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Depending on the kind of relationship you had with your father, the fatherhood of God may be a comforting or troubling concept.
For some, the word “father” is associated with feelings of resentment, pain, and fear and memories of broken promises, neglect, and abuse.
But God is the perfect Father. The fatherhood of God is not patterned after the fatherhood of men. Instead, earthly fathers are to relate to their children as God relates to His children.
[Read the following verses in unison.]
“A father to the fatherless…is God in his holy dwelling” (Psalm 68:5).
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13).
“Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me” (Psalm 27:10).
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
How do we become God’s children? Are we born into God family? No, we are adopted.
1. Adoption is an act of God whereby He makes us members of His FAMILY.
“Our Father in heaven…” (Matthew 6:9).
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship [adoption]. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:15; cf. Galatians 4:6).
“Abba” is an Aramaic term for father that conveys a sense of closeness. Like the English term “Daddy,” it connotes tenderness, dependence, and a relationship free of fear or anxiety.
2. Adoption takes place when we put our FAITH in Jesus Christ.
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26).
3. Adoption proves that God LOVES us.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!” (1 John 3:1).
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).
FAMILY PRIVILEGES
1. Our Heavenly Father takes care of our NEEDS.
“Your heavenly Father knows that you need them” (Matthew 6:32).
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).
Many times we are like children, not knowing what our real needs are. Illustration: My two boys wanting candy, etc. “It’s not fair!”
2. Our Heavenly Father FORGIVES our waywardness.
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-14).
This daily prayer for forgiveness of sins is not a prayer that God would give us salvation again and again throughout our lives. Salvation is a one-time event that occurs immediately after we trust in Christ. Rather, the prayer for forgiveness of sins each day is a prayer that God’s fatherly relationship with us, which has been disrupted by sin that displeased Him, be restored, and that He related to us once again as a Father who delights in His children whom He loves.
Example: The prodigal son’s father.
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:17-20).
This story pictures God’s eagerness to forgive.
3. Our Heavenly Father has given us an INHERITANCE.
“So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir” (Galatians 4:7).
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17a).
There’s a bumper sticker that reads, “I’m spending my children’s inheritance.”
“…an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:14).
CHILDISH QUESTIONS
1. Why does God give His children so many rules?
Many times we can be like rebellious children. “Why do I need all these rules?”
“Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Isaiah 64:8).
God made us and knows what’s best for us. Father knows best.
“This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome [oppressive, grievous]” (1 John 5:3).
Why do fathers have rules? (1) To protect their children and (2) to help their children prosper.
Illustration: God’s rules are like guardrails. A few years ago, my dad fell asleep while driving. His car went off the road but hit a guardrail. He didn’t get out of the car and kick the guardrail, yelling, “Look what you did to my car!” No, he was thankful that the guardrail protected him.
God’s rules are not intended to simply be restrictive; God’s rules are meant to protect us and help us prosper.
2. Why does God allow His children to experience pain?
Illustration: It’s like a father holding down his child to receive a vaccine shot. The child feels the pain and cries. The child doesn’t realize that the shot will make him immune from a disease.
We need to remember that God can always bring something good out of our pain. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28a).
When we don’t understand, God asks His children to TRUST Him.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror [mirrors in that day were made of polished metal and could only give an imperfect reflection]; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12).
“When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”—Mark Twain
Do you want to become a member of God’s family?
Father to the Fatherless
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
1. Adoption is an act of God whereby He makes us members of His _______________.
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship [adoption]. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (Romans 8:15; cf. Galatians 4:6).
2. Adoption takes place when we put our _______________ in Jesus Christ.
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12).
3. Adoption proves that God _______________ us.
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God!” (1 John 3:1).
FAMILY PRIVILEGES
1. Our Heavenly Father takes care of our _______________.
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11).
2. Our Heavenly Father _______________ our waywardness.
“For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-14).
3. Our Heavenly Father has given us an ____________________.
“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ” (Romans 8:17a).
CHILDISH QUESTIONS
1. Why does God give His children so many rules?
2. Why does God allow His children to experience pain?
When we don’t understand, God asks His children to _______________ Him.
“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror [mirrors in that day were made of polished metal and could only give an imperfect reflection]; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:11-12).
Do you want to become a member of God’s family?
