THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD

JOHN 8:37–41

“You do the deeds of your father”

(John 8:41).

The discourse between Jesus and the Pharisees heats up over a disagreement concerning the Fatherhood of God. The Pharisees assumed that because they were Abraham’s physical offspring, they were consequently his spiritual descendants. They gave little or no thought to the prerequisites of spiritual sonship. It requires faith—not the right genes.

This assumption of the universal Fatherhood of God goes beyond the Jewish people. Even though they had particular interest in this subject throughout Jewish history, they would never have indicated that everyone was God’s child. Only the Jews were God’s children, and in this they took great pride. But as this applies to our current circumstances, we find a popular notion floating about that all people are the children of God. Even Christians will speak in this manner. If they mean that God is the creator of all things, they are right. But the designations of “Father” and of “children” are specific in Scripture. Jesus teaches that one is not a child of God because of biological relations, whether that means being a Jew or simply being a member of the human race. Intrinsic to Jesus’ teaching is the principle that only those who do the will of God, only those who have been born again, are His children. If you do not do His will, you cannot call Him Father—that is what the book of John calls out.

This was the point the Jews missed. They called God Father, but they sought to destroy His Son. By their actions they revealed their true nature. They were not sons of heaven, but children of Satan. They acted, not according to righteousness as Abraham had, but they plotted and schemed according to the whisperings of the devil. The child will inevitably emulate the father. This means that those outside of Christ will act on the prompting of Satan, and those in Him will obey His will.

This teaching might seem harsh to some, but it’s Christ’s own words. The crowning glory of the Christian is that he is a son of God. The world cannot claim this—it is reserved for the believer. Only the person who believes and loves Christ the Son can cherish an intimate and glorious relationship with God the Father

CORAM DEO

2 Chronicles 13–16

John 14

Read the verses below. What was the basis of the Fatherhood of God according to the Jews in Malachi 2:10? According to Romans 4:12, was circumcision all that was required to be a child of Abraham? According to Galatians 3:7, 29 who are God’s true children? By your actions, do you resemble your Father?

For further study: Mal. 2:10–12 • Rom. 4:9–11 • Gal. 3:7, 29

thursday

june