Introduction
Most of us make decisions based on what we see, and we tend to believe people when we witness proof of their testimony with our own eyes. The Lord Jesus has revealed to us that He is the only one who has seen the Father (John 1:18, John 6:46). He came to earth to fulfill the will of the Father and to teach us His commandments. As followers of the Lord Jesus, we must believe His testimony that He was with the Father from the beginning (John 1:1-2, John 17:5) and that He is both the Son of God and the Son of Man sent to do the Father’s will. We are called to fully trust His testimony and adhere completely to His commandments in order to become people who seek after God’s own heart. This blog will explore how one can become such a person.
Living By Men’s Eyes or By God’s Eyes?
In Acts 13, the Lord sends His servants, the apostles Paul and Barnabas, to begin their mission work of spreading the good news to both Jews and Gentiles. Specifically, in Acts 13:13-43, the apostle Paul and those with him, having gone into the synagogue, minister to those in Antioch of Pisidia. In his address to these Israelites, the apostle outlines God’s plan of salvation and explains how the Lord chose them to fulfill it through the Lord Jesus. In this blog, we will focus specifically on Acts 13:17-25.
Acts 13:17 The God of this people, of Israel, chose our fathers, and exalted the people in the sojourn, in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm, led them out of it.
Comments Acts 13:17. “The God of this people, of Israel, chose our fathers.” The children of God know in their hearts that the Lord God Almighty chose their forefathers to be His people, and because of that, they themselves become the Lord’s children as well.
“And exalted the people in the sojourn ...” To take the children of God out of slavery, the Lord God Almighty had performed many miracles, in taking them out of slavery, and set them free, and He also led them out to where He had the land to be their own to stay.
18 And of about, the time of forty years, He suffered their manners in the wilderness.
Comments Acts 13:18. The children of the Lord needed time to adjust their behavior, with hardship, but during that time, the Lord God Almighty also strengthened their faith toward Him, and that will be the foundation for their faith in the future.
19 And having destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He gave them as an inheritance the land,
Comments Acts 13:19. “And having destroyed seven nations ...” In the time that the Lord guided His children to walk the right way, He also had made a promise to them that they would become a nation and have their own place to stay.
“He gave them as an inheritance the land.” With love and mercy of the Lord God Almighty, He had given them the land, not only for them to stay, but also for their children to be there as well.
20 for about four hundred and fifty years; and after these things He gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.
Comments Acts 13:20. “For about four hundred and fifty years.” The Lord God Almighty, with His mercy for His children, gave them the land as an inheritance for them to stay; but also, the length of time was impacted, because of their own actions in betraying whom they should worship. The Lord’s children turned away and took their hearts from worshiping the Lord. With unfaithful hearts, when they saw the nations around them worshiping something, they believed that those things had more power than their own God. This length of time is the time for them to realize that when they return back to the Lord God Almighty and worship Him, they will receive the same favor as their forefathers have received, and will be able to keep the inheritance for their children for generations after.
“And after these things He gave ...” When the length of time was closed to being fulfilled, the children of the Lord turned their hearts back and worshiped the Lord God Almighty again, and at that time, the Lord God Almighty showed mercy to them again by sending His workers to guide them with many warnings, and teachings, reminding them that they must be faithful to the Lord God Almighty in order to gain their own inheritance, and keep it to the end of the age.
21 And afterward, they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, forty years.
Comments Acts 13:21. “And afterward, they asked for a king.” The Lord God Almighty’s children never learned their own lesson. Instead of worshiping the Lord as their King, they wanted a human king to rule over them, like the nations around them that had a king to rule them. When they asked, the Lord God Almighty gave them what their hearts desired.
“And God gave to them Saul ...” The king that they had, ruled over them for a certain time and during that time the children of the Lord had learned the hardship and understood the difference between a human king and the Lord God Almighty be as a King for them, but they have chosen the human king, and their own children will face the difficult time, because of this human king they wanted.
22 And having removed him, He raised up David as their king; to whom also He said, testifying: I have found David of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.
Comments Acts 13:22. “And having removed him, he raised up David ...” As the verse tells us, let all readers pay attention: the Lord God Almighty had His plan and person in place for the work. After He removed the unfaithful heart ruler from His people, the Lord God Almighty called out the man whom He would use to do His will in saving humans.
“I have found David of Jesse ...” The human that the Lord God Almighty considered as a man after His own heart, being a human, still committed sin as well, but the soul of his heart never departed from faith; his heart stayed firm in faith in the Lord God Almighty.
23 Of the seed of this one, God, according to promise, has brought unto Israel the Savior, Jesus;
Comments Acts 13:23. “Of the seed of this one, God, according to promise.” The man who was pleasing to the Lord God Almighty will be the one whose name will remind all humans that if your soul remains true and faithful to the Lord God Almighty, the blessing you receive is not only on this earth, but the Lord God Almighty will use your whole family to be a blessing for humans as well.
