Here are some thoughts on what it means to have God as our Father.
Because God is the Father of all true believers, we can experience true unity as children of God in the family of God. Our heavenly Father has only one spiritual family, the universal Church of God.
How We Got Here. We did not always belong to God’s family. Lest we forget “from whence we came,” it is good to remember that we entered the world as “children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph 2:4). Before coming to faith in Christ, we lived under the power of Satan, “the god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4). What Jesus told the unbelieving Jews applies to all unbelievers: “You are of your father the devil and your will is to do your father’s desires” (John 8:44).
Then, one day, the “Father of lights” (James 1:17) rescued us from the “domain of darkness” (Col 1:13) and the clutches of our evil father. What Paul told the Thessalonians becomes reality for all God’s people: “you are all children of light” (1 Thess 5:5).
To become a Christian is to become a new person with a new identity in a new family. We are the children of God! Incredibly, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe is now our Father, and He has promised to take care of us in both this life and the next, meeting every need and providing life “beyond measure” (the meaning of “abundant” in John 10:10).
How can this be? Who, after all, did God bring into His family? In Romans 5:5-10, Paul describes us as weak, powerless sinners, ungodly at best, hardly commendable as the enemies of God.
We are all the beneficiaries of God’s desire to pour out His love and affection on undeserving rebels and bring us home. God’s salvation is described in Scripture with many word pictures, yet they all accomplish the same goal – our inclusion in God’s household forever.
The Father Caused You to Be Born Again. All believers become God’s children through the new birth, aka “regeneration,” the instantaneous impartation of divine life into those formerly “dead in sins” (Eph 2:1). Just as we were born biologically into a human family, we have been “born again” supernaturally “of the Spirit” into God’s spiritual family (John 3:6, 8). Praise be to God, because “In his great mercy he has given us new birth” (1 Peter 1:3). May the truth of these words thrill our souls today: “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions” (Eph 2:4-5).
Since we have been born “from above,” we are all in the same family – God’s family! We have the same Father because we have all been “born of Him” (1 John 2:24). Don’t let our physical and cultural differences cloud our unity as brothers and sisters with one Father. We have identical “spiritual DNA” – the life of God that pulses through the veins of all God’s offspring.
The Father Adopted You. All believers also become God’s children through adoption. “You have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15). Like regeneration, adoption is the miraculous work of God in which He takes the initiative to accomplish His salvation. The result is that all God’s adopted siblings become heirs of God, possessors of “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4). Furthermore, we now have full access to our Father in a relationship of intimacy and submission. Amazing!
The Father Has Given You A Special Status. It is tempting to minimize the significance of this title, “the children of God.” Oh, may we never take it for granted! John emphasizes the magnificence of this divine designation, for it is no minor moniker. Listen closely: “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are” (1 John 3:1). We are “called” the children of God because “we are” the children of God. Here is the glorious grace of God, “lavished on us” (NIV) at great cost to God through the death of His Son. This is breathtaking!
The Father Has Loved You with An Enduring Love. All believers of all ages receive the same intensity and longevity of the Father’s agape love. This truth alone should be enough to erase every trace of division, jealousy, and animosity among believers. To understand the dimensions of this love is to discover the key to harmony in the Church: since God loves you as much as He loves me, how can I withhold my love from you?
Questions for Reflection
1. How do you go about maintaining a relationship of intimacy with your heavenly Father, both individually and corporately?
2. What do you do to cultivate a balance between being a child who cries “Abba (Daddy), Father!” (Romans 8:15) and being one who “trembles at my (the Father’s) word” (Isaiah 66:2)?
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