This Is My Beloved Son: The Father’s Declaration of Love and Our Share in Divine Love

The Father’s declaration, “This is My beloved Son,” resounds throughout the New Testament, revealing the unique relationship between the Father and the Son. It emphasizes Jesus’ divine identity, eternal Sonship, and the mission He fulfilled on earth. Moreover, it invites believers not only to partake in this divine love but also to respond with lives of gratitude, obedience, and love for God and others, particularly through Christ and the Eucharist.

The Father’s Declaration of the Son’s Identity

The phrase “This is My beloved Son” affirms the Lord Jesus’ divine Sonship and the Father’s approval of Him. At Jesus’ baptism, the Father declares, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” (Matthew 3:17), marking the beginning of His public ministry. This moment reveals Jesus as the Messiah and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Similarly, at the Transfiguration, the Father again proclaims, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:5). This event not only confirms the Lord Jesus’ divine authority but also urges believers to follow and obey Him.

Other accounts, such as Mark 1:11 and Luke 3:22, echo these affirmations of the Lord Jesus’ unique role, and Peter reflects on the Transfiguration as a moment of divine glory in 2 Peter 1:17.

The Father’s Eternal Love for the Son

The Father’s love for the Son is not confined to Jesus’ earthly mission; it is eternal, predating creation and rooted in their perfect unity. Psalm 2:7 proclaims, “You are My Son; Today I have begotten You,” a messianic prophecy pointing to the Lord Jesus’ divine Sonship. In John 17:24, Jesus affirms this eternal love, saying, “You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” This statement highlights the eternal nature of their relationship. Additionally, the Father delights in revealing His works through the Son, as seen in John 5:20: “For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing.” St. Paul echoes this truth in Colossians 1:19, where he declares, “For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,” underscoring the Father’s eternal pleasure in the Son.

The Father’s Love Rooted in the Son’s Obedience and Mission

The Father’s love for the Son is also deeply connected to Jesus’ obedience and His fulfillment of the redemptive mission. The Lord Jesus willingly lays down His life in obedience to the Father, as He states in John 10:17: “For this reason, the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.” St. Paul highlights Jesus’ humility and obedience in Philippians 2:8-9: “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God also highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name.” The Lord Jesus’ submission to the Father’s will is a profound expression of love, as seen in John 14:31: “But so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me.”

The Father’s Delight in the Son’s Righteousness

The Lord Jesus’ perfect righteousness is a source of great delight to the Father. In Isaiah 42:1, the Father declares, “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul is well-pleased.” This passage underscores Jesus’ role as the righteous Servant who brings justice to the nations. Similarly, in Hebrews 1:9, it is written, “You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions.” The Son’s unwavering commitment to righteousness and His rejection of sin evoke the Father’s deep approval and joy.

Our Share in the Divine Love

The love shared between the Father and the Son is extended to believers through the Lord Jesus, inviting them into intimate fellowship with God. In John 17:23-24, the Lord Jesus prays, “I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.” Believers are not only recipients of this divine love but are also united with the Son in it. The Holy Spirit enables this experience, as St. Paul writes in Romans 5:5: “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Through Christ, we are adopted into God’s family, as 1 John 3:1 proclaims: “See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we would be called children of God.”

The Father’s Love and the Eucharist

The Father’s declaration, “This is My beloved Son,” finds its fullest expression in the Eucharist, where believers partake of the Son’s body and blood. In John 6:56, Jesus promises, “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.” The Eucharist unites believers with Christ in His sacrifice and allows them to share in the life and love of the God. This sacrament is the ultimate expression of divine grace, as the Lord Jesus explains in Matthew 26:28: “For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Through the Eucharist, believers experience communion with the Father and the Son, fulfilling Jesus’ call to abide in His love (John 15:9-10).

Our Response to the Father’s Love

As recipients of this profound love, we are called to respond with lives of gratitude, obedience, and love. The Lord Jesus instructs us to abide in His love, saying in John 15:9-10: “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.” By obeying His commandments and following His example, we remain in His love and reflect it in our relationships with others. 

Our response must also include a commitment to love others as God has loved us. As 1 John 4:19 reminds us, “We love, because He first loved us.” This love is sacrificial, self-giving, and rooted in the grace we have received. Moreover, our hope in God’s love empowers us to live without fear, as St. Paul assures us in Romans 8:38-39: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come... will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Conclusion

The Father’s declaration, “This is My beloved Son,” reveals the eternal, perfect love shared between the Father and the Son. This love, demonstrated in the Lord Jesus’ obedience, righteousness, and redemptive mission, is extended to us through Christ and the Eucharist. In this sacrament, we are drawn into divine love and empowered to live as children of God, abiding in His grace and reflecting His love to the world. As we celebrate the Epiphany, let us recommit ourselves to responding to the Father’s love with gratitude, obedience, and sacrificial love for others, confident that nothing can separate us from His love.

Have a blessed Epiphany Feast, 

Fr. Abraam Sleman

frsleman@CopticChurch.net

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