God the Father

I have never used this word about myself ever before,

but as I prepared this message, I thought I can do this.

I was raised as a theist, or more specifically,

I was raised as a monotheist.

I was raised to believe in one God,

to pray prayers at night that were addressed as dear God,

sent to Sunday school where Jesus was a bit of a mystery,

important but not as important as God, the man.

And I think I had a mindset of,

why would you talk to this number two when you could talk to the main man?

And if I was raised, or had been raised in a Muslim family,

I would have been taught similar things about God.

When I was confirmed at 14, I think I had a sincerity of heart,

I wanted to honour God, but Jesus still made no specific sense.

So when God shone his light and broke into my heart at 18 years of age,

the most dramatic change in my thinking was twofold.

God showed me that I deserved to be judged by him.

I understood for the first time that I really didn't deserve special favours.

I was immediately afraid.

And the second thing he did was show me that Jesus had stood in my place,

that he had taken the judgment that I deserved,

and I was thrilled and thankful for the mercy of the Lord Jesus,

and he became the new centre of my world.

Knowing Jesus was the beginning of a journey to know his Father,

the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

It's a journey which is ongoing, and it will not stop this side of heaven.

And so as I live with Jesus Christ as my Lord,

I am still learning about the sheer goodness and supremacy

and love and power and provision of his most magnificent Father.

Really interesting this morning to hear the job description of a dad you came up with.

I wish I'd had that in mind when I was preparing this message,

because it reflects the nature of God himself and what we know of him.

But the big point that I'm making this morning,

if you walk away with nothing else, I want you walk away with this,

that the only way to know the true God and Father,

the only way to know the true God and Father,

is through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In John 14, Jesus is talking about returning to his Father's house in heaven.

And Thomas says to him, Lord, we don't know the way,

we don't know where you're going, so how can we know the way?

And Jesus replies, I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

I mean, this day and age,

that is one of Christianity's most offensive claims to a lot of people.

The only way that God the Father can be known

is through his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ,

and any other attempt is futile and false.

And we make this claim confidently

because it is straight from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philip says to Jesus in John 14, verse 8,

John 14:8

Lord, show us the Father,

and that will be enough for us.

And Jesus replied,

Don't you know me, Philip?

Anyone who has seen me

has seen the Father.

The Lord Jesus Christ

is the one who reveals God the Father.

The only way to know the true God and Father

is through his Son,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew chapter 11

Matthew 11 · chapter mention

says something similar.

Jesus says,

I praise you, Father,

Lord of heaven and earth,

because you have hidden these things

from the wise and learned

and revealed them to little children.

Yes, Father,

for this was your good pleasure.

All things have been committed to me by my Father.

No one knows the Son

except the Father,

and no one knows the Father

except the Son

and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

We do not come to know God the Father

by the power of our own intellect.

We know him

because of the gracious gift of his Son.

The only way to know the true God and Father

is through his Son,

the Lord Jesus Christ.

So this morning is the second of two messages

that focus on the God of the Bible.

The second of two messages,

we're doing more than two messages.

Who he is,

how he's revealed himself.

I said last week

that we have to keep a fair bit of humility

when trying to know God

and describe God

and talk about God.

We don't know everything.

We only know as much about God

as he chooses to reveal about himself,

and to go any further

is to move into the realm of speculation and error.

I want to put a few more pegs in the ground today

which focus on God revealing himself to us as Father.

We're exploring the doctrine of the Trinity.

It's a word that the early church used to describe

how God reveals himself as three persons,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

And we've been saying,

and we'll say again and again throughout this series,

that the Scriptures clearly teach

the Father is God,

the Son is God,

the Holy Spirit is God.

But they also clearly teach

the Son is not the Father,

the Father is not the Spirit,

and the Spirit is not the Son.

Describing God is in some sense

like trying to describe the indescribable.

Sometimes you have to hold to truth

that seems illogical and contradictory.

We can only describe what we see.

We do not see the whole picture.

Despite all the confidence

that scientists sometimes speak with,

they're like that.

And what they teach us about light,

they tell us that it,

when they teach us about light,

they'll tell us that it displays

the form and behaviour of waves.

But they'll also teach us

that light displays the form

and behaviour of particles.

Two different substances

doesn't easily fit logic,

but it is what it is.

I was wonderfully surprised

as I prepared this message

and actually quite excited.

I did a search

of the whole of the Bible

with my concordance

for the number of times

or the places

where the word Father is used.

And you push the button

on your computer

and you get more than

a thousand references.

And when you get rid

of all the human references,

such as Abraham was the father of Isaac

and he was the father of Jacob

and all that sort of reference

in the Bible,

you get a much shorter list.

And you discover,

or I saw for the first time,

that there are very few references

to God as Father

in the Old Testament.

Very few.

