Our Father in heaven – Simply True

The shape and feel of life when God is Father

When Jesus comes into our world, there’s something very dear to his heart that he wants to share. He says the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus will ensure that the world will be shaped as God wants it to be. And he begins to explain what this kingdom will be like. But there’s something else.

Jesus is God’s beloved Son. He’s come to express his Father’s love for our world. And he wants us to know the Father as our Father in heaven.

We see all this happening in his Sermon on the Mount.[i] Jesus tells us how we are to live under his Father’s reign. But he also tells us that everything will flow from us knowing his Father as our Father. The phrase ‘your Father in heaven’ occurs 15 times in just three chapters.

Every matter that Jesus raises is related to us knowing or receiving something from God as our Father.

Here are the life issues that Jesus raises in this Sermon, and, in each case, the way they relate to our knowing our Father.

First, Jesus commends certain attitudes—like being poor in spirit or meek or being hungry for righteousness. There’s eight in all.

And then he tells us to let our light shine in the world—presumably by acting according to these attitudes. But when the world sees these actions, they give glory to ‘your Father in heaven’.

Why should glory go to the Father when we have done the deeds? Clearly, because there’s no way we can live with these attitudes unless the Father is teaching us and present with us. That’s why people, seeing us, want to glorify our Father in heaven.

The attitudes Jesus commends may not be things we would put in a job application. For example, being poor in spirit doesn’t sound like someone who’ll get things done!

But then, people who know God as their Father, lose the egotism and power-seeking natural to this world. They grow in naturalness and transparency and usefulness. And this declares the majesty and faithful love of the Father to those around us.

I hope this is the longing of us all. We’ve not been created to muddle aimlessly, or live by our own resources. We’ve been made to know God—as his sons and daughters, and to let our life develop in the warmth of relating to him.

I’ll say a little more about these attitudes at the end of this article.

Second, Jesus talks about keeping the law—the law that Jews prided themselves on keeping. He shows what several of the commands really mean.

But then, he says we should let our favours shine on good people and bad people alike. This, effectively, is keeping the whole law.[ii] It’s what ‘your Father in heaven’ does. And we are to be perfect, just as ‘your Father in heaven’ is perfect. As Paul later tells us, ’Be imitators of God as beloved children’.[iii] And, of course, if we are going to imitate him as Father, we will first need to know him as Father.

Third, Jesus talks about worship. Jews at the time think prayers, charity and fasting are the important things to do. So, they do them—publicly! They want to get some credit for doing the right things.

Jesus says, try to make the things you do for God as inconspicuous as possible. Then you will be rewarded by ‘your Father in heaven’.

We’ll never understand ourselves or our world until we understand how dependent we all are on approval. If we can’t get it from God, we’ll play to our local earthly audience. Our need to know the warmth of our Father’s approval is profound and continual. We need to see ourselves as playing to a one-person audience—the one we have come to see as our gracious Father.

Fourth, Jesus talks about our treasures. ‘Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’.

He wants us to treasure God’s kingdom. He wants us to pray to ‘our Father in heaven’ and ask for his kingdom to come. And then to ask for him to forgive us, provide for us, and keep us.

So, we need to trust God with all our needs, and not be anxious. We’ll never be free enough to care about God’s kingdom if we’re preoccupied with what we lack. He says ‘your heavenly Father’ feeds birds. How much more us!

Being preoccupied with material needs is what people do when they have no God. They are spiritual orphans. But Jesus insists that ‘your Father in heaven’ knows about everything you need. And ‘Your Father in heaven will give good things to those who ask him’.

Fifth, Jesus talks about doing the will of ‘his Father in heaven’. This is what we need to do to enter the kingdom.

But why does he change from talking about our Father, to his Father?

Perhaps it’s because he knows that when it comes to obedience—in everything, he is the only one who will do this.

None of the apostles are living by the Sermon on the Mount. Not yet. They don’t even have the attitudes Jesus commends at the beginning of his sermon.

For example, Peter won’t be meek when he brags about being better than the other apostles. Jesus nick-names John and James ‘sons of thunder’ which doesn’t sound like being peace-makers, or merciful.

Something needs to happen before the disciples will understand this Sermon on the Mount. They will need to know the Father. And everything Jesus says and does will be needed to bring that about.

As we follow the story of Jesus in the Gospels, we see that he is the one person among us all who lives by the Sermon on the Mount.

He knows the world works by the blessings God gives. So, as a man among us, he is ‘poor in spirit’—humble about what he can and can’t do.

He knows the sorry state of our world, and grieves over it. He is meek and lowly and serves his disciples, and many others as well. He thirsts for righteousness and knows judgement will fall on everyone who ignores his Father.

But he doesn’t want that to happen. He’s full of mercy. His heart is pure, not distracted. He, single-handedly, will make peace.

And he will be persecuted for all his faithfulness to his Father. But by this very persecution, he will bring many of us to ‘our Father in heaven’.

We could say that he is the one realist in all of creation. He’s not expecting something from us that we can’t produce. He’s not relying on the world to fulfill his agenda. He’s descending upon his duties as one who knows the Father.

