Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – Watching the Father: The Importance of Knowledge Stewardship

By Eric Adams
January 2009

“Jesus gave them this answer: ‘I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.’” – John 5:19

It sounds so simple—Jesus does only what he sees his Father doing. We long for such simplicity, for such assurance and conviction that the things we do are right simply because we have seen the Father and follow his lead. No debate, no mincing over doctrine or dogma, no theological posturing, competing hermeneutics, or contorted exegesis to fit agendas. No argument.

We just act on what we see. Pure and simple.

But how do we see what the Father is doing? Is it a shimmer in the air, deft fingerprints glimpsed for an instant, a fleeting glow lingering on objects around us? While perceiving the Father’s movements was natural for Jesus, we find ourselves wrestling with the world, the flesh, and the devil—all of which prey upon our weaknesses and find footholds within our souls to distort, deceive, and even defile what we perceive.

Yet the Father is faithful to show himself to his people as we respond to his love and walk in the obedience of faith. He reveals himself through: interaction with his word, the intimacy of prayer, worship, committed community, and the counsel of the Holy Spirit.

Doing What We Know
If we have eyes to see, the Father also reveals himself as he works in, through, and around his people as the gospel is communicated to new cultural contexts. He has done this throughout history, extending even to today. God’s ability to draw the human heart into his kingdom is unchanging from age to age, culture to culture. Therefore, another way we discern what the Father is doing is to be deeply committed students of the patterns of fruitfulness between God and his people through history and across today’s harvest fields.

Many field workers learn valuable lessons at the edges of the kingdom as they watch, listen, and follow the Father’s lead. As they take the time to reflect upon their experiences, they develop knowledge of the Father and his ways, learning to partner with him to effectively sow, nurture, reap, and harvest.

This kind of knowing results from apprehending and experiencing reality, not encountering intellectual information about some abstract principle or idea. It is not the possession of information, but rather the way we live out with natural consistency and integrity what we know and believe. Biblically, to know the Father in this way is not an abstract and impersonal activity, but is direct partnership with him in his saving actions in the world today.

Simply, we do what we know.

Through twenty-five years of living and working in the Muslim world, Frontiers members have accumulated practical knowledge enabling them to better partner with the Father and bear fruit. In our fields, the “fruit” that lasts are healthy, growing communities of Muslim-background followers of Jesus who retain a witness among the larger Muslim community and are a source of blessing to society around them.

Eric Adams (pseudonym) and his wife pioneered a church-planting effort in South Asia for many years among a Muslim unreached people. Adams is presently a member of the Frontiers Knowledge Stewardship team and lives with his family in England.