From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture reveals God’s redeeming love for humanity. From the shedding of animal blood to clothe Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21), to the giving of Seth as a replacement for righteous Abel so that the godly line and inheritance would continue (Genesis 4:25), God consistently acts to redeem what was lost.
Ultimately, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to save sinners (John 3:16; Galatians 4:4–5). Jesus came not merely as a servant, but as the Son, and through Him, many sons would be brought to glory (Hebrews 2:10). Inheritance belongs to sons, not servants:
“The servant does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever” (John 8:35).
The Father testified of Him and affirmed Him publicly. Though Jesus was eternally the Son, He learned obedience through the things He suffered (Hebrews 5:8). Having been perfected—not in nature, but in obedience and priestly qualification—He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him (Hebrews 5:9).
His public affirmation as Son came before the commencement of His ministry and prior to the performance of any miracle. Through willing submission to His earthly parents and to all appointed authority, He grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52). Having been approved, He was sent by the Father to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
Sonship, Servanthood, and Being “Sendable”
Not everyone in the Father’s house is sendable. Jesus illustrates this truth in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15). Though the elder son remained in the house, his heart was not aligned with the Father’s redemptive purpose. He neither rejoiced at the recovery of the lost nor shared the Father’s compassion.
Before long, the elder son removed himself from the house and remained outside, speaking and reasoning like a servant rather than a son. This fulfills Jesus’ words:
“The servant does not remain in the house forever” (John 8:35).
Both sons and servants can be found in the house, but only sons carry the Father’s heart. Servants may work in the house, obey instructions, and even claim sonship, yet be servants in the eyes of the Father because they lack compassion for the lost. When sinners return to the house, such servants are irritated by their restoration and wish they had never returned. In time, they lose even their perceived sonship and find themselves outside the house—like servants.
Joseph was sent by his father to seek the welfare of his brothers (Genesis 37:13–14). Jacob could have sent servants, especially considering that his sons were in Shechem—a region associated with danger, hostility, and the aftermath of violent conflict involving Simeon and Levi, which left Jacob’s household under threat from surrounding peoples (Genesis 34:25–30).
Moreover, Joseph’s brothers hated him, and the journey itself was perilous. Yet Joseph did not turn back. This is because sons—not servants—are sent to redeem lost sons and bring them back unto glory. Joseph’s obedience eventually led to the redemption and preservation of his entire family—and to his own elevation and inheritance (Genesis 50:20).
We need sons, not servants, to redeem many sons unto glory. A son of God is one who is saved and is led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:14). To receive God’s testimony and public approval, a believer must learn obedience through the hands of parents, teachers, and all whom God appoints as instruments of instruction.
Through suffering to the flesh and submission to God’s process, obedience is perfected. When this work is complete, God testifies of such a one and sends him to the lost—just as He testified of His Son and sent Him into the world.
What It Means to Be Sendable by the Father
To be sendable is to be approved by the Father to participate in His work of redeeming many sons unto glory (Hebrews 2:10). Those who are truly sendable reflect the following qualities:
- They do not count their lives as their own
Jesus said:
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it” (Luke 9:23–24).
Like Joseph, sendable sons are willing to risk themselves for the sake of their brethren (Genesis 37). Scripture testifies that Joseph was sent by God ahead of his brothers to preserve life and inheritance (Psalm 105:17). - They persist until the Father’s assignment is fulfilled
Joseph could have turned back, but he pressed on until he found his brothers. His obedience was not partial or convenient—it was rooted in pleasing his father and, ultimately, God. - They share the Father’s compassion for the lost
Their obedience flows from love, not duty. They rejoice when the lost are found and see redemption as the purpose of their sending.
The Elder Brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son
The elder brother in the parable represents the religious leadership of Israel, embodied institutionally in the Sanhedrin—the priests, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. Though entrusted with the oracles of God, they lacked His redemptive heart.
Jesus testified that they traveled land and sea to make converts, yet made them “twice as much a son of hell” (Matthew 23:15). Because of this posture, they were not sendable by the Father—unlike Joseph, who was sent by God (Psalm 105:17), or Jesus, who was sent by the Father, and who in turn sent His disciples into the world to bring the lost into God’s house (John 20:21).
They preferred control over compassion, position over redemption. Content to manage the house, they resisted the Father’s desire that His house be filled (Luke 14:23).
Tragically, the elder brother ends the parable outside the house, while the once-lost younger son remains inside. This mirrors Israel’s temporary hardening, through which salvation has come to the Gentiles (Romans 11:11–25). As Scripture warns, “the first shall be last, and the last shall be first” (Matthew 19:30; 20:16).We were saved to save others. Fruitfulness is not optional in the Kingdom. Jesus declares that “every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away… and such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:2, 6).
Conclusion
Inheritance is not secured by proximity to the house, but by sonship expressed through obedience and compassion. Servants may remain for a season, but only sons abide forever. Only those who share the Father’s heart are made sendable—and only the sendable enter fully into their inheritance.
The question, then, is not whether you are in the house, but whether you are approved and sendable. Are you sendable?