That’s why he can endure the world that hates his Father, but still call it what it is. And he can also ‘see’ his Father’s love for this world—and express it.

It’s this God and Father of Jesus that we need to know as ‘our Father in heaven’.

Can you bring yourself to trust him? The reality is that we can’t. But the Father is drawing us to himself.[iv] We need to be hearing what he says to us through his Son. We need to be receiving what he provides.

We’ll continue this series by seeing what Jesus says about his Father—in Matthew’s Gospel, and then in John’s Gospel. And finally, see how the apostles teach us to live before our Father in heaven.

[i] Matt. 5—7

[ii] Matt. 7:12

[iii] Eph. 5:1

[iv] John 6:44

The battle for the world when God is Father

Calling God our Father raises a variety of images in our minds. But the image generally preferred in our Christian prayers and songs is probably of God being welcoming, generous in love and ready to meet our needs.

There’s good reason for this because Jesus says our Father in heaven is attentive to us and ready to help.

It’s surprising, then, to see how Jesus (in Matthew’s Gospel) often links God being Father with the coming of his kingdom or rule. It becomes clear that the two belong together.

This is certainly true in the Sermon on the Mount, and now, it continues.

Disciples are spreading news of the kingdom around Galilee. And although Jesus says they will be like sheep among wolves, they need not be worried about how to defend themselves. The Spirit of their Father will show them what to say when the time comes.[i] The Father will meet their needs. And when the battle is over, Jesus will acknowledge his disciples before his Father in heaven.[ii]

Jesus Christ isn’t training his disciples to be heroes, or wimps. He’s teaching them to love and to labour for the kingdom, but also to trust their Father, as Jesus himself does, and to drink deeply from his strength and graciousness.

So, as the disciples continue their kingdom ministry, opposition grows. Sometimes there’s good news.[iii] But there’s also bad news[iv]. Many reject the message of the kingdom. They’ve thought God would ‘dance to their tune’, in the way children expect their playmates to join their game and play by their rules.

And it’s in this setting that Jesus prays a simple prayer of thanks to his Father.[v] And he lets us listen in.

This is enormously helpful for us because the prayer reveals how the Father works. And it shows us how to focus on the kingdom and not be diverted by opposition.

Here’s the prayer.

Jesus gives thanks—I thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth.

He’s thankful because—you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to little children; yes Father, for such was your gracious will.

He explains that—All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Here’s two things that are clear.

First, whatever turbulence is being caused by kingdom ministry, nothing is getting out of hand. The Father is Lord of heaven and earth, and Jesus is deeply grateful.

In fact, he’s full of joy. Luke’s account of the same prayer tells us he’s rejoicing in the Holy Spirit.[vi] That would be something to watch—Father, Son and Spirit, watching and delighting in the progress of the kingdom!

If the Father has complete authority—everywhere, he’s not running a democracy! There’s no balance of powers. And there’s no doubt about outcomes. The Father is managing the planet and its peoples.

But he’s using his authority so that arrogant people who don’t want God around can’t get their hands on what’s happening, because they can’t see it!

On the other hand, the Father is revealing his secret to ‘little children’—people who know their need for grace, and their unworthiness to be significant. They know they need God. They are being awakened. They are seeing who Jesus is.[vii] They are recognising that God, the Father, has come to help them and to be with them.

All this is God’s gracious will. He’s using his authority in the interests of love. There’s nothing sinister or unjust anywhere. Everything he’s doing is with a view to his kindness and mercy taking the upper hand. This is how the kingdom grows—one person at a time—by people discovering the identity of the Son and being grateful to the Father for his grace.

We need to join Jesus in this delight. He’s not getting engrossed by our little gains and losses. In fact, he’s just told his disciples not to delight in their mission successes but in their names being written in heaven.[viii]

It’s easy to become obsessed with how well we are going and forget that the battle is always wider and deeper and longer than we can grasp. And it’s easy to imagine that we are the important player in what’s going on!

So, we need to begin all our responsibilities where Jesus does—with our hearts happy in our Father—happy that he is Lord of heaven and earth.

Second, the Father has entrusted everything to the Son. He’s wholly responsible for everything God plans to do. But at the heart of this commissioning is a relationship.

Jesus is not thinking of a list of projects. He thinking about the Father knowing him—the only one who does. And he’s thinking about him knowing his Father—again, the only one who does.

It’s not simple to have a relationship like this. We tend to relate to others with an image of who we are. But with God—Father and Son—there’s nothing to hide and everything to enjoy.

Such knowing can only be the knowing of love—persons wholly focused on the other.

We can understand why Jesus needs substantial time with his Father in prayer. No-one anywhere else understands him! But then, he wants every word and act of his to reflect the Father—so that people seeing him will see the Father.

It’s out of this relationship that Jesus exercises his authority—revealing the Father to those he chooses.

If we read the Gospels, we can see Jesus doing just this. He encounters a vast array of people. He seeks to know each one as they are. And he wants them to know that they are known by the Father in the same way he is known.

In everyday life, if someone tries to be ‘their own person’ without regard to parents, mentors and friends, they tend to become unreal, and probably, deeply lonely. We all need personal relationships that are deep and satisfying. But we are created for more than that. We need to know God—as our Father. We need to know we are known by him.

