A Close Relationship with Our Father

Well, last Sunday was the American celebration of Father's Day, and I hope all of you fathers, either father physically or a father spiritually. I know some have nieces and nephews and even children in our church, though they're not the biological father. They spend time talking to them and mentoring them and showing concern and love for them. Whether you're a biological father or spiritual father, I hope you had a fulfilling and enjoyable day, and thank you for all that you do.

Well, today I would like to talk about God, our father, our God, the very being that Jesus Christ referred to himself as father and taught us his children to refer to him as our father who is in heaven. When I was a young boy, I was incorrectly taught the difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament, and it went something like this.

The God of the Old Testament was considered to be rather withdrawn. He was the father of unknowable, focused on law, quick to punish and demanding. On the other hand, I was taught that the God of the New Testament was Jesus Christ, present and approachable, focused on grace and forgiveness, gentle and compassionate. But is this a true description of what and who God is? It's not a true description. It's quite a distortion, and we'll talk about that today. Who really is the Father, our Father, and how can we get to know Him? I would like to answer this and a few more questions today in the sermon. Who really is the Father and how can we get to know Him? These are the things that I would like to discuss today with you, because as a child I didn't realize that the Old Covenant was a physical agreement between a man named Abraham and his descendants, while the New Covenant was an agreement between our Father and His beloved children, a whole different relationship between the two. Different promises, different potentials, totally different relationships. So let's begin by going to the Gospel of John. If you'll turn to John chapter 5 and verse 30, I'd like to begin with John today because John had a profound knowledge of this topic. Mr. Graham just spoke about John and wisely told us some of the nuances of John's writings, and we're going to go back and forth in the book of John a number of times. In the Gospel of John, that Gospel was written many, many decades after the other three Gospels that are called the synoptics. John is blatant and dogmatic that Jesus was the pre-existent God of the Old Testament. For example, you find the I Am statement scattered throughout the book of John, and when Jesus said I Am, he obviously was alluding to the fact that he was the very same being in his pre-existent form who spoke with Moses and said, tell them that I Am has sent you. John, only John, reveals that. It's John who says in John chapter 1 and verse 1, in the beginning was the word, referring to Christ, spokesman, logos, and the word was with God, and the word was God, and he was in the beginning with God. It's John that we have to thank for that dogmatic and blatant presentation of who and what Jesus Christ is. In the other three Gospels called the synoptics, the revealing of Christ's divinity is far more subtle. It doesn't say it blatantly. The reader discovers as they go through the synoptics, they discover that Jesus is a healer with the power to forgive sin. Who else can do that? He rules nature by calming the sea and walking on water. Who else could possibly do that? He receives and accepts worship. Who else but God would accept worship? He claims authority over the Sabbath day that was established at creation. Who else would have the authority over the Sabbath? You see it comes with reasoning, with reading the scriptures and asking yourself some questions and coming to the conclusion in the synoptics that Jesus Christ is God. An entirely different approach than we find in the Book of John or the Gospel of John. John chapter 5 and verse 30. Jesus said, I can of myself do nothing as I hear I judge and my judgment is righteous because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me. I want you to notice this example of humility of Jesus Christ. He has no personal agenda but to support the will of the Father. He willingly defers to the Father's will. It's always about what the Father's will is. That's, by the way, an incredible example for all of us in the way that we should live our lives as we possibly can, is seeking the Father's will. There's a statement that a lot of religious people today use. What would Jesus do?

Jesus would say, what would the Father do? You see, that's a little bit different. Verse 37, the audience here, as he's speaking to the Jews, it says, is the phraseology used here. Verse 37, and the Father himself who sent me has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form.

But you do not have his word abiding you because whom he sent, of course Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father sent, whom he sent you do not believe.

You searched the scriptures, and the only scriptures they had was what we called the Old Testament. You searched the scriptures, and he means diligently, for in them you think you have eternal life, and these are they which testify of me. Jesus was the pre-existent God of the Old Covenant of the Old Testament. He says, but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life. Paul himself, when referring to ancient Israel, said in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 4, that they drank a spiritual drink and they followed the rock, and the rock was Christ. So Paul certainly agrees with Jesus here that Jesus is the pre-existent God of the Old Testament. One of the major reasons Christ Jesus came to earth was to reveal who and what God the Father is. The truth is the only way that we can ever discover that there is a Father, our Father, and who that Father is, and what his values and characters are is to understand and follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. That is the only way there is no other. Christ gave deference and honor to the Father. He even taught his disciples to address their prayers to the Father, as he taught us, of course, in Matthew 6. It's the Father who has the authority to draw or to call believers to Jesus Christ so that they even have the opportunity to have that blindness removed and for individuals to be called and become part of the family.

