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God was well pleased upon Jesus’ first act of obedience.
You might think that something we do pleases, or can please, God. But, not that I can find. Rather, what is required in order for God to be pleased is what He does when we allow Him to act. That sounds kinda funny, doesn’t it? “Allow Him to act.” What kind of power do we have?
The Greek word for well pleased is eudokeo, or the noun, good pleasure is eudokia. It comes from the root dokeo, meaning “to think”, along with the prefix eu, meaning “well.”
Pleasure, or good pleasure, is a result of thinking well, of good thinking…..of thinking, “Yeah…..That’s really good!”
Genesis 1:31a And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good….
(The above is how we know God didn’t put the forbidden tree in the garden of Eden….see the study Who put the Tree in the Garden? )
We’ll discover that God’s good pleasure is a result of 3 things, which are really one:
1) He likes where He’s at; and 2) He likes what He’s doing; and 3) He likes where He’s going.
The first time this word, in either form, is used in the New Testament Gospels, is:
Matthew 3:16, 17 And Jesus, when he was baptized (by John), went up immediately out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
This is Jesus’ first recorded act of obedience; the first time that we know of that Jesus did something by the Spirit of God. God was now residing and working in Jesus, with the result that He was well pleased. It doesn’t say that God was pleased with Jesus. It says God was well pleased in him. This Greek word, en, is illustrated by the center of a circle, and means “at rest and continuance in the very heart of.” God is telling us He is now resting in the very heart of Jesus, being well pleased….because He is at work there!
God’s good pleasure in His Son was expressed by the vision, which only Jesus and John are recorded as seeing, of the Holy Spirit of God landing upon Jesus. Now at this point, Jesus’ ministry had not yet begun. But this step, of Jesus subjecting himself to the ministry of John, was required before the “passing of the torch” from John to Jesus could take place.
John 1:6-9, 30, 31 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light, which was the true light which lights every man who comes into the world. This is he of whom I (John the Baptist speaking) said, After me comes a man who is preferred before me; for he was before me. And I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
John 3:28-30 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice; this my joy therefore is fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease.
As per Luke chapter 4……..After his baptism here, Jesus was filled by the Spirit and was led by that Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days. After those 40 days, he returned in the power of the Spirit and was anointed (made the Christ) by that Spirit in Nazareth to begin the ministry his Father had called him to.
So why was God so pleased in His Son here at John’s baptism? Because He liked where He was at (in His Son), and He liked where He was now going to be able to go (all the world) and what He was going to be able to do (save the world, have children, bear fruit, and be glorified).
Look at Matthew 3:13-15 Then came Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized by him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized by you, and you come to me? And Jesus responding said unto him, Allow it to be so now; for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he allowed him.
Jesus, the only begotten Son of God, who was predestined to be the Savior of the world…….subjected himself to the ministry of John, which was the baptism of repentance of sin. He did this because His Father asked him to.
Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, Wherefore God also has highly exalted him, and given him the name which is above every name; That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory (full and unhindered expression) of God the Father.
(See study What is Glory?) This humbling of himself and becoming obedient unto death began with the baptism of John.
God being well-pleased in His Son, and saying so here, was like God rubbing His hands together with glee, because He knew He was at the start of the great adventure of saving the world. Now He was going to be able to accomplish everything He’d ever wanted in and for His creation.
Galatians 1:15a, 16a But when it pleased God…..To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen……..
God’s good pleasure is found in and expressed through the life of His Son, Jesus Christ…..in each believer!
Ephesians 3:8-11 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles (nations) the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, who created all things (“by Jesus Christ” is not in the text). To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, According to the purpose of all the ages, which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
More and more you should be seeing why God was “rubbing His hand together with glee” at Jesus’ baptism by John. It was finally happening! The purpose for which He created all things was now getting underway.
Ephesians 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
This act of making us His children is an extension of what was begun in Matthew 3. God adopts us as His children by birthing us in and by means of His Holy Spirit. Again and again, with the spiritual birth of each believer, He is filled with good pleasure, because now He is going to be able to dwell in us, commune with us, and express Himself fully and without hindrance through us.
On the contrary, when a man tries to please God by his own good works, this is not pleasing to God, for it does not allow God to go where He wants to go, to do what He wants to do.
Romans 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
You’ll have to read the whole context to see what being “in the flesh” exactly means. God doesn’t want our concern to be with our (or anyone else’s) flesh, but rather with His Spirit. Only when our concern is His Spirit is He free to go to work within us. This is what pleases God.
Think about this….does God take a walk in the woods and enjoy nature? Does he climb mountains? Swim? Does He play games? Ah, but he enjoys all those pastimes, and more, as each believer enjoys his and her life in the Spirit of Christ.
Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself.
Man looks back, but God doesn’t. What pleases God is looking forward to fully expressing Himself through us. Therefore, God’s good pleasure has purpose. (the opposite of purpose is vanity). Everything He does in us and for us and through us is an expression of that pleasurable purpose. And Paul’s epistles are filled with the revelation of that very truth, expressed in so many different ways.
Here’s one:
Philippians 3:13, 14 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended (arrived at the end point); but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
This is a perfect expression of how God lives out His good pleasure in us. Always moving forward.
Now man, in his sin, is stuck in the past. But God, through the gift of His Son Jesus Christ, took care of that problem once and for all. And God is always living in the now, is always reaching forward to the next great thing, even as He is perfectly content in what is happening…..NOW………NOW……….NOW NOW………………. NOW……………………… NOW…. NOW …………..NOW (you get the idea).
Philippians 2:13 For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
What pleases God is that He is able to move forward in His good pleasure. And what is our part in that? Simply…….allow it to happen! Believe on Jesus Christ…..that God’s perfect will can be and is being and will be carried out in Christ, and Christ alone. Trust in Christ as being all that God wants for us. And in Christ, God is able to fulfill all the good pleasure of His will…….for us, in us, through us.
In Christ, God likes where He’s at and He likes where He’s going. Simply abide in Christ and you’ll be “along for the ride” of Him expressing His good pleasure in you and through you for all eternity!
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See related studies:
On Becoming Perfect
How Do We Get Faith? ….. God GIVES It To Us
The Faith of Christ has Come!
Learning to Recognize the Voice of God
How Christ is Building His Church
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