The purposes of the Father

The following story is not found anywhere in the Bible. It is based on a number of Scriptures that I have meditated on and wondered what they might mean. It is the best I can come up with to depict the character of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. So this is not to claim that things actually took place the way I have told them here, but rather that this story reveals, I believe, something of what God is like.

You know that the Book of Revelation says that Jesus is the Lamb 'slain from the creation of the world'. (Revelation 13:8; NIV) Ever wondered how that is? Does that mean that Jesus hung on the cross and died before Adam was created? No, that is not what I think it means.

Look at the Book of Hebrews chapter 13, verse 20: "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you ... ."

This Bible verse speaks of an eternal covenant. I believe that, before the world was ever created, the Father and the Son made a covenant in heaven. An eternal covenant, one that could never be broken.

One day, when the Father thought that the moment was right, after walking with His dear Son since time unimaginable, He wanted to announce His plans to His Son.

"Son, I have been making some plans. And today I want to show you what I have been thinking about for a long time now. And it all involves you too, because I am going to need your help in this. So will you please wait here while I go get out my plans."

And the Father got up, walked over to a big cupboard and pulled out a huge scroll, rolled up and tied in the middle with a red ribbon. As He walked over to the table where His Son was still sitting, the Son could hardly contain His excitement at what He was about to be shown, because He realized that if His Father had new plans and announced them in the solemn fashion He had just done, it was going to be good!

He was having the hardest time remaining seated by the table, and when His Father finally arrived He could no longer keep His seat and got up to look over His Father's shoulder, as He sat down and slowly rolled open the huge scroll and placed some weights on the far corners.

As the Son's eyes roved across the drawing and He uttered cries and Oh's and Oooh's of admiration and wonder and surprise, the Father just sat there and said nothing, deeply enjoying His Son's enthusiasm. A word of comment here, an utterance of wonder there, the Son could not really voice all His joy at what He was seeing.

As the Son feasted His eyes on the Father's plans to make man in His and His Son's image, the Father's eyes were slowly drawn to one particular part of the blueprint and were brought to rest there with a deep look of gravity on His face.

The Son, not noticing His Father's engrossment with the one aspect of the plans that might cause a problem, slowly fell silent since by now He had taken in most of this most incredible of plans His Father had ever shown Him.

And then He too spotted the part of the print that His Father's eyes had lighted on. This not only stopped all verbal expressions of excitement, the same look of gravity was now seen on the Son's face too as an expression of all of His inner self's attention being drawn to that one aspect of His Father's plans.

It was now that a deep and long silence fell, and both the Father and the Son stared at the same spot on the drawing, not looking at each other, as if too engrossed with what they were seeing.

When, after a long silence, the Son looked up at His Father, the Father broke His gaze away from what had held His attention and met His Son's eyes. For a brief moment they looked at each other, and then the Son looked back at the picture.

See, the part of the plan that had been so fascinating was the part where it describes man's free will and all of its implications.

The Son opened His mouth and, realizing the profound implications, said:" But, Father, what if ... " And He looked back up at His Father. Again their eyes met. (It was as if the Son could read His Father's mind, but we have to realize that these two were and are one and it is by the Holy Spirit that Each knows the Other's thoughts and feelings.)

The Son being too pure to even think what might all go wrong, could not finish His sentence, but His Father knew what He was going to say.

The Father did not speak. The Son looked again at the parchment and just kept staring at it, mulling over in His mind what might have to be done.

As He again looked back at His Father He noticed the change in His Father's expression, and He understood His Father's unspoken question, expressed in unequalled meekness and hope of what the answer might be.

Those spoken words sealed it, and the Father knew that He was going to honour His Son into all eternity for His response to His unspoken question--because it had to be the Son's own decision, not simply His obedience at His Father's request (the Father knew He would have gotten His Son's concurrence in that way too)--, and for His willingness to do whatever it would take to redeem man. And He knew He on His part was going to stick with His Son all the way through His ordeal in bringing about that redemption.

The eternal covenant was made in heaven. When God performed His first act of creation, everything was taken care of. It was all as good as done there and then, when Father and Son agreed upon their plan of action in every eventuality.


	We are saved by grace and grace alone. \| home Watchman Nee \| Kenneth Hagin Jr. \| Believe with your heart \| The Power of the Blood of the Lamb \| A Very Sound Basis \| The Holy Spirit \| Myles Munroe, or: Let freedom ring!! \| Charles Capps, or: The Creative power of the tongue \| Food for Thought \| You have the power to overcome! \| Facts to overcome with \| Seven Ways to praise \| The purposes of the Father \| Come to Him \| Favorite Links \| Contact me \| My testimony \| Site map The purposes of the Father The following story is not found anywhere in the Bible. It is based on a number of Scriptures that I have meditated on and wondered what they might mean. It is the best I can come up with to depict the character of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. So this is not to claim that things actually took place the way I have told them here, but rather that this story reveals, I believe, something of what God is like. You know that the Book of Revelation says that Jesus is the Lamb 'slain from the creation of the world'. (Revelation 13:8; NIV) Ever wondered how that is? Does that mean that Jesus hung on the cross and died before Adam was created? No, that is not what I think it means. Look at the Book of Hebrews chapter 13, verse 20: "May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you ... ." This Bible verse speaks of an eternal covenant. I believe that, before the world was ever created, the Father and the Son made a covenant in heaven. An eternal covenant, one that could never be broken. So I allowed my mind to wander and tried to imagine what it must have been like, up there in heaven. One day, when the Father thought that the moment was right, after walking with His dear Son since time unimaginable, He wanted to announce His plans to His Son. And He said:"Son, will you please come here for a minute, I have got something to show you." So the Son came running to the table that His Father was sitting by, and the Father resumed: "Son, I have been making some plans. And today I want to show you what I have been thinking about for a long time now. And it all involves you too, because I am going to need your help in this. So will you please wait here while I go get out my plans." And the Father got up, walked over to a big cupboard and pulled out a huge scroll, rolled up and tied in the middle with a red ribbon. As He walked over to the table where His Son was still sitting, the Son could hardly contain His excitement at what He was about to be shown, because He realized that if His Father had new plans and announced them in the solemn fashion He had just done, it was going to be good! He was having the hardest time remaining seated by the table, and when His Father finally arrived He could no longer keep His seat and got up to look over His Father's shoulder, as He sat down and slowly rolled open the huge scroll and placed some weights on the far corners. As the Son's eyes roved across the drawing and He uttered cries and Oh's and Oooh's of admiration and wonder and surprise, the Father just sat there and said nothing, deeply enjoying His Son's enthusiasm. A word of comment here, an utterance of wonder there, the Son could not really voice all His joy at what He was seeing. As the Son feasted His eyes on the Father's plans to make man in His and His Son's image, the Father's eyes were slowly drawn to one particular part of the blueprint and were brought to rest there with a deep look of gravity on His face. The Son, not noticing His Father's engrossment with the one aspect of the plans that might cause a problem, slowly fell silent since by now He had taken in most of this most incredible of plans His Father had ever shown Him. And then He too spotted the part of the print that His Father's eyes had lighted on. This not only stopped all verbal expressions of excitement, the same look of gravity was now seen on the Son's face too as an expression of all of His inner self's attention being drawn to that one aspect of His Father's plans. It was now that a deep and long silence fell, and both the Father and the Son stared at the same spot on the drawing, not looking at each other, as if too engrossed with what they were seeing. When, after a long silence, the Son looked up at His Father, the Father broke His gaze away from what had held His attention and met His Son's eyes. For a brief moment they looked at each other, and then the Son looked back at the picture. See, the part of the plan that had been so fascinating was the part where it describes man's free will and all of its implications. The Son opened His mouth and, realizing the profound implications, said:" But, Father, what if ... " And He looked back up at His Father. Again their eyes met. (It was as if the Son could read His Father's mind, but we have to realize that these two were and are one and it is by the Holy Spirit that Each knows the Other's thoughts and feelings.) The Son being too pure to even think what might all go wrong, could not finish His sentence, but His Father knew what He was going to say. The Father did not speak. The Son looked again at the parchment and just kept staring at it, mulling over in His mind what might have to be done. As He again looked back at His Father He noticed the change in His Father's expression, and He understood His Father's unspoken question, expressed in unequalled meekness and hope of what the answer might be. And the Son said:"Yes, Father, and if anything goes wrong, I will go down to earth and redeem them." Those spoken words sealed it, and the Father knew that He was going to honour His Son into all eternity for His response to His unspoken question--because it had to be the Son's own decision, not simply His obedience at His Father's request (the Father knew He would have gotten His Son's concurrence in that way too)--, and for His willingness to do whatever it would take to redeem man. And He knew He on His part was going to stick with His Son all the way through His ordeal in bringing about that redemption. The eternal covenant was made in heaven. When God performed His first act of creation, everything was taken care of. It was all as good as done there and then, when Father and Son agreed upon their plan of action in every eventuality. That is the God we love and follow. Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!! Go back to the top of this page.