God the Father

that you discover that your teachers are actually human.

There's a little bit more to them.

Your teachers might even be married, they may have kids,

they may be friends of some people.

And this came as a shock to me because up to that point in my life,

all I saw was the person down the front yelling at me

and giving me work to do and making my life miserable.

But it turns out there is different aspects to this teacher.

And it is important for me to actually relate to them as a person

to understand these various different aspects.

Yes, they're a teacher, they have a job,

but they are also a friend to some people,

potentially a dad or a mom or a husband or a wife.

And the same is true of God.

It is great to know that there is a God,

to know that there is one God,

but we are missing something if we leave out or skip the fact

that he is Father.

That's where we're going to spend time tonight.

To leave that out is to actually miss out on God as he is.

It's to get a deficient or a not complete view of him.

It's to make God less than he is.

And so it matters that if we're going to know God,

which is what being a Christian is,

if we're going to have a relationship with him,

it matters that we understand him as Father

so that we see him clearly and we can actually relate to him well.

Now before we get into this passage,

I want to give you some context really quickly.

And these are some things that I'm going to say over and over

through this series,

four things that the Bible teaches to be true.

First one, there is only one God.

Second one, that God is three persons,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Third one, each member of the Trinity is equally God,

eternally God and fully God.

Fourth one, each member of that Trinity

is a distinct personal expression of the one divine nature.

Now there is a whole lot wrapped up in those four things,

but we need to have that as a context

as we begin to wrestle with God as Father

because God as Trinity is a difficult thing to think about.

We learned last week it's incomprehensible,

but it's still important.

It's not easy,

but that doesn't change the fact that it's true.

And so tonight as we wrestle with it,

the question we need to ask is,

what is it that makes the Father the Father?

What is it that makes Him distinct?

And what impact does that have on us knowing Him?

I want to show you three things from Ephesians 1.

This isn't the whole list of what makes the Father the Father,

but this is a good starting point for us tonight.

So let's look at Ephesians 1.

First thing that we need to grab out of here

is that the Father is supreme within the Trinity.

Now, even though the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

have absolute equality,

they're all eternal,

they're all all-powerful,

they're all all-knowing,

yet somehow the Father is supreme

over the Son and the Spirit.

He's the Boutros Boutros of the Trinity, if you will.

The America of the UN,

the Steve Jeffrey of our St. Paul's staff team.

Maybe not.

But the point is,

the Father has authority over the Son and over the Spirit.

Let's have a look at this passage in Ephesians again

and try and see how it's showing us this.

First one, in verse 4.

Now, jump down to verse 9.

Verse 11.

And then right down the bottom,

in the end of verse 14,

all this stuff being done,

we have the Spirit that's a deposit

guaranteeing our inheritance

until the redemption of those

who are God's possession

to the praise of His,

the Father's, glory.

It's the Father's will.

It's the Father's choice

from start to finish.

Don't get me wrong.

The Son gets some serious billing

in this particular passage.

Jesus gets mentioned over and over and over.

But in those verses,

we see that the Father's will

is the plan that's happening.

It's the Father who executes His desires.

It's the Father who planned out creation

before it was there.

It's the Father who planned

that He would send the Son to save people.

And even that final day,

when everything gets made right,

when Jesus comes back,

all of that is restored

according to the plan

of the Father's will.

It's the mystery of His will

that has been revealed.

And you can be sure

that every detail in all creation

is according to His will.

In verse 11.

In Him we were chosen,

predestined according to the plan

of Him who works out everything

in conformity with the purpose of His will.

Everything is worked out

according to the Father's will.

There's no gap.

God doesn't plan the big stuff

and then send in the Son and the Spirit

to fill the gaps and sort out the details.

He doesn't leave the rest to them

or even to us.

It is the Father who works out everything

in the conformity of His will.

It is Him who guides and directs all things.

And everything in heaven,

everything on earth,

even the Son and the Spirit

are subject to the authority

of God the Father.

But it's not an oppressive authority.

We have this negative picture

of authority in our existence.

Think about the way that you react

for those of you who drive

when you see a parking cop.

Whether you're getting a ticket or not,

are you excited?

Are you reverent towards their authority?

They have an authority.

They are delegated by the local council

or whoever it is that's empowered them

to come around and make sure

that the laws are adhered to.

But immediately,

you think something along the lines of,

jerk.

It's okay to admit it

because I know I've done it.

Whether they're giving me a ticket

or someone else a ticket

or just walking to get their lunch.

I see the ticket machine

and I don't think,

wow, authority that is to be feared

and respected.

I think, authority,

what a shackle.

What a limitation.

Don't they understand?

I'm just running into the shop for a second

and it's not that I'm ignoring

the no standing sign.

It's just that the no standing sign

doesn't understand my situation.

We don't like authority.

We're happy to submit with authority

as long as it fits in

with what we want it to do anyway.

But we have this negative picture

of authority that is over us.

Whether it's parents or teachers

or police or parking cops,

we have this sense that authority

belittles us

or reduces the one

who is under authority.

But here in Ephesians

and throughout all of Scripture,

we see the Son and the Spirit

under the authority of the Father.

Even in the parts of the New Testament

that proclaim the greatness

and majesty of Jesus,

and there are a lot of them,

even in the final exaltation of Jesus,

the Father is still supreme.

He's still in the box seat.

I'm going to put a couple of passages

up on the screen.

Philippians 2 is the first one.

This is the hymn about Jesus

who is in very nature God

and humbles himself to death,

becoming obedient,

death on the cross,

and then God exalts him.

And it says here,

therefore God exalted him

to the highest place,

gave him the name

that's above every name,

that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bow

in heaven and on earth

and under the earth,

and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord.

This is exhaustive.

Everybody is going to acknowledge

Jesus as king,

but Jesus' kingship is to what end?

To the glory of God the Father.

He's given this name,

he's exalted,

he's lifted up,

but even in that moment,

the Son remains subject

to the authority of the Father.

Another passage,

1 Corinthians 15.

I'll read a little bit extra

that comes just before the stuff

that will be on the screen for you.

1 Corinthians 15,

and I will begin at verse 20.

This is talking about resurrection,

and it says,

Christ has indeed been raised from the dead,

the firstfruits of those

who have fallen asleep.

For since death came through one man,

the resurrection of the dead

comes also through a man.

For as in Adam all die,

so in Christ all be made alive,

but each in his own turn.

Christ the firstfruits then,

when he comes,

those who belong to him.

Then the end will come,

when he hands over the kingdom

to God the Father,

after he has destroyed

all dominion, authority,

and power.

For he must reign

until he has put all his enemies

under his feet.

The last enemy to be destroyed

is death.

For he has put everything

under his feet.

Here's the key bit.

Now when it says that

everything has been put under him,

still talking about Jesus,

it's clear that this does not include

God the Father himself

who put everything under Christ.

When he has done this,

then the Son himself

will be made subject

to him who put everything

under him

so that God may be

all in all.

Even at that final moment

when every authority

has been laid low,

when everyone has acknowledged

the kingship of Jesus,

at that point,

the Son will not make

much of himself.

He will joyfully

and willingly

subject himself

to the authority

of God the Father.

Even in that moment,

Jesus willingly

and wholeheartedly

submits to authority.

And it's important

for us to recognize

that the Father's authority

and his supremacy

is eternal.

In this passage in Ephesians,

we see that before

the creation of the world,

God the Father

had already planned things out.

He was exercising

his authority

before he spoke

the earth into motion.

He had already told the Son,

this is what you will do

before the world

had begun.

And we see there

in 1 Corinthians 15,

that at the end

and for all eternity,

the Son will make himself

subject to God the Father

because God the Father

was, is, and always

will be supreme.

Now there's two

important implications,

well at least two

important implications

for us in this.

Authority

is therefore

inherently good.

God is good

and authority

is part of who God is,

it's part of him

as Father

for all eternity,

therefore

authority

is good.

Now,

we need to acknowledge

authority can be abused,

authority can be misused,

but it's part of who God is

and we need to be careful

as Christians

how we approach those

who are in authority

over us.

Because if authority

is good,

we're not justified

in our default position

of just disliking authority

because it limits me.

Because authority

is going to be there

for all eternity.

It's not like

when we go to heaven,

suddenly all authority

will be removed

and you will be a Lord

unto yourself.

Therefore,

all eternity,

you too

will be subject

to the authority

of God the Father

and so we cannot

just throw authority

out as a bad thing

that the world

has given us.

Authority is part

of who God is.

But more importantly,

if we fail

to submit

to earthly authority,

parents,

teachers,

police,

even church leadership,

we actually

handicap ourselves

when it comes

to our relationship

with God.

If we lack

the ability

to submit

to authority,

then we will struggle

when it comes

to submitting

to God.

If we breed

within ourselves

a default setting

and a culture

where authority

is bad,

it is inevitable

that that will begin

to flow into the way

we relate to our God.

We will see authority

as a negative thing

and instead

we will treat him

as equal with us,

important,

but not in charge.

God the Father

is supreme

over Jesus the Son

and over the Holy Spirit

and you can be sure

that he is supreme

over us as well.

