So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does that the Son does likewise.”
– John 5:19
Oh, I love John 5:19. Like, think about what Jesus is saying here. He’s describing how he relates to the Father. He says, “The Son can do nothing of his own accord.”
Lord, help us to do nothing of our own accord, but may we live today with our identity in Christ for Your glory.
So Jesus is saying, “I do nothing by myself, independent of the Father.” This is just like a glimpse into the Trinity and how the Trinity works. The Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing for whatever the Father does that the Son does, likewise. So there’s this union between the Father and the Son. The Son operating in total alignment with and total accord with the Father knowing.
We Should Live In Accord With The Son And The Father Of The Spirit
So the Father is working and the Son is working and they’re working together. So there’s obviously just so much here to think about when it comes to the Trinity and the mystery of the Trinity and what Jesus says after this all throughout John chapter five as he talks about his authority and his relationship to the Father. But here’s what I want to encourage you with today. Even as I’m encouraged by this.
Because for all of us who have trusted in Jesus, he lives in us, his spirit, the Holy Spirit, so there’s the third person of the Trinity dwells inside of you, dwells inside of me is directing, leading, guiding us. So we’re filled with the Holy Spirit. And so how do we live? Well, based on John 5:19, I want to live in total accord with the Son and the Father and the spirit.
Like I want to do whatever he desires me to do. I want to work in tandem with conjunction with him. I want him to lead and guide and direct. And this is what we’ll see in John 15. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing, nothing. We are totally dependent on him. So the Christian life is truly designed to mean that Christ is your life, that your life is in Christ. Christ is in you and you speak as Christ speaks.
John 5:19 Wants Us To Live With Our Identity In God
You love as Christ loves you live as Jesus lives. So God, we pray for this. God, I pray for this in my life today. And pray for this over every single person listening right now, who’s trusted in you that their life would indeed be your life. That they would not see like their faith is kind of compartmentalized, that you can trust in Jesus over here and then work over there and family over there and all these other things in life over here.
Like, no, may we see you, Jesus, as our life. May we follow you as our life. May we align our lives with your word, with your spirit in every way. Please direct our words today. Jesus, direct our thoughts. Jesus, direct our emotions, our feelings. Direct our decisions. Jesus, direct our actions. Direct the way we relate to people around us, whether at work or at home or wherever it might be. And may your life be our life.
John 5:19 Wants Us To Work For God, Not Our Own Accord
May Galatians 2:20 be reality. We have been crucified with Christ. We no longer live. Christ lives in us. The life we live in the flesh, we live by faith in the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us. Oh, help us to do nothing today of our own accord, but to live working with you, your power working in us for our good for others’ good, ultimately for your glory. Jesus, be Lord over every facet of our life. Jesus, you are our life. I pray that you would help us to live every single second in that reality. In your name we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