Let's go to Luke chapter 10 and verse 21. Luke chapter 10 and verse 21.

Luke writes here, chapter 10 and verse 21, in that hour, Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit. 70 disciples had returned rejoicing and they had an effect on Jesus. They came back excited that they were able to baptize people and they were able to preach the gospel and this, of course, excited Jesus and rejoiced over that. And he said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Not to the highly educated, not to the religious scholars of the day, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, but to common people the gospel was preached and they reacted in a positive way.

Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in your sight, good that these 70 were able to do this miraculous work. All things have been delivered to me by my Father and no one knows who the Son is except the Father and who the Father is except the Son and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. So the only way that we can know that there's the existence of the Father, who this Father is, what His values are, is by Jesus Christ Himself revealing those things to us.

The Father and Son know each other intimately because they are one and they share the same spirit. Wonderfully, that same spirit that they share is given to us upon baptism and the laying on of hands. Again, we can only know the Father if Jesus chooses to reveal Him to us. In essence, Jesus is saying it's impossible for anyone to know the Father unless I reveal Him to that individual.

You cannot get that revelation on your own by reading scriptures, by visiting the temple, or by doing anything. It's only through the revelation and the teaching of Jesus the Christ. So how did Jesus reveal the Father? He did it in two basic ways, through His teachings and through His conduct. What Jesus taught His followers reflected His deep insight into His Father's values, thoughts, feelings, and ways. So if we want to know the Father's values, thoughts, feelings, and ways, we do that by studying the life and the example of Jesus Christ.

The second way that Jesus did that was through His literal conduct, the way that He expressed Himself, His example through what He said and how He lived His life. Jesus revealed the Father to His disciples by means of His conduct, so much so that when Philip asked Jesus, he said, show us the Father. Jesus could rightly say in John chapter 14, He could say that He who has seen Me has seen the Father also. That's how much in oneness that they are. When you see Christ, His example, His teachings, His character, His values, you see exactly the Father's character, teaching, and values.

Matthew chapter 6 and verse 7. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 7. We're very familiar with this, but I want to bring out a point that I think is extremely important. Matthew chapter 6 and verse 7. This has already been alluded to. He said, and when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathens do, and we must avoid what some religious people do, and that is they create a mantra out of the name Jesus. It's like how many times can I fit the word Jesus into a sentence, or some of the modern music.

It's just Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, almost to the point of overkill and being a mantra so repetitious that it actually diminishes the power of His name. So we have to be careful not to do that, and some do. Jesus says, for they think they will be heard for their many words, that somehow people think they'll be praised because they say Jesus 16 times in a paragraph. That's not how it works. Verse 8, therefore, do not be like them, for your Father knows the things that you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray, our Father in heaven, hallowed sacred, is your name.

Now, we take this statement for granted because for most of us, 99% of our prayers are directly to the Father. Occasionally, I do pray to Jesus Himself, and I'll tell you why in a minute. But the overwhelming majority of the times, we do pray to our Father. But I think this is important to emphasize because many people, people who are sincere and religious, continue to want to live in the wrong covenant.

This is one of the most profound declarations and vast differences between the old covenant and the new covenant. In the old covenant, worshipers were supplicants. They were petitioners to God who was sovereign over their national covenant with the nation of Israel. It was a totally different relationship than you and I can have. In contrast, within the new covenant, the faithful believers are family. It's personal. Jesus taught us to primarily pray to the Father, and we do, even though it is permissible to pray to Jesus. Stephen himself said in Acts 7 and verse 59, as he's dying, Lord Jesus received my spirit. That was his prayer. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 1. I still want to build upon this point of our Father, Jesus teaching us to hold sacred the name of our Father. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 1.

