First of all, Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (Joh 14:6). So the Father loves you, and wants you to know Him, but there is no other way to the Father, except through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, a person cannot simply come to Christ unless the Father grants permission. Jesus said, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father." (Joh 6:65). The Father is the only One who can grant a person permission to come to Christ. That must happen before anything else. In my diagram below, I've tried to illustrate this.
 |
| How God Draws (click to enlarge) |
While the first and last steps in the seven-fold process above are in their proper order, some of the steps in between may not necessarily be in this exact sequence. The important thing is not the precise order, but to show you the involvement of all three members of the Holy Trinity in the process. Additionally, there are other aspects of the process that I have not illustrated here for the sake of space, such as being born of the Spirit. And the process does not end where my diagram ends. It goes on and on with other wonderful experiences as we grow in our knowledge of God.
Once the father grants you permission to come to Christ, then He actually draws you to Christ. Jesus said, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. (Joh 6:44). The very Father Himself draws you to Jesus Christ, His Son, so that you may come to know the Father.
When Peter declared that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus said it was the Father, Who had revealed that to him. And Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven." (Mat 16:17)
Now let's look at the role of the Holy Spirit in this. Jesus said of the Spirit, "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; (Joh 16:8). In order for you to come to Christ, you must repent and believe on Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins. But you can't repent, unless you are first convicted of your sin. In a civil court, when the judge convicts a criminal, he renders "a formal declaration that someone is guilty of a criminal offense." In a similar way, the Holy Spirit brings that confidence into your heart that you are guilty of breaking God's Law. In other words, you realize you've sinned against the Holy Father in heaven, your Maker.
Not only does the Holy Spirit cause you to realize the truth about your sin, but also the truth about the righteousness of Christ, your need for His righteousness, and the coming judgment in which you will one day have to give an account for everything you've done while in the body, whether good or bad. In fact, the Holy Spirit leads you into all Truth. Jesus said, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. (Joh 16:13). Since Jesus is the Truth, the Holy Spirit is the One who actually guides you to Jesus. Although the Father draws you, He involves the agency of the Holy Spirit to do so.
You see, none of this could happen unless the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit agreed together upon it to begin with. There is a marvelous cooperation between the members of the triune Godhead in bringing you into relationship with the heavenly Father.
Now I want to show you something else. Only the Father knows the Son, and only the Son knows the Father, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Jesus said, "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” (Mat 11:27; cf. Lk 10:22). So while the Father draws you to Christ by the Holy Spirit, Christ must will (or determine) to reveal the Father to you.
Once the Son wills to reveal the Father to you, then you will know Him. As you come to know Jesus, you will know the Father. Jesus is the exact representation of the Father's nature, and once you have seen Jesus, you've seen the Father (see Jn 14:9).
Once you've entered into a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Heavenly Father through Him, then you will know you're a child of God. "The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God," (Rom 8:16). The Holy Spirit will testify to you of this in your spirit. He will bear witness to you of this fact.
So as you can see, all three members of the Trinity -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- are actively involved in drawing a person to God. I find it marvelous, amazing, mysterious, and wonderful. If you already have a relationship in right standing with the heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, take some time to meditate on these truths and thank God for the active role that each member of the Holy Trinity had in bringing you to Himself.
If you do not yet have a relationship with the heavenly Father, I want to encourage you to seek Him with all your heart, while there is still time. He loves you and wants you to truly know Him. Now is the time of God's favor. Today is the day of salvation. Don't wait another day, because this might be your last chance.
Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. The "Trinity" painting © 2012 Danny Hahlbohm, all rights reserved by the artist.
Author's note: Also see the following posts:
The Person of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Trinity
Baptized with the Spirit
Holy Fire Baptism
You can access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." Now I'd like to ask a very important question.
Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus. Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?
“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15). He preached that we must repent and believe.
Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"
_________________________________________________
Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.
