Exploring the Fatherhood of God

SPEAKER 02 : 0:01

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, June 24th. When Jesus prayed, He referred to God as Father. And if you are a believer, you have that same intimate access. You can call Him Father too. In today’s podcast titled, The Privilege of Knowing God, we are discovering what it means to truly know God, our Father.

SPEAKER 01 : 0:24

There are many titles about God in the Bible. He’s called many things. Let me ask you a question. When you feel lonely and weary and tired, which one of those titles seems to be the most meaningful to you? When you feel hurt and feel pain, which is the most reassuring to you? When you feel fearful and maybe a little desperate or maybe, shall we say, just inadequate to face whatever you’re facing, which one of those is the most comforting to you? Well, when you think about all those titles in the Bible about God, I believe the one that meets all of those needs is the title of Father. And you’ll recall that Jesus is teaching His disciples how to pray here, and so He says in verse eight of Matthew chapter six, Therefore, do not be like them, talking about the unbelievers, for your father knows what you need before you ask him. And then he says, Pray then, that is, when you pray, this is how you can pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. It’s interesting how he said we are to pray. And this very idea was a revolutionary idea to the people of his day. Because you see, the truth is Jesus Christ came primarily to die on the cross for our sins in order that you and I may be able to have a relationship with God the Father. But in his coming, Jesus Christ came to reveal the truth. The truth that you and I could have a personal relationship with Him. That is that we could know Him. And the way that you and I can know God as Father is through the revelation of Jesus Christ Himself. There are many people, if they thought about God, and if they said, well, let me tell you what I believe about God, most people would not see Him. They do not feel. They do not experience. They do not sense God as being their Father. More than likely, He is a distant person, even among believers. He’s out yonder. Especially when a person’s living in disobedience to God, they don’t sense, they don’t speak in terms of His fatherhood, but rather God… And so he came to make it possible for us to understand that God is our heavenly father. And of all the persons, he above all the rest. But yet you come to the apostle Paul and here’s what you’ll discover. Let me give you one example of it. Turn to Ephesians chapter one for a moment. You could take first, second Corinthians, Ephesians, Romans, any of them you want to. Let’s just look at this one. And you’ll notice how Paul begins every single one of his epistles, Romans. He’s a few verses in before he says it, but notice what he says, every single one of them with no exception. Beginning in Ephesians chapter one, verse one, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Over and over and over again, you find him addressing his readers in the same way. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It was his desire to make that very, very clear. Likewise, if you study these epistles, here’s what you’ll discover. that behind Paul’s theology, on the very foundation of it, he always saw God as Father. He talks about our being children of God, about the household of God, about the family of God, about not being able to be separated from Him, that we are joint heirs with God, with His Son, Jesus Christ. His greatness is one thing, and wonderful that we know Him in His greatness and in His goodness, but knowing Him as a personal Heavenly Father. Jesus addressed him continually, my father, your father, our father, the father. He intended for us to understand what those before him, that is in the years and centuries before, did not fully understand, a personal intimate relationship with him. Not only is that true, but second, I want you to realize that it is through the person of Jesus Christ that you and I can know Him as our Heavenly Father. Now, there are lots of people who have the mistaken idea, and this is their mistaken idea. They say, you know, God is everybody’s God. He is everybody’s Father. And you’ll hear this phrase. They’ll speak like this. They’ll say, well, I believe in the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. What they mean by that is that they believe that God is everybody’s Father and that we are everybody’s brother. Well, I understand what they mean by that. It just sends the wrong kind of message because it just doesn’t happen to be true. Now, God is, as creator, we could say that since all life came from him, we could say in that light that he is indeed a father of mankind, that he’s father of humanity, that he’s father of all mankind. But when it comes to a personal relationship, can’t say that. Listen to what it says. Our father who is in heaven. hallowed be thy name. It’s interesting that immediately after he speaks in terms of this relationship of our father who is in heaven, the next phrase speaks of the holiness of God. It is the holiness of God that separates man in his sin from holy God. And so therefore, when somebody says, well, that prayer belongs to everyone. So I want you to listen very carefully so you will understand what I’m about to say. That prayer was the prayer Jesus was teaching his disciples. But it’s a pattern for all of us who are believers. That is, he was teaching his disciples how to pray. Jesus did not say that everybody can pray this prayer. He did not say that. And on one occasion, they said, Lord, teach us to pray. He was giving them a pattern how to pray. And then, of course, later on in this passage, he talks about how to pray and he talks about where to pray and what our attitude ought to be. Here, he’s