Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”Jeremiah 9:23-24
Our God is a God of delight. When He pronounced the “very good” over the visible creation, it was an expression of pleasure. He was declaring that the earth, in this condition, was a place that was in accord with His intention. A place in which He could find rest. What will He not do, to get the desire of His heart? After the fall of man, God spent centuries nurturing a people through Abraham and Moses. This newly formed nation was to represent Him in the earth, “…that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory” (Jeremiah 13:11). He gave them a law by which to live, a law that reveals His character. He lived among them while they were faithful. Then He was God of heaven and earth. They were His resting place and His delight. But that condition did not persist.
What sacrifice will He not make to find His delight and again take His rest? God had taken counsel within Himself. From eternity, the Father has delighted in the Son. The Father determined to establish a new race of people in His own Son. Jesus Christ the Son came to earth as the Father’s representative human. He lived by the life of the Father. Not only did Jesus display the Father’s life, but he also began to form a new nation that he called the Kingdom of God. This new humanity would learn to live by his life, just as he had lived by the Father’s life. And we become part of that new nation, by pledging our allegiance to Jesus Christ as King.
The Father first publicly announced His delight in the man Jesus to a small crowd who had assembled at the Jordan River. There John the Baptist and his followers were baptizing people unto repentance from sins. When Jesus presented himself for baptism, John was taken aback—he recognized that here was one who had no sin. But Jesus insisted that John baptize him, saying that it was necessary to fulfill all righteousness. Righteousness has to do with God exercising His rights in us. Jesus took the baptism in obedience, demonstrating his complete surrender to the Father. Then the Father declared, in an audible voice, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” The Greek word that is translated “well pleased” (eudokesa) comes from the same root as the word for “delighted” (eudokesen).
Jesus spent a little more than three years in ministry, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom and training his disciples. He addressed them as his “little flock,” and taught them not to be preoccupied with the living conditions in which they found themselves, “for it is your Father’s good pleasure [eudokesen] to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). As that time drew to a close, he took three of those disciples, ascended a mountain, and was transfigured before them. On this occasion the Father again audibly announced, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased [eudokesa]…” (Matthew 17:5).
After his sacrificial death, Jesus arose again from the dead. He spent forty more days with his disciples, continuing to train them in the ways of the Kingdom. As that time drew to a close he again ascended, this time to the right hand of the Father. From that exalted position, he poured out the Holy Spirit on his followers. They had assembled in obedience to his instruction. This was the beginning of the Church, empowered by the indwelling Spirit of God. God had succeeded in forming a new race of humans in His beloved Son. Finally, God again had a place in which He could delight and take His rest—not a physical location but an assembly of people with whom He could live and among whom He could move (2 Corinthians 6:16).
Ever since, it has been God’s delight to reveal His Son in humans. As Paul noted, God “was pleased [eudokesen] to reveal His Son in me” (Galatians 1:16). Nick Vasiliades, in his wonderful book Loved (Period) wrote, “The moment you were born from above, a new creation in Christ, He took delight in you. Even without a single good deed under your belt yet, He became pleased in you. After all, the Father took great pains to place you into Jesus Christ.”
The process of transformation is difficult. Through all of it we can rest assured that God looks on us with delight because when He looks at us He sees in us the life of His Son: steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. All of the things that give Him delight are ours in Christ.
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