So, it’s important for us to know that the Father’s kingdom is happening because of a relationship. Jesus calls us all to be known by the Father, and to know the Father.

And now, Jesus speaks directly to us in our need.

Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

There’s a context for what Jesus says here. Pharisees are manipulating God’s law to their own advantage, gaining attention by making out to keep it, and accumulating power by being able to teach it. Living in this environment is wearisome!

They, and we, all need to turn from a religion that starts with us. Any religion or ideology that starts with what we do rather than with the Father who has sent his Son will always be a burden too hard to bear.

We can never steer our way around our fallen nature. We can’t make other people conform to our image of what they should be. We don’t even know what’s really happening—either around us or within us. There’s no rest here!

We need to come to Jesus. And Jesus explains why.

Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Perhaps we are accustomed to hearing these words and they may not be penetrating our sorry lives. If we’re still confident in ourselves, if we’re sure we’ve got the right scheme to change things, we haven’t understood Jesus.

Our persistent turmoil ceases only when we know who is in charge. It’s the Father. And it’s because of this that Jesus doesn’t need a career goal; he’s been given a calling. He doesn’t need to compete; he’s living inside his Father’s promises. He knows the Father—not just knows what he’s like. So, he’s gentle and lowly in heart.

We need to learn from him.

Our Father in heaven is the authority that no-one needs to fear. His headship brings us into his family, with Jesus as our older brother.

There’s much more to learn from Jesus about the Father and we’ll look at this next time, in the Gospel of John.

[i] Matt. 10:16-20

[ii] Matt. 10:28-33

[iii] Luke 10:17-22

[iv] Matt. 11:16-24

[v] Matt. 11:25-30

[vi] Luke 10:21-22

[vii] Matt. 16:17

[viii] Luke 10:17-24

The Father focus of Jesus

When Jesus comes among us, he is eager for us to have a life like his own—full of certainty and love. As the Son of God, he’s is always enjoying his Father’s company and purpose. And he’s come so we will be able to do the same.[i]

But Jesus encounters people who are self-absorbed and opposed to what he does. Even his disciples are dull. Bringing us to know God as Father is not an easy job. It’s contested territory!

We’re looking now, at the early chapters of John’s Gospel, and particularly, at two confrontations Jesus has with opponents. These encounters, and the conversations that follow, show us how we should be thinking about God as our Father.

In the first event, Jesus heals a man who’s been paralysed for 38 years.[ii]

But he does it on a Saturday—Israel’s tightly regulated Sabbath. And their leaders object. But Jesus says his Father is working! Our Creator God might have stopped creating on the seventh day but he hasn’t stopped caring for what he’s made. Especially looking after his people.

Israel should know that God is Father to their nation, and that he can be called on for help.[iii] But they’re not expecting him to do anything!

Here’s a man, crippled for decades. Seemingly, not expecting anything to change. And Jesus sees that the Father wants to heal him. So, he does!

God’s people should be able to see that a miracle like this is nothing less than their Father God in action. And therefore, they should be recognising Jesus as the one sent to do his work.

Jesus is setting out the reasons why people should believe in him, but in doing so, of necessity, he must tell us about his Father.[iv] Here’s what he shows us.

The Father tells the Son what he’s doing—because he loves his Son. That’s why there’s been a miracle. In fact, Jesus tells us that he doesn’t do anything unless he sees that it’s what the Father wants.[v] People should see his good works and give glory to his Father in heaven.

And the Father raises the dead. Only God can do this of course, but Jesus will do it too. He’ll do it for Lazarus. But he’ll also do it for all of us who trust in him for salvation. Jesus is doing work that marks him out as the beloved Son of the Father‚ equal with God.

And the Father has life in himself. As Jesus also has. And then, the Father judges us. And Jesus has been given this authority—so we should have reverence for Jesus in the same way we have reverence for the Father.

Jesus is doing the kind of thing Israel’s Father does[vi]—healing, judging, giving life. But people won’t recognise the Father in what is happening. They’re being willfully blind.

It’s the same now. We wonder how to commend Jesus to people. This should be an easy thing to do because Jesus is very commendable! Why then is it difficult?

There may be many reasons why people take time to recognise who Jesus is, but underneath this, people are deciding what to think about God. Is he good? Can I trust him? Is he our Father?

It’s easy to forget that behind all we can see and do is a loving Father who wants to communicate with us. We prefer our own works—things we can see and control—even the religious regulations that are being raised in this case. We try to make them the issue. We want to show that we are the ones who are right.

We need to follow Jesus in his argument with these detractors. It may be that the reason we don’t understand Jesus is because we want a Jesus who’s human rather than one who reveals an ever present and gracious Father.

The Father hasn’t forgotten the human race. He hasn’t left everything to us. We’re not alone. Jesus has come to show us that the Father is always working.

The second encounter Jesus has with opponents happens after he miraculously feeds more than 5000 people—starting with just a few loaves and fish.[vii]

In this case, Jesus is confronted with what we could call ‘bread and circuses’ people[viii] They’re not interested in God. They just want to be fed and entertained.

