Father in Heaven
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Father God
Father God
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Yesterday, 16 June was “Youth Day”.
Some, more worthwhile than others.
11 June was International “German Chocolate Cake day”.
27th June - Pineapple day
7th July - Chocolate day
August 10th - International Lazy day.
One of my favourite days is 25 February - National Milk tart day.
Today: 17 June 2018 - Fathers day.
We all have “Fathers”.
If you are alive; you have a father.
Some of you appreciate your father.
Some may love your father.
Others, may think you have no reason to respect your father.
Is it possible, that you may even hate your father?
Or, that you don’t care for or about your father?
I am a father.
My children went through stages where they hated me, loved me, ignored me, rebelled against me,
I have a father - he is 92 years old and in a care centre.
We have had our challenges over the years.
Many people claim - that your relationship to your earthly father has an effect
- on your concept of
- and relationship to
God the father.
That could be true;
If your father was domineering, you may experience God the Father as domineering.
If your father was loving, you may experience God the Father as loving but powerless.
If your father was absent from your life, you may experience God the Father as absent or removed.
You may experience Father God as not interested in you.
Be grateful that you did not live in the time of the writing of this letter by the Apostle Paul to the church in Rome.
Regarding fathers, they had patria postestas.
“The Fathers Power”.
The father of the family had absolute power over the family.
Tor as long as his father was alive, the son would never become independent.
No matter how old the son got, he would never be rid of the patria potestas.
It was a huge issue for a son to be adopted.
Moving from one father’s Patria potestas to another was complicated.
There were costs, processes, witnesses.
The son would leave everything of his old life behind.
Even the son’s history with the previous family would be wiped clean.
Have any of you seen the movies: The Godfather?
It is a story about the Italian mafia families in North America.
The “family” consist of criminals.
You are either for the family or against the family.
You can be adopted into this family by becoming a criminal for the “family” and then work your way up on the corporate ladder by killing and stealing.
The boss of the family is called “The godfather”.
His word is law and he rules by fear.
Relating our experiences of our earthly fathers to who God the Father is and does, is a spiritual mistake.
This can limit your effectiveness for the Family of the real and awesome God-Father.
Paul gave us information that can help us overcome our wrong thinking about God the Father.
You see; the world wants us to think less of fathers,
It wants us to blame fathers.
It wants us to think that fathers are irrelevant.
In doing so, you may even fall into the trap of thinking that God the Father is irrelevant.
That is wrong.
If God the Father becomes irrelevant to you, you are in desperate trouble.
You must want to be part of the family - you want to be sure that when you call God “Father” that you are actually His adopted child.
Paul gives us three pieces of proof of childhood.
We could say: Paul provides three points that are necessary, by which you can test your own legitimacy as a child of God the Father:
1. Death is Demanded (v12-14)
2. Adoption is Secured (v15,16)
3. Adoption is Assured (v15,16)
3. A Portion is Provided (v17)
1. Death is Demanded (v12-14)
1. Death is Demanded (v12-14)
12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
The “So then” in verse 12 refers to:
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
The new life - given through the Holy spirit deserves to be followed by a “So then”.
Not a “And more of the same”.
Change must happen.
The test of childhood is change.
Verse 12 speaks to “brother” - assuming that this message is for Christians.
So, then - brothers - we are in debt.
We owe someone something.
If you owe someone something - sometime you must pay what you owe.
Pauls makes it clear that we do not and should not owe “the flesh - to live according to the flesh”.
This may shock you but this life is not primarily about your body.
Your greatest effort in this life should not be your body - what it looks like, what you put on it, what you put into it, etc.
Yes, we have a responsibility to take care of our bodies because it is a gift from God Himself.
But we do not owe our bodies a debt that must be repaid.
(Being a vegan makes no spiritual sense)
Paul calls on his “brothers”.
Paul knowing that he is a son of God the Father calls on the other children of God the Father to not rely on this life.
Do not focus on the things of this life.