John writes, Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. Again, only Jesus can reveal who the Father is. And why is this important? Because occasionally we've had people who were part of us or who visited us who continued to want to live in the wrong covenant. We had a former attendee a few years ago whom I baptized, went through baptism counseling, who became enamored with sacred names for God. That somehow you're especially blessed if you utter this sacred name as if there's some type of magical formula to have a relationship with God. This idea has two major distortions. Number one, the names for God in the Old Testament referred to the pre-incarnate Christ. Yet when he came on earth he willingly accepted being called Yeshua, which was the Aramaic name for him, which means Yahweh saves in the New Testament. But he also accepted being called various titles like rabbi and teacher and others. It wasn't about a name. He was not into names, so much so that he never explicitly taught his disciples to address the father by any specific name, not Yahweh, not anything. Instead, he taught them to address our family through our relationship. Let me give you an example. My children don't call me Greg, and the reason is, is we have an intimate personal relationship. They have the privilege, because of this unique relationship, to call me Dad, not call me Greg. Everyone else calls me Greg or Mr. Thomas. And the same is true with the father. Jesus doesn't teach some magical formula to approach God the father, because you have an intimate relationship with him as his spiritual child. It's Dad, Daddy, Papa, loving father. That's the name. That's the relationship, not something that you dig out of the Old Testament, thinking that somehow God is pleased with you if you use that name. Paul stated in Romans chapter 8 and verse 15, he said, but you did not believe, or you did not receive the spirit of bondage, again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption. You literally were adopted to become part of the family of God with full equal rights and privileges through that adoption. That was a model of the Roman adoption method. Mr. Lee explained that beautifully in a sermon a while back about the Roman adoption and what Paul is alluding to here, so I'm not going to cover that again. But I want you to notice whom he says, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, not Yahweh, not some Old Testament Hebrew utterance. No, Abba, father, the term Abba, reflects a personal and affectionate relationship with our father. It's like calling someone daddy. While our grandchildren were visiting with us for a week or so, and our grandson would just commonly, making a request of his father, daddy, he would say. And that's the kind of relationship that the father wants to have with us. It signifies closeness and warmth in the believer's connection with God. Again, not some mere supplement who approaches this deity somewhere with names or titles that mean nothing to you when you are literally a child of the living God. The truth is that we don't know virtually anything about the character, values, and the will of the father unless it is literally revealed by Jesus Christ. What I like to do—we'll have to do this quickly for me to get through this sermon today—is I would like to quickly look at the few places of fast survey in scriptures where the presence of God the Father is revealed with the one who later would become known as Jesus Christ. We'll go through these quickly. Let's begin in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26. We'll make—we'll read the scripture and then I'll make a few brief comments.

Again, these scriptures where we see the presence of the one who would become known and revealed by Jesus as God the Father and Jesus Christ as the pre-incarnate Christ early on and later on as the Lamb of God. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26. Then God said, let us—that's plural—make man in our image according to our likeness. There's a duality there. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle and all the earth, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. This plural language for God, again, is implying that the pre-incarnate Christ, who was literally the creator himself—John says all things were created through him—he's there as the word, and he's there with the being that would later become known as the Father during the creation of humanity. We can only know that because later on Jesus reveals who this being is. Genesis chapter 3 and verse 22.

Genesis chapter 3 and verse 22. Then the Lord God said, behold, the man has become like one of us, plural again, to know good and evil. And now lest he put his hand and also take to the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden until the ground from which he was taken. So again, using this plural language implies the pre-incarnate Christ with the Father passing judgment on Adam and Eve. Psalm chapter 1 10 and verse 1.

Psalm chapter 1 10 and verse 1.

The psalmist wrote, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of your strength out of Zion, rule in the midst of your enemies. So this scripture frames the conversation between two distinct figures who both hold the title of Lord. Two different Hebrew words are used here. Yahweh, which is a term we're familiar with, and Adonai, which means translated into English, my Lord, my master. Jewish scholars say this Adonai refers here to King David or Abraham, which of course we would reject. That doesn't even make sense. They're dead. Daniel chapter 7 and verse 13, we might say one of the classic scriptures that shows the two beings who are part of the God family together. Daniel chapter 7 and verse 13, I was watching in the night visions and behold one like the son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him. Then to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. Something we can look forward to. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away and his kingdom, the one which shall not be destroyed. What a beautiful prophecy. And this is a vision showing two figures together in the same scene. Now this is a vision. Daniel doesn't literally see the father. He sees a vision of the being of this ancient of days. Jewish scholars claim the son of man is either the messiah or an angel or symbolic of Israel. And we shouldn't be surprised that Jewish scholars would not want to see Christ, the pre-incarnate Christ, in these visions because it would destroy their idea and their agenda of who and what the messiah really is. I already read 1 John chapter 1 and 2. I'll read it again. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. You can't get any clearer. You can't get any more dogmatic than that. He was in the beginning with God. And that's his beginning with God, our father, whom Jesus taught us to address him and recognize him as. So the word became flesh, and he walked on earth as Jesus Christ. That's what John says there in verse 14 in John the first chapter. He walked on earth. He was Jesus Christ. The other reference to God here is the one whom we are taught to address as our father. All right, let's take a look at another scripture in our brief survey, Revelation chapter 5 and verse 6. Revelation chapter 5 and verse 6. So this is future-oriented. The ones we saw earlier were, even though Daniel was a prophecy and Psalms was a prophecy, some of them were also attached to the literal creation or at the present time or the past, now we're looking directly into the future. Revelation chapter 5 and verse 6, And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb as though it had been slain, representing the crucified Jesus Christ, having seven horns. Seven is the number of perfection and completeness. So in other words, He has all power, this lamb. Seven eyes, meaning He's all seeing, doesn't miss a thing, perfect and complete in His ability to know everything that's going on in the universe, all seeing, omniscient.