In fact, the crowd would like Jesus to become their king.[ix] One day’s work by this man and thousands go home happy. Think of the difference he could make to the economy!

On the next day, Jesus explains that he’s the ‘bread’ they need. But everything he says about himself is couched in what his Father is doing. They’re not going to get a human Jesus without an unseen Father.

These people want everything to be domestic—Jesus just being a nice lad—the son of people they know.[x] And they are grumblers. Everything should be pleasing to them.

They are like a lady who told me she liked God ‘with skin on’. She didn’t want to grapple with anything unseen.

It could be that we are happy with a human Jesus—especially, one who can do super-human things, but not really want to know him, or who sent him.

So, look at the several ways Jesus links this encounter to his Father in heaven.

It’s the Father who gives his Son to us—as ‘bread’, so we can live forever.[xi] The Father has loved the world.[xii] Given that we all have to die, eternal life is surely something we would all line up for! Jesus wants us to see the generosity of his Father.

And, it’s the Father who gives certain people to his Son. Jesus must love this fact because he mentions it four times—the Father wills it, the Father attracts us to Jesus, the Father teaches us who he is, and then, the Father gives us to his Son.[xiii] And we’re special to the Son because we’re the Father’s gift to him.

We’re being given to the Son in readiness for a wonderful future we will share with him—as his Bride. So, we have every reason—like Jesus—to relish our being given by the Father to the Son.

And then, the Father has sent his Son to us because it’s the Son who knows the Father intimately.[xiv] He’ll be able to really reveal the Father. The Father is the source of his life. And the Father is the source of the life Jesus has come to give to us.[xv]

So, Jesus is not among us merely to hand out free meals. He’s here to reveal what life really is, and how to have it. He’s bringing us to his Father, and preparing us to be the Bride the Father wants to give to him.

All this is better than a free lunch! It’s the way Jesus brings us to share the life that he has before the Father—full of certainty and love.

There’s more Jesus says about his Father in these early chapters of John’s Gospel.[xvi] For example, his critics have a different father to him—the devil![xvii] The alternatives are stark. It’s important we listen carefully to Jesus or we’ll end up in the wrong family!

But Jesus knows that we won’t understand him until we have ‘lifted him up’—meaning, until we have killed him.[xviii] The scene is set for the final revelation of the Father—in the humiliation of Jesus on a cross. And we’ll return to this next time.

[i] John 1:14-18

[ii] John 5:1-17

[iii] Exod. 4:21-23; Deut. 32:6; Isa. 63:16; 64:8

[iv] John 5:17-47

[v] John 5:30; 8:28

[vi] John 5:36

[vii] John 6:22-59

[viii]The reference to bread and circuses is first used to describe Rome’s rulers handing out free wheat and arranging chariot races to deter people from asking serious questions.

[ix] John 6:15

[x] John 6:41-43

[xi] John 6: 32, 40

[xii] John 3:16

[xiii] John 6: 37, 44-45, 65

[xiv] John 6:46

[xv] John 6: 57

[xvi] John 8:12-59

[xvii] John 8:37-47

[xviii] John 8:12-30

[i] John 1:14-18

[ii] John 5:1-17

[iii] Exod. 4:21-23; Deut. 32:6; Isa. 63:16; 64:8

[iv] John 5:17-47

[v] John 5:30; 8:28

[vi] John 5:36

[vii] John 6:22-59

[viii]The reference to bread and circuses is first used to describe Rome’s rulers handing out free wheat and arranging chariot races to deter people from asking serious questions.

[ix] John 6:15

[x] John 6:41-43

[xi] John 6: 32, 40

[xii] John 3:16

[xiii] John 6: 37, 44-45, 65

[xiv] John 6:46

[xv] John 6: 57

[xvi] John 8:12-59

[xvii] John 8:37-47

[xviii] John 8:12-30

The Father of glory

We come now to what must be the clearest and dearest revelation of God as our Father. Jesus not only wants us to know his Father. He wants us to share in the joys of being in his family.[i]

What Jesus shows us here comes from the last week before his death, and particularly from two prayers he prays. Three themes recur: the glory of the Father; fellowship with the Father; and the Father’s home. All of these are important to Jesus, and he shows us why they are important for us too.

First, Jesus speaks about the glory of his Father.

In the first prayer,[ii] Jesus says his soul is greatly troubled. But he knows his calling—his great work. And he prays, ‘Father, glorify your name.’

The Father responds audibly—for the benefit of the apostles, and of us. Yes, he’s been glorifying his name already in what Jesus has been doing, and he will glorify his name again.

In various ways in the Old Testament, God has already shown Israel his glory. He is present, and powerful, and listening, and good, and he matters! Being delivered from slavery in Egypt is a classic example of God revealing his glory.

But now, a new revelation of glory will reveal the Father’s grace and truth.[iii]

If we’re content with ourselves, this will matter as much as a local circus! But if we know we are answerable to God for our life, we’ll really want to know that he is kind and forgiving!

Jesus explains what will happen. The world will be judged. The world—that’s all of us. Satan will be thrown down from his eminence as prince of this world. And, from now on, all authority will belong to Christ.