And most of them

are associated

with God's relationship

to King David

and the promises

that he makes to him.

So probably the high point

of David's reign

is in 2 Samuel chapter 7

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

when God promises

to build a dynasty from him.

And it says,

The Lord declares to you

that the Lord himself

will establish a house for you

when your days are over

and you rest with your fathers.

I will raise up your offspring

to succeed you

who will come from your own body.

And I will establish his kingdom.

And he is the one

who will build a house for my name.

And I will establish

the throne of his kingdom forever.

I will be his father

and he will be my son.

And when he does wrong,

I will punish him

with the rod of men

and with floggings inflicted by men.

But my love

will never be taken away from him

as I took it away from Saul,

whom I removed from before you.

Your house and your kingdom

will endure forever before me

and your throne

will be established forever.

Psalm 2 carries the same idea

or similar ideas.

He says,

I have installed my king

on Zion,

my holy hill.

I will proclaim

the decree of the Lord.

He said to me,

You are my son.

Today,

I have become your father.

Ask of me

and I will make the nations

your inheritance,

the ends of the earth

your possession.

And it's there as well

in Isaiah.

It's in a reading

that we read at Christmas

all the time.

For unto us

a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government

will be on his shoulders

and he will be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace.

Of the increase

of his government

and peace

there will be no end

and he will reign

on David's throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing

and upholding it

with justice

and righteousness

from that time on forever.

And the zeal

of the Lord Almighty

will accomplish this.

It's not as clear

but amongst

his other titles

this son

will also be known

as Mighty God

and Everlasting Father.

Those three passages

are passages

which are all looking

towards a future day,

a future king,

a future son

who will reign

on behalf of his father.

And the Old Testament

begins to anticipate

what will be revealed

with the coming

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I want you to see

that in some ways

our understanding

of God as father

grows

as the passages

of the Bible unfold

and as God's king

is revealed.

It's not always there

to be seen explicitly.

It becomes

much more explicit

as you move

through the Bible

and into the New Testament.

So when you get

to Matthew chapter 3

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

that God and Father

speaks at the baptism

of his son

and he says,

this is my son

whom I love

and in him

I am well pleased.

You discover

as you read

the Gospels

that the normal way

for Jesus

to speak about God

is as father.

The Sermon on the Mount

in Matthew chapter 5

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

to 7

Jesus continually

reveals God

as father.

Matthew chapter 5

Matthew 5:44

verse 44

So the implication

is that we

and from the Lord

Jesus Christ himself

we have a merciful father.

When we love our enemies

we reflect

the heart of God.

He is a God

who sustains

the whole earth.

The goodness

and the bounty

of creation

is enjoyed

by all his creatures.

It's the kindness

of our heavenly father

that even an atheist

like Richard Dawkins

can sunbake on the beach

that he can enjoy

the cooling of the waters

that he can savour

a Jamie Oliver meal

that he can know

an intimate relationship

with his wife.

God has made things

so that even unjust people

or people of evil intent

can enjoy his creation.

I could go to lots of places

and I really do feel

like I'm scratching

the surface

and that's not just

a throwaway platitude

but go to Matthew chapter 6.

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Jesus makes huge revelations

about the fatherhood of God.

He's a father

who knows our hearts.

We can't pull the wool

over his eyes.

We're not to be hypocrites

going through acts

of religious devotion

to draw attention

to ourselves

and our own self-righteousness.

So he says to us

when you give

or when you pray

or when you fast

don't do those things

to impress people.

Do them out of relationship

with your wonderful

heavenly father.

This is not religious duty.

He's the one

who is able to reward us

and to forgive us

for our sins.

And then he moves

into the Lord's prayer

giving further insights

into the nature

of God's fatherhood.

This is how you should pray.

Our father in heaven

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today

our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts

as we have forgiven

our debtors.

And lead us

not into temptation

but deliver us

from the evil one.

For if you forgive men

when they sin against you

your heavenly father

will also forgive you.

But if you do not

forgive people

their sins

your heavenly father

will not forgive

your sins.

So Jesus does

a bucket load

of things in that prayer.

He teaches us

to address God

as father.

And that's a new way

of relating to God

that has never been seen

before in the scriptures.

Jesus himself

addresses God

with a particular

reverence and intimacy

as a son.

In Mark's gospel

in the garden of Gethsemane

he says

Abba Father

everything is possible

for you.

Take this cup

from me.

Yet not what I will

but what you will.

In calling God

Father

he uses a word

that only a true son

would be permitted to use.

Steve's example

with his kids

this morning.

all the loving

respect

and reverence

of dad

but with no

irreverence

or inappropriate

familiarity

like old man

or Steve

or whatever it is.

