"Here is a great mystery. What can it mean for God to be loved by God? Within the inward relations of the Trinity we see the most perfect of all affections. The one who loves—in this case, the Father—loves with a 

perfect love. His affection knows no imperfection. And the one who is loved—in this case, the Son—is perfectly worthy to be loved. Thus there can be no more perfect love than the Father’s love for his beloved Son within the Trinity. With the Father’s expression of affection came a word of approval: “with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). There is always something precious about a father’s approval. Is anything more important for a son than to have his father’s blessing? Notice the precise wording of what the Father said to the Son: “with you I am well pleased.” The very person of the Son pleased the Father. The Son was pleasing to the Father just because he was the Son. But the Father was also pleased with the Son’s obedience. By submitting to baptism, Jesus was choosing to take the part of sinful humanity. He was agreeing to carry out the great task the Father had given him: to suffer and to die for sinners. So the Father blessed him." The smile of fatherly approval rested on Jesus all the days of his life. As the Son did the work of our salvation, the Father was pleased with everything he did. He was pleased with his obedience to his parents. He was pleased with his resistance to temptation. He was pleased with his teaching and his miraculous deeds of mercy. He was pleased with his life of prayer. He was pleased most of all with the sinless sacrifice that he offered on the cross. We know this because he raised Jesus from the dead, which was the ultimate proof of his approval. The Father was pleased with all of it. He was pleased with what Jesus had done, was doing, and would do. The Father took pleasure in the person and work of his Son. The empty tomb is the proof of the Father’s affection and his approval for his beloved only Son."


Ryken, Philip; LeFebvre, Michael (2011-04-05). Our Triune God: Living in the Love of the Three-in-One (pp. 99-100). Good News Publishers/Crossway Books. Kindle Edition.



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