Thoughts on Jesus' relationship with his Father
A journey through the Gospel of John
Scripture reading: John 12:20-50, Colossians 1:9-23
A couple of weeks ago we began our present study in the Gospel of John
The Gospel of John, according to John 20:30-31, was written for this reason; to lead people to believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly and explicitly calls upon all who would listen--and that includes us today-- to put our faith in Him as Savior and Lord for the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.
Jesus backed up his call to believe in him by demonstrating his power and authority over nature, sickness, sin, evil spirits, and death itself.
Today, in our third study in the Gospel of John, I want to explore with you a prominent theme in the Gospel that I almost overlooked: The subject of Jesus' relationship with His Father-- and I don't mean Joseph, I mean the One we call God the Father, whom Jesus--- over and over again in the Gospel of John--- calls "My Father"
FYI
-John contains 879 verses in total
-There are over 115 verses in The Gospel of John wherein Jesus speaks of his Father.
-In addition to these 115 verses many of the verses surrounding Jesus' direct use of the word Father, supply us with more information on Jesus' relationship with the Father. i.e The entirety of John 17 is a prayer of Jesus to God the Father
-46 times Jesus says "My Father" in reference to the One we call God the Father
A SURVEY OF SOME OF THE VERSES OF GOSPEL OF JOHN WHEREIN JESUS SPEAKS OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THE FATHER
John 3:35 "The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in His hands"
John 5:17-18 "Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
John 5:21-23 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
John 6:37 "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away."
John 6:40 "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:46 "No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father"
John 8:38-42 "I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father." "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. You are doing the things your own father does." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.
John 10:37-38 "Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
John 12:26 "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."
John 14:6 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:9 "...Anyone who has seen me has see the Father..."
John 14:11 "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."
John 14:23 "Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
THOUGHTS ABOUT JESUS AND THE FATHER'S RELATIONSHIP
1. Jesus reveals to us the FATHER
What's your conception of God the Father? How do you view Him?
"Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" John 14:9
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." Hebrews 1:3
Consider the attributes, deeds, and person of Christ. This is what the Father is like. Such are the attributes of God the Father
Jesus is the one who makes the Father known.
2. Embedded in almost all of Jesus' references to the Father is a claim to his (Jesus) being GOD
Consider John 10:30-33 "I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." John 10:30-33
Confessing "Jesus is Lord" is a key tenet of the Christian faith. As is written in Romans 10:9; "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
-Jesus believed He was God in the flesh
-Jesus claimed to be God
-Jesus evidenced it by his miracles, saying in John 10:25 "The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me,"
3. The way Jesus speaks to and of the FATHER in the Gospel of John gives us insight into the nature of the Godhead
The Gospel of John and the rest of the Scriptures teach us that there is one true God. Deuteronomy 6:4 says "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One" Furthermore, in Isaiah 45:5 the Lord says "I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God."
-God exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
-While there is equality between the members of the Godhead there is also order and heirarchy in the relationship. For instance, Jesus obeys the Father, the Spirit is sent by the Son and the Father
-There is perfect harmony in the person of God and His operation
-The mystery of the Godhead is one we are called to accept by faith
4. When Jesus speaks of and to the FATHER, he speaks with a level of depth, familiarity, and intimacy that is hard for us to fathom and pretty much unheard of in our relationships with each other
Think about this small sampling of verses which speak to the intimacy of Jesus and the Father
"I and the Father are one" John 10:30
"The Father is in me, and I in the Father" John 10:38
"I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father" John 16:28
"After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you." John 17:1
The oneness with the Father that Jesus speaks of illustrates again His claim to God
The intimacy Jesus speaks of with the Father, on some level leads us to think about our relationships with each other
When you and I, in our relationships talk about "knowing and being known", our experience with each other pales to the relationship we see existing between Jesus the Son and His Father. While our relationships pales in terms of trust, love, depth, and being known, that is not to stop us from striving to enjoy such
5. The intimacy and relationship that Jesus enjoyed with the FATHER is something that we are invited to know as the sons and daughters of God
In John 14:23 Jesus says; "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
Ponder Galatians 4:4-7 which says; "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
What an invitation! What a privilege that we might know God as his heirs, as His sons and daughters.
How might we come to know the Father? Not by works but faith in Jesus-- a faith that expresses itself in obedience to Jesus. "No one comes to the Father but by me" said Jesus. John 14:6
How to deepen our walk with God and the know Him more
-It is totally and completely bound up in knowing Jesus.
-It's a progressive relationship for us
-It's facilitated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (The third person of the Godhead)
-It necessitates our being in the Word
-It comes through prayer, meditation, worship
-An appreciation of the Created order also facilitates our knowing Him
6. Sadly, due to the hardness of peoples hearts, not everyone knows God as their heavenly Father. See John 8:34-44
Consider this interaction between Jesus and a certain group "Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father." "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:34-44
Two things
a. There are two spiritual fathers-- God and the Devil
b. Make sure you are right with God in the way He has prescribed-- through Jesus
7. Jesus' speaking to and of his FATHER ought to make us think about how we relate to God the Father
"He who loves me will be loved by my Father." John 14:21
We have been taught by Jesus to pray "Our Father who art in Heaven" Matthew 6:9
What's your prayer life like? How do you address God? How do you conceive of God the Father in your mind? Do we conceive of him as Jesus said "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father?"
In thinking of this point, I realize that I need to make some changes in my approach to God-praying to the Father, in the name of the Son, by the agency of the Holy Spirit-- not being hesitant to address God as Father and to meditate upon Him as such
CONCLUSION
THOUGHTS ABOUT JESUS AND THE FATHER'S RELATIONSHIP
1. Jesus reveals to us the FATHER
2. Embedded in almost all of Jesus' references to the Father is a claim to his (Jesus) being GOD
3. The way Jesus speaks to and of the FATHER in the Gospel of John gives us insight into the nature of the Godhead
4. When Jesus speaks of and to the FATHER, he speaks with a level of depth, familiarity, and intimacy that is hard for us to fathom and pretty much unheard of in our relationships with each other
5. The intimacy and relationship that Jesus enjoyed with the FATHER is something that we are invited to know as the sons and daughters of God
6. Sadly, due to the hardness of peoples hearts, not everyone knows God as their heavenly Father. See John 8:34-44
7. Jesus' speaking to and of his FATHER ought to make us think about how we relate to God the Father
A journey through the Gospel of John
Scripture reading: John 12:20-50, Colossians 1:9-23
A couple of weeks ago we began our present study in the Gospel of John
The Gospel of John, according to John 20:30-31, was written for this reason; to lead people to believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly and explicitly calls upon all who would listen--and that includes us today-- to put our faith in Him as Savior and Lord for the forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.
Jesus backed up his call to believe in him by demonstrating his power and authority over nature, sickness, sin, evil spirits, and death itself.
Today, in our third study in the Gospel of John, I want to explore with you a prominent theme in the Gospel that I almost overlooked: The subject of Jesus' relationship with His Father-- and I don't mean Joseph, I mean the One we call God the Father, whom Jesus--- over and over again in the Gospel of John--- calls "My Father"
FYI
-John contains 879 verses in total
-There are over 115 verses in The Gospel of John wherein Jesus speaks of his Father.
-In addition to these 115 verses many of the verses surrounding Jesus' direct use of the word Father, supply us with more information on Jesus' relationship with the Father. i.e The entirety of John 17 is a prayer of Jesus to God the Father
-46 times Jesus says "My Father" in reference to the One we call God the Father
A SURVEY OF SOME OF THE VERSES OF GOSPEL OF JOHN WHEREIN JESUS SPEAKS OF HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THE FATHER
John 3:35 "The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in His hands"
John 5:17-18 "Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
John 5:21-23 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
John 6:37 "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away."
John 6:40 "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6:46 "No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father"
John 8:38-42 "I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father." "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. You are doing the things your own father does." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.
John 10:37-38 "Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father."
John 12:26 "Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me."
John 14:6 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:9 "...Anyone who has seen me has see the Father..."
John 14:11 "Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves."
John 14:23 "Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
THOUGHTS ABOUT JESUS AND THE FATHER'S RELATIONSHIP
1. Jesus reveals to us the FATHER
What's your conception of God the Father? How do you view Him?
"Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" John 14:9
"The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." Hebrews 1:3
Consider the attributes, deeds, and person of Christ. This is what the Father is like. Such are the attributes of God the Father
Jesus is the one who makes the Father known.