To reject authority,

to reject his authority,

is to reject him

as Father,

to reject him

as Father

is to reject God

because that's

who he is.

Second implication

of the authority

of the Father

is that in God

we have a model

for what fatherhood

looks like.

We all have

different experiences

of fatherhood,

for some of us

it's been positive,

for some negative,

but for those of us

who are fathers

or who will be

one day,

we must recognize

that authority

is an appropriate position

for a father

over a child.

It is right

for fathers

to demand respect

and to demand obedience

from their children,

not oppressively,

not in a burdensome way,

but the respect

that is commanded

from kids

will teach kids

that God,

their Heavenly Father,

also demands respect

and obedience.

As fathers,

we will be the model

for our own kids

and for the world

around us

of what the fatherhood

of God looks like

and so we need

to look to Him

and seek to fulfill

the pattern

that He's given us.

The right response

to the authority

of the Father

is found in the perfect

submission of Jesus

but we're going to get

to that a little bit

more next week

so you're just going to

have to hold that

on the shelf

a little bit.

The Father is supreme.

It's the first thing

that Ephesians 1

wants to show us

but not only supreme,

secondly,

the Father is

abundantly generous.

Part of what makes

the Father's authority

perfect and good

is the love

that goes hand in hand

with the authority

that He exercises.

Love for His Son,

love for the Spirit

and love for us.

If you look at

Jesus' life on the earth,

Jesus is provided for

by His Father.

The Father sends

the Spirit on Jesus

at His baptism

so that the Spirit

will empower Jesus

for His earthly life.

The Spirit is the one

who's giving Him

the power

but the Father's the one

who gave Him the Spirit

and so it is the Father

who provides

for His Son.

Jesus is often referred

to as the Son of the Father

but more than that,

in Mark chapter 1

Mark 1 · chapter mention

where Jesus is being baptized,

it says this,

at that time Jesus came

from Nazareth in Galilee

and was baptized

by John in the Jordan.

As Jesus was coming up

out of the water,

He saw heaven being torn open

and the Spirit descending

on Him like a dove

and a voice came from heaven,

You are my Son

whom I love.

With you I am well pleased.

Jesus knows

the Father's love for Him.

He knows the Father's provision.

He knows the Father's

abundant generosity

and so the authority

that He is called

to submit to

is in no way oppressive

or negative

or difficult.

But the amazing blessing

is that we too

know the loving provision

of our Heavenly Father.

Have a look at verse 7 and 8.

In Him we have redemption

through His blood,

the forgiveness of sins

in accordance with the riches

of God's grace

that He lavished on us

with all wisdom

and understanding.

The love of our Heavenly Father

is lavish.

It's abundant.

It is poured out on us.

It is overflowing.

God the Father

is generous.

James 1.17 tells us

that every good

and perfect gift

is from above

coming down

from the Father

of heavenly lights

who does not change

like shifting shadows.

In Ephesians verse 3

we read,

Praise be to the God

and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ

who has blessed us

in the heavenly realms

with every

spiritual blessing.

God's love

is lavish.

It is abundant.

It is overwhelming.

Every good gift

comes from God.

Every good thing

you have in your life,

everything that you

are thankful for

is a gift

from the Father

for which he is worthy

of our thanks

and praise.

But the greatest gift

of the Father

to us,

his children,

is himself.

As the creator

of anything

that is good,

there is nothing better

than himself.

It's like

when you watch

those Disney cartoons

and somebody finds

a genie lamp,

what's the first wish

of a smart person?

More wishes.

They want the source

of the goodness

and in the same way

the Father

who gives us good things

gives us the greatest gift

in that he gives us

himself.

He gives us access

to the unlimited,

abundant,

and lavish love

of our heavenly Father.

Now the Son

gets that in a measure

that we can only begin

to dream about.

That's the marvel

of the Trinity

is that the Father

and the Son

are so interconnected

and so closely related

that they get each other

in fullness

but for us

the Father's love

climaxes

in Jesus

on the cross.

Through that moment

of sacrifice

that the Father pays

we come to know him

as Father.

Chris was sharing

this morning

that as you range

through the Old Testament

you will very rarely

find God

referred to

as Father.

It's not that he's

not Father

because we've already

looked at in all

eternity

he has been

the Supreme Father

but it's that

it's not until

we get to Jesus

the Son

that we are invited

to know him

as Father.

That is the lavish

love of the Father

that he would sacrifice

his Son

and John 14

puts it explicitly

when Jesus says

I am the way

the truth

and the life

no one comes

to the Father

except through me.