In other words, these are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Then He came and He took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne. Who is Him who sat on the throne? The very being that Jesus would teach us to address as our Father. In this vision, Jesus Christ, the lamb takes the scroll from the authority of the right hand of God the Father, and He begins to open the seals of the scroll one by one. Dropping down to verse 13, looking into a praise here, and every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such are in the sea and all that are in them I heard saying blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne. Again, the being we address as our Father and to the lamb, both of them, forever and ever. Again, Jesus and the Father are both praised in this vision that John observes.

You'll notice that these scriptures are either visions or statements about the Father's presence as Jesus truly stated in John chapter 5 and verse 32nd, 37. John chapter 5 and verse 37. And the Father Himself who sent me has testified of me you have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form, end of quote statement, by Jesus Christ. So if you say you want to know the Father, that's it. We just covered every verse in Scripture that has an allusion to the two beings we know as either the free incarnate Christ or the lamb and the other being that we address as our Father. Something to think about. That's it. There may be a few more allusions to the Father and Son together, but they add nothing to what we've seen in this quick survey today. The belief that God is composed of two personalities or separate existences is known as Benetarianism, and that's what we believe. So you might be saying to yourself, come on, Mr. Thomas, so how logically can two be one? I went to elementary school and I was taught that two can't be one.

Well, Jesus stated dogmatically in John chapter 10 and verse 30, I and my Father are one.

It doesn't make any sense to us on a physical level. I understand that. And much like I mentioned the last time I spoke to you, when you try to create any metaphor between physical and something spiritual, you're always on shaky ground. This spiritual is so much richer and deeper that any so-called metaphor from the physical world to explain spiritual ways will always be shallow and incomplete. I'm going to use one today from scriptures because it uses the phraseology about two becoming one in a physical sense. And I hope that maybe it'll give us some clarity on how on a spiritual level, Christ and the Father are one. So here it is, Matthew chapter 19 and verse 4. Jesus is obviously talking about a physical relationship.

He himself is going to quote from what he said in Genesis. And he answered and said to them, Have you not read how he that made them at the beginning made them male and female? And said, quote, For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife, and two shall become one flesh. That's what the scripture says. So then, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate. So within this scripture, I believe, I want you to think about it this way, is a metaphor for us in a spiritual sense. When a man and a woman deeply love one another, they share the highest level of physical intimacy that is possible for human beings to experience.

I know this is a family show, so I won't get too graphic here. But during the most intimate moments of their life, they become one.

One man and one woman, through the most intimate human act that is possible, become one.

They are one couple. They are a family, even though they remain physically distinct personalities, the scripture says through the most intimate experience that two human beings can possibly have that they literally become one. Now, the spiritual metaphor. The father and son share the deepest level of spiritual love and intimacy that is possible in the spiritual realm. They are family, hence the title's father, son. And even though they remain spiritually distinct personalities, they are one. So if in the physical world, two can become one according to scripture, we just read it. In the spiritual realm, two, who we know as our father and the son, Jesus Christ, are also one. Again, the truth is that we don't know virtually much about the character, values, and will of the Father except what is revealed by Jesus Christ. So the question we should be asking is this, how can we know the Father and build a relationship with Him since very little is mentioned about Him particularly? Well, I think we should, in the conclusion of the sermon today, look at some scriptures and allow the scriptures to teach us. Let's begin in John chapter 5 and verse 16. John chapter 5 and verse 16.

It says, for this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus because He had healed on the Sabbath. It's hard to kill Him because He had done these things in the Sabbath, but Jesus answered that my Father had been working until now and I have been working. The gospel is universal. Every day of the week, including the Sabbath, God sustains the universe. You may have noticed the sun still shines. Raindrops fall. The universe continues ticking meticulously the way the Creator designed it 24-7, seven days a week. Verse 18, therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him because He not only broke the Sabbath, but He also said that God was His Father. Again, He said, my Father has been working until now and I have been working. And here's what it says, but they were angered at Him because He said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God, which, by the way, He was and He is. Then Jesus answered and said to them, most assuredly, I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do, for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. So Jesus sets the example for us. He acknowledges He's equal with God. He willingly submits Himself through example and instruction of what the Father's character is like, what the Father's values are. And here's the key that we can know the Father. Jesus states that everything He does, everything He did in His ministry, was a reflection of the will of the Father. So the way that we can get to know the Father is to understand the character, values, and instruction of Jesus Christ. There's a good reason God left us for biographies of the life of the Messiah. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, that is not an accident. Four different perspectives of people who were either eyewitnesses or gathered the oral traditions of that first generation and wrote biographies of the life of Jesus Christ for a purpose.

