Who does God worship?

Sermon excerpt
Rick Gamache

“Since saying that God loves Himself is so provocative, let me say this instead: God loves Jesus.

Jesus is at the center of God’s affection. That rolls off the tongue easier somehow. God loves Jesus. Well, yeah — only-begotten Son — of course He does! And there is lots of Scripture to back up the fact that God loves Jesus. Here are just a few.

Remember what happened at Jesus’ baptism. Here is how Matthew records it: “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (3:16-17). Now whose voice is that coming out of heaven? Obvious answer: It’s God the Father’s voice. And He is making it clear that He takes pleasure in His Son. Jesus is the source of pleasure for God and He loves Him. This is His beloved Son.

We can go on and on with texts like this. Here are a couple more.

John the Baptist says, “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand” (John 3:35). In other words, the Father loves the Son so much that He gives Him supremacy in all things. That’s how much He loves the Son. He gives Him supremacy. He doesn’t do that for anyone else, only for the Son.

Right after Jesus has been transfigured only Peter, James and John are there. Their eyes are opened and Christ’s glory shines fourth brilliantly before them and they see it! And then in response to that display of Christ’s glory there is a voice from heaven again: “He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him’” (Matt 17:5). In response to this manifestation of the glory of Christ, the Father says, “I love my Son. I take ultimate pleasure in My Son!”

Let’s turn and answer this question: In loving Jesus, was God the Father merely loving an amazingly holy and obedient man? Or is there anything extraordinary about the Son or the Father’s love for the Son? Is there anything extraordinary going on here?

Here is something extraordinary: “For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2:9). This is more than merely a holy and obedient man, this is a man in whom dwells all the fullness of God. This is a God-man. And this God-man existed long before He was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago which is why Jesus can say to the Father in John 17:24, “you loved me before the foundation of the world.” God loved Jesus before there was anything else, or anyone else to love. Before there was you or me to love, God loved the Son!

That’s why Hebrews 1:3 is so significant: “He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” Jesus is God! This is why the apostle Paul says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:6).

The glory of Jesus Christ, the glory of who He is and what He has done for His people is the glory of the Father. The glory of Jesus is the glory of the Father. We know the glory of God the Father by looking into the face of Jesus Christ.

And when the Father looks into the face of His Son Jesus, He too sees His own glory and He loves what He sees there. He takes pleasure in what He sees there. He worships what He sees there! He loves, He enjoys, He worships, Himself! God loves Jesus with an infinite and omnipotent love. He loves Him more than He loves anything or anyone else. And Jesus is God. So God’s love for Christ — who is God Himself — is an expression of the love He has for Himself.”

— Rick Gamache, Who does God worship?, excerpt from sermon (Dec. 9, 2007; Sovereign Grace Fellowship, Minneapolis, MN).

And there are other goodies in this sermon. Listen here: