I really enjoy going to Starbucks on my day off, getting breakfast and coffee, and spending time with Jesus in Scripture. On one of those particular mornings last year, the twenty-first chapter of the Gospel of John was where I found myself. A couple of days previously He had been reminding me that when we look at Him, we see the Father. Jesus and the Father are one, and Jesus perfectly and completely reveals the nature of the Father.
Jesus said, He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
I think this is an aspect of the Incarnation that we can tend to overlook if we’re not careful. Jesus reveals what the Father is like in every way.
On this particular morning I was reminded again of the character of God while reading verse thirteen. It says that Jesus took the fish and the bread that He had been cooking on the shore and that He gave it to His disciples for breakfast. God made breakfast for them, and He served them! This is the thought that struck me again that morning. The God of all eternity joyfully served His own creatures. I don’t know about you, but that leaves me awestruck.
Now if you don’t know much about me, I’ll give you this little bit of info on my theological leanings. I’m a Protestant with a deep in interest in liturgical expressions of the faith a love of history. I’m a fan of Luther, Calvin, Aquinas, and Crysostom (although they all disagree at times). I love the 39 Articles of Faith that come from the historic Anglican tradition, and my favorite authors are all dead.
Now if you have any experience with historic Protestant (i.e., Reformed) theology, you know that one thing not often discussed in such circles is the humility of God as one of His attributes. But biblically there is no way not to see this. Amongst His many attributes, our God is humble. Just look at the narratives that run from Genesis to Revelation; God is constantly condescending to reveal Himself to His creation, and to love and be faithful to them. Any step on God’s part to relate to us and do anything for us is a step of condescension. How many kings leave their thrones to serve the least of these in their kingdoms? Well that’s exactly what the King of the universe has done time and time again throughout history, and most remarkably through the Incarnation. But not only did God demonstrate His love for humanity in His Incarnation—He also displayed His humility.
Last year I read a book by Dr. Glenn Kreider (Dallas Theological Seminary) called, God With Us: Exploring God’s Personal Interactions with His People throughout the Bible. In it he wrote,
"…there is something counterintuitive about the idea that God is humble and condescends toward His creatures. God is Sovereign; He is transcendent and wholly other. He is great in power and position. How then could He be humble? Isn’t humility a form of weakness? This would seem to be a misunderstanding of humility, but such thinking is widespread."
We tend to think that sovereignty and humility are mutually exclusive; that greatness and servanthood don’t go together. But the life and ministry of our Lord completely disproves those faulty notions. How many times throughout the Gospels did Jesus tell the disciples that true greatness lies in becoming the servant of all? Whom did Jesus say we must become like if we hope to enter the Kingdom? Children.
Jesus is God, Lord, King, and Creator. He plainly told His disciples that He is Lord and Master (John 13:13) and that He is worthy of all obedience. So, by extension, the Father is worthy of all obedience. Personally I believe that one of the greatest needs in the Church today is a higher view of God, particularly in His offices as Lord and King. The last thing that the Church today needs is a low(er) view of God. Dr. Steven Lawson, pastor and theologian, gets it right when he says that we need a high view of God.
But I also think that many times another truth about our God gets lost in this mix, that He is our Father and friend. I think that we in the Church have in some ways lost sight of the fact that God condescends to serve His people in humility.
We see in John 13 that Jesus, knowing that He was God, and that the Father had given Him all authority in heaven and earth, and that He was going to be returning to the Father in just a few days, used that power and authority to do something. What did He do? He washed the feet of his disciples (yes, even Judas’); in Jewish culture in the first century, this was the job given to the lowest slave in the household. Apparently none of the disciples had wanted to humble themselves and wash each others’ feet, so Jesus Himself did! Let this sink in for a moment. God Almighty, the all-glorious, eternal Sovereign of the universe voluntarily humbled Himself to do the lowest job in order to serve His disciples. In this we see Jesus reveal a beautiful aspect of the character of God the Father: He delights in serving His people.
So next time you’re reading through the Gospels, remember Jesus’ words:
He that has seen Me has seen the Father.
Want to know what God is like? Look at Jesus.