JESUS: BRINGING US TO THE FATHER

JESUS: BRINGING US TO THE FATHER

John 1:1-18 (vv.10-13)

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

December 11, 2005

In our study of the opening lines of the Gospel of John, we have found many outstanding traits and characteristics of our Lord Jesus Christ. In John’s “Prologue” so far, we have found Jesus to be the Eternal Word, one with God in essence, while distinct from God the Father as God the Son. We have also found Him to be the Light of the World, bringing into our lives the light of His truth and the light of His love and mercy.

This morning, in verses 10 – 13 we find a description of Him as the One who brings us to God the Father. In these verses, we find the good news of what happens when Christ is believed on and received into ones life, enabling us to become children of God.

John first notes, however, the rejection of Christ that occurred when in His incarnation He came to the world: “He was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.”

Secondly, John notes the rejection of Christ that occurred when He came to Israel and to the Jewish people: “He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.” Some Jews did accept Him, of course, such as the Apostles, and at the time of our Lord’s ascension, there were at least one hundred and twenty believers.[i] But comparatively speaking, this was a small number.

And yet, John then notes a more positive outlook and perspective: “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

A number of yrs ago, the concept of the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man was quite popular. As a matter of fact, we have seen something of this in the lines of our opening hymn for this morning.[ii] But this teaching cannot be substantiated by what the Bible says. People are not God’s children simply in virtue of being created by God. Neither do people become children of God because of a special line of ancestry, even in being born of a Jewish heritage and line. Taking the passage for what it says quite plainly, the unique status of being a child of God is given to those who have been born spiritually by God, and who have embraced Jesus Christ by believing in Him and receiving Him.

There undoubtedly will be many this Christmas season who will look at Christ and come to different conclusions about Him. We see this already in the open debate concerning “Happy Holidays” versus “Merry Christmas.” This debate will continue, dear friends, largely because there are different beliefs concerning Jesus Christ, as there always have been. But if you have trusted in Him, believing in who He says He is and truly receiving Him, then you do have the privilege of being a child of God.

Now, if this be true of you and me, then the New Testament also clearly tells us that there will be signs or evidence pointing to the fact that we are in fact God’s adopted daughters and sons. While we cannot consider all, let’s consider some of these “signs.”

ONE SIGN IS THAT OF LOVING TO BE

IN OUR HEAVENLY FATHER’S PRESENCE.

There is great joy to be found in a child’s heart in being with a parent who loves that child. When a child feels secure in a love that has clearly demonstrated and proven itself, the child simply runs to feel the warm embrace of that parent and to be sheltered in the love of that parent. The child waits at the door in eager expectation of the parent’s arrival, giggles in delight in playing games together, and pays close attention in shared learning experiences together. And the key word, of course, is “together.”

It’s not all that different when it comes to our relationship with the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. As children of God and of our heavenly Father, we are able to find delight in our relationship with Him. In fact, our Presbyterian heritage reminds us that our chief end and goal in life is “to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”

This should be evident in the use of those varied means by which our relationship with Him is strengthened, such as prayer, Scripture, Sacraments, worship, study, meditation and more. Far from being dry habits for a select few, they are given to all God’s children for the deepening of an eternity-long relationship.

For a number of years during the 18^th century, New England churches were spiritually dull and dry. But God moved in a mighty way by the Holy Spirit, bringing forth “The Great Awakening.” As a result, many a person in the pew saw his or her faith come alive, and outward expressions of love and joy in the Lord became quite common. In addition, many people in the community came to saving faith in Jesus Christ for the very first time.

Some ministers were uncomfortable with what they observed, preferring instead a quiet and very reserved religion on the part of the person in the pew. But one of the New England pastors, Jonathan Edwards, had a different view. His ministry in Northhampton, Massachusetts had been greatly and positively affected by this movement of God’s Spirit. While Edwards was not in favor of emotional fanaticism, neither was he in favor of a dry and dulled heart.

In fact, he wrote a book on this subject, saying in part:

We are nothing if we are not earnest about our faith, and if our wills and inclinations are not intensely exercised. The religious life contains things to great for us to be lukewarm. True religion is always a dynamic thing. Its power is in the inward exercises of the heart.

Love is not just one of the affections; it is the first and chief affection, the strength of the others … All other religious emotions will arise from such a dynamic, affectionate, and fervent love toward God. From it … will come gratitude to God for His goodness, serenity and joy in God for His gracious presence, grief for His absence, a joyful hope when He is anticipated, and a fervent zeal for the glory of God. [iii]

What would your answer be, if you were to have someone come to your side right now and ask, “Do you love the Lord? Do you love to be in the Father’s presence?” How do you feel about the Father’s presence in worship, in prayer, in study of His Word, and in seeing Him in the midst of His people? Unquestionably, delighting to be in the presence of God is a sure and vital sign that we are a very real part of His family.

ANOTHER SIGN OF OUR ADOPTION IS THAT OF OBEDIENCE.

A son or daughter is called by God to obey his or her parents. Following upon one of the Ten Commandments, the Apostle Paul talks about honoring one’s parents in his letter to the Ephesians in saying, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” [iv] Obedience to one’s parent is part of what it means to be a child.

Similarly, the child of God obeys the heavenly Father as part of that very special spiritual and familial relationship. The Lord Jesus surely had this in mind when He said:

If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. [v]

The great Puritan Thomas Watson also puts it succinctly for us in saying, “A gracious soul (a soul who has received the grace and love and mercy of God) not only believes God’s promise, but obeys His command. True child-like obedience must be regular.”