The love

of the Father

for us

is to draw us

into a relationship

with him

where he remains

supreme.

but where he

pours out

his abundant

love.

It's amazing

that we come

to know him

not just as

a Father

or even

the Father

but our Father

and so Jesus

can teach his

disciples

and we can read

in Matthew 6

we pray

our Father

in heaven.

Verse 5

puts it this way

he predestined

us to be

adopted

as his

sons

through Jesus

Christ.

The Father

who cares

for his Son

and provided

his Holy Spirit

for him

has adopted

us into

his family

and again

here God

the Father

is the model

of what a real

father should be.

He models

what fatherly

love should look

like.

Fathers are called

to so smother

their children

with love

that there will

never be a question.

Jesus heard it

explicitly

from his

father's lips

and Jesus

experienced it

directly

through his

father's

provision

and so

for those of us

who are fathers

and those of us

who may become

fathers

we are called

to the same

sort of love.

If you are a

father

do your children

know that you

love them?

Are they confident?

Have you told them?

Have they experienced

it?

God our

father

is our model.

There's an amazing

promise in Romans

8 that says

if he did not

spare his own

son but graciously

gave him up

for us all

how will he not

also along with

him give us

all things?

As children of

God we are

confident in

God's love

because he has

told us

that we are

loved and he

has shown us

that we are

loved in Jesus

and not loved

a little bit

we are loved

lavishly

abundantly

even excessively

our own

personal experiences

of authority

and love

in our

relationships

with one

another

might have

you feeling

a tension

how can

authority

and love

fit together

in God

but we must

understand

that in God

they are

perfectly

complementary

we need

to be careful

that our

own failures

to exercise

authority

and our

failures to

submit to

authority

in no way

affects or

defines God

we need to

seek to let

go of our

baggage and

let God

define himself

as he reveals

himself in

scripture

the trinity

father son and

holy spirit

brings authority

and love

into perfect

harmony

and even though

we will continue

to fall short

in our own

relationships

despite our

best efforts

as fathers

as children

as those in

authority

those under

authority

we must

not let

our failures

become an

excuse

not to see

the pattern

that God

has given

us

God is giving

us a vision

of what we

could be

we are created

in his image

to bear his

image

to reflect him

as a relational

God

who exercises

authority

who submits

and who loves

extravagantly

and all of

this

is to the

praise of

God the

father

verse 14

we get to

the end

having looked

at the

amazing plan

of salvation

and redemption

that God

has purposed

in his son

and we read

that it is

to the praise

of his

glory

may his

abundant

love for us

drive us

to marvel

at him

again

may his

perfectly

exercised

authority

give us

a new

energy

and fervor

to obey

him

to submit

to his

rule

and to

recognize

that he

is the

generous

loving

God

who has

poured

out

his

love

in

every

minute

of

every

day

God

as

father

is

supreme

authority

God

as

father

is

generous

but let

me show

you one

last

thing

in this

passage

look

again

at how

God

as the

supreme

member

of the

trinity

works

verse

three

praise be

to the

God

and father

of our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

who has

blessed

us

in the

heavenly

realms

with

every

spiritual

blessing

where

in

Christ

for

he

chose

us

in

Christ

before

the

creation

of the

world

to be

holy

and

blameless

in his

sight

in love

he

predestined

us

to be

adopted

as

his

sons

through

Jesus

Christ

in

accordance

with his

pleasure

and will

to the

praise

of his

glorious

grace

which

he

has

freely

given

us

in

the

one

Christ

he

loves

in

Christ

we

have

redemption

through

his

blood

the

forgiveness

of

sins

in

accordance

with

the

riches

of

God's

grace

that

he

lavished

on

us

with

all

wisdom

and

understanding

and he

made

known to

us

the

mystery

of

his

will

according

to

his

good

pleasure

which

he

purposed

in

Christ

to

be

put

into

effect

when

the

times

will

have

reached

their

fulfillment

to

bring

all

things

in

heaven

and

on

earth

together

under

one

head

even

Christ

in

him

Christ

we

were

chosen

having

been

predestined

according

to the

plan

of

him

who

works

out

everything

in

conformity

with

the

purpose

of

his

will

in

order

that

we

who

were

the

first

to

hope

in

Christ

might

be

for

the

praise

