In Hebrews 11:3 it says that "by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God" — and note, that’s not the world was framed, but worlds were framed — plural. The subject of discipleship is a world of its own, a world within a world, like the wheel within the wheel of Ezekiel 1:16. Which is one set of complex spiritual dynamics that interact with a bigger set of spiritual dynamics. A subset of the big picture, but without which the big picture cannot function.

     One of the most pivotal and critical scriptures to understanding “the purpose” of discipleship is the pure gold inside Psalm 2:7. Which is one of the Father speaking. And He says: “You ARE My Son. Today, I have begotten You.” Which is a scripture that is found in three places in the word of God. In Psalm 2:7, in Hebrews 5:5 and in Acts 13:33. And being three, we will also see that three is a central theme weaved "as a golden thread" throughout all the word of God, as well as all that is the great commission of the “call of discipleship”.

     And just like this scripture is found in three places, it's a scripture that also tells us three things.

1. Firstly, this is the Father speaking — of His Son. Not just to His Son. For it is a public announcement. Which are the kind of words that every child wants to hear. And the promise of these words is that for all those who hearken unto the call of discipleship, these are the words that those who do hearken the call will also all hear. You are My son. Today, I have begotten you.

2. Secondly, if you look at the scripture, it says “You ARE My Son”. With special stress laid upon ARE. Which is both an affirmation and a declaration. For just before God the Father makes that public announcement, He says "I will declare the decree". Which means that these words are both a declaration and a decree. But a declaring and decree subject to the condition that it is “only on this day and this day only”, a day unlike any other day, that God would make this public decree and public declaration. And why this is important, is because just like the theme of threes is a golden thread knitting the “wheel-within-the-wheel” with many spokes together, did Jesus not say in Matthew 10:32, that “whoever acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My Father in heaven”? And did Jesus not acknowledge His Father before others. And is this not His Father in heaven now acknowledging Him in return? Which confirms that for those who follow Jesus in acknowledging the Father before others, these are precisely the same words that we will also hear as a public decree and declaration from our Father in heaven.

3. But thirdly, and the key nugget in this whole scripture is the single word of “TODAY”. That today, this day, and no other day, I have begotten You. So whilst Jesus was always His Son, it was only on this specific day that God begot His Son. Being the precise reason and occasion for what prompted God to make the public decree and announcement of His Son in the first place.

     So with God saying , “I will declare the decree”, by way of the golden thread that knits everything together as one spiritual dynamic, a living, moving word of God, this proves the other two incredible things that God said in Isaiah 46:10 and Ecclesiastes 3:11.

1. Firstly, when God makes the declaration that “today I beget My Son”, which is at the end of Jesus earthly ministry, is this not God the Father declaring that “better is the end of a matter than it's beginning”?

2. And when God decrees, "You ARE My Son”, is this not God settling the matter for once and for all. Which is to decree the end of a thing. It is settled! You ARE My Son!

      So the whole point of this is that by the example of Jesus life and personal walk, we have “a sign and a proof point” before our own eyes and ears that we can fully trust God's word that, most definitely, better IS the end of the matter than the beginning! For was this not a “happily ever after” story ending for Jesus and the Father? Because on that day, did God not finally beget His Son? And Jesus beget His Father? For did Jesus not cry out on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).

     Which also means that by God the Father confirming publicly that Jesus is His Son by saying You ARE My Son, means Jesus did something publicly that confirmed for God that Jesus was His Son. Which was by publicly “honouring” His Father. Which according to John 4:34 was by publicly (1) doing His will and (2) finishing what His Father started. Which was to effectively publicly prove He was His son. And if you think we don’t need to prove the same thing to God, which is to prove our own sonship by honouring Him, which is by doing His will, then as part of our call to discipleship, one of the requirements found in Romans 12:2 is what? For us to prove the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For does a true son not honour His parents? And is that not the first commandment that carries a promise? (Ephesians 6:2). Which is a prize we will see later that Jesus collected on. And which is the same prize Paul speaks of pressing on for, being the prize of the upward call of God in Christ (Philippians 3:14). And what else but the call to discipleship is that upward call of God in Christ? Which tells us what? That for those who press on to finish the race that is the upward call of God in Christ of discipleship, we too shall receive that prize.

     So the first question then is, in the natural, when does a father beget a son? Is it at the point of conception? Which is when the seed is first deposited? Or is it rather not only after the whole nine-months of pregnancy following initial conception? Which is when a son finally emerges for the first time as a new creation? Or finally reveals himself before all the world unto his expectant father? And when does that same father then make the happy public announcement and decree of having begot a son? Is it at the moment of conception? Surely not? For at that time, just as 1 John 3:2 says, “it is not yet know what we shall be when we are revealed”, the natural parent doesn’t know what they are getting, whether it is a boy or a girl, or what they may look like, until they finally see their child first emerge. Therefore, is it rather not customary then to only “on the day” — like for God the Father — that a father receives his child into his arms from the birthing channel of life, to then make the proud declaration and happy confirmation that today, this day, I have begotten my son?

