Daily Bread – November 7, 2023 (The Third Day – Genesis 1:9-13) John 5:19 – Jesus, therefore, replied and said to them, “With absolute certainty I tell you, the Son does not have ability to do anything of Himself, for whatever He sees the Father doing, all these things the Son may also do likewise.” Jesus was totally dependent on the Father and the Holy Spirit for everything He did (John 5:30, 8:28, 12:49, 14:10). One of the outstanding features of the relationship between the Father and Jesus was announced in the opening statement of the Gospels: “This is my beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Jesus said that because of His love relationship with the Father, He would be shown greater miracles (John 5:20, 10:17). Jesus helps us to further understand the operation of the Father in His life when He revealed to us that the Father dwelled in Him (John 14:10). The Holy Spirit is teaching us total dependency on Him so we may fulfill Father’s will for our lives (John 14:12; Mark 3:35; Ephesians 6:6; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 5:18; Hebrews 10:36; 1 John 2:17). This is not a forced dependency, but a relationship born out of love and honor for the Father. We know the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are at work preparing us unto every good work (2 Timothy 2:21; Philippians 2:12). We have received His divine ability that springs up out of a son-ship relationship because we have been born of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:14; Galatians 4:6; Philippians 2:15; 1 John 3:1-2). Having been made sons and heirs, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit now dwell in us (John 14:23, 17:22; Colossians 1:27; 1 John 3:24; Romans 8:17; Titus 3:7). Jesus said to all who will hear, “As my Father has sent me, even so I send you” (John 20:21). Paul’s cry to us is to, “Let this same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). We must learn to speak only God’s Word by living what we read from the Bible. We must be willing to lay aside our own will, and delight to do the will of the Father (John 4:34; Psalm 40:7-8; Hebrews 10:7,9; Matthew 7:21). This of course is not some legal formula for success in God, but a truth that becomes real to us through the relationship we have been granted in Christ Jesus. The confession of Jesus is very close to what Moses said in Numbers 16:28, “And Moses said, ‘By this you shall know that Yahweh sent me to do all these works – for I have not done them of my own mind.’” Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen