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,
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
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
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
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
to 7
Jesus continually
reveals God
as father.
Matthew chapter 5
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.