Trinity: Father (sermon study & manuscript)

Title: The Father’s Invitation

Text: Mark 9:2-8, II Peter 1:15-21

Series: An Invitation to the Life of God

Ill: When we entered into the covenant of marriage, we did know quite a bit about our spouse, but we hopefully have grown to know more about one another in covenant. It would be morally wrong and devastating to a relationship for someone to agree to be in covenant, and then live like the only thing that mattered was the day of the wedding ceremony — never taking time to increasingly know the one you’re in covenant with, and seeing everything else about them as irrelevant since now you are married. Yet, there are many Christians that treat the Theology of the Trinity this way. It is as though the day they were saved is the most important day in all of history and as if knowing the Person is really irrelevant.

Why are we studying the Trinity? Who cares, if we are already saved?

All this Trinity Talk is for scholars, theologians, preachers, and teachers. We don’t need this.

I want to challenge this notion. Salvation is an invitation into something; it is not an end in itself. Salvation is an invitation from Someone. What that Someone is — is God.

Yet, several other problems persist in our Theology that reveal why we need to learn more about the Trinity.

First, It would seem impossible that some would have too much Christology, but that is just the case. When one’s Christology drowns a Theology of the Father, I don’t believe even Christ Himself would agree with you. In addition, when someone has a Holy Spirit Theology that drowns out the Theology of the Father, they manifest a warped view of the Trinity.

Second, there is an element of irreverence in many of our prayers. We open thoughtlessly and offer insincere prayers that are hasty in their beginnings… “Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day...” seems to be a thoughtless phrase that leads us to a cliff of thoughtfulness. This shows that we have underestimated the reverence that the Father deserves.

Thirdly, there is a segment of Christians who tend to lean more heavily upon general revelation of Creation, Conscience, Reason, and Emotion over an above special revelation in order to experience and enjoy relationship with the Father. Not even St. Peter will agree with you on this, as we will see. Our view of the One with whom we are in covenant is warped, which means our understanding of the gospel and of salvation is warped. We need to take a fresh look at who has extended an invitation, to what have we been invited, what is the occasion of this invitation, and what are the RSVP options.

It is my contention that we humble ourselves and reverence God our Father.

I. Who is the Invitation from? Mark 9:2-8.

It may appear that Jesus is the one who is doing the inviting here, but that is not the case. As we consider this story, there are two people who we hear speak during this actual event: Peter and God. This event reveals to us the Father and several things about God the Father.

The Father.

The Father is the 1st Person of the Trinity

Theologically, the Father begets the Son. Psalm 2:7.

Economically, He is he One to Whom the Son submits.

Practically, this means that the Father is at Work through the Son Mark 9:5. Ephesians 1:1-6.

Historically, the Father has always been the Father.

Father to Israel (Deuteronomy 32:6).

Father to Adam (Luke 3:38)

Eternal Father to the Son (John 17:24).

Ill: Typically, there is a life event that takes place for someone to become a father humanly-speaking. There was no life event that happened with God, the Father. What He has always been in the Trinity, He has made known to us in humanity.

App: (1) Be careful that you don’t use your human lens to interpret how God the Father should be but rather, Let Who God the Father has always been tell you what Fatherhood should look like. In this case we see that the Father is NOT inactive like many fathers are today — lazy about their domestic relationships and duties. In many ways, the life that is missing in the homes is the result of fathers who have neglected their families for the sake of themselves.

The Father is Personal Mark 9:7-8.

The Cloud of His Presence (7)

This along with the two men, Moses and Elijah, connect back to the Old Testament cloud that showed the presence of God.

God’s presence is the most important gift He could give his people. One might say that the most important gift is good health, great wealth, or immeasurable wisdom; but when you get the Presence of God, you get God.

This shows us a bit of the condescension of the Father.

The Voice (7) reveals:

The Father is distinct from the Son. (He speaks in narrative that incl. the Son)

Their personal relations to each other does not diminish their what-ness.

Illustration: The fact that I am a father does not diminish the fact that I am a human being. Who I am is a father. What I am is a human being.

Who they are is who they are fully.

Illustration: This is where the human illustration is insufficient. As a human father, I can where different hats and be different Who’s. I can be a pastor, a husband, a father; but with the Trinity, The Father is who He is fully and unchangeably.

The Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost are distinct only in how they relate to each other. The Father is never the Son. The Son is never the Father. The Holy Spirit is never the Father. Nor is the Father ever the Holy Spirit.

The Father is Humble (condescending to communicate to his creatures)

God chooses to communicate in language that mankind can understand.

The Father is Love (“beloved Son”)

Because God is a simple Being who is not made up of parts, we should not think that He does anything that does not involve the giving of Himself.

When God expresses love, he is revealing WHO HE IS not just something He is doing.

Illustration: Many of you have jobs. When you leave your place of employment, many of you disconnect from what you do for a living. That is not the case with God. You cannot separate what God does from Who He is.

The Father is Co-Existent (giving honor to the Son) - II Peter 1:17.

