I am no more in the world [present tense] but
these [speaking of His disciples] are in the world, and I come to thee [present tense]…”
In verses 12 and 13, He goes on to pray, “While I was with them in the world [past tense], I kept them in
thy name [past tense]…And now come I to thee [present tense]…”
Jesus was in the world but not of it (Jn. 17:16, 18) because He lived in Heaven and on earth at the same
time, through daily communion with His Father.
Jesus lived IN His Father and His Father lived IN Him, so much so, that the Father did His works, His
miracles and deeds of power, through His Son (Jn. 14:10-11, Amp). Everything that belonged to the
Father, belonged to Jesus and everything that belonged to Jesus, belonged to His Father (Jn. 13:3; 17:
10). They shared everything, including each Other, with each Other.
But Jesus, the man, had to yield His soul and body to this union in abiding trust. Therefore, as the
Father directed, the Son acted. But how did He practically live like this? His methodology and formula
for life and ministry was simple: pray, hear and obey. No more, no less.
Why?
Why did Jesus live like this, so empty of self and so full of His Father, so fully dependant on Him?
What motivated Him?
In John 14:31 (Amp), Jesus said, “…I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know
(be convinced) that I love the Father…”
So, He did it all for LOVE.
Jesus obeyed His Father and refused His own way (Prov. 14:12) because He loved Him. He wanted to
shine the light on His Father, for all the world to see, to glorify Him. He lived His Father’s Life–
speaking His words and doing His deeds–to say, “I LOVE MY DADDY”; this is how He showed His
Father to the world (Jn. 17:4; 1:18; 17:6).
He so perfectly mirrored our Father that He was His Father in the earth for all to see (Jn. 8:19b; 12:44-
45; 14:7-11; 13:20b; 15:23-24).
Who is Jesus to YOU?
Jesus is the Firstborn of many brethren, of all creation. He is the Eldest of those who’ve been
conformed to His image (Rom. 8:29). And together, as brothers and sisters, they are the offspring of
our Father, siblings in the family of Heaven, the “church of the firstborn,” a new creation and a new
race of people that has never existed before on the earth (Ps. 102:18; Jn. 1:12-13; Acts 17:29; 2 Cor. 5:
17; Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:15, 18; Heb. 12:22-23; 1 Pet. 2:9).
Like a grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies, Jesus died and was buried. Not so He would
remain just one grain, but so that He could re-produce Himself in the earth. He died in order to reap a
rich harvest of many other grains of wheat that are all just like Himself (Jn. 12:24).
Jesus, Who was rich, became poor, for our sakes, so that, by His poverty, we who are poor can become
rich. In other words, He became just like us so that we can become just like Him (2 Cor. 5:21; 8:9).
This may be hard to grasp with your natural mind, but will you believe what you think and what you’ve
heard from others or will you believe what He’s said? Let God be true and every man a liar (Rom. 3:4).
Think about it - What if we viewed the life of Jesus, in the four Gospels, as a sign pointing to what our
Father wants for us? And then, what if we asked Jesus Himself to show us Who He is and who we are as
His siblings and believed Him with all our being? What if we started believing His Word and actually
started following Him as He followed our Father? Maybe then, we’d start experiencing the normal
Christian life – His true Life, in us, as His Father’s Life was lived in Him.
Personal Application
Our Father has placed Jesus in our lives, as our Big Brother, as an example, and has planted within us,
who are born of the Spirit, all we need to be just like Him (Jn. 1:14, 17; 3:6; 1 Cor. 1:4; 5:10; 2 Cor. 9:8).
The blood of our Father, His essence, His D.N.A. (Divine Nature Attitude), dwells in Jesus and us
because we are His children, His heirs and joint-heirs with Jesus (2 Pet. 1:4; Rom. 8:15-17).
In other words, “Out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all
supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor
upon favor and gift [heaped] upon gift” (Jn. 1:16, Amp).
We can receive nothing except as it has been given to us from Heaven and yet we’ve received “His
fullness,” His abundance, “His unspeakable gift” (2 Cor. 9:14) and “the unsearchable riches of Christ”
(Eph. 3:8).
So many of us have a hard time receiving gifts because we don’t know our worth in the eyes of our
Father, but if we knew the generosity of God and Who He really is, we would rejoice and thank Him
forever (Jn. 4:10).
