The Fatherhood Of God Series

When we consider fathers today, we see that the world makes fun of fathers, the culture downplays the roles of fathers, feminist have gone as far to say that fathers as completely antiquated and unnecessary except as sperm donors.

It is estimated that a third (33%) of all our nation’s children do not live in a home with their biological father. This breaks down to 57.6% of black children, 31.2% of Hispanic children, and 20.7% of white children are living absent their biological fathers.

According to 72.2 % of the U.S. population, fatherlessness is the most significant family or social problem facing America.[1]

The statistic for families without fathers are grim. The presence of a Father in the home makes a tremendous difference in a child’s future. Did you know that children from a fatherless home are:

5 times more likely to commit suicide;

32 times more likely to run away;

20 times more likely to have behavioral disorders;

14 times more likely to commit rape;

9 times more likely to drop out of high school;

10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances;

and 9 times more likely to end up in state-operated institutions? [2]

Father in the home is important, despite what the world says, a home without a father is a disaster waiting to happen. So is life without God. Today we are looking at the Fatherhood of God. God as our Father. There are those, who by no fault of their own, has been force to grow up without a father. The Scriptures tells us that God is:

Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy habitation.

And God is not just a Father just for the orphan. God is referred to the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments as our Father. As we look at the Fatherhood of God this morning, the question I want to ask is: “Is God your Father? Are you a child of God?”

Contrary to popular worldly belief, the Bible does not teach the universal Fatherhood of God, nor does it teach the universal brotherhood of man. To be a child of God, Jesus plainly teaches:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

To be a child of God, one must be born of the Spirit of God. As we will see, it is that possession of the Spirit of God that makes us a child of God. It is with that in mind we will consider what Paul writes to the Romans Christians in our focal verses today.

Romans 8:14–17

Jesus addresses God as Father and Jesus made it very clear to those around Him that God was His Father:

John 5:18 For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

But Jesus also made very clear to His followers that God was their Father also.

Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

The term “your Father” and “your Father who is in heaven” is used by Jesus in speaking to His followers. As such, Jesus tells us, assuming God is "our Father,” that we need to be like our Father.

Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Matthew 5:48 Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

As God is our Father, we are to call Him as such. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, how did Jesus tell them to address God?

Matthew 6:9 “Pray, then, in this way:‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.

God is not just the Father of Jesus, but Jesus says to call Him “our” Father. As such, with a common Father, we share a kin-ship with Jesus and with one another. That is why we refer to one another as brother and sister, because we share the same heavenly Father.

So who can legitimately call God as their Father? Jesus tell us who we follow is our father. The one whose will or desires we fulfil is our Father. To the Pharisees Jesus says:

John 8:44a You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.

Likewise, there are those who believe God is their Father, but are not because that fail to do His will.

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.