It will happen by Jesus being lifted up—on a cross, to die. But it’s fruit will be that people of all nations will become his willing subjects.

This is a whole story in itself, but here, we simply note that Jesus knows that if all this is going to happen, it will happen because the Father will be revealing his glory. Think of all that Jesus will endure. Think of his composure. Think of his cry—‘It is finished’, his resurrection, and the announcement of forgiveness of our sins! Where does all this come from? It’s nothing less that the Father glorifying his name—in Jesus.

A little later, Jesus prays again. And, once more, he asks the Father to glorify him so he can glorify his Father.[iv] How will this display of glory work out?

Jesus has just washed the feet of his apostles. He’s shown them that his Father’s glory works out by serving others. And he’s also talked about his disciples being clean—not just because their feet are washed but because they have received his word.

There’s no lowlier job than washing dirty feet. It’s not done by anyone important. But what the Father wants done is to wash away humanity’s filth. That’s what he’s sent his Son to do. It’s the dirtiest job ever. So, as we hear the story of Christ’s death, we are watching the greatest display of the Father’s glory—ever!

The world doesn’t need a dictator, a tactician, an influencer or benevolent provider. It doesn’t need something impressive to divert its attention from reality. It needs a God who becomes our servant—a display of who he really is. It needs a Son of God who bloodies himself to wash us clean.

Only this will reveal the Father’s patience with our self-interest, his intolerance of our pollution, and the love to bear a load we cannot carry.[v] And only such a deed will convey to us the glory of the Father!

Jesus is indifferent to the world’s glory. To him, it carries no weight. He wants the world to see God—being Father. And this display of glory will lead, not to judgement for us, but to eternal life.[vi] As he says, ‘the glory you have given me I have given to them….’[vii]

Second, Jesus reveals how we may havefellowship with the Father.

Intimacy is not easily gained! But Jesus has regularly reached into the lives of people—with love, and with great insight. He’s understood them, and they’ve understood that they have been received as persons.

And now, Jesus lets us see inside the astonishing relationship he has with his Father.[viii] He says that they are ‘in’ each other.

For us, the idea of another person being ‘in’ us may sound like an unwanted intrusion. But, for God, it’s love language.

Jesus hasn’t been doing his ‘own thing’. Neither has the Father. The Father is entrusting everything to his Son. And the Son is giving himself up to do his Father’s bidding. The disciples have been physically seeing the Son, but they’ve been watching the unseen Father—in action.

Another amazing disclosure follows. Jesus says his disciples already know the Holy Spirit. He’s been with them for three years—in Jesus. But he will ask the Father to send this same Spirit to be in the apostles.

The Father, Son and Spirit live in fellowship with each other, and Jesus is displaying this. But now, the apostles, and then, all of us, are going to be encompassed in this relationship.

Jesus will be in us. And we will be in him.[ix] Again, this is relationship language. We will love Christ and obey him. The Father will love us, and the Father and Son will make their home with us.

If we try to understand this conceptually, or emotionally, we will tie ourselves in knots—and miss the reality. The truth is that we tend to avoid the input of others into our lives. And we resist giving freely to others. Our relationships can be like billiard balls bouncing off each other.

But let’s ask ourselves this question. Do we long for more than this?

If the Father has given his Son to us, and his Spirit to be in us, are we going to remain ‘our own person’? Or rather, will we open ourselves to receive the grace and truth of the Father reflected in his Son? Will we allow this to be our new life?

Jesus wants this oneness—this ‘in-ness’ he has been talking about—to be shared by all who hear the gospel from the apostles. He wants us to be in the Father and himself—in the same way that he and the Father are in each other—by love that gives preference to the other.

It’s this very real personal relationship with the Father through Christ that will demonstrate to the watching world that Jesus really has been sent by the Father.[x] They will be looking at people who are secure in the Father’s love—in the same way that Jesus is.

Is this how we take the gospel to the world?[xi] It needs to be so, because it’s what Jesus asks his Father to make happen.[xii] We are to go to family, friends and neighbors, or even to people far away, full of the love we discover in the Father’s gift of Christ. Our coming is simple, and joyful. They encounter us and our words, but also, the presence of the unseen Father and Son who are loving us—and living in us.

Third,Jesus promises us a place in his Father’s home.

On several occasions, Jesus says he has come from the Father, and that he will return to the Father.[xiii] And, as with the Father’s glory and the Father’s fellowship, he wants us to be included in his return to the Father.

Just how important this is for us is illustrated by Peter.[xiv] Jesus is not impressed with his self-confident declaration of loyalty. In fact, he predicts his betrayal. But, in the next breath, Jesus says he should not be troubled! Rather, he should trust in God and in Jesus.

And Jesus tells him and all the apostles that the Father has a home large enough to accommodate all who follow him. Jesus will be the way to get there. And he will secure a place for each of his disciples. And he will come again to usher us into our new accommodation.

Peter’s very personhood will seem to collapse in the next few hours, and Jesus knows he will need a place to call home—just like the prodigal son in the story Jesus has already told. Here’s a truth larger than our uncertain attempts to be worthy of our Saviour. Just ask Peter!

