LET GOD FATHER YOU

You have always had a Father, waiting ...

Main Reading: I John 3:1-10

Introduction

When God created man, He clearly had in mind the cream of creation that is like Him in character and power, and He has not ceased from that agenda. He is achieving it, by letting us go through the mill of the fall and restoration. Before the fall, we were creation, hardly referred to as the children of God, but at the restoration, He introduces that authorization through the NEW BIRTH or ADOPTION.

John’s first letter celebrates the consummation of the Divine desire, and points out that those who have appreciated this set themselves apart with purposeful dignity and industry, knowing they are destined for nothing less that the throne of God. He is categorical that those who fail to see this produce bad character, remaining as children of the devil.

This discourse is brief survey of God’s declared intent to have nothing but a Father-Children relationship with us, and how we should avail ourselves of the ultimate privilege!

God’s Abundant Declaration of Our Children-Father Relationship with Him

1.     Created in His Image – Creating us in His image is God’s first statement of His intention to relate to us as beings of His likeness, His own children. (Gen 1:27)

2.     Move to Cover Our Nakedness – When we fell in the Garden of Eden, God’s image in us was deformed, as we lost our cloth of righteousness. God quickly moved to indicate His resolve to restore His image in us, with the token of covering the nakedness of Adam and Eve with animal skin. (Gen 3:21, Ps 104:2, Isa 61:10, Ro 13:14, Rev 7:13)

3.     Sent Jesus, the Perfect Image and Fullness of God, as our Atonement  – That God sent none less than His only begotten Son to redeem us is indicative of the value He places on us from before creation. You buy a thing according to its value: In giving His son for us, He consummated our son-ship. (Col 1:15, Heb 1:3)

4.     Born Again (To grow into image of) – It is instructive that our salvation is not merely a repair to our old state of dominion in the Garden of Eden, but a new birth. By this God finally guarantees that we are His children who will definitely grow to be like Him in every way. (John 3:3,5; John 1:12-14, Eph. 4:15)

5.      Jesus’ Emphasis on “Your Father”: Whereas throughout the Old Covenant, God refereed to Israel as His people, and they to Him as their God (Gen 17:8, Exo 6:7), Jesus, introducing the New Covenant, trained the disciples to refer to God as their Father. (Mt 6:6, 9, 14, 18, 26, 32; Joh 20:17)

6.      Jesus’ Promise to Share his Throne with Us in Heaven (Joh 12:26, Rev 3:21)

Taking Steps to let God Father You

This is the reason for the effort so far. To father has two main meanings: (a) to bring forth and (b) to bring up and look after a child. The emphasis of Jesus was more on the second meaning, though for that, the first had to happen.

1.     New Birth: To benefit from God’s plan to make us His children, you first have to submit yourself to be born again through repentance and faith in Jesus. When you have made that commitment, God has committed Himself to regenerate Your spirit through the Holy Spirit and work with you for your sanctification. (Ac 2:37-41). Do you believe in Jesus as the Son of God who takes away your sins? Have you repented of your sin and committed to a life of righteousness?

2.     Desire Milk: The next step in availing yourself of God’s great intention is to feed on what He provides – the revelation of Himself in Word, the Scriptures. Commit to a lifestyle of Bible study and application. (1Pe 2:2)

3.      Determine Goal to be Like Christ: Graciously, God gave us the perfect example of how He expects us to grow to become. Everything that Jesus did, from birth to ascension should be our yardstick in life. If we commit to live by His standard we waste no time growing into the image of God, even in this world. (Joh 13:15, 1 Pe 2:21, 1 Cor 4:16; 11:1)

4.      Christ-lifestyle: Translate your determination to be Christ-like into a Christ life-style, evaluating and conforming all your attitudes and actions accordingly. The following sums up how Christ’s lifestyle:

a.      He lived a Compassionate, Sacrificial and Evangelical life: He cared for others, went about doing good, and sacrificing His comfort. While doing good to people, He always made an effort to let people escape the fallen life and be restored to the image of God.

b.      He relied on God in Prayer/ Regular Fellowship: clearly, being God, Jesus did not need to pray, but He regularly prayed privately and also frequented the Temple worship. This was a clear example of how we as children of God should live. Concerning prayer, he taught that children of (i) God appreciate God, (ii) commit to establishing His rule on earth, and (iii) rely on Him for sustenance and for strength (mercy and grace) to live right. By fellowshipping regularly at the Temple, He indicated to us our membership of the family of God, and our need to maintain it, rubbing on one another for the betterment of all and for impacting generations with God’s mission. (Ac 10:38, Mk 10:1, Lk 4:16, Mt 6:9-14)

c.       Jesus lived on Earth as One Passing Through and therefore Working for Eternal Things He never invested in things that will ultimately decay with the Earth. The goal of all His efforts was to build souls and lifestyles that will last forever. (Joh 6:27):

d.      Other Areas in which Jesus gave us example:

                                                              i.      Water baptism – into death and resurrection as tokens of our new life in Him and guarantee of resurrection (Mat 3:13-15)

                                                            ii.      Holy Spirit descending on Him – to us, this represents the Baptism/Infilling of the Holy Spirit (or new birth in action, and power to live righteous, lives build the Church, and preach the good news with signs and wonders), our inclusion in the Church (1Co 12:13)

                                                          iii.      Learning Obedience: Learning to obey because our Father in Heaven required us to, and not because we fully understand why He asks us to. (Heb 5:8)

Conclusion

It is God’s pleasure to treat us as nothing less than children, right from creation, and when we faltered, He still stays on course to implement His plan. Among His creation, He wants us as children. The best way to relate to god and get the best of Him is to submit to His will to (John 1:13), to make you his child by accessing:

a.      the new birth through the death of Christ,

b.      nutrition through Scripture study and application

c.       God as Father without limit through prayer

d.      God’s family through the Church/ body/bride of Christ

e.      exercise for growth through walking in the Spirit, with Christ as standard