     Which begs yet another question. What was so significant about that specific day that God the Father felt compelled to make that same declaration that “Today, I have begotten My Son”?

In answering this, a big misconception is the understanding of the statement “we have been made in the image and likeness of God”. The key question is when exactly were we made? When Adam was created in the Garden of Eden? Or when man fell? The man that stood before God in the garden of Eden could only stand before the living God because he was the image and likeness of God. And did Adam and God not walk shoulder to shoulder? Which is to touch each other? And yet, by what happened to the man carrying the Ark of the Covenant, we know this is an image and likeness which man had clearly lost. For when he touched the Ark, which like Adam is to touch God, unlike Adam, he died instantly. Which whilst initially it may have seemed harsh, but it was for an object lesson from the Father heart of God to reveal to us all that we had in fact lost something we once used to have.

      So then, to answer our question of why God made the same public declaration, as if a child had been born unto Him, by publicly confirming “You are My Son. Today, I have begotten You”, then:

1. The word tells us that in Jesus first coming, Jesus made Himself “as a man”. Which is to take on a man’s body. And is a man’s body not perishable? Does it not age and wither and then eventually die? For did Jesus not age? Did He not grow up, and His body change from year to year, and only at the age of 30 enter into His earthly ministry? So by making Himself as a man that could age, Jesus stripped Himself of His immortal body, and took on the form of man, which is a mortal body that dies. Which is the way a curse works. It slowly does its work until it is finally complete. And isn’t death the curse that Jesus came to defeat and take upon Himself? Isn’t written, “He became a curse for us, because “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”? (Galatians 3:13).

2. The word also says He made Himself of no reputation. Which although it means He humbled Himself before His Father that His Father’s name may be glorified, it also means He removed His glory. For did He walk on the earth wearing His glory. No. He didn’t. He made Himself least — which is to have no glory.

3. Which is precisely what all of man lost when they fell. For though we were originally made above all things in Genesis 1:26, which was before the fall, through the fall, we now too had become least. Which is what "to fall" means. Which is why God says we have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4). Which is why God also says pride comes before the fall (Proverbs 16:18). For did Adam not show great pride in eating from the forbidden tree? And why God also says, anyone who exalts himself will be humbled (Matthew 23:12). And have we not been humbled by the fall? For when Philippians 2:7 says that Jesus “emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant, having been made in the likeness of men”, it means making Himself in the likeness of fallen man, the humbled man, and not in the likeness of the man before the fall. Which is a man now empty of glory.

4. Another way we know that fallen man lost the glory is because the light of the glory knows no dark. It is a pure light, without spot or blemish. So when the dark of sin entered man, it means the glory was lost at the very same instant and time.

5. Another way we know this to be true is because the word of God tells us that Adam and Eve were suddenly “naked” before the LORD. Which was to have been stripped naked of both the eternal life of the immortal and the eternal light of the imperishable that they once wore as a garment of glory when they walked with God.

6. Which is why the word of God says, "ALL have sinned AND fallen short of what? The glory of God" (Romans 3:23). That we are able to sin means we no longer have that glory. Which is also why we can, and do, now also know darkness. For those who finish the walk of the way of discipleship and make it to the New Jerusalem, does the word of God not say in Revelation 22:5 that there will no more night there? For the Lord God gives them light? Which is speaking of the glory of God upon all men.

      So what we can learn, then, about what was so different about Jesus on that day that God the Father said “You ARE My Son. Today, I have begotten You”, is that because Jesus had emptied Himself of His glory — where His glory means to be full of life and light — so that He may be made in the likeness of fallen man — which is in the likeness of a fallen man now empty of his former life and light — this tells us that before the Father could receive unto Himself His Son once more, which is to beget His Son, His Son had to first be restored to His former glory. Which is to be restored into the image and likeness of His former self. For a man can only stand before the living God if he is in the image and likeness of God. Which is precisely what made that very day a day worthy of public announcement and decree on that great day. Because this was the day in which Jesus was resurrected from death into life. Which was not just a day of being resurrected to the previous likeness of fallen man, being what Jesus was made in the likeness of before He died. For that would be resurrected from death to death. For is the body of fallen man not still subject to death? But this was the resurrection from death to life, which is to the life of His original likeness. Which is a body with immortal life. Which is why Jesus says He is both the resurrection and the life (John 11:25). For does the word of God not say that Jesus defeated death? And to the point of what this meant, does 2 Timothy 1:10 not say that Jesus “abolished death and did what? Brought life and immortality to what? To light.”