Jesus is in our Father and we are in Him and He is in us (John. 14:20). Think about that! Jesus is in us
and our Father and we are in Him. What a gift! Can you think of anything better?
When Jesus walked the earth He knew Who He was, what He had within Him, where He came from,
where He was and where He was going and so should we (Jn. 3:13; 7:29; 8:14, 21, 23, 42; 13:3). Jesus
was secure in Who He was in His Father because His self-image came from His Father. He believed
Who His Father said He was and so should we. Otherwise, we will continue to live according to a mis-
taken identity, void of purpose and Life.
As Jesus followed and reflected our Father, so we must wake up to who we are, to follow and reflect
Him as well, walking in the Light as He is in the Light (Jn. 8:12; 17:10; Gal. 1:15-16; 1 Jn. 1:7).
Remember, Jesus is the Vine and we are His branches (Jn. 15:1-6). His life, His sap, His blood, is
flowing through us even now, to produce His fruit for His glory. And if we stay yielded to our Daddy,
surrendered in His hand, He will use us to show Himself to the world, speaking His words through our
lips and living His life through our bodies.
Everyone who knows Jesus Christ is responsible to re-present Him to the world because as the Father
sent Jesus, Jesus is also, now, sending us (Jn. 17:18; 20:21). As the Father loved the world through His
Son, He wants to continue to show the power and purity of His love through us (Jn. 13:34). Everything
Jesus meant for His disciples, He means for us, who follow Him wherever He goes (Jn. 17:20). As the
Father was in the Son and the Son was in the Father, He has called us to be one in Them so that the
world will believe. Jesus has given us the glory He received from His Father to make us one even as
They are one (Jn. 17:22). He is in us and our Father is in Him and as the Father loves His firstborn Son,
He, in the same way, loves us and has freely given us all things (Matt. 11:27; 19:26; 21:22; Jn. 3:35; 14:
26; 15:15; 15:15; 17:23; Rom. 8:32).
Think of it: The Father loves you and me like He loves Jesus! Wow!
Think of it: Jesus loves you and me as much as His Father loves Him! Again…Wow!
And get this - Jesus’ wants us to be with Him where He is, so that we can see His glory, His face, His true
goodness (Jn. 12:26; 17:24). Everything He did, in the days of His flesh, was meant to reveal His Father
to us so that the love He received from His Father would be in us and He Himself would be in us (Jn. 17:
26).
And now the world (and the church, whether they know it or not) is waiting for those who will believe
Christ and live His life out loud (Rom. 8:19), reflecting Him in everything they say and do.
Remember, Jesus hung His credibility as God’s Son upon His Father’s works worked through Him (Jn.
5:36). So, think about it - Should the world believe we are His and that He has sent us if we do not do
His works? No! And yet, Jesus Himself said we would do the things He did and even “greater works” as
we bring Heaven into the earth (John 14:12).
And now He lives within us, along with His Spirit, His Father and all the divine fullness of Their
Kingdom to aid us in the fulfillment of this “greater works” promise (See Matt. 28:30; Lk. 17:20-21; Jn.
14:16-18, 23, 26; 16:7, 13; Acts 17:27-28; Rom. 8:15-19; 1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-18; 2 Cor.
13:5; Gal. 4:6-7; Eph. 2:19-22; 3:17, 19; Col. 1:19, 26-27; 1 Jn. 4:4).
I like what John the Baptist said, “…Don't think he rations out the Spirit in bits and pieces. The Father
loves the Son extravagantly. He turned everything over to him so he could give it away — a lavish
distribution of gifts. That is why whoever accepts and trusts the Son gets in on everything, life
complete and forever!” (Jn. 3:34-36, Message).
As He Is, So Are You
Discovering Who Jesus is, what He is like, being changed into His same image and then living like Him,
out of the overflow of our intimacy with Him, is the great journey of every true believer. It’s time for
the love and power of the Father to invade this world through yielded believers who are, as He is, for
love’s sake (1 Jn. 4:17). Jesus lived to show us how to live. His words and works are the pattern of
Heaven-on-Earth living (Col. 2:6).
So follow Him. Live like He lived. Pray like He prayed. Hear like He heard. Obey like He obeyed.
Devour the four Gospels and let the Holy Spirit show you Who Jesus really is.
When you see Him, you will be changed. You’ll see who you are. You’ll know your purpose in life. And
you will never settle for anything less.