(Part 2/3 – A summary of the Sunday morning teaching on 26-Jul-15, in AFT Church, English service. From the series The Foundation For Victorious Living)
2) THE AFFIRMED SON
When Jesus walked on the earth, God’s audible voice proclaimed His love for His Son a couple of times. The first time was when Jesus was baptized by John. A voice came from Heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased’. Later, on the mountain while Peter, James and John watched, Jesus was transfigured into His glorious state. God’s voice once again affirmed, ‘This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him’. Many years later in his life, Peter wrote in 2 Peter 1:16-18 about this experience. He said, ‘For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain’. Peter heard and saw the truth and hence he was even willing to die for it.
Now that we have seen ample evidences of God’s love for His Son, let’s examine God’s love for us.
BELOVED CHILDREN
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
1 John 3:1
The Word of God declares that we will know God’s love us if we understand the significance of our position as His children. When Jesus perfectly obeyed Him, died and rose up for our sins, God honored Him up by seating Him at His right hand in the Heavens. Ephesians 1 says that God has placed Him as the Head over the Church and made Him the heir of all things. We are the children of this great God and co-heirs with Jesus.
ABBA FATHER
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God
Romans 8:15, 16
The Holy Spirit convicts us and leads us to Salvation. He then resides in our hearts and cries out Abba Father. He assures us of our privilege as His children.
History tells us that a Jew will never address God as Abba Father. They believed that God and man were on two different planes which could never meet. The term ‘Father’ implies a level of intimacy that they couldn’t even begin to fathom. God was a Holy person whom they had no direct access to.
So, when Jesus came, He constantly referred to God as His Abba! (which was the truth) This got the Jews hopping mad. But, Jesus couldn’t care less. He went on to teach His disciples to pray to God addressing Him as their Abba. Here’s what that prayer looked like –
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen
God made the privilege of calling Him Father accessible to us by our Salvation and inclusion in His family. We can now address Him, go to Him and talk to Him as Jesus does.
…to be continued…
