The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing. (John 5:20 NLT)
Only those who are
absolutely one with God can take responsibilities for Him. Whatever we may call
ourselves, however great may be our activity for the Lord, God does not take
account of that. It is no use coming to Him and saying: “Now Lord, You know that
I am engaged in this work, and therefore I want You to help me in this.” That is
no reason why He should help us. God stands by His children and only works with
them on the basis of an inward relationship. Some person who is not in an
‘official’ position may be far more useful to the Lord than many who have an
official ministry and position. What matters is not our spiritual knowledge or
official ministry, but our secret relationship with God. God fits us spiritually
for His service and upholds our sonship, not our office. He will see to our
position if we see to our relationship with Him.
God called Israel His
firstborn. He stood by His people on the basis of that sonship. Therefore Israel
could take an important and significant position among the nations. It was the
chosen vessel of God’s testimony in the earth. But the day came when it ceased
to go on with God as His firstborn. Its inward relationship to God became merely
an outward form and God had to withdraw from His people and send them into
captivity. It would have been useless if Israel had turned to the Lord with this
complaint, “Why are You dealing with us in such a way? Are we not Your
representative among the nations?” God’s answer would have been, “The official
position is nothing to Me. I cannot help you as long as your relationship to Me
is not right, as long as you are not in that which your sonship means and
demands.” You see our position and vocation is in relation to sonship. For that very reason the Lord Jesus put the
emphasis upon sonship. He never said that the Father loved the ministry He had
come to fulfill on this earth. But He said: “The Father loves the Son”.