Like Father Like Son: Seeing God Through Jesus

by Dr. Peter A. Kerr

Christians often say Jesus reveals God, yet many still imagine God as fundamentally different from Jesus once power, judgment, or sovereignty enter the picture. Jesus becomes gentle, while the Father is presumed severe. Love belongs to the Son; control belongs to God. This division is not only unbiblical—it quietly undermines the gospel itself.

Jesus is not a softened version of God. Jesus is God.

If we want to know what God is like, we must look at Jesus more than anywhere else. Jesus does not merely speak about God; He embodies Him. Scripture is explicit: “He is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15), “the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature” (Heb 1:3). Jesus Himself insists, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).

Whatever God is like in His deepest character, Jesus is like that—without remainder, without revision, without exception.

When we look at Jesus, what do we see?

We do not see domination. We do not see coercion. We do not see God forcing outcomes, managing behavior, or securing loyalty through fear. Instead, we see invitation. “Come to Me,” Jesus says—not “Submit or be crushed” (Matt 11:28). He stands and knocks; He does not break down the door (Rev 3:20).

Jesus calls, but He does not compel. He teaches with authority, yet He never overrides the will. He heals freely, but He does not threaten belief. He tells the truth plainly, even when it costs Him followers. John records that when Jesus’ teaching became difficult, “many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore” (John 6:66). Jesus does not chase them down. He turns to the Twelve and asks, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” (John 6:67).

Love that must be forced is no longer love, and Jesus refuses to counterfeit it.

Jesus also suffers.

He does not protect Himself from misunderstanding, betrayal, or injustice. He does not call down force to silence His accusers, though He insists that He could if He wished (Matt 26:53). Instead, He allows Himself to be rejected, mocked, and crucified. Isaiah foretold this posture: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth” (Isa 53:7). Peter later reflects that “when He was reviled, He did not revile in return… but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet 2:23).

The cross is not a contradiction of God’s character; it is its clearest unveiling. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). This is not weakness. It is holy strength.

Within the LUMEN vision, holiness is not severity, distance, or domination. Holiness is fullness—love, truth, and goodness existing in perfect unity and abundance. Scripture repeatedly describes God’s holiness in radiant terms: “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5); “Holy, holy, holy… the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isa 6:3). Jesus reveals that this glory does not overwhelm by force; it draws by love.

God is not after His own glory in the way humans seek glory. He does not need affirmation, compliance, or submission to complete Himself. “The God who made the world… is not served by human hands, as though He needed anything” (Acts 17:24–25). Because He needs nothing, He can give everything—including real freedom.

Jesus shows us that God’s power is not expressed through coercion, but through self-giving love and invitation. He explicitly rejects domineering models of authority: “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them… It is not this way among you” (Matt 20:25–26). His kingdom advances not by force, but by witness, truth, and sacrificial love (John 18:36–37).

This matters not only for how we think about God, but for how we live before Him.

If Jesus is the perfect reflection of the Father, then reflecting God must look like reflecting Jesus. Holiness cannot mean domination. Authority cannot mean coercion. Faithfulness cannot mean fear-based compliance. Paul describes the Christian life precisely in these terms: “Be imitators of God… and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us” (Eph 5:1–2).

To be holy is to reflect love, truth, and goodness the way Jesus did.

It looks like invitation rather than force. It looks like patience rather than pressure. It looks like truth spoken clearly without manipulation (Eph 4:15). It looks like love that remains open even when rejected (Luke 15:20; Rom 12:20–21). It looks like strength that can endure loss without resorting to control (2 Cor 12:9).

Jesus is not only our Savior. He is our exemplar.

He shows us what God is like, and He shows us what reflecting God looks like in the world. The Christian life is not about managing outcomes for God or enforcing righteousness on His behalf. It is about participating in His holy love—being transformed “from glory to glory” as we behold Him (2 Cor 3:18).

A God who looks like Jesus is not a threat to be managed. He is an invitation to be received.

And a holiness shaped by Jesus is not something to fear. It is the freedom to love without coercion, to speak truth without domination, and to reflect the God who never forced, but always invited.

Supporting Scripture (in NASB)

Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

Hebrews 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

John 6:66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.

John 6:67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”

Matthew 26:53 Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.

1 Peter 2:23 and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

Isaiah 6:3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.”

Acts 17:24–25 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

Matthew 20:25–26 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,”

John 18:36–37 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Ephesians 5:1–2 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

Ephesians 4:15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,

Luke 15:20 So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

Romans 12:20–21 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.