Our father

in heaven

his dwelling

place is heaven

he lives

in a realm

that we can't

enter into yet

except through prayer

we can't see

and he has this

glorious name

that is to be

treated with the

utmost reverence

and respect.

Your kingdom

come

assumes that the

kingdom of God

the father

is established

in heaven

but is still

being established

on earth

and not everyone

submits to his reign

and rule

so when we pray

for the coming

of God's kingdom

we're actually

praying for men

and women

and boys

and girls

to submit

to his reign

and to the reign

of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Give us today

our daily bread

he's a father

who we can come

to for what we

need

he is our

provider.

I wish I could

tell you the detail

of this

I can't really

but I can tell you

that this week

I had to bring

some needs to him

which were clearly

beyond my own

resources to manage

and were quite

overwhelming.

And you know

in those moments

when you ask

for help

and you're in pain

and one of the things

you really want God

to do is just

take away the pain?

He did deal

with the pain

but in a way

that I didn't expect

by helping me

and others

to rise up

and to face

the difficulty

and to walk

through the pain

with a trust

and firm trust

in the goodness

of God

and in the Lord

Jesus Christ.

He reversed

the difficulty

and he

caused me

and others

to grow

through that

difficulty.

He knew

what I needed.

Further down

in Matthew 6

the father

is revealed

as a provider

who knows

our bodily

needs of food

and clothing.

Matthew chapter 10

Matthew 10 · chapter mention

says the hairs

of our head

are numbered

and a sparrow

doesn't die

without him

even knowing

about it.

Matthew 7

says that God

is a good father

eager to give

good gifts

to his children.

The father

is a powerful

provider.

He's all

knowing.

He delights

to provide

for his children

bountifully.

And the father

is forgiving.

Forgive us

our debts

as we also

have forgiven

our debtors.

We are to

reflect the

character

of our father.

We come to

know him

through the

forgiveness

that we have

in Christ.

it necessarily

follows that

we will

display his

character

as we

forgive people

who have

hurt us.

He invites

us to ask

him for

forgiveness

while presuming

that we will

show mercy

and forgiveness

to others.

He tells

that ugly

parable

in Matthew's

gospel

about the

man who

is forgiven

a huge

and unpayable

debt

and who

then goes

out and

abuses

another man

who owns

a pittance

and he

says such

a man

will come

under the

judgment

of God.

Jesus also

reveals God

as a

father who

loves.

John 3

16

For God

so loved

the world

that he

gave his

one and

only son

that whoever

believes in

him will not

perish but

have everlasting

life.

there are

some modern

theologians

out there

who have

caused the

precious things

of God

to be

trampled

on.

They

accuse God

the father

of what

they call

cosmic

child abuse

in sending

his son

to do

his dirty

work on

the cross.

And it's

become a

very popular

little refrain

which is

repeated around

the world

and by

numbers of

people who

stand outside

the faith.

And it is

effectively an

injustice, an

accusation of

injustice against

God.

And that could

be a sermon

in itself.

But think

about what I'm

preaching today.

It is the

son who

reveals the

father.

And the

son shows us

his character

and his

nature.

And right

here in

John's gospel

the son who

sees the

bigger picture,

the son who

knows the

father,

the son

insists that

the father's

sending of

him was an

extraordinarily

loving act.

It was

driven by

the father's

love for a

world that

was in

rebellion against

him.

We should

listen to

him.

The

scriptures also

reveal the

father to be

supreme and

also to be

humble.

1 Corinthians

15 where

Adam read to

us focuses on

the impact of

Jesus Christ

rising from

the dead,

the

resurrection.

verse 24,

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.

Now when it

says that

everything has

been put under

his feet it

is clear that

that does not

include God

himself who

put everything

under Christ.

Christ and

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.

There is

clearly order in

relationship between

the father and

the son.

The father is

the supreme

authority.

The kingdom

of God is

his.

the son is

his regent and

he conquers

through his

death and

resurrection and

having done his

magnificent work he

hands the kingdom

back to his

father and the

son is subject

to him.

Probably say

more about this

next week when

the focus is on

the son and his

work.

But to put it

really simply is

to say that there

is an authority

structure in the

Godhead in the

way that they

relate to one

another.

The spirit

glorifies the

son.

The son gives

glory and directs

his attention to

his unseen

heavenly father.

He gives him the

glory and he

submits to his

authority.

authority.

When I use the

words authority and

submission I hope

that you see that

they are rooted in

the sheer magnificence

and goodness and

love and power and

provision and

planning of God

the father who is

revealed to us

through the Lord

Jesus Christ.

The father has a

certain humility

about him because he

absolutely delights in

the work of his

son.

He exalts him.

At the end of the

Bible in Revelation

21 the lamb shares

the throne of God

with his father.

They both sit on

the throne together.

The son delights to

yield to his

heavenly father and

he calls us to do

the same.

