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.
If you are not doing the will of the Father, be very careful about assuming that God is your Father.
Romans 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Being led does not adequately convey the Greek meaning here. More than being merely led, are you driven by the Spirit of God? The word implies active following. Does the will of God the Father affect all you say and do? Being led by the Spirit of God also implies that a relationship has been established, otherwise, how would you know it is the Spirit of God who is leading you? Many people say they feel the spirit, and many claim to be led by the spirit, but for many, they are not led by not the Holy Spirit of God. The fact is there are many spirits out in the world. How do we know it is the Spirit of God doing the leading? John tells us to test the Spirits:
1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
We must know the Word of God because the Spirit of God will not lead you contrary to His Word. So if we know the Word of God and do not do the Word, how can we say they are being led by the Spirit of God? Jesus says:
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
But if we do the will of God, we follow the Lord and His Spirit, then “these are sons of God.”
There is an interesting contrast in words here. The word “sons of God” is used in this verse (14) whereas “children of God” is used in verse 16. What is the difference? The book of Romans was written to the Christian in Rome, so the Roman culture vice a Jewish culture was considered here. The use of the word “sons” convey one who is of age to assume the rights and responsibilities of a son, one who will inherit the family business and wealth. A child, not of age, is still under the direction of guardians and managers.
Galatians 4:1–3 Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. 3 So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
So as a son, we are considered a full-fledged member of the family with all the rights and privileges.
Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
We are not a slave like we were to sin. But the Spirit which we have been given is:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
Yes, power, love, and discipline. Discipline such as in self-discipline, as Timothy was instructed by Paul to discipline himself for purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).
We are “adopted as sons” – here again having the Roman culture understanding of adoption as having the same rights and privileges as a natural born son. Not an underaged child, but a one who is of age. By Roman law, there was no difference between an adopted son and a naturally born son.
[The use of the Word “adoption”] is a useful word for Paul, for it signifies being granted the full rights and privileges of sonship in a family to which one does not belong by nature. This is a good illustration of one aspect of Paul’s understanding of what it means to become a Christian. The believer is admitted to the heavenly family, to which he has no rights of his own. But he is now admitted and can call God “Father”.[3]
The Spirit does not cause us to cry “I am God’s son”, but rather “God is my Father.” The believer looks at God rather than contemplating himself.[4]
When we realize the depth of this adoption, and all that it means, we can we cry out, “Abba! Father!” Abba is familiar term, used much in the same way we would say “Papa” or “Daddy.” This is done in love, adoration, and worship. For an earthly father we know and love intimately, do we not want to please him, especially since we know following our father’s instruction will only benefit us? How much more so is this to be true concerning our heavenly Father?
Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
Because we have the Spirit of God, we can instinctively know we are His children. Children, directly translated means the born ones. We are born of the Sprit when we were born again at that moment of conversion.
John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name
Not everyone is a child of God, but those who have truly received Him and are led by His Holy Spirit (verse 14).
1 John 3:1–2 See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
So what are the rights and privileges of a child of God?
Romans 8:17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
We are heirs, those of us who are truly the children of God, all that the Father has is ours, the whole universe waits for us to inherit it. And we are joint heirs with Jesus.
But if we are joint heirs with Jesus, we will also share in His glory, and to do so, we must also share in His sufferings.
John 15:20 Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
Yes, persecution is part of the mix in this life, but oh how great are the riches that await us. To partake in the riches to come, we must identify with Christ now. To identify with Christ is what the Spirit of God leads us to do. Jesus tells us:
Matthew 10:32 “Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.
We must be careful and not focus too much on the suffering because of our confession of Jesus before the world. Yes, that will and is happening, but we must keep an eternal mindset. This mindset Paul point out to us in the following verse:
Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
We eagerly await for what our Father in heaven has instore for us. As I have preached before, the glories and riches waiting for us in heaven far out weigh anything we have on earth, no matter end of the scale we may experience, the good and blessing of this life, or the sufferings we may be called to endure. The riches and glory we have waiting for us far outweigh any comparison.
On This Father’s Day, as we give thanks for our earthly fathers, may we remember that our heavenly Father loves us all the more and we are waiting to inherit riches untold.
Do you have God as your heavenly Father. Can you truly be called a Child of God. You can only be a child, by being born again of the Spirit through Jesus. No one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).
[1] https://fathers.com/statistics-and-research/the-extent-of-fatherlessness/
[2] http://www.freshministry.net/illustrations/data/FATHERS.htm#END
[3] Leon Morris, The Epistle to the Romans, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press, 1988), 315.
[4] Ibid., 316.
