We don’t have to look very far for an example of supreme faithfulness that sets the standard and the tone for what the Lord requires of His children…God Himself is faithful.

As always, who God is and what He does is the foundation of our response to Him. If He requires faithfulness in His children, He is first faithful to us in specific ways as God.

First, God is faithful to Himself…to His character and His ways. He is predictable when it comes to who He is. God is holy/love. This means that He fits perfectly and always, in His Words and works, into these two absolute qualities. Whatever He says and does matches who He is.

He is holy meaning, first, that He is absolutely separate from sin and, second, He is always consistent with who He is. He will never deviate from His perfect purity and He will never act out of character.

Moses’ encounter with the pre-incarnste Jesus at the burning bush gave him opportunity to ask Him His name. Why was this significant? In Biblical thought, a name is “a prophetic utterance of character”, (so I learned). Babies were often named according to the circumstances of their birth and/or in anticipation of who they would become.

So, Moses asked for much more than the title, the name by which the Deity he met would be known. He wanted to know who this God really was.

The reply was enigmatic, yet explanatory at the same time, YHWH in Hebrew, implies the absolute certainty of His being. In three tenses, Jesus was saying, “I am who I am,”, ” I was who I was,”, and “I will be who I will be!” This simple name was much more than a handle. It was a guarantee that He would never change. He would always be faithful to Himself in nature and function.

Scripture endorses the significance of that name in all the stories and records of His dealings with humans, both His own people, and the nations surrounding them. Whether He dealt with them in mercy or judgment, He was faithful to His name. Some people even added to that name a hyphenated description of who He was to them in their experience, for example, to Abraham Yahweh became YHWH-JIREH, Yahweh who provides. To Moses and the Israelites, He was YHWH-NISSI, Yahweh our banner, etc.

Hebrews 13:8 NIV
[8] “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

2 Timothy 2:13 NLT
[13] “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who he is.”

What security in the assurance that God is not influenced by our circumstances. He will always be faithful to Himself…the God who is holy love.

Second, God is faithful to His Word. Again, I learned that God’s Word is “the manifestation of Himself in another form”. How true this is in the incarnation of Jesus! He came to earth as God’s Word in person.

John 1:14 NLT
[14] “So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.”

Jesus not only spoke God’s Word. He WAS the Word. He declared two fundamental truths about the Word…

John 17:17 NLT
[17]”Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is TRUTH.”

John 14:6 NLT
[6] “Jesus told him, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

So, Jesus was and is God’s final and complete message to the world and perfectly consistent with who He is…

Hebrews 1:1-2 NLT
[1] “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. [2] And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe.”

Third, Jesus was faithful to His calling.

Hebrews 3:1-2 NLT
[1]”And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus whom we declare to be God’s messenger and High Priest. [2] For he was faithful to God, who appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God’s entire house.”

Jesus lived for and obeyed the Father even to the cruel death He suffered on the cross.

Psalms 40:6-10 NLT
[6]”You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand— you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings. [7] Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: [8] I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart…”

Part of Messiah’s role on earth was to reveal the true nature of the Father.

“…[9] I have told all your people about your justice. I have not been afraid to speak out, as you, O Lord, well know. [10] I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness.”

So, He did the Father’s will…

Philippians 2:7-8 NLT
[7]” Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, [8] he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”

Fourth, Jesus, the Son of God, is faithful to His “house”.

Hebrews 3:5-6 NIV
[5] “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,” bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. [6] But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.”

Jesus is head of the church, His house or household of redeemed people. He is in charge of all things, i.e.,

Ephesians 1:22-23 NLT
[22]”God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. [23] And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”

He loves, leads, and serves the church as His bride-to-be in preparation for and inticipation of His return.

Ephesians 5:25-27 NIV
[25]”…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her [26] to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, [27] and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

Fifth, Jesus is faithful to His promises.

2 Corinthians 1:19-20 NLT
[19]” For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, does not waver between “Yes” and “No.” He is the one whom Silas, Timothy, and I preached to you, and as God’s ultimate “Yes,” he always does what he says. [20] For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

Jesus’ faithfulness…to Himself, His calling, His work, His people, and His promises…forms the solid foundation for His requirement of faithfulness to Him in all the facets of our lives and service.

“What a celebration of who you are, Jesus, what you have done, and what you are doing as God-made-flesh so that we can become replicas of who you are! Every detail of my faithfulness to you, tattered and shredded as it is because of who I am, is a glad celebration of You, or not at all!”