And this is important for us to understand. Verse 22, For the Father judges no one but is committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. Jesus states that He has no personal will or agenda of His own. He did nothing on earth except the will of His Father.

Indeed, the essence of what He's telling the Pharisees here in John is that, watch my life, my ministry, my miracles and good works, everything that I do, and through that you will see the Heavenly Father. Everything I do, Jesus says, is a reflection of who He is and only I can reveal Him to you. Another key to knowing the Father is that giving honor to the Son is also giving honor to the Father. You see, one problem we have is we think like human beings, and in this world there's often competition between fathers and sons. Growing up, my biological father was long gone, but I had competition as a young adult with my stepfather. I was of a different generation. I had one view and perspective, and he had another view and perspective. Wonderful man set a wonderful example for me, but there were generational differences in a way. In some ways we were competing against one another, but that's not like the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Father. Again, in mere human relationships there's often competition between fathers and children, especially when religion gets involved. Perhaps the most recent example was a man named Robert Schuller. You may have heard about him. He went in a 60-year ministry from preaching and driving theaters to creating this beautiful church called the Crystal Palace in California. Oh, glass! It was phenomenally beautiful! And he grew old, and he handed the church over to his son, and there's conflict. His son was canned. He hands the church over to his daughter. More conflict. The bottom line is the Crystal Cathedral is now owned by the Catholic Church. Everything that Robert Schuller built in 60 years ended up in bankruptcy. And I could bring some other examples up to here that most of us who are rather old would know of in the church, but I'm going to be very kind and not bring that example up today. My point is, is don't think that Christ and the Father have the same kind of relationship as we see in the world today, or maybe that we experienced in our own lives with our own fathers. Jesus is saying they are one in will, character, and spirit, and when you honor the one, you are also honoring the other. And that's something that we need, certainly, to keep in mind.

Okay, let's go to Revelation chapter 21. I want to recap what we've seen today. So the same God that created the earth and spoke in the Old Testament emptied himself to walk on earth and became our Savior. Paul describes that in the book of Philippians rather beautifully. That is Jesus Christ. He came to reveal to the world his Father and our Father, who was unknown to creation until Jesus Christ came to earth. They are one family composed of two spiritual beings who are so filled with mutual love that they're in complete agreement. The only way to know our Father is to study the values, teachings, and character of the Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. And that's why we have four gospels to learn about him from. That's why Paul and John, in the epistles of John, often talk about Jesus's teachings. When we give praise and honor and glory to one, we are also giving praise, honor, and glory to the other. They're not jealous of each other. They are not in competition. So in conclusion, let's look at our final scripture today. We know that Christ will return in the future to establish the kingdom of God on earth. But what about the Father? Revelation chapter 21 verse 2.

This is a time when all is said and done. The millennium has occurred. The great white throne judgment has occurred. Time has passed. The earth has been purified with fire.

Revelation chapter 21 verse 2. We could say the end of the day, the conclusion of all the purpose of what this was all about. Then I, John, saw the holy city. New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, behold, the tabernacle of God is with men. One of the reasons we continue to observe the feast of tabernacles, because we look forward not just to the millennium, but to the period beyond, when God our Father Himself will come and make His home on the earth. Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and He will dwell with them and they shall be His people. Now this already happened with Christ over a thousand years earlier. It says God Himself, that is our Father, will be with them and will be their God. And it says this after a discussion of the river of life and the gates and walls of the city. Here's what it says in verse 22. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty, that's the Father, our Father, and the Lamb are in its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light and the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it. So, brethren, we can all look forward to a time when God our Father comes down to earth and His very presence is here. As Paul would say, particularly regarding knowing intimately God the Father, we see through a glass darkly. We must look at the life and example of Jesus Christ to understand who and what the Father is. But there's coming a time when He is literally going to dwell on the earth. You see, it was never about heaven. It was never about going to heaven. It was never about dwelling in eternity in heaven. God originally created this earth for a special purpose. And now, at this time in history in the future, that the earth has been purified and the earth has been prepared for Him. Our God, our Father, will come down and dwell here. May God speed that day. I wish all of you a wonderful Sabbath.