The Father’s Answer
Having lost connection with the true God, man across the globe set up their own gods and proclaimed their gods were superior to all of the others. To this day, religious superiority of their gods is a major reason why we have not been able to heal the family of mankind. So much so that the prophets, the angels and various celestial personalities wondered: How could man be brought together as the unified family they truly are and receive their foreordained adoption?
“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.”
– 1 Peter 1:10-12
We cannot deny that the Devil and his cronies were having quite a bit of success until the Father put into motion His answer to the Devil’s challenge. Christ finally arrived in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. During his ministry, Jesus demonstrated God’s answer to those who ‘were desiring to peer’ into the divine purpose. First, he revealed to us the foreordained purpose that we may enter into the kingdom of the heavens as sons of God:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.”
– Matthew 5:3, 8-11
And he taught that since God is our Father, we are all brothers:
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”
– Matthew 23:8-9
Through his life and ministry, he showed us the way to receive the divine destiny:
“‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”
– John 14:1-6
And he accepted everyone who wanted the glorious promise of heavenly adoption as sons of God:
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”
– John 1:12-13
“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.”
– Romans 8:19-21
From this point forward, the kingdom of the heavens is what mankind is instructed to pursue:
“From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has forcefully advanced, and the strong take it by force."
– Matthew 11:12 (Modern English Version)
The ministry of Jesus is the ministry of reconciliation that he asks his followers to complete. It is a ministry of reconciling man to the God from whom they had been alienated through the trickery and machinations of the Devil and his comrades:
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.”
– 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