As a pastor, quite honestly, I’ve had the privilege of hearing over the years many a personal testimony from different people. While many of these stories have thrilled me and encouraged me, some stories of conversion have not impressed me very much, quite frankly, because as I look at their lives, there seems to be little evidence of that event having much effect. Again, for one truly “born of God,” “child-like obedience must be regular.”

Dr. Ben Lacy Rose served this denomination well as a pastor, professor of preaching, and as a Moderator for a meeting of the General Assembly. He has since gone to be with the Lord. But he once told a story regarding an event early on in his ministry in eastern North Carolina when he was the pastor of a small church.

There was a couple in the community, the husband being a member of his church, and the wife being a member of another, the Muddy Creek Primitive Baptist Church. Well, the wife died,

and Dr. Rose was invited by the husband to assist in conducting the funeral in the Baptist Church. As he did so, he heard the pastor of that Baptist Church, a church which believes in election, say the following in his eulogy:

In this woman we saw the struggle for righteousness; we saw her striving, longing, praying for godliness in her life. That earnest continuing endeavor was clear testimony to the Spirit’s work in her … (It is) conclusive evidence that she was one of God’s elect.

In the book in which he relates this story, Dr. Rose adds this comment in remembering that special moment: “He was right! Right that she was a good and godly woman who loved the Lord; and right too that the process of sanctification is one of the sure marks of a person’s election.” [vi]

Well, I believe this to be true not only of election, but of being born from above spiritually and in being adopted into the family of God. We provide evidence that we belong to Christ by that “earnest continuing endeavor” to be faithful to God. Not that we can be perfect in this life in all of our words and deeds; and yet there will nevertheless be an ever increasing family resemblance in us, as we live and act more like our elder Brother, our Lord Jesus Christ.

III

A THIRD SIGN IS THAT OF BEING LED BY THE SPIRIT

AND GROWING INTO MATURITY.

No child is ever expected to stay the same over the course of years. Every child is expected

to take the journey of life and to grow into ever increasing maturity. How sad it would be to have children who never grew intellectually, emotionally, spiritually and physically. A stunted or undeveloped life should never be a parent’s desire for the child, hoping instead for growth and maturity over the years.

As my children are all grown now, I occasionally think back upon their younger years and I remember when I held them in my arms, or played with them when they were little. I remember their teenage years as well … and then I recall why I’m so glad to have them as adults!

Well, it should not be surprising then that our heavenly Father feels the very same way about us. God our heavenly Father also desires that we grow in ways that involve our intellect, heart and behavior. He, also, wants us to “grow up”!

Some Christians, however, forget their calling to grow up spiritually and into Christian maturity, and they consequently need to be admonished in love. The author of the New Testament letter to the Hebrews has such a word of admonition that still applies to some today:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity … [vii]

In this past year, the Lord led me to begin a series of sermons on Acts. (This series will continue in the New Year.) I felt led to do so, not simply because it seemed like a good idea, but first because it was of the Lord’s leading, and secondly because I believe the institutional Church today needs a wake-up call: a wake-up call to let go of staleness and stagnancy and get serious about being God-ward in its life, its worship, its fellowship and its witness.

In the late ‘50’s, at a time when few paraphrased versions of the Bible existed, Dr. J.B. Phillips was led to produce one for the New Testament.[viii] This proved in time to be a tremendous gift to the contemporary Church. But something happened to Phillips as he worked on the New Testament as a whole and on the section of Acts in particular. He tells us about it in the preface to the 1^st edition. Though somewhat long, it is worth sharing with you now:

It is impossible to spend several months in close study of the remarkable short book … without being profoundly stirred and, to be honest, disturbed. The reader is stirred because he is seeing Christianity, the real thing, in action for the first time in human history. The newborn Church, as vulnerable as any human child, having neither money, influence nor power in the ordinary sense, is setting forth joyfully and courageously to win the pagan world for God through Christ …

Yet we cannot help feeling disturbed as well as moved, for this surely is the Church as it was meant to be. It is vigorous and flexible, for these are the days before it ever became fat and short of breath through prosperity, or muscle-bound by overorganization. These men did not make ‘acts of faith,’ they believed; they did not ‘say their prayers,’ they really prayed. They did not hold conferences on psychosomatic medicine, they simply healed the sick. But if they were uncomplicated and naïve by modern standards, we have ruefully to admit that they were open on the God-ward side in a way that is almost unknown today. [ix]

Dear friends, I hope you realize that our heavenly Father’s desire for His children has not changed from the time of the book of Acts until now. He still desires that we be God-ward in everything, that we grow into maturity, and that we express His character and His power to a watching and needy world. God has so much more in mind for the life and witness of His Church, and it is exciting to consider some of what God can do when the family of God gets serious about being the family of God!

***

Yes, there will always be those who reject the Lord Jesus and who do not receive Him. Like it or not, there will always be some who will say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas,” because they do not know Jesus, nor the true meaning of this joyful season.

But to those who do, to those who have believed in Him and have received Him, to them are given the right to be called children of God. And what do such children look like? Among other things, they love to be in the Father’s presence, they seek to be obedient and faithful to Him, and they are growing God-ward in ever-increasing maturity. In a watching and needy world, may this be said of you … and of me!