The Father Sends the Son: The Initiative of Love

Corby Davis
Sep 20
3 min read

God the Father: Knowing the First Person of the Trinity

Love That Takes the First Step

At the heart of the Gospel is this truth: the Father sent the Son.

Not because we deserved Him. Not because we asked. Not because humanity finally earned a second chance. The initiative belonged entirely to the Father.

“The Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.” (1 John 4:14)

Redemption begins in the eternal counsel of the Triune God—not in the efforts of man.

The Initiative of the Father

Jesus repeatedly emphasized that He came not on His own accord, but as one sent:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son…” (John 3:16)
“This is the will of Him who sent Me…” (John 6:39)
“As the living Father sent Me…” (John 6:57)

This is not coercion or delegation—it is eternal unity of purpose. The Father sends, the Son goes, the Spirit applies.

And all of it flows from divine love.

Before the World Began

The sending of the Son was not a reaction—it was part of the eternal plan of the Father. Ephesians 1:4–5 reveals:

“He chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world… In love He predestined us for adoption…”

The Father was not caught off guard by sin. He had purposed to redeem a people in Christ before the first star was formed.

The cross was not Plan B—it was Plan A. An eternal decree rooted in an eternal love.

Not Reluctant, But Delighted

Some wrongly imagine the Father as distant or wrathful, and Jesus as the loving one who intervenes. But this is a distortion.

It was the Father’s love that sent the Son.

“But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)

Jesus doesn’t plead with an angry Father to love us. He reveals the love the Father already had (John 17:23–24). The cross is the expression, not the cause, of the Father’s love.

The Sending of the Son in Scripture

The New Testament speaks often of this divine sending:

John 17:18 – “As You sent Me into the world, so I have sent them.”
Galatians 4:4 – “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son…”
Romans 8:3 – “God has done what the law could not do… by sending His own Son…”

This is not mission in response to desperation. It is the unfolding of the Father’s purpose—executed by the Son, through the Spirit.

The Goal of the Sending

Why did the Father send the Son?

To Reveal the Father
“Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
To Fulfill the Law
“I have come not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.” (Matt. 5:17)
To Give His Life as a Ransom
“The Son of Man came… to give His life.” (Mark 10:45)
To Bring Many Sons to Glory
“It was fitting… to bring many sons to glory.” (Heb. 2:10)

The sending was not abstract—it had a mission: rescue.

The Unity of the Trinity in Redemption

The Father sends. The Son goes. The Spirit empowers.

There is no tension within the Trinity—only perfect harmony. The Son joyfully obeys the will of the Father (John 4:34), and the Father delights in the obedience of the Son (Matt. 3:17).

This divine unity ensures the Gospel is unshakable. Salvation is not built on human performance—but on the eternal unity and action of the Godhead.

How We Should Respond

1. Marvel at Divine Initiative

You didn’t climb to God. He came for you. He sent His Son to find you.

2. Rest in the Father’s Love

You don’t have to earn the Father’s affection. It was His love that sent the Son in the first place.

3. Proclaim the Sending God

Mission begins with God’s sending heart. As the Father sent the Son, so now the Son sends us—with the same Gospel, powered by the same Spirit.

Conclusion: The Gospel Begins with the Father

The Gospel is not about man reaching up—it’s about the Father reaching down. His love initiated the rescue. His will ordained the cross. His heart planned redemption.

To say “the Father sent the Son” is to proclaim the depth of grace, the perfection of divine wisdom, and the unsearchable love that moved heaven to earth.

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son…” (1 John 4:10)