013 [881] What did Jesus Say about God the Father Pt.1
Notes
Transcript
- Today, we are looking at what Jesus had to say about our Father in heaven
Q. What is the image of a father meant to convey?
- A father being loving/caring... to one who is provider, guide and teacher – I’d like to add – one who absolutely adores & cherishes his wife & mother of his children
- Of course, everyone wants to know that their father is loving & kind & one who teaches, guides, provides & protects
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- We find in Scripture that God created Man in His own image & likeness
- God, therefore, as Father is not a social construct of society, but a true reflection of the very nature of God Himself
- He is God and He is Father
- He is provider, teacher, guide – He is so much more as we will discover from the teaching of Jesus
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- So do not let yourself be hoodwinked by postmodernists (as they are called) who think that there are no fixed, immutable, eternal truths, but that everything is just a social construct of society
- Remember that God is revealed as Father & that He created the family of mother and father & children after His own Person, will & creative purpose
- That He created male & female, not equal, but different yet complimentary
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- It’s important, therefore, that as we look at the teaching of Jesus, we understand that God, as presented by Him, is who God is & not just a social construct of man, imposed upon God
- The first point that we look at today is Jesus’ teaching that, in a thoroughly unique way, God is His Father
1. He is My Father
1. He is My Father
- Jesus was not born in the usual way – He had no biological father
- The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, a woman who had no relations with her betrothed, Joseph, & yet she was with Child
19 And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. 20 But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
30 The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. 31 “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.
- Not the son of Joseph, but the Son of God
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- The Jews persistently believed that God was their Father, but Jesus told them otherwise – He told them that because they rejected Him, their father was the devil
- That would have put the cat among the pigeons, but it was a moment when Jesus made very clear His relationship with the Father in heaven
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.
54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word.
a. Jesus Came from God
a. Jesus Came from God
- Jesus came from God the Father – this is very different from the way you and I & every other person in history has come into the world, bar Adam & Eve
- We have been the product of a father & a mother
- But Jesus had no human father, which means that He had come directly from God the Father
23 And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.
- We see that Jesus is utterly unique in the way He came to be on the earth, but where He came from was from heaven above – from God Himself
b. Witnessed to by the Voice from Heaven
b. Witnessed to by the Voice from Heaven
- There are two accounts we know of where the Father speaks to Jesus & His disciples
- That is at His baptism and when His disciples witnessed Him being transfigured into His heavenly glory
- At His baptism we know that He came to John the Baptist to be baptised in the Jordan river
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him; 11 and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
- So we have a testimony of authenticity from the Father in heaven to everyone in the vicinity of Jesus – that He is THE Son of God
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- The second account of God’s witnessing to His Son occurred on the mount of transfiguration where Jesus was also transfigured into His heavenly glory
2 Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. 7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!” 8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.
- What we are to understand here is very significant
- Moses & Elijah appeared along with Jesus
- Why! Why Moses & Elijah? Why not Noah & Samson?
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- There were two categories that made up the Scriptures at this time & that was the categories of the Law & the Prophets
- They are mentioned time & time again, - for example…
- Jesus pointed out the great commandment in the Scripture
- To love God with all your heart, soul, mind & strength & He goes on to say that the second is to love your neighbour as yourself
- On these 2 commandments hang the Law & the prophets
- The Law has at its heart the 10 commandments
- Under them, all the other laws & teachings of the OT
The Prophets would call the people back to God’s law
40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
- Moses was the one through whom, the Law was given
- Elijah was the one who is representative of the prophets
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- Here is a significant statement from the Father about Jesus, His Son
- Of all that has gone on before - the representatives there (Moses - the Law; Elijah - the prophets), Jesus is now the supreme One who must be listened to – Listen to Him, listen to Jesus!
2. He Is Our Father
2. He Is Our Father
- When we think of Jesus’ relationship to the Father we can say that He is THE only begotten Son of God
- He is the One & only who uniquely shares the same essence as the Father
- In 325 AD the church council at Nicea meet, amongst other things, to formulate this very truth...
[I believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.
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- But Jesus taught that there are others who can be said to be God’s children, obviously, in a different sense from Himself
- We know that Jesus’ disciples asked Him to teach them to pray
- Jesus started off the model or a template prayer with an obvious point regarding the disciples relationship with God the Father
9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
- I think we often forget to notice or to pay attention to the opening statement of this prayer
- “Our Father” – which is personal in the extreme
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- The Jews, Israel, understood that God was their Father from right back at the Exodus & where God commanded Moses to say to Pharaoh: “let My son go that he may serve Me”
22 “Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 “So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”
- It would have been incredibly hard for the Jews to accept that Gentiles were, through their relationship with Jesus, “sons of the living God”
1 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
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- From the point of view of the Gospel, the Jewish nation needs to repent & put their faith in Jesus Christ
- When they do this, they can again be called a son of God
- At present, the Jew who does not believe in Jesus is as lost & as condemned as the Gentile who does not believe in Jesus
- God will show no partiality
While kayaking in southern England off the Isle of Wight, Mark Ashton-Smith, a lecturer at Cambridge University, capsized in treacherous waters. Clinging to his craft and reaching for his cell phone, Ashton-Smith, thirty-three yrs old, called his dad.
It didn’t matter that his father was training British troops in Dubai 3,500 miles away. Without delay, his father relayed his son’s Mayday to the Coast Guard nearest to his son. Within twelve minutes, a helicopter retrieved the grateful Ashton-Smith.
- It is wonderful to have an earthly father who you know you can call on & will be watching over you
- It is also truly wonderful to call God, our Father for it brings up so many wonderful attributes of a father
- Protector, provider, security, guide, teacher, comfort, strength & belonging
- I believe the Father, of all people, is the one who gives the meaning of belonging to the family
- The father becomes a security screen of protection for the family
- He forges the sense of belonging in a family
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- The father figure is so very vital & important for the well being of people – On Easter Sunday morn, Mary went to the tomb & seeing Jesus embraced Him
17 Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’ ”
- What a beautiful way of forging their identity as children of God being able to call our God, our Father!
- If you have put your faith in Jesus Christ, then you too can be adopted into God’s family & be able to truly call God, your Father