“Has brought unto Israel the Savior, Jesus.” The plan of God the Father will be fulfilled according to His promise to His faithful servant. The beloved Son of God will have the human body come through this line of His faithful servant; the Savior of the world will come to be born to fulfill the promise of the Father.
24 John having proclaimed before the appearance of His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.
Comments Acts 13:24. “John having proclaimed ...” The messenger of the Lord God Almighty had the duty to proclaim the coming of the beloved Son of God. This is an important duty and needs a humble heart to proclaim His coming. The person without a humble heart will not want to proclaim that someone greater than themselves is coming.
“The baptism of repentance ...” The messenger of the Lord also proclaimed for people to come and repent, but in order to receive forgiveness, His people must humble themselves and repent.
25 And while John was fulfilling the course, he said, Whom me you suppose to be, I am not. But behold, He comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the sandal of the feet.
Comments Acts 13:25. “And while John was fulfilling his course ...” The messenger of the Lord tells all the Lord’s people the truth according to what they think who he is. The messenger never lifted himself up to be more than what he is.
“But behold, He comes after me ...” Let all readers pay attention to what the messenger said. He tells all people that the Savior of the world is coming, and he himself is not worthy even to untie His sandal. With a truly humble heart, he accepts being below, and even for the lowest position job, he considers himself unworthy to have.
In Acts 13:21-22, we learn about the selection of Israel’s first king, Saul, which is detailed in 1 Samuel chapters 9 and 10. Specifically, 1 Samuel 9:1-2 describes Saul’s qualities as perceived by the men’s eyes: rich, young, handsome, tall, and physically strong.
1 Samuel 9:1-2: “Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor. And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a young man and handsome; and there was not among the children of Israel more handsome than he; from his shoulders and upward, he was taller than any of the people.”
However, in 1 Samuel 13:14, we read again about Saul: “But now your kingdom shall not continue; Jehovah has sought for Himself a man after his own heart, and Jehovah has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what Jehovah commanded you.”
From these passages of Scripture, we learn that if we focus on seeking validation from those around us through worldly means, we are living for men’s eyes. But the Lord looks at the heart of a man and not at his appearance. As we know, the Lord took the kingdom away from Saul and gave it to David, a man after God’s own heart. Therefore, we must strive in all things to be pleasing in God’s eyes, not in men’s eyes; we must try with all our heart to follow after God’s heart.
How to Be Pleasing to God?
Even though David was a man after God’s own heart, his earthly kingdom did not last forever. Scripture notes that David did what was right in the sight of the Lord; however, many of the kings who succeeded him, including his sons, did not follow in his footsteps (see 1 Kings 11:6, 1 Kings 15:3, 1 Kings 22:52, 2 Kings 8:18, 2 Kings 16:2, and others). Ultimately, David’s earthly kingdom came to an end when Judah was taken into exile (2 Kings 25:21, 2 Chronicles 36:20). Nevertheless, we know who the King of kings and the King of the everlasting kingdom is—the Lord Jesus, God’s beloved Son, who came directly from the heart of God the Father. Through the Lord Jesus, God the Father has also fulfilled the promise of an everlasting kingdom that He made to David in 1 Samuel 7:12-13 (Matthew 1:1, Matthew 21:9, Luke 18:38, Acts 13:23). The Lord Jesus is the One with whom the Father is well pleased. We all need to seek the Lord Jesus; by loving Him and having faith in the Son of God, we can also be pleasing to God. God the Father has shown through His Word that He is well pleased with His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. The Bible speaks about this prophetically in Isaiah 42:1 and Matthew 12:18. Additionally, this divine approval is highlighted during the baptism of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22) and at the transfiguration of the Lord Jesus (Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, and Luke 9:35). Below, we present some of these verses along with our commentary.
Isaiah 42:1: “Behold My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen, in whom My soul delights; I have put My Spirit upon him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”
Matthew 3:13 Then comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized of him.
14 But John was hindering Him, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and do Thou come to me?
Comments Matthew 3:13-14. This passage of Scripture shows that even the sinless Lamb of God needs to be baptized in water. If the sinless Lamb of God asks to be baptized, how then can humans say they have no sin and do not need to be baptized? Here we see the example we need to follow about baptizing in water.
15 However, Jesus answering him said, Permit just now; for thus it is proper to us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he permits Him.
Comments Matthew 3:15. As it is written, “to fulfill all righteousness,” the Lord Jesus Himself needed to be baptized in water. He is both God and human, serving as an example for humans to follow. If the sinless One has to be baptized in water, then all the people who want to follow the Lord Jesus must also do so. As is the walk through the gate of death, even so, a person baptizing in the water dies from the old life and becomes a new person in the Lord. The old book of life has been destroyed, and a new book of life starts (see Matthew 12:30 and Matthew 12:36-37).