giving us a pattern. So, when somebody says, well, cannot everybody pray that prayer? Listen carefully now. Everybody can. You cannot tell somebody they can’t pray this prayer. But my friend, when it comes to meaning, only those who can call God their Father have a right to pray that prayer. So I want to say again, can anybody pray that prayer? Anybody can. Do I wish everybody in the world every day would pray that prayer? Yes, I do. Do I wish every child in school and every school in the world would pray that prayer every month? Yes, I do. Because I do believe there is power. Listen, God knows how. When a person addresses Him, when a person is focused upon Him, God knows how to get to their heart. I’m simply saying that those of us who believe us have the right and the authority to pray that prayer with expectation for God to hear and answer our prayer. Now, what is the biblical view of this whole idea? Well, I want you to think about something. I want you to turn, if you will, to John chapter 8 for a moment. And let’s look in this 8th chapter. And I want you to notice something that Jesus says here when it comes to this whole idea of God being our Father. and how we are to approach Him. Now, we said, for example, in John, over a hundred times, God is referred to as Father. Our Father, the Father, your Father, whatever it might be. And now, so for the unbeliever, can the unbeliever, can a person who has rejected Jesus Christ rightfully call God their Father? Well, first of all, a father implies relationship. Father implies sonship or daughtership. Father implies being in the family. Well, how can I reject the son of God who is the door into the family and claim to be a member of the family when I rejected the only entrance into the family? Well, look in the eighth chapter of John, because here Jesus is in a discussion with the Pharisees and those who do not believe in him. Let’s begin, if you will. In verse 37, he says, I know that you’re Abraham’s offspring, descendants, yet you seek to kill me because my word has no place in you. I speak the things which I have seen with my father. Therefore, you also do the things which you heard from your father. So what is Jesus saying? There are two spiritual fathers in the universe. One of them is God the Father, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom we pray. Listen to what he says now. They answered and said to him, Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, if you’re Abraham’s children, he says, your deeds need to be like those of Abraham. But as it is, you’re seeking to kill me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God, this Abraham did not do. You’re doing the deeds of your Father.” They said to Him, We’re not born of fornication. We have one Father, even God. Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would love Me. Did you hear that? If God, if Jehovah, the God of the Bible is our Father, we will love Jesus Christ. He says, If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God for I have not even come to my own initiative on my own initiative but he sent me why do you not understand what I’m saying it is because you cannot hear my word you are of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father, he was a murderer from the beginning, does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Now, friend, that’s pretty tough. You either have to believe that Jesus Christ meant what he said, or he didn’t mean what he said, and he didn’t mean what he said. He’s a liar. He’s a counterfeit. He’s a fraud. We close the Bible and go home. But you and I know that He speaks the truth. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. So, what is Jesus saying? He says, there are two fathers in the universe. One of them is God the Father, Jesus God, that is Jehovah. The other is the devil. Now, He says, if Jehovah God, the God of the Bible, is your God, you will love the Lord Jesus Christ. If He is not, Then, if you have rejected the Son of God, if you have denied Him, as difficult as it may be for you to swallow, as tough as it may be, this is not what I said, this is what Jesus said. He said, the devil is your father. And so, therefore, as much as we may not like to hear it, people have one or two fathers in the world, and that is either the devil’s their father or God the Son. Listen, God the Son introduced us to the genuine, real, true Father, and that is God the Father whom Jesus addressed as my Father. So, the very idea that everybody can just call upon God and treat Him any way they want to, say all kind of things about Him, And they can use His name in profanity one minute and the next minute. So I believe in God. He’s my God. I pray to God. Well, you know what? Who is this God you’re praying to? If you don’t know Jesus, you don’t know the Father. Therefore… What an awesome privilege you and I have to know the true God. And how do we know him? We know him through his son, Jesus Christ. He came in this world not only to die on the cross for our sins, but he came into the world likewise in order that you and I may understand, that you and I may get a glimpse of, that somehow we may be able to go through the scriptures and look at passages and find out That there’s more to God than some force out yonder, some being out yonder, some one in the past, but He is a loving Father. That we can address Him as my Father. Every single child of God has the privilege and the right to address Him as my Father. So when I think about the things that Jesus said about him, and think about the way people treat him, for example, and what Jesus said in this passage, he says, no, you’re following your father who is the devil. Now here’s the difference. God the Father, the God of Scripture, Jehovah God, is a God of truth who offers life. The other God, who is Satan, is a God, Jesus said, of lies who