of

his

glory

and

you

also

were

included

in

Christ

when

you

heard

the

word

of

truth

the

gospel

of

your

salvation

having

believed

you

were

marked

in

him

Christ

with

a

seal

the

promised

Holy

Spirit

who

is

a

deposit

guaranteeing

our

inheritance

until

the

redemption

of

those

who

are

God's

possession

remember

God

the

father

is

all

knowing

God

the

father

is

all

powerful

God

the

father

is

everywhere

at

all

times

there

is

nothing

that

he

cannot

do

he

has

no

need

for

the

help

of

other

people

even

the

son

and

the

spirit

but

he

chooses

in

his

love

for

them

to

include

them

in

his

work

the

father

doesn't

have

to

do

it

this

way

but

out

of

love

for

the

son

and

the

spirit

he

chooses

to

work

this

way

he

chooses

to

work

through

Jesus

he

chooses

to

make

Jesus

the

center

piece

and

the

excitement

it's

through

Jesus

that

we

experience

God's

lavish

and

abundant

and

generous

love

the

spirit

is

even

in

there

as

a

deposit

it's

the

means

that

the

father

chose

to

use

for

us

to

have

his

presence

in

our

lives

each

and

every

day

the

spirit

is

how

God

the

father

gives

us

peace

and

confidence

that

we

are

forgiven

and

saved

but

again

we'll

get to

in

the

perfect

execution

of

his

will

he

knows

that

there

is

joy

for

others

even

though

he

has

no

need

for

them

and

so

he

draws

the

son

and

the

spirit

in

so

they

might

also

have

his

joy

but

the

amazing

thing

is

as

followers

of

Jesus

the

father

has

drawn

us

into

his

work

as

well

he

didn't

need

the

son

or

the

spirit

or

you

or

me

or

anyone

else

to

fulfill

his

plans

but

for

our

sake

he

gives

us

his

work

he

includes

us

in

his

eternal

before

creation

and

for

all

eternity

plan

if

you

ever

had

the

joy

of

being

used

to

draw

someone

to

Christ

maybe

you

shared

the

gospel

with

a

friend

or

a

neighbor

or

a

work

colleague

and

you

finally

seen

them

come

to

know

God

as

their

heavenly

father

as

well

you

don't

need

convincing

you

know

that

there

is

no

better

joy

God

includes

you

in

that

moment

for

your

joy

not

because

he

needs

you

but

he

includes

you

that

you

may

find

joy

and

that

he

may

be

glorified

but

his

work

is

more

than

just

ministry

this

was

an

amazing

thing

for

me

reflecting

this

week

if

you

go

back

to

the

beginning

of

the

Bible

how

does

the

Bible

begin

God

creates

God

starts

and

there's

a need

for

people

in

his

creation

so

what

does

he

do

he

collects

some

dirt

he

molds

it

together

and

he

breathes

life

into

it

that's

the

only

time

that

people

are

created

like

that

from

then

on

God

wanted

us

to be

a

part

of

the

joy

of

creation

and

so

he

made

people

able

to

produce

people

that

is

a

gift

of

God

that

we

can

be

a

part

of

his

work

of

creation

it's

not

just

about

preaching

it's

not

just

about

the

gospel

it's

the

work

that

God

has

given

us

in

our

time

here

on

the

earth

it

is

a

gift

from

God

because

remember

everything

is

his

work

he

is

working

out

everything

with

the

conformity

of

his

will

nothing

is

outside

of

his

sovereign

hand

and

what

an

amazing

truth

we

find

in

this

our

sovereign

supreme

and

loving

heavenly

father

because

when

we

know

his

absolute

authority

when

we

know

that

he

is

going

to

accomplish

his

will

no

matter

what

then

our

inclusion

in

work

our

inclusion

in

serving

society

and

other

people

is

not

a

burden

it's

a

gift

it's

a

joy

we

need

to

recognize

the

significance

in

whatever

it

is

that

God

has

given

us

to

do

because

it

is

his

work

that

he

doesn't

need

us

for

but

he

has

included

us

so

that

we

find

joy

in

him

it's

almost

like

I

remember

as a

young

child

I

was

useless

in

terms

of

handy

tasks

I'm

still

useless

in

terms

of

handy

tasks

but

I

remember

one

day

being

invited

around

with

my

dad

to

a

friend

of

his

house

because

they

were

going

to

work

on

a

boat

it

was

an

old

fiberglass

boat

that

needed

a

fair

bit

of

TLC

and

so

to

keep

me

out of

trouble

they

gave

me

a

piece

of

sandpaper

and

a

little

cork

sanding

block

and

said

just

sand on

the

edge

down

there

and

so

I

went

to

work

sanding

away

and

eventually

I

sanded

right

through

it

and

put

a

nice

hole

in

the

front

of

that

boat

but

I

realized

as

my

father

lovingly

and

as

his

friend

graciously

continued

to let

me

work

on

the