Opening Verse
“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
John 8:28-29
A Reflection of Fatherhood
If someone sat your children down and asked, “What did your father teach you?” what would they say? Not what he bought you. Not where he took you on vacation. What did he teach you?
For the past three lessons of Heirs to the Kingdom, we have looked at the children: children of the King, children of faith, knowledge, and freedom. Now we turn the question around. If our children are heirs to the kingdom, someone has to lead them to the throne. God has placed that work first in the hands of fathers: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4).
So where does a father learn how to do that? We go to the only Son who ever had a perfect Father and was a perfect Son. In this new section, Fathers to the Throne, we will walk through the Gospel of John and listen to Jesus speak about “My Father.” As we strive to be like Jesus, we must rely on our Father’s words to lead our children to the throne of God.
Strong families build strong churches!
Five Windows into the Father and the Son
Notice the words of the Son in John 8:28-29 as He speaks about His Father in heaven. Every phrase opens a window into that relationship, and every window has something to say to fathers today.
1. “You will know that I am He”: A Son Shaped by His Father
Jesus’ identity is bound up with the One who sent Him. “I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me” (John 8:42). Who Jesus is reflects who His Father is.
Our children will become, in large measure, a product of what their fathers make them to be. The question is not whether we are shaping them. The question is what we are shaping them into.
2. “I do nothing on My own initiative”: A Son Who Honors the Standard
Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. (John 5:19)
Jesus understood the standard He lived under, and He upheld it. Children need to see that Dad has a standard above himself. A father who submits to his Father in heaven teaches his children what submission looks like better than any lecture ever could.
3. “I speak these things as the Father taught Me”: A Son Who Was Taught
Teaching and learning are a relationship that exists on both ends. “For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing” (John 5:20). The Father showed; the Son learned.
These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)
Teaching is not a once-a-week event. It happens at the table, in the truck, at bedtime, and over breakfast.
4. “He has not left Me alone”: A Son Who Was Never Abandoned
The bond between the Father and the Son is eternal (John 1:1-2; 17:5). Even facing the cross, with His disciples about to scatter, Jesus could say, “and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John 16:32).
One of the greatest gifts a father can give is simply being there. Present at the ballgame, yes, but also present in the hard seasons, the questions, and the failures.
5. “I always do the things that are pleasing to Him”: A Son Who Delights to Obey
…but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. (John 14:31)
Notice the order: love first, then obedience. Jesus honored His Father, and therefore He obeyed His Father’s commands. The goal is not children who obey out of fear, but children who obey because they love.
Learning from the Disciple Jesus Loved
John calls himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:23; 21:20). No other writer lets us draw quite so close to Jesus as a human being: His weariness at the well (John 4:6), His tears at Lazarus’ tomb (John 11:35), His troubled soul as the cross drew near (John 12:27). John lets us see the thoughts, feelings, pain, and discouragement of our Lord.
More than thirty times in this Gospel, Jesus speaks of God as “My Father.” Read through those statements, and you come away convinced of one thing: Jesus loves His Father. That may sound simple, and it is. But think about the implications of a statement that short.
Jesus loves His Father. Very simple, very true, and very applicable.
Because Jesus loves His Father, He is focused on four things:
- Faithful obedience: “I do exactly as the Father commanded Me” (John 14:31).
- His Father’s teaching: “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me” (John 7:16).
- Honoring His Father: “I honor My Father” (John 8:49).
- His Father’s location: “I go to the Father” (John 14:28); “I ascend to My Father and your Father” (John 20:17).
These are things any son or daughter understands. When a father does his job right, he becomes a beacon of light for his children, because he stands at the center of the teaching in that child’s life. So here is the question for every father: Is your life pointing your children toward the Father’s house?
Taking It Home
- Your children will speak what you teach them. Jesus spoke “as the Father taught Me” (John 8:28). What are your children learning from you this week?
- Submit to your Father where your children can see it. The best way to teach obedience is to model it (John 5:19).
- Be present. “He has not left Me alone” (John 8:29). Put down the phone and show up, especially in the hard moments.
- Let obedience grow out of love. “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Aim for the heart, not just the behavior.
- Keep your eyes on the Father’s house. Jesus never lost sight of going to the Father (John 14:28). Talk with your children about heaven as home.
Closing Thoughts
Jesus loves His Father, and that love shaped everything He said and did. He was shaped by His Father; He lived under His Father’s standard; He spoke what His Father taught Him; He was never left alone; and He obeyed because He loved.
But that raises a question we cannot skip: why did Jesus love His Father so much? Love does not grow in a vacuum. Next time, in Part 2, we will look at eight gifts the Father gave the Son, and how every one of them is something a father can reflect for his own children.
Until then, fathers, here is a question to carry with you this week: If my children were asked what I love most, would “the Father” be on the list?