The story of the Father’s home continues.

Jesus has not just been lifted up on a cross. He’s been lifted up in resurrection. And now, he’s lifted up to sit beside his Father in heaven[xv]—with all authority to finish what he began.

Jesus says we should be glad he’s going to the Father. It’s not just better for him. It’s better for us![xvi] And it’s better for persuading the unbelieving world of his victory.[xvii]

And, as we’ve seen, Jesus wants us to be with him where he is.[xviii] We must not cling to an earthly Jesus—as Mary Magdalene sought to do, but rejoice in his going to the Father.[xix]

We can’t afford to be content with the glory, or the intimacy, or the home we have in this world. The Father has sent his Son so that we may be filled full, as was his Son, with the glory of the Father. We’ll see more of this in the way the apostles follow up this revelation in a final article.

[i] John 17:26

[ii] John 12:27-30

[iii] John 1:17

[iv] John 17:1-26

[v] John 3:16

[vi] John 12:49-50; also 10:17-18; 12:27-28

[vii] John 17:22

[viii] John 14:15-23

[ix] John 15:4-16

[x] John 17:23

[xi] Throughout this prayer, Jesus has been very concerned with the world. He’s mentioned it 13 times in 26 verses.

[xii] John 17:23

[xiii] John 13:1, 3; 14:2-6; 14:28; 16:17, 28; 17:24; 20:17

[xiv] John 13:36—14:6. Note that this passage is all one narrative.

[xv] John 13:1, 3; 16:28; 17:5

[xvi] John 14:28

[xvii] John 16:10, 17

[xviii] John 17:24

[xix] John 20:17

[i] John 17:26

[ii] John 12:27-30

[iii] John 1:17

[iv] John 17:1-26

[v] John 3:16

[vi] John 12:49-50; also 10:17-18; 12:27-28

[vii] John 17:22

[viii] John 14:15-23

[ix] John 15:4-16

[x] John 17:23

[xi] Throughout this prayer, Jesus has been very concerned with the world. He’s mentioned it 13 times in 26 verses.

[xii] John 13:1, 3; 14:2-6; 14:28; 16:17, 28; 17:24; 20:17

[xiii] John 13:36—14:6. Note that this passage is all one narrative.

[xiv] John 13:1, 3; 16:28; 17:5

[xv] John 14:28

[xvi] John 16:10, 17

[xvii] John 17:24

[xviii] John 20:17

[xvii] John 17:24

[xviii] John 20:17

Come to the Father !

How should we approach our Creator? Clearly, this is the most important question we could ask. Jesus says we must come to God as our Father. And, of course, Jesus is showing that he is the way to the Father.

We’ve seen how important this is to Jesus. He lays down his life to sanctify us—so we can legitimately come to the Father as his children.[i]

And now, the apostles teach us who trust in Christ, how we should live before our Father. They commonly address us fellow Christians as ‘brothers and sisters.’[ii] We belong to the Father, and so, to one another.

The apostles have been disciples of Jesus. They’ve learned from him. But this identity as disciples seems to get caught up in the new status given to believers—as children.[iii] We still learn from Christ—eagerly—but do so as those who are in him[iv], and so, in the family of the Father. This is where God wants us to spend our present life, and future.

James Packer, in his widely read book ‘Knowing God’ writes,

’If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. … “Father” is the Christian name for God.[v]

Here are several wonderful truths about the Father that the apostles make clear in their letters. I hope it’s not too simplistic to choose several words starting with the same letter, but it may help us remember who God our Father is.

The Father is the fountainhead and finale of our life in Christ. He’s the focus for our prayer and worship. And he’s the framework of the new creation to which we now belong.

First, our Father God is the fountainhead and finale of our life.

Paul warns the Corinthians, and all of us, about the subtle influence idols can have. Many things in this world are attractive, and seem easier to get than a relationship with God. Because of this, we need, not just to know about God but to know him—that is, to have a relationship with him.

So, Paul says, for us, there is one God—the Father. Everything comes from him, and is for him. And everything he does happens through Jesus Christ.[vi]

The Father and our Lord Jesus are one God. But there are different ways in which they are God to us. The Father is the fountainhead of all things—in creating the world and in saving us. And the Son is the one by whom the Father’s purpose and grace comes to us.

Jesus never wants to be ‘all of God’ to us. He comes from the Father, and her takes us to his Father.

This pattern of from the Father and through Christ is repeated in the way the apostles begin their letters to churches.

Paul asks that grace and peace, or mercy or comfort, will come to his fellow believers from the Father—and through Jesus Christ.[vii]

Peter says we are chosen for salvation, by the Father, to be sprinkled with Christ’s blood. By the Father’s mercy, we are born again with a living hope through Christ’s resurrection.[viii]

And John says the Father’s eternal life is revealed to us through Christ’s coming.[ix]

Without the blessings that come to us through Christ, we would not want to know God as Father, let alone be reconciled to him. We would see him as austere and unreachable. But Jesus washes us clean, dignifies us with his righteousness and floods us with his love. Through him, we want to know the Father who sent him to be our Saviour.

