Royal Fam: God the Father

Our Father

I am intentionally not going to use this message as a “father” speech for all us men. I think we all understand the importance of being a good father. I want us to focus on our role as children. Everyone one of us can relate to being a child, we are children of God if we call Jesus our Lord and savior.

The 6th commandment speaks to children, young and old ones.

Deuteronomy 5:16 ESV

16 “ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Deut 5:

Paul refers to this commandment in while speaking to children and parents.

It seems “God the Father is largely forgotten. In Evangelical, Reformed, and Bible churches the focus is on Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In Pentecostal and Charismatic churches the focus is on God the Holy Spirit.” Mark Driscoll

Jesus’ favorite title for God is “Father” and in the four gospels alone he calls God His father roughly 165 times, specifically using the word abba, translated in most Bibles as “Father.” Mark Driscoll Win Your War

If Jesus emphasized the Father/Son relationship he has with God the Father then we as children of God would be foolish if we did not realize that in this royal family we have been adopted into, we must recognize our God as our heavenly father.

Romans 8:15–16 ESV

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,

Romans

It is very unique of Jesus’ teaching on this subject is evident for several reasons.

It is rare, there is no evidence in pre-christian Jewish literature that Jews addressed God as ‘Abba.’

This term for God involves the intimacy of the term abba…Abba was used not only by small children, it was used by older children and adults. It is best understood Abba as the equivalent of ‘Father’ rather than ‘Daddy.’

God expresses and relates to us in several ways, today we will look at three. His love for us, his discipline of us, and his delight in us.

A Father’s Love

1 John 4:7–12 ESV

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

1 John 4:

v. 7 God the Father is the true source of love (for love is from God).

v. 8 God enables us to truly love (anyone who doesn’t love, does not know God).

v. 9-10 God demonstrated his love for us by sending his son to be sacrificed in order to pay for our sins.

A Father’s Discipline

Hebrews 12:5–11 ESV

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

Heb 12:5-11

v. 5 Don’t disregard discipline

v. 6 He disciplines those He loves

vv. 7-10 He disciplines as ‘sons’.

When we reject discipline we act like fatherless children.

The Lord’s discipline is for our good.

v. 11 Discipline is not pleasant, sometimes its painful, but later it pays off because it trains us.

A Father’s Joy

Luke 12:32 ESV

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke

Did you read that? He delights in giving us the kingdom. Sell your stuff, take care of the needy. Provide yourselves with “moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure that does not fail” Live like your father is the KING.

Luke 12:34 ESV

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The gospel is God’s plan for redeeming us and making it possible for us to have access to the Father.

John 14:6 ESV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Galatians 4:5 ESV

5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

It is all about being reconciled to the Father.

In the family dynamic the father holds the key to many things. We have seen the effects of fatherless homes

The Father loves us unconditionally, he is interested in our lives and provides guidance through the life of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and his revealed word to us. Sometimes it takes the form of discipline. And like a good father, his greatest joy is to give his children whats his, in this case, its the kingdom of God. He wants to share all that he has with his children and has shown his love for us by creating us, giving his son for us.

How do we respond?

We acknowledge our need for him.

We believe in his son, Jesus.

We live like kingdom kids.