In You I’m Well Pleased

Mark 1:11, Job 2:3

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Do you remember the account in the Bible of Jesus’ baptism? Where God, the Father spoke from heaven. I like the version in the Gospel of Mark, where God, the Father from Heaven actually speaks directly to Jesus. And there he says,

“You are my son. In you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11)

This wasn’t the first time that God, the Father, spoke to his Son that we can read about in the Bible. But in the Old Testament, there are these beautiful conversations that we will find being spoken between the members of the Holy Trinity, between the divine persons of the Trinity, between the Father and his Son. One of these is in the beginning of Isaiah, chapter 42, where God, the Father says, I will hold your hand and give you as a light to the Gentiles. (Isaiah 42:6) And even as he is speaking tenderly and intimately with his Son about what he will do, it is also speaking about us because it is about what Jesus the Christ would do for all people. And in a sense, He’s speaking to us, to let us know.

This is what we call the heavenly council, the triune God, and how the persons of the Trinity converse and are in a beautiful harmony together, where there’s great love and caring that’s modeled for us in the Trinity itself. We see the heavenly council in another way in Job chapter one and chapter two. There we see that Satan appears before the Lord. He comes before the heavenly council and we heard God speak to him, to Satan, actually, and say,

Have you considered my servant job? A man who is blameless and upright? (Job 2:3)

And what does the devil do at that point? He begins to accuse, for that is who he is. Revelation Chapter 12 (verse 10) says that he is the accuser who accuses the children of God night and day. And so he accuses Job. And the rest of the Book of Job we see that Job is on trial. Satan presses him hard. And the question is, is God right about Job?

Now, Job isn’t perfect, and he does complain at various times being in confusion about his afflictions and wanting to understand what God is doing. But at the end of the Book of Job God says, My servant Job has spoken what is right. And it says these words. God had accepted Job. (Job 42:8-9) Again, not because Job is perfect in his thoughts, words and actions, but it is by faith that God accepted Job.

Now we see this scene that I’ve just described taking place in our own life. Where does Satan come to accuse? He comes in our conscience. That’s the battleground now, where Satan accuses. He comes into your conscience and he accuses you and Satan presses you hard. And the question that you may find sometimes in your own mind is, does God accept me? Am I acceptable to God? And how can I be? Well, the good news is he defends you. Jesus speaks up for you to the Heavenly Father. He pleads for you with his blood that he shed for you, that you would be considered forgiven and holy and blameless in God’s sight. And God does accept you, for Jesus sake. And even more, He speaks this to you and He speaks this about you. But more importantly, I think for us, he speaks it to you in your conscience.

He says that you are his child. Don’t miss where he says this in the forgiveness of sins, that he speaks to you in multiple ways in the church service and in his word, he says, just as God, the Father said at Jesus baptism, You’re my Son. You’re my daughter. He says it to you. In you I’m well pleased. The heavenly council stands behind us. Against Satan. Fighting for you. This victory is yours in Jesus name.