Paul is awed by all this, and worships. ‘I bow my knees before the Father.’ He wants the riches of the Father’s glory to strengthen us—by the Spirit and by Christ dwelling in our hearts.[x]

There’s something more Paul tells the Corinthians, and us. He says everything is for the Father.

Jesus models what this means for us. He’s lived his life on earth for the Father.[xi] But at the end of history, he will present the kingdom—all he has labored for—to his Father. He wants us to see the Father being everything to everyone.[xii]

This is the great objective of Christ—to have us before his Father, sharing in the relationship he enjoys and bringing glory to the Father.[xiii]

This is a truth we need deeply. We are created for relating, for serving, and to be appreciated. If we don’t come to know the Father and live for him, we are in danger of other things in this world becoming ‘father’ to us. We start to drift. We’re coming from no-where and going no-where. We prostitute our personhood on people and things that cannot be god to us. We become warped and deeply unsatisfied.

Jesus has died and risen to restore this relationship and to make us whole. If we now live our life in Jesus our Lord, from the Father and for the Father, our whole life is brought into balance. Other relationships take their place around this but don’t have to bear the weight of ultimate significance.

It’s an enormous relief to know that, through Jesus, we have come home to the Father.

Second, the Father is the focus of our attention.

For us, calling God ‘Father’ is not just remembering the right name. It’s a cry of recognition. In the same way that a young child’s first words may be ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’, we cry ‘Abba, Father’. Like an infant, we are recognising the God who has given us new life, and whose provisions and words are our sole means of staying alive. The Father has our full attention![xiv]

Paul talks about this cry of recognition in two of his letters.[xv]

The Holy Spirit has come to us, and he cries out within us, ‘Abba Father’. We are speaking to God in the way Jesus did.[xvi] The Spirit is witnessing to our spirits that we are children of God.

The Holy Spirit is God—together with the Father and Son. He’s enabled Jesus to live among us and fulfill his ministry. He’s enabled Jesus to pray to the Father. Now he’s come to us to enable us to call on God as our Father. His special ministry is fellowship.[xvii] We are being included in the divine companionship!

This is not something to try and make happen. It’s a gift. And entirely necessary.

For example, the Galatians are in danger of relating to God legally—not truly. While they were still worshipping idols, they’d been slaves to their passions and to the demands of the world. And now they’re in danger of reducing their new life in Christ to a list of demands.

They’re thinking of God as an owner of slaves, not a Father of children. If they don’t know God as their Father, their behaviour will become wooden and false.

The world, and our own human nature, makes slaves of us—as we try to satisfy cravings on the one hand and demands on the other. We’re never really doing what we want to do, even while we’re claiming to be free.

But the cry of ‘Father’, coming from our hearts, and coming from above, is persuasive evidence to us that God is not harsh or demanding. We’re legitimate and permanent members of his family. Our names are known, our needs are important. We have a place in his enterprise and an inheritance to come.

We’ve not just been justified. We’ve come home!

Then, in his letter to the Romans, Paul says we must stand nobly and say ‘No’ to our fallen nature. And to do this, we need to know we are God’s children. We’re not slaves of our broken humanity. The Holy Spirit, poured into our hearts, is conveying to us all the love of the Father and all the victory of his Son.[xviii] And we need this certainty to keep us confident of receiving our family inheritance.

Again, in his Ephesian letter, Paul surveys the broad sweep of God bringing people of all nations to himself.[xix] He calls this God’s wisdom, realized through the unsearchable riches of Christ. And, for this reason, he bows his knees to the Father.[xx] He is the fountain-head of all that we need for life and godliness.

So, he asks the Father to further reveal this wonderful Christ to his church—so they will be filled with all the fulness of God! He, the Father, before whom Paul kneels, has more to share with us than we could ask or think of!

Our life as God’s children is like that of the prodigal son in Jesus’ story. We’ve been received home. We have a place of honour, and a future. Perhaps we could imagine this son, home again, on the day after the party his father arranges. He’d be up early, looking around for things to do! Does this describe our relationship to the Father? I hope it does!

I’ll take up a third aspect of how the apostles understand God being Father to us in another article. He gives to us the framework for our families, and churches, and for the future of our world.

[i] Heb. 2:11 with John 17:21

[ii] The apostles speak of believers most frequently as ‘in Christ’, or similar phrase. The second most frequent is ‘brothers and sisters’. The third most frequent is ‘saints’.

[iii] A disciple is an undistracted learner. That’s what the apostles were. It’s the way converts are spoken of in the missional book of Acts. But in the letters that speak to the inner life of the church, not at all.

[iv] Eph. 4:22.

[v] In ‘Knowing God’, p. 224. The whole chapter on adoption as God’s children is wonderful to read.

[vi] 1 Cor 8:6. This verse is an adaption of Israel ‘Shema’ or confession of faith, suggesting that God is now our covenant Father.

