Knowing The Father

Feature 2 –October 2015 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Knowing The FATHER

We who are believers love the Lord Jesus because of what He has done for us. Most of our Christian lives are lived developing a relationship with Him, being conformed to His image and desiring to serve Him. But do we know that we have a heavenly Father who also desires a relationship with us and wants us to imitate Him (Eph. 5:1)?

In the gospel of John the Lord tells about His Father; not only about the relationship between Him and the Father, but also of the Father’s desire to draw us to Himself through His Son. We read that the Father seeks worshipers and that no one can come to the Father unless He draws him (4:23, 6:44). Throughout this book the Lord emphasized the Father, and the opportunity and privilege for His followers to know His Father.

In John 14 we find seven features of the Father as He draws us to Himself.

1. House Of The Father – Prepared By The Son
“In My Father’s house are many mansions ... I go to prepare a place for you” (v.2 NKJV). Most of us have friends whom we like to visit. And while we may like their house, the real enjoyment comes from those living in it. The Lord told His disciples that His Father had a house and places (literally bridal chambers) were being prepared for them in it. At the right time, He would personally bring them to that house.

Who is inside this house? The Father! Notice Jesus didn’t talk about God’s house. That’s what it is, but with the warmth of family relationship. We have access as children, not simply as guests or friends. Children usually have full freedom in the dwellings of their parents. But keep in mind, the house is special because of the person inside. There is intimacy, enjoyment, rest and peace, with comfort, security, love and acceptance.

2. Way To The Father – Through The Son
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way ... No one comes to the Father except through Me’” (v.6). Do you want to approach God the Father? You can only do it through the proper channel: Jesus Christ. Old Testament saints approached Jehovah by means of sacrifices and offerings. We approach God in the same way, “through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once ... one sacrifice ... one offering” (Heb. 10:10,12,14). The ultimate God-satisfying sacrifice is the Lord Jesus Himself. All the Old Testament sacrifices were only effective in that they rested on and pointed to the finished work of Jesus Christ as the real sacrifice. Apart from the work of Christ, no one could ever have access to God. Yet, in Christ we are His children!

Years ago, after a war, a soldier knocked on the door of the house of one of his friends who had been killed in combat. When a man answered the door, the soldier simply said, “I have come in the name of your son, Jim.” The man, who had never seen the soldier before, swung open the door and invited him in: Any friend of his son was a friend of his. Any “friend” of Jesus Christ is a friend of God; “He who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (13:20). Every redeemed sinner is a child of God, and approaches Him as such.

3. Knowledge Of The Father – Available Through The Son
“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also” (14:7). God has always wanted a people for Himself who would know Him. To many in the Old Testament, God seemed distant, stern and demanding. The Law, given by God and which no person could keep, reinforced that concept. Finally God sent His Son to this earth to open the way to Himself and to reveal Himself. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (1:14).

Since Jesus fulfilled the Law, meeting its requirements fully for us, He was able to show us the “grace” aspect of God as Father without diminishing His holiness and righteousness. Suddenly God became knowable and understandable, in the Lord Jesus Christ. God is a real person, and Jesus showed that the Father could be known just as Jesus Himself could be known. It is good to note that the Greek word for “know” implies intimate knowledge, not just shallow awareness.

Our Father has intellect, will and emotions – just as we do!

4. Vision Of The Father – Revealed By The Son
“He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (v.9). What does God look like? How does He act? What does He feel? Throughout the Old Testament, the nation of Israel wondered these things. Then in the Gospels we find the Lord on earth demonstrating the heart and character of His Father. Since the Law was being fulfilled, the true love and compassion of the Father shone through the actions and attitudes – the very life – of the Lord Jesus on this earth. “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him” (1:18). Jesus was truly “God in a body”: “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col. 2:9). Everything the Lord did, and the way He did it, demonstrated the Father. We need look no further than the Lord Jesus to view the Father. In fact, we may never see more of God than the Lord Himself – but He is enough! He is God’s last and final message to us (Heb. 1:2). When we want to “see” the Father, we must look at Jesus Christ and we will see Him. He is God.

5. Works Of The Father – Performed By The Son
“The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works” (Jn. 14:10). Actually there are two expressions here: “words” and “works.” They should be consistent in every life. If they differ, people don’t know which to believe, but usually defer to the works. Both the words and works of the Lord were from the Father; the Lord did not come to express Himself or to do His own works. Instead, He simply and solely spoke the words and worked the works of Him who sent Him, revealing and giving a vision of the Father. And what kind of words and works were they? He spoke gracious words but with authority (Lk. 4:22,32), the “words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:67-68). His works were a demonstration of the grace of God: holding children, comforting, healing, restoring to life and forgiving sins. The manner in which they were done was a tribute to the tender love of God! No wonder the crowds were fascinated by Him and followed Him. Today, His followers, true believers, can continue these works (14:12) by the power of the Holy Spirit.

6. Glorification Of The Father – By The Son
“... that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (v.13). Later, John talks about praying according to the will of the Lord (1 Jn. 5:14-15). Mark wrote of praying in faith (Mk. 11:23-24), which is submission and surrender to the will of God. But our passage in John 14 speaks of asking in prayer in the name of Jesus, meaning it is according to the nature and character of the Lord. When a prayer is truly in His name, He does what we ask for and the Father is thereby glorified. Jesus glorified the Father in every detail of His life (17:4), and now the Father is still glorified by His beloved Son, in whom He finds all His delight.

The Father has given authority to the Son to fulfill our petitions made in His name. Having glorified the Father in His life and death, the Lord now answers our prayers with the full blessing and resources of the Father. As was mentioned before, everything the Lord does glorifies the Father. How wonderful that we too can glorify our Father in our own lives (1 Cor. 6:20).

7. Gift From The Father – By Request Of The Son
“I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – the Spirit of truth” (Jn. 14:16-17). Since the Lord has made us fit for the presence of God, by His request we have been given the Holy Spirit to indwell us. The Spirit is a gift from the Father and is Himself a person of the Trinity. What a gift! Every believer has the same Spirit in him that Christ had – directing Him throughout His earthly walk (Lk. 4:1,14,18). Does that mean that we can live lives like Christ did? Absolutely! Of course we have hindrances (old nature) that the Lord did not have, but we have the same living person directing our lives to the glory of God, always trying to conform us to the image of the Son (Rom. 8:29). Since He is a gift, we cannot attain the Spirit by works or by petition. He is not given in degrees or in stages, but in full upon believing (Eph. 1:13-14). Once we are cleansed of our sins by the blood of Christ, we are fit to be temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). That’s how we are able to glorify God in our bodies!

Conclusion
God is our Father and He wants us to know Him through His Son. The Father is a real Person – not just God – and He wants an intimate relationship with us. He desires our worship and friendship as well as our dependence on Him, our communion and confidence.

How are relationships developed and maintained? They require communication. We must listen and talk to Him in order to enjoy and appreciate Him as our Father. We will find He really is interested in us (Mt. 6:32) – not just in meeting our needs, but also in a living, loving friendship. He delights in our worship as children.

Remember: the whole world can call him “God,” but only His children can call Him “Father.” And it’s all through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son, on the cross!

By Tim Van Ryn