He is not a narcissist. The security within the relationship between the Father and the Son is Perfect and the Father gives honor to the Son though the Father is the First Person of the Godhead.

App: Yet again we learn that the Father is not an impersonal, unloving, speechless Person. What do we say about the Christians who say that this is their Father, yet they ignore conversations with brothers and sisters. Worse still, what of those who communicate harsh words to one another rather than love and kindness that build up.

App: What over those individuals who are so insecure that they have to use their words to gain control rather than give honor to others image-bearers. This Father is Personal.

The Father is Powerful (Mark 9:7)

The Father has authoritative power (He commands - “Hear Him”)

Here we have confirmed that the father is the authority without compromising his humility or personal nature.

In John 12:29, the Father spoke to the Son and the witnesses thought it was thunder.

Illustration: A thunder that shakes not only our windows but your inner senses. Shakes you. The people were confused as to whether it was thunder or a supernatural being like an angel speaking.

The Father is Majestic in Power - II Peter 1:17

“Excellent Glory” = “Majestic Glory” = Magnificent - Deut. 33:26 (Septuagint).

Majesty is a kind of power that is not heard as much as it is observed and felt. You may not be able to see the thunder, but you can hear it and feel it; but with majesty, the sight is overwhelming. Mark 9:6.

The overwhelming sight left Peter unsure about what to say or do.

Illustration: Isaiah 6:4.

The Father’s Power is not Unappeasable - II Peter 1:17. (am well pleased)

This softens or shapes our understanding of his power. We should not think of God as so powerful in speech and presence that He cannot be pleased.

The Father is the 1st Person, the Personal Father, and the Powerful Father. It is this Father who is at work and has extended an invitation into His life.

App: In seeing what the Father is showing towards the Son and towards the disciples, we get a glimpse into the hospitality and love that existed within the Trinity. This is a far cry from the those who are attacking the people of God from within — those who sit in their homes casting doubt in the minds of others. This is inhospitable and sinful. The good news is that there is a Father who invites you to himself.

Ill: Christians who spend their time attacking other churches dishonor the name of the Father before a lost world. Have you ever seen a family in a restaurant with multiple kids who just could not stop fighting.

App: It is also important to see this kind Father as possessing in himself a quality of hospitality that welcomes in the outsiders. Who is that in your life?

II. What does the Invitation Say?

The Son.

The Father has Sent His eternal Begotten Son (Mark 9:7) - This is my son...

The Father’s Fatherhood of the Son did not begin with the Incarnation - John 17:24.

The Father has eternally begotten the Son - The Generation of the Son is the eternal relationship within which the Father and Son have existed.

This means that the Father is the Fountainhead of all Deity (Beeke, A Puritan Theology, p. 93)

Illustration: We are human beings. Where did we get our status as “human beings”? We received our what-ness from other human beings called parents. Jesus and the Holy Spirit receive their what-ness from the Father. The key distinction is that they never had a beginning to their what-ness. They have eternally existed in this way within their Who-ness.

The Truth here is that the Son proceeds from the Father.

It may be helpful to think of this as the FRUITFULNESS of the Father.

Ill: Jake Taube. We tend to think that before the Creation, things were just dark, lifeless and without movement; but that is not the case. Imagine the most life-filled scene; the Mall at Christmas time or Black Friday after Thanksgiving. As you consider the hustle and bustle of that scene, multiply that by a Trillion infinity and you have not even begun to understand the life that exists in the Trinity. When you see the life of creation, the Cosmos, and complex organisms, you must know that this life first existed in the Godhead before it existed outside of the Godhead. Thus, when we say that the Father is Fruitful, we mean that light and life proceeds from the Father. Included in this is that the Son has eternally proceeded from the Father.

This means that the God-ness of God is communicated within the Godhead eternally, while the distinctive Personhoods stand.

John 3:35, John 5:19-26, 5:30, 5:36-37, 6:37, 44, 6:57, 8:29

The Father Invites through the Son - “Hear Him” (believe & obey HIM).

While we make much about the Son, the Son makes much about His mission — that is to be the way to the Father

John 14:6.

Illustration: A Christmas Gram: Walter Hobbs; “Who sent this Christmas Gram?” In the movie, Elf was the message. When we consider the Father, the Son is the message.

Jesus was on mission for the Father.

Jesus is the way to the Father. Jesus lived in exaltation of the Father. Jesus received those the Father gave to Him. Jesus hallowed the Father’s name. Jesus prayed to the Father. Jesus asked for the Father’s Kingdom to come. Jesus prayed for the Father’s will to be done. Jesus is the Father’s invitation to the life of God. The Father! The Father! The Father! Jesus was all about doing the work of the Father and bringing people into relationship with the Father. Hebrews 1:2.

Ill: Irenaeus use the metaphor: The Father used two his two arms - the Son and the Spirit.

In particular, the Father is calling all men to righteousness and forgiveness of sin through the Son. Ephesians 1:2-4. [holy and without blame]

III. What is the Occasion?

Adoption.