[vii] Paul’s opening greetings; and Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:20; Col. 1:12

[viii] 1 Pet. 1:1-3

[ix] 1 John 1:1-3

[x] Eph. 3:14-16

[xi] John 17:4

[xii] 1 Cor. 15:27-28

[xiii] Rom. 15:6; Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:20; Col. 1:12; 3:17; 1 Thes. 3:13; 2 Thes. 2:16; Rev. 1:6

[xiv] Because Christ is our Saviour, and our life, we do well to have him as the focus or our lives too. But it’s important to know God in all the ways he’s revealed himself to us. We need to let our affections widen, and receive all the ways God is being God to us.

[xv] Gal. 4:4-9; Rom. 8:12-17

[xvi] Mark 14:35-36

[xvii] 2 Cor. 13:14

[xviii] Rom. 8:9; the Spirit is the Spirit of God and of the Son.

[xix] Eph. 3:8-11

[xx] Eph. 3:14-21

The world has a Father

Welcome to the last of six articles about God—our Father.

In previous articles, we’ve seen that the life of Jesus is all about what the Father wants him to do, and how much we need to know his Father as our Father.

And then, we saw that the apostles describe God—the Father, being the start and finish of all things—their fountainhead and finale. Wonderfully, Paul also shows us how our attention comes to be focused on the Father. The Holy Spirit evokes the cry of ‘Father’ within us. We know where we have come from and where we are going.

And now, the apostles, Paul in particular, show us that the Father, by actually being Father to us, creates the framework for our families, and churches, and for the future of our world.

Some years back, I read the story of a young fellow in trouble with the police. All the controls and therapies available to him were proving fruitless. But his own analysis of what he needed was simple. I’ve forgotten his exact words, but his meaning was, ‘All I want is a family to belong to.’

The life God has given us in this world is not about having a career, wealth, excitement or popularity. It’s about sharing our lives with others—giving ourselves to them, and being served by them.[i] Family life is given to us to practice living in this way.

But it takes more than a happy home to create this new community and a new world. It takes everything the Father does through his Son, and everything the Father continues to do through his Son and Spirit.

As we have seen, all this is deeply personal. But it’s not private. When God shows us that he is the Father, he is showing us how things are meant to work, and how they will work in the world to come.

This is not a system or an ideology that will be successful because we do things in a certain way. God’s family is created and functions because God actively gathers us to himself. We are adopted into his family, or made part of his household.[ii]

All this begins to happen the moment the church is born. Peter announces the gospel. Many confess that Jesus is the Christ and are forgiven. They receive the Holy Spirit. But then, look at what happens. These new believers begin behaving like a family—distributing property assets to ensure all are cared for.[iii]

Each believer needs to know that they belong to each other. Each member of the family has equal access to the Father and may approach him without fear.[iv] In the certainty of this, the need of each one becomes the concern of all.

This Jerusalem church soon encounters the reality of division. Cultural differences challenge the freedom of this movement. So, the church elects deacons to make sure everyone is treated as equal members of the one family.[v]

This issue continues to surface and Paul must show that the one-ness we have as children of God is greater than all our cultural differences.[vi] The Father’s care for each of his children teaches us to love and care for those our Father cares for—perhaps, not immediately, or easily, but surely.

Without God as Father and without the church as the community he is building, the world imagines they can find a meaning within themselves and in pursuing personal goals. But God has set his church in the midst of this world to be a working case-history of community. His community.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul celebrates what a great thing God has done in choosing us, drawing us to himself, to be holy and blameless before him. He is gathering a family from all nations. Paul marvels at this. And he worships the Father.[vii]

Then, he shows how the church grows. There is one Spirit—we are sharing one life. There is one Lord Jesus—we are dependent on one Saviour. And there is ‘…one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.’[viii]

But notice how God goes about being Father. Out of the riches of who he is, he purposes to make us inwardly strong.[ix]

What does that look like? Well, God knows that, by nature, we are anxious for ourselves, protective, jealous and selfish. This is what guilt does to us. But, in his family, everything works by love.

When differences occur, as they do, we need to live in the truth of a Father who receives each of us and whose kindness and will must prevail. We need to know the love of Christ. We need to be filled with God’s fullness. And we will find that God our Father can do more that we imagine.

This love of the Father through our Lord Jesus is not so much something to be understood as to be received. If we live with one another in this way, our usual point scoring can be dropped and our egos can be shaped by the Spirit’s fruits. We will have become strong. We have become imitators of God, as beloved children.[x] This is what we are created for. And this will be the future of our world—shaped by other-person-preferring love—our affections all reflecting the broadness of our Father’s mercy.

[i] If eternal life is knowing God as our Father and knowing and Jesus as the Son (John 1:1-5; Col. 1:13-17), it follows that temporal life is all about knowing other people—really knowing them so as to see who they are and what they need.

[ii] Eph. 1:5; 2:19-22

[iii] Acts 2:38-47; 4:32-37

[iv] Eph. 2:18; 3:12

[v] Acts 6:1-7

[vi] Eph. 2:18-19

[vii] Eph. 3:8-14

[viii] Eph. 4:4-6

[ix] Eph. 3:14-21

[x] Eph. 5:1

[i] If eternal life is knowing God as our Father and knowing and Jesus as the Son (John 1:1-5; Col. 1:13-17) , if follows that temporal life is all about knowing other people—really knowing them so as to see who they are and what they need.