Christmas-Week 3-'Everlasting Father'

take the lost orphan and make them a loved child of God

Father wasn’t ‘a way’ that Jesus taught his disciples to recognize God - it was THE way

The term used (abba in aramaic, pater in greek) was a term of intimate affection / ‘Daddy’ in english

Daddy doesn’t carry the right connotation necessarily, but our term Father definitely doesn’t. Daddy is closer

God is our father in that we all were created by Him

And this was the first relationship we were created to have with God - adam and eve as God’s children, God as their Father

God as the Father is only really understood fully when considering Jesus as the Son

We call this the Trinity. But our root understanding about God comes from this Trinitarian idea that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit

And it’s this intense closeness that we are adopted into as God’s children

Isaiah 9:6–7 NIV

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

‘Everlasting Father’

So this phrase here is an interesting one, because it finds it’s fulfillment, not just in Jesus himself - but in another relationship Jesus invites us into.

Matthew 28:18–19 NIV

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

This is ‘The Trinity’

John 10:30–33 NIV

I and the Father are one.” Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

This is a complex teaching called ‘the trinity’.

We understand the idea of the Holy Spirit working through people in the OT.

And many times God calls himself the ‘Father’ of Israel through the scriptures.

Jesus connects all the dots.

We Understand the Divine Fatherhood of God Because of Jesus

Furthermore, Jesus is the one that draws us into this intimate relationship.

Matthew 11:27 NIV

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

The only person who truly knows the father is the son - and those to whom the son reveals Him

And here’s the thing - God as Father isn’t just ONE of the ways that Jesus revealed God to us. It was the PRIMARY way.

Abba / Pater

That’s meaningful to say that, of all the different types of character God COULD be, he is our Father

He could be a task master, or a stern drill sargent, or slave driver. But the way God approaches us is as a father.

We are adopted as God’s children through receiving Jesus

John 1:12–13 NIV

Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

So in one sense, God is the father of all humanity, because he created us all

But in a different sense, the Bible holds this term father in a special place for those people who confess faith in Jesus.

The story of the prodigal son. The son abandoned him, but that didn’t stop the father from being…the father.

But apart from the father - the son suffered, and would have eventually perished.

When he returned - the father put the son back in that state of relationship with him that he had before. and fed him, and clothed him, and took care of him.

Our Father takes care of us

Matthew 6:26 NIV

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

The bible teaches that God does so much in creation.

How much do we unconsciously act like God is pretty absent in our own lives? Simply because it’s difficult for us to see and understand what He’s doing?

We want assurance through evidence and proof, and God laying out his plans for our approval. But that’s not what the bible asks us to do.

Hebrews 11:1 NIV

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Jesus says - the father feeds even the birds, and you’re worth much more than that to Him. And so faith says - that’s good for me.

But this care extends beyond just feeding and clothing us.

Hebrews 12:5–8 NIV

And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.

so Paul here goes so far as to say, if the Lord isn’t disciplining you (and remember the real definition of this word) - then you’re not really his children.

Because the Lord accepts us - but he also wants to see us become the best version of ourselves.

And here’s the great thing - this is both a reminder and a promise. It’s a reminder that God will work on building us up and we should keep heart - but it’s also a promise that God WILL work on building us up and disciplining us

So any time you feel like you haven’t hit a high enough mark, or you missed the boat, or whatever. Just remind yourself - God isn’t finished with me.

Learn to stand on God’s promises through the Bible

Here’s a good example:

Psalm 23:1–4 NIV

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

So what sort of promises do we see through this?

We can say we lack nothing.

We can say he takes us to green pastures and quiet waters

We can say God will refresh us, and guide us down the right paths

We can say that we can fear nothing, because God is here.

By standing on the promises of God, we align ourselves to the practices of God

I’m convinced this is why so many people miss what God is doing or want to do in their lives. Because they’re still, in some fashion, working at it in their own strength, their own plans, their own priorities.

Now, as much as God cares for us as a father, that means something for all of us.

God as our father means we care for each other

STORY - My wife is constantly telling the kids, one day, when you grow up, you’ll need to be there for each other.

Ephesians 4:3–6 NIV

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

so paul reminds us - if God is our father, that means we’re spiritual siblings. And that means, we need to try as hard as we can to keep unity.

I think there’s a lot of people in a lot of churches that treat fellow believers worse than they would treat members of their family

And i think there’s a lot of people in a lot of churches that don’t treat family as well as they should.

See and treat each other like family

Romans 12:10 NIV

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Often times, we act like the point is the way we do things.

But the point is, who we do things with.

STORY - Christmas - always having new people there

Other translations render this verse ‘outdo one another in showing honor’.

The point is - this is what we should fight for as the family of God.

And the best part is - this isn’t that hard.

But there’s a holy priority in being the family of God

1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

In the greek, and the english here - the ‘you’ is plural. So It’s true to say that God lives in each one of us. But Paul also teaches, that our unity and togetherness and family is also where God dwells.

So that means - we should put MORE effort into keeping our church family crack free than our church stuff.