2. Embedded in almost all of Jesus' references to the Father is a claim to his (Jesus) being GOD
Consider John 10:30-33 "I and the Father are one." Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" "We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God." John 10:30-33
Confessing "Jesus is Lord" is a key tenet of the Christian faith. As is written in Romans 10:9; "if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
-Jesus believed He was God in the flesh
-Jesus claimed to be God
-Jesus evidenced it by his miracles, saying in John 10:25 "The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me,"
3. The way Jesus speaks to and of the FATHER in the Gospel of John gives us insight into the nature of the Godhead
The Gospel of John and the rest of the Scriptures teach us that there is one true God. Deuteronomy 6:4 says "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God is One" Furthermore, in Isaiah 45:5 the Lord says "I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God."
-God exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
-While there is equality between the members of the Godhead there is also order and heirarchy in the relationship. For instance, Jesus obeys the Father, the Spirit is sent by the Son and the Father
-There is perfect harmony in the person of God and His operation
-The mystery of the Godhead is one we are called to accept by faith
4. When Jesus speaks of and to the FATHER, he speaks with a level of depth, familiarity, and intimacy that is hard for us to fathom and pretty much unheard of in our relationships with each other
Think about this small sampling of verses which speak to the intimacy of Jesus and the Father
"I and the Father are one" John 10:30
"The Father is in me, and I in the Father" John 10:38
"I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father" John 16:28
"After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you." John 17:1
The oneness with the Father that Jesus speaks of illustrates again His claim to God
The intimacy Jesus speaks of with the Father, on some level leads us to think about our relationships with each other
When you and I, in our relationships talk about "knowing and being known", our experience with each other pales to the relationship we see existing between Jesus the Son and His Father. While our relationships pales in terms of trust, love, depth, and being known, that is not to stop us from striving to enjoy such
5. The intimacy and relationship that Jesus enjoyed with the FATHER is something that we are invited to know as the sons and daughters of God
In John 14:23 Jesus says; "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him."
Ponder Galatians 4:4-7 which says; "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God."
What an invitation! What a privilege that we might know God as his heirs, as His sons and daughters.
How might we come to know the Father? Not by works but faith in Jesus-- a faith that expresses itself in obedience to Jesus. "No one comes to the Father but by me" said Jesus. John 14:6
How to deepen our walk with God and the know Him more
-It is totally and completely bound up in knowing Jesus.
-It's a progressive relationship for us
-It's facilitated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (The third person of the Godhead)
-It necessitates our being in the Word
-It comes through prayer, meditation, worship
-An appreciation of the Created order also facilitates our knowing Him
6. Sadly, due to the hardness of peoples hearts, not everyone knows God as their heavenly Father. See John 8:34-44
Consider this interaction between Jesus and a certain group "Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know you are Abraham's descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father." "Abraham is our father," they answered. "If you were Abraham's children," said Jesus, "then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does." "We are not illegitimate children," they protested. "The only Father we have is God himself." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:34-44
Two things
a. There are two spiritual fathers-- God and the Devil
b. Make sure you are right with God in the way He has prescribed-- through Jesus
7. Jesus' speaking to and of his FATHER ought to make us think about how we relate to God the Father
"He who loves me will be loved by my Father." John 14:21
We have been taught by Jesus to pray "Our Father who art in Heaven" Matthew 6:9
What's your prayer life like? How do you address God? How do you conceive of God the Father in your mind? Do we conceive of him as Jesus said "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father?"
In thinking of this point, I realize that I need to make some changes in my approach to God-praying to the Father, in the name of the Son, by the agency of the Holy Spirit-- not being hesitant to address God as Father and to meditate upon Him as such
CONCLUSION
THOUGHTS ABOUT JESUS AND THE FATHER'S RELATIONSHIP
1. Jesus reveals to us the FATHER
2. Embedded in almost all of Jesus' references to the Father is a claim to his (Jesus) being GOD
3. The way Jesus speaks to and of the FATHER in the Gospel of John gives us insight into the nature of the Godhead
4. When Jesus speaks of and to the FATHER, he speaks with a level of depth, familiarity, and intimacy that is hard for us to fathom and pretty much unheard of in our relationships with each other
5. The intimacy and relationship that Jesus enjoyed with the FATHER is something that we are invited to know as the sons and daughters of God
6. Sadly, due to the hardness of peoples hearts, not everyone knows God as their heavenly Father. See John 8:34-44
7. Jesus' speaking to and of his FATHER ought to make us think about how we relate to God the Father