offers death. And you can look around and see what sin does to people, what wickedness and evil and rebellion, what happens to people, what’s the consequences of living a life in disobedience and rebellion against God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Where is there peace and contentment and joy and happiness? Where is there assurance and where is there comfort in times of sorrow and difficulty? Where is there that awesome sense of being able to endure the most difficult trying circumstances of life and yet come out winning and come out victorious time after time after time? It is in knowing this God as our Father and knowing Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Is it any wonder He said, When you pray, this is the way you’re to pray. You’re to pray, our Father who art in heaven, give us this day our daily bread. Lead us not into temptation. All these things that he said. What is he saying to us? He’s saying that you and I have a wonderful heavenly Father. Now, how does he become our heavenly Father? Listen to what he said, and you probably know this verse by heart. In John chapter 1, look at that for a moment. John chapter 1 begins, listen, he begins his gospel with a very important truth. He’s talking about who Jesus is in those first few verses and so forth. Then he comes to this 12th verse and he says, But as many as received him, that is Christ, to them he, that is Christ, gave them the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name. That is, we become children of the Heavenly Father through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Bible talks about, go to Romans chapter 8 for a moment, and notice what Paul says in this 8th chapter of Romans. He talks about our relationship to God. And he says in verse 15, “‘For you’ve not received the spirit of slavery, leading to fear again, but you’ve received the spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we’re the children of God, and that children, heirs also, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ.'” We become the children of God. Turn all the way over to 1 John chapter 3. Revelation, Jude, 3rd, 2nd, 1st John from the back for those who are new believers. 1 John, that little epistle in the back of your Bible and the 3rd chapter. Listen to this wonderful, wonderful verse about our God as our Father. Listen to what he says. Chapter 3, verse 1. “‘See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us.'” that we should be called children of God, and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it didn’t know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. Now, if you go to the 10th verse of that same chapter, the Bible says… By this, the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious. Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. Now, he’s not saying that if there come a time and you get angry with your brother, that you’re no longer a child of God, or if you happen to sin about something in your life, doesn’t mean that you cease to be a child of God. But when that’s your lifestyle, living in disobedience toward God, when that’s your lifestyle, he says, you’re not a child of God. All of us fail and falter at times, but we’re forgiven. One of the aspects of God’s fatherhood is that he is ready and willing and able to forgive us. But what he’s saying in this entire idea here is simply the fact that God is our father. Jesus came to reveal Him as our Father. That’s the way He addressed Him. And our access to Him and becoming a member of the family of God is only through Jesus Christ. Remember what He said in John chapter 10? Not only is He our Father, but He says that what He’s given us, no one can take away. John chapter 10, verse 27. He says, my sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish. No one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. So that, listen, when you’re able to call God your heavenly Father… You can call him your heavenly father when you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal savior. And listen, that father sonship relationship is not temporary. It is not based on your behavior. It is based on relationship that you now have. Once you trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, once you accepted the fact that his death at Calvary paid your sin debt in full, once you say, I do believe in Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, having confessed your sins, you become a child of God. The Bible says the Holy Spirit seals you under the day of redemption, not until you make a mistake, not until you sin, but to the day of redemption, that is when he calls you home. And he says, you are in the Father’s hand. Once you trust the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you’re in the Father’s hand. He says, nobody, no one can pluck you out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. What is he saying? Once you’re born into the family of God, and that’s how we get in. He says, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. We are born by faith in Jesus Christ and the family of God. And the Bible says we have, listen, Paul used another term. He said we are adopted. That is, by adoption, that is that God reached down in our sinful, lost, desperate condition, chose to forgive us of our sins, chose to save us, and do what? Bring us into his family and make us a child of the living God. Listen, we are born again into the kingdom of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s how we become children. That’s what makes it possible for us to say, my Father who is in heaven, my Father, our Father, the Father. We’re talking about the God of the Scriptures.

SPEAKER 02 : 20:04

Thank you for listening to Knowing God as Our Father. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you’d like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.