Jesus did not live a separate life from his Father. He said He was in the Father, and the Father was in Him. The same life in the Father was and is still the life in Him. He did not stay on His own and did whatever He wanted to do. He did only what He saw the Father do, and went wherever the Father wanted Him to go. The works that Jesus did revealed the nature of God. God did not intend one thing and did a different thing entirely. Whatever He willed was what He did. His will was manifested in Christ.
“But Jesus answered them, my Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” John 5: 17-18
We see once again that the Jews found it difficult to accept the identity of Jesus as God. They had a problem with that just like the religious world of today has a problem with a believer calling himself a son of God. Christians nowadays would wish to be seen as “nobodies” rather than accept what God’s word says about them. They would prefer to identify with unrighteousness rather than identify themselves with the righteousness of God in Christ. They believe such false identification implies humility. But you are not humble when you think and walk against the word of God.
Jesus said that the works He did were the works of the Father. They revealed the nature and the character of God. All the healings and miracles that took place in His ministry were within the will of God. God was well pleased with Jesus, because He did only what He wanted done. This goes to show that God could not be the healer and at the same time, put disease on people for whatever reason. Jesus was in the perfect will of the Father in all things. He was the expression of the Father in all things.
“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that he himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.” John 5: 19-20
Jesus is the reflection of God. Whatever God wanted done, He did through Jesus. Jesus did nothing of Himself. All those miracles of healing and deliverance came from God. Jesus was the conduit through whom the Father manifested Himself. You cannot connect to God outside of Jesus. He was all of God in operation. Jesus said because God loves the Son, He shows Him all things that He does. God reveals Himself in the Son that the world could experience Him in mercy. Jesus and the Father function as one entity. You do not separate the Father from the Son. That was why Jesus said, He and the Father are one.
For the father to accept all mankind and relate with man like he did with Jesus, they must come to him through Christ. Until he sees us in Christ, we cannot find acceptance with him. But how can we have the perfection of Christ? It is impossible unless God works it out himself by putting us in Christ. He thus took our sins and put them on Christ, and gave us Christ’ perfection. This is the story of redemption. It is called the “substitutionary work of God”. Unless He exchanges His righteousness for our sins, we would forever remain death- doomed. Instead of visiting us with anger, He poured His anger on Christ, because only Christ has the spiritual capacity to take them.