Now words like

authority and

submission don't sit

well with us.

Especially in

Australia.

We think of

ourselves as

egalitarian.

Nobody's better than

anybody else.

We chop down tall

poppies.

We try to put people

in authority in their

place whether it be

the Prime Minister of

Australia or the

Rector of the Church

whoever it is and we

do not always readily

submit to their

leadership.

But the scriptures

show us that there is

order and relationship

in the Godhead.

Father, Son, Holy

Spirit are in a

relationship with the

Father where the

Father is clearly

supreme.

The mission of the

Lord Jesus Christ

reveals to us this

unseen Father.

He helps us to see

him and to know what

he's like.

He is supreme over

all.

He is magnificently

good.

The Son delights to

submit to him and he

teaches us that our

highest good is to know

him and to submit to

him as well.

Paul's letter to the

Ephesians begins by

declaring the nature of

God and it finishes in

chapters 5 and 6 with

very practical

understandings or

applications to

relationships in both

family and work

relationships based on

who God is.

So it actually says our

human relationships

should be governed by

the nature of God

himself.

So marriage in

Ephesians 5, submit to

one another out of

reverence for Christ.

Wives submit to your

husbands as to the

Lord for the husband is

the head of the wife as

Christ is the head of the

church, his body of

which he is the

saviour.

Now as the church

submits to Christ so

also wives should submit

to their husbands in

everything.

Husbands love your

wives just as Christ

loved the church and

gave himself up for

her.

To make her holy,

cleansing her by the

washing with water

through the word and

to present her to

himself as a radiant

church without stain or

wrinkle or any other

blemish but holy and

blameless.

Mutual submission, a

wife who delights to

submit to and honour her

husband.

husband.

A husband who generously

and self-sacrificially

loves his wife with the

sort of love that is

seen in the Godhead.

Not self-centred,

selfish and self-obsessed

but giving generously for

the benefit of the other.

Most of us know something

less than the ideal.

We know where we rub in

relationship.

Some of us may carry very

deep and unresolved pain.

I read a book by John

Piper in January which

called this

Impermanent Marriage

saying that our

relationships in this life

are temporary but the

one we have with God into

the future is permanent.

And it helped me to think

about this passage in a

fresh way because

as difficult as life and

relationships sometimes

are,

God has given us the

privilege in our

relationships of reflecting

something which is even

greater than us.

Him.

And so for a believer

marriage and relationships

are not firstly about us.

They are about God and

they are about God's glory.

So the husband who lives

with a wife who doesn't

respect him but who

continues to love his wife

with abundant love and

providing generously for her

in a way that reflects

the nature of our

heavenly father.

Or a wife with an

oppressive husband, a

wife who still seeks to

honour him in a way which

reflects the devotion of

Christ to his heavenly

father in loving the

church.

Kerry's done that for me in

my marriage.

There have been times in

my marriage where when it

has been all about me or

all about my ministry.

I couldn't see it.

Kerry could.

And she has lived with the

pain and the oppression

of it and sometimes

challenging me but fearing

that I would respond with

my self-protecting and

self-justifying wrath to

close her down.

And she has loved me with a

Christ-like love in ways

which I often did not

appreciate and even found

hard to believe and receive

what she was giving.

You see there is rich blessing

to be had in our marriages if

we would look to God and the

nature of the relationship

between the father and the

son.

Men, if we look to the

father we would see how much

he loves, esteems, trusts and

delights in his son.

He shows us how to

generously or use authority

with generosity to those that

we have responsibility and

accountability for.

Thinking is transferable to the

workplace.

I could go there.

I could go to the Christian

workplace.

I could go to the secular

workplace.

Ephesians chapter 6, slaves

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

serving whatever master, serve

them all good or bad but serving

them as though you were obeying

Christ and doing it for his

glory.

Or masters treating slaves in

such a way, employers treating

slaves to their employees in such

a way that they reflect that they

know that they are accountable to a

heavenly master.

To grow in knowledge of the

father is to grow in our

knowledge of ourselves.

Who the father is helps us to know

how we are to function in the

difficult crucible of human

relationships.

I told you at the beginning my

journey from theism to Christ.

I didn't monotheism to Christ.

I didn't understand what God was

doing at the time.

I now know that Christ was

carrying me on a journey which is

about knowing his father.

It's an ongoing journey.

I am secure in Christ, absolutely

safe in him.

But I am only a minnow in

understanding the depths of the

wisdom of the knowledge of God.

But one thing I do know, that the

only way to know the true God and

father is through his son, the

Lord Jesus Christ.

Knowing the father will be

transforming of all human

relationships.

And so a good question for me, and

I think it's a good question for you

as well.

In my family, in my roles in my

workplace, do I reflect the nature

of my heavenly father and his

relationship with his son?

Amen.