Our focus should be driven by the Spirit.
Becoming a better child of God the Father requires constant intervention by God the Spirit so that we may become better children of God the Father.
Otherwise, we will never be able to call Him “Abba - Father”.
This concept of change is not a “nice to have”.
Turning your focus away from this life is a life or death situation.
Look at verse 13;
You either die or you kill.
Death must happen.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
So, Paul made it clear in verses 5-11 of , that if you are a Christian you have the Holy Spirit.
No Spirit - no Christian - Then God is not your Father.
Now Paul claims that if you have the Spirit, you will not die, but you must kill.
Christian - sin will not let you die - in stead - you will kill sin - with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Your body and its demands and desires does not rule over you any longer.
In stead - you are able to rule over your body.
You are able to choose what not to...
You become able to:
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
You will know that you are one of God the Father’s children, when you have a desire and are effective in killing sin.
Don’t miss the warning.
If you do not kill - sin;
If you do not fight actively against the demands of ownership by “the flesh”;
You will die - this refers to the second death after the final judgement.
We must mention the possibility of the issue of death.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Someone must die for your flesh - sin.
If the death of Jesus on the cross does not applied to you, then you must die.
If you are not sure that you are a Christian - really a Christian, then make sure today.
In order to become part of the family of God the Father - death is demanded.
2. Adoption is Secured (v15,16)
2. Adoption is Secured (v15,16)
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
After threatening us Paul brings an encouragement.
After threatening us Paul brings an encouragement.
He shows us how we get to that place where we can call God “Abba! Father”.
Paul says that it is not by fear.
Becoming a child of God the Father is not like the patria potestas of the Roman law.
When adopted in to God’s family you do not move from one slavery to another.
You move from slavery to family.
You move into the family of the perfect Father - who can be called by a loving and respectful name.
He welcomes you into His family as His own child.
From a spirit of fear - to a spirit of adoption as sons.
The main point Paul is making in here is not the process or principle of adoption, but rather the security and assurance of the result of the adoption.
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
You can not loose this status as adopted child.
You don’t have to be afraid.
Be glad.
Be grateful.
Be a participating member of the family.
Because the Father is not going to send you away.
The Father makes sure that His children know that they are His children.
How?
By letting the Holy Spirit dwell in our hearts.
Adoption is such a precious picture.
A husband and wife decide to make a child their own, who is not physically theirs.
That picture is a picture of sacrificial love, nurturing, - security.
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
We, who have been adopted, were saved from a life of slavery under our previous father - the flesh.
But now, we are safe in our salvation.
Jesus paid the price required to complete the legal process of adoption.
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
3. Your Portion is Provided (v17)
3. Your Portion is Provided (v17)
It is and should be enough to know that when adopted into the family of God the Father, that eternity is sorted.
But, God goes beyond that.
20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us,
As under the Roman law, when a son was adopted into the new family, the adopted son’s past was erased;
Debt cancelled,
Property lost,
Access denied.
But, the son then becomes an equal heir to the possessions of his new family.
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
As adopted son (and daughter) you are placed in a - possession-position - that gives you access to all that God owns.
Do you see the love of Jesus?
He willingly and eagerly share what was rightfully only His - because He was the only Son of God.
But Jesus gives up that right and welcomes us into sharing all that is rightfully His own.
The last part of verse 17 leaves us with a warning:
“..provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him”.
The Greek word translated here as “provided” can also be “since indeed”.
Fact is, being part of the family of Father God is not a life of luxury.
Suffering is guaranteed and adds to our assurance that we are part of the family.
Whatever the trouble is, that you are facing or will face in the future,
You can know that you can run to your father.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
You may have a good relationship with your human father.
You may have a bad relationship with your human father.
You may have an indifferent relationship with your human father.
But you must want a perfect relationship with God the Father.
You will know if you are an adopted child if you:
Consistently kill sin
Experience the Fatherhood of God
Know that you are a child because the Holy Spirit confirms it.
I hope and pray that you do.