“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ… He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world… In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ…” — Ephesians 1:3–5 (BSB)
“For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son… And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.” — Romans 8:29–30 (BSB)
“But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” — Galatians 4:4–6 (BSB)
“And this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” — 1 John 4:10 (BSB)
This divine initiative is emphasized in Ephesians 1, where Paul blesses “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” who chose, predestined, and adopted us. Redemption is not a plan that began at the manger or the cross—it began in the heart of the Father before time itself. The Son obeys the Father’s mission, and the Spirit seals the Father’s promise. Each Person acts in harmony; yet, the Father’s role is always primary in initiating and purposing redemption.
Article II of the Thirty-Nine Articles affirms this, saying that the Son was “given” by the Father to be “a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for all actual sins of men.” The act of giving is the Father’s.
Bishop J.C. Ryle wrote: “Let us never forget that redemption begins with the love of the Father. It was the Father’s mind to save, the Father’s will to send, the Father’s hand that gave the Son.”
Contemporary Anglican theologian Dr. Stephen Noll adds: “The Father’s role in redemption is not passive. He is the sender, the adopter, and the glorifier. In knowing the Father, we know the one from whom all saving love flows.”
This truth has practical implications. It assures us that salvation is secure, because it rests not in our works but in the Father’s eternal plan. It reminds us that the Father is not merely Creator but Redeemer—intimately involved in our story of grace. And it leads us to trust Him as a good and loving Father who desires to draw us into His family through Jesus Christ.
Our response is to worship, trust, and rest in the Father’s sovereign mercy. As Anglican liturgy prays: “Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open… cleanse the thoughts of our hearts… that we may perfectly love Thee…”
Irenaeus emphasized that the Father’s love is the source of the Son’s mission.
St. Athanasius (c. 296–373 AD): “The Word was made flesh not apart from the Father’s will, but because the Father desired to save His creation through the Son.” — On the Incarnation, 3
Athanasius saw the Incarnation as the Father’s loving initiative.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem (c. 313–386 AD): “The Father gave His only Son to death for us—not in wrath but in mercy—and thus adopted us through the Spirit.” — Catechetical Lectures, 10
Cyril links the Father’s mercy to the gift of adoption and the Spirit.
St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD): “The Father did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him for us all. The fountain of grace begins in the Father’s eternal will.” — On the Trinity, IV.9
Augustine teaches that redemption flows from the Father’s heart of love.
An Anglican Catechism (Expanded) offers over 350+ Scripture-based answers to the core truths of the Christian faith. Each entry includes biblical texts, theological insight, and reflections from historic and contemporary Anglican voices. Rooted in the classical tradition, it is designed for teaching, discipleship, and spiritual formation.
An Ancient Worship Movement invites readers into the rich, historic worship of the early Church rediscovered through the Anglican tradition. This book calls believers into a deeper, Spirit-filled encounter with Christ through timeless practices.
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