When you merge under the water in the name of the Father, the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, your soul is touched by the Lord in that water. And when you come out from that water, the Lord becomes the guide of your soul in the unseen world and the master of your life in this world. Water baptism is important for a new believer, but the person must meditate on the Lord’s teaching and seek and ask for the Holy Spirit baptism as well. When you have received the Holy Spirit baptism, the Holy Spirit goes through your soul and guides your soul. All humans need to be born of water and the Holy Spirit in order to enter the kingdom of heaven (see John 3:5). Your life living on this earth must follow according to the master of your life. If you do not baptize in the water, your soul will not have a chance to be counted in; after the Lord’s crucifixion, all must be baptized in water. For the soul of a human, the baptism in the water is the same way as a butterfly emerging. The soul itself is wrapped with many layers of sins. When you submerge into the baptismal water and when you come out, most of the layers of sins covering your soul are left in that water, and you come out with a purer soul, free; this is the new birth in the spiritual world. However, the Holy Spirit baptism, when it happens, will cleanse the soul thoroughly, making a complete cleansing of your soul.
16 Now, Jesus, having been baptized, ascended immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, alighting upon Him;
Comments Matthew 3:16. The door of heaven was opened to the Lord Jesus for the Lord to see His house: the Father’s throne. The Lord Jesus misses His home. The Father misses His Son. This here is a reunion between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (the Trinity of God).
17 and behold, a voice from out of the heavens, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Comments Matthew 3:17. John saw part of the reunion act between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All the other people present only heard the voice of the Father. See also Comments Mark 1:9-11.
Matthew 17:5 While he was yet speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and behold, a Voice out of the cloud, saying, This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him!
Comments Matthew 17:5. “... behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them.” The Bible is clear that no one has seen the Father. This passage is another proof of this fact: even the disciples had not seen the Father; they only heard His voice coming from the bright cloud.
The Bible also confirms to us in John 1:18 that only the begotten Son of God, the Lord Jesus has seen the Father and that He exists in the bosom of the Father.
John 1:18 No one has seen God ever yet; only the begotten God, the One existing in the bosom of the Father, He shows the way.
Comments John 1:18. “No one has seen God ever yet.” As the verse says, no one has ever seen the Father, because all things are created things; the eyes cannot afford to see the Father Himself. With human eyes, you cannot see the Father. The human eyes cannot see the Father, but the Father has shown Himself through the beloved Son of God.
“Only the begotten God ... He shows the way.” As the verse tells all believers, the beloved Son of God has the Father Himself in Him; whatever the beloved Son of God has taught, that is the Father Himself teaching humans, and all humans can know the Father through the beloved Son of God’s teachings.
One might ask what it means when the Bible says, “begotten God,” and how the Lord Jesus is begotten if He is part of the Trinity. The Father Himself is the head of the Trinity; in the Father, the beloved Son, and the Holy Spirit also exist; that is why we can say the Trinity of God is Three, but all are One in the Father. With the mercy of the Father, He has allowed the beloved Son and the Holy Spirit to come out and shine to be the light for all, but the Trinity is always still there: Three in One, this is its meaning. Think in this way: the Father is here, and with the mercy of the Father Himself, He has allowed the beloved Son and the Holy Spirit to have the work by themselves; the beloved Son has come down to take human form, and the Holy Spirit has come down to be as the guide and speak to every heart regarding the love of the Father. In the Father Himself, He has given birth to the beloved Son of God, and that is why the beloved Son will always call, “Father I will do your will.” As the Bible tells us, He always calls God the Father His Father. It is not complicated when we think that the Father is One, but in that One, there are another Two, and the Three become One together, with no separation.
As the Lord Jesus comes from the bosom of the Father, living by the Father’s heart means loving the Lord Jesus, His beloved Son, and following Him in everything He commands us. In Matthew 3:13-17, we see that the Lord Jesus is baptized in water by a man and also baptized in the Holy Spirit by the Father Himself. This shows that the Lord Jesus is both the Son of Man and the Son of God. The baptism of the Lord Jesus serves as an important example for us to follow: we are baptized in water, in the name of the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit, through the help of men (who immerse us in water) (Matthew 3:11) and in the Holy Spirit through the help of the Lord Jesus Himself (who sends the Holy Spirit) (John 14:26). The first step to becoming a person after God’s own heart is to follow the example of the Lord Jesus by being baptized in water in the name of the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit, and to seek Him to bless us with the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Conclusions
The children of the Lord God Almighty never learned their lesson. Instead of worshiping Him as their King, they desired a human ruler like the nations surrounding them that had kings (1 Samuel 8:19-20). When they asked for a king, the Lord granted their request, giving them what their hearts desired (1 Samuel 8:7). We must learn from their example and not make the same mistake. To be people after God’s own heart, the only way to accomplish that is to fully come with a complete heart and soul to believe in the Son of God and Son of Man, Jesus Christ, as the only way to the Father, and follow all the commandments. God sent His Son, who has existed from the beginning with the Father, to earth to show us the way. There is no other path to becoming a people after God’s own heart than by having faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both the Son of God and the Son of Man.
Meditation Tasks
- We encourage all readers to meditate on how they can seek after God’s own heart and consider what actions they can take to be more pleasing to the Holy Trinity: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. Additionally, we recommend reading our blog article titled “The Lord Jesus Comes from the Heart of God.”