The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"Satisfied"
Part 2 - "Well Pleased"
"He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied. By His knowledge shall My righteous servant justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities" (Isaiah 53:11).
At the baptism and the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly lifetime, God the Father affirmed His pleasure in God the Son.
"This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17; 17:5).
Christ's glory revealed in the garb of humility and the outshining brightness of His inward glory led the Father to express His pleasure in the Lord Jesus. He was satisfied with His Son for both expressions of virtue and life, which leads us to ponder, what would the Father say of the Lord Jesus now? Certainly, eternity will not allow for the full measure and expression of such affirmation. The prophet, however, does tell us of Christ's atoning work on the cross of Calvary that God was "satisfied" by "the travail of His soul." That is, One whose "way is perfect" views His Son's work as fulfilling the standard of divine perfection to the degree of justifying freely all who come to Him by faith (II Samuel 22:31). "We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all… For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Hebrews 10:10; 14).
We begin the Christian life by discovering God's view of His Son and His redeeming work. We continue the same life thereby. Faith involves our believing that which our Father knows. That which He most knows is the Lord Jesus and who He is to Himself, and who He is to us. On both counts, our Father is well pleased and satisfied. We must join Him by heeding the Apostle Peter's mandate: "Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" (II Peter 3:18). Thereby, we will become more pleased and satisfied with the Lord Jesus, the result of which will be our living a life that more pleases and satisfies our Heavenly Father.
"Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Peter 3:18).
From everlasting, God the Father has been pleased with His beloved Son. "Thou lovedst Me before the foundation of the world." To everlasting, the pleasure will abide. "God hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a Name which is above every name" (John 17:24; Philippians 2:9). This pleasure has profound impact on us and our own "to everlasting" existence, as it does for this day. God relates to His trusting sons and daughters in Christ based on who the Lord Jesus is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do forevermore on our behalf. The more and better we discover what this means in our Father's heart and in our own hearts, the more and better we will be conformed to the image of Christ. Nothing will more please God. In truth, nothing else will please Him.
"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren."
(Romans 8:29)
"Who is He that overcometh the world, but he that believeth Jesus is the Son of God?"
(I John 5:5)
Weekly Memory Verse
"Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."
(Ephesians 3:21)
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