The Father said, “Hear Him” - the Son.

Jesus said many things but if the Son is the Father’s message, then we should carefully consider that the Father did not come and the Holy Spirit did not come to do what the Son was sent to do. What does this mean?

The Sonship of the Son tells us something of the kind of work that the Father intends to happen.

First, Sonship leads us to believe that this work was not to be done by angels or any other created being.

Second, Sonship leads us to surmise that this is a personal work that must be accomplished by God.

Third, the fact that it is the person of the Son, at very least, causes you to observe the Son, see how the Son relates to the Father, and consider:

We are not sons like the Son

We can imagine what it means to have a true relationship with God only by seeing the Son.

Illustration: It is like learning by observation, and having learned only one way by observation. in Ghana, when visiting notoriety, the missionary said to us, when we enter here, do what I do and only what I do. He then proceeded to give us other tips. The only way we knew how to relate to this earthly king, was by observation and we were relating to this earthly king in the same way that the missionary related to this earthly king. What then is the only way we know the Father, know how to relate to the Father? Is it not as we consider the Son? As we consider the Son? We observe the Son and we learn how orphan-like we really are — we don’t talk like the Son, behave like the Son, walk like the Son, forgive like the Son…and this tells us how unworthy we must be before His Father [SEMINAL ISSUE WITH MANY WHO ARE UNBELIEVERS]. This is the first recognition we make. We are sinful before the Father and need a righteousness like the Son and forgiveness for our sinfulness.

The good news is that the Father sent the Son not to merely make sinful people to be forgiven but to make orphans to become sons. The Father sent the Son to make many sons. This is the beauty and wonder of adoption. This is the occasion of the invitation. Jesus, the Son, is the Father inviting us to become His children through adoption.

Grudem, “Adoption is an act of God whereby he makes us members of his family.”

[Adoption sealed by the Holy Spirit - Galatians 4:4-6; Romans 8:14-15.

IV. What are the RSVP Options?

Reverence.

Application

How Should We Respond to His Invitation? [What are the RSVP Options?]

How should we respond to the Father’s Invitation?

By reverencing the Son through receiving Him (Mark 12:6)

Have you reverenced the Father by first receiving His invitation?

By reverencing the Father’s Name as we Open our Prayers

Is the most irreverent part of your prayer the opening?

By reverencing the Father’s Name among the lost.

Do your life and lips reveal that your reverence the Father?

By Reverencing the Father, as He is revealed in His Word (II Peter 1).

Is what you know of the Father tethered to the Word preeminently or to your emotional and rational judgments?

Kid’s Page Updates:

What are we learning about God in this sermon?

Draw something you heard in the sermon or in a song?

Words you don’t know yet (from the sermon)

The most important thing I learned today:

I can use this in my life by...

Possible Titles

Possible Hymns:

Discussion Questions:

Read Mark 9:2-8. What do we learn about God the Father from this passage? Why are these truths about God the Father so important?

Who is the active Person of the Trinity in Mark 9:2-8?

Who is the Person of the Trinity who extends an invitation in Mark 9:2-8?

What does God the Father invite people to do with Jesus in Mark 9:2-8?

What happens when someone responds to the invitation from God the Father and receives the Son? [this is called the doctrine of A_________.]

What is one good reason from Mark 9:2-8 why we should tell the lost about God the Father and Jesus the Son?

Pastoral Prayer:

Praise & Admiration of God:

Government Leaders:

Praises and Struggles of Congregation:

Other Churches:

Sanctification of Congregation:

Those Taking Gospel Around World:

The Lost:

Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Your Name has revealed to us that you are the Self-existent One — the One Who has not beginning and no end.

May Your kingdom continue to advance in the hearts of men who are living among the kingdoms of this world. For the leaders of the kingdom of this world, we pray. We pray that you would thwart the efforts by Russia to assert their authority in Ukraine. For President Biden, we pray for his ability to think and reason but most importantly for his soul. Please give wisdom to the leaders of our world. Remind them of their need for you.

May your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. As the angels serve at your bidding, cause the Pastors of this church to serve here. As there is worshipful celebration of Your Person in Heaven, cause the members of this congregation to celebrate You.

May your will be done among the churches in our local area. For Pastor Kevin Landis and the Bible Chapel of Delhi Hills we thank you and ask your blessings on their meetings today.

May your will be done throughout the earth. May the gospel of Your Son continue to be preached in our homes, in our churches, and around the globe.

Give to Us our daily bread. Remind us that you are the Source of all of our necessities. And please forgiven us our sin as we forgive those who have sinned against us. In our congregation, there are those who are holding bitterness in their hearts towards others. Please help them to exercise the kind of forgiveness towards others that you have lavished upon them.

And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Father, in our midst there are those who are under the grips of the evil one. The evil one has them blinded by their self-righteousness. The evil one has them blinded by drunkenness. The evil one has them blinded by the pleasures of this life. Deliver them from this blindness.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.