By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Sermon Text: I John 2:14
Sermon Theme
John refers to God as “Father” more times than any other New Testament writer. To say that God is “the Father” is not to say that God is either human or masculine. Other ancient cultures and religions saw God as father in these terms but this is not the case in Scripture. Scripture affirms with other ancient teachings that God is a Father in the sense that he is the origin and authority for our lives. However, the God of the Bible is not automatically our Father. He becomes our Father by adopting us. The ultimate form of our adoption is our being made brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, heirs of God and joint heirs with him. In Christ, God adopts us, adapts us to his will and anoints us to serve him. Through Christ, God has become “our father.”
Sermon Outline
- Adoption. In the ancient world, the father was both a real and symbolic figure. A god like Zeus was seen as a universal father, the father of the world. This is very different from John’s view and, in fact, of the Bible in general. Because we have sinned, Satan has become our father. God, however, has chosen to adopt us. Pharaoh saw himself as the father of Israel since he was symbolically the father of Egypt and all its inhabitants. God sends Moses to claim Israel as his adopted, firstborn son (Exodus 4:22-23; Jeremiah 31:9; Romans 9:4). Through Jesus Christ, we have been adopted into God’s family and God has become our Father (Romans 8:15-17).
- Accepted. We are not God’s children by nature. We are in fact “children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:3). As such, we have all been spiritually abused children. God has only one true Son, Jesus Christ. Yet for the sake of that one Son, God the Father of Jesus Christ chooses to become our Father. There are several examples in Scripture of human fathers who symbolically reflect our heavenly Father. These include Abraham who provides a wife for his son, Isaac, David who grieves over his rebellious son, Absalom, as God grieves over our rebellion, and finally, the father of the two sons in Luke 15:11-31.
- Anointed. In John’s repeating of the role of Christians in verse 14, he is emphasizing the importance of knowing. As children of God, we know the Father. As fathers, we also know him “who is from the beginning.” Finally, as young people, we know the word of God. Our task is to be fathers to one another. Knowing we have been adopted into God’s family should teach us humility. As fathers to each other, we are to provide for one another, encourage one another, and welcome one another, even when we have fallen into sin. Ultimately, our task is to rescue others out of the family of “the evil one.” To call God “Father” is to acknowledge that we have been adopted as children of God through the life, death and resurrection of God’s only Son, Jesus Christ. Once in his family, God will never let us go.
Questions for Us
- The idea of God as Father has unfortunately become a problematic one for some people today. How would you explain the importance of this theme to someone who questioned it?
- Why do you think even Christians do not take seriously the truth that we are by nature "children of wrath" and that until we come to Christ, Satan is our father (in the words of C.S. Lewis, "our father below")?
- Can you think of someone who "fathered" you in Christian faith? Is there someone to whom you are playing the role of spiritual father right now?
