God Your Father Owns You As His Child — James Jennings

God the Father in John's Gospel

Turn to the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John. In the Gospel of John, how many references are made of God the Father being Jesus' Father? Anyone want to take a shot at that? How many times? Specifically referring to God the Father being Jesus' Father?

Forty-two? Over a hundred. Over a hundred times. Now, one thing to remember, we've got the whole canon of Scripture right here. Right? You get converted, you follow Christ, you get a whole Bible. That was not the case in the early days.

Right? Different believers. You might have just had Matthew's Gospel. You might have just had John's Gospel. And these Gospel writers have different things they would emphasize. And one of the clear things throughout John's Gospel that is emphasized is Jesus Christ and His relationship with His Father.

And over a hundred times, you have this reference to. Now how many references are made about God the Father being your Father in John's Gospel? How many times when you go through John's Gospel does it refer to Him being your Father?

I think there's only one time. One time, and that's what I want to look at this morning, and it's actually near the very end, which is a very interesting time at which this truth is expressed to these believers.

And one commentator, as I was trying to wrestle through what to share, I was reading some commentaries to check my own study, and he made this comment. He said, this is a milestone in the Gospel of John for it is the first and only instance out of 120 instances in which God is explicitly identified as Father of anyone except Jesus Himself.

And so this is something very specific in this Gospel. The point at which this is explicitly stated that He is our Father as Christians. And this isn't the same in every Gospel, right? You go to Matthews.

Where does Matthews start using this language? What chapter? Yeah, 5 and 6. I think you have it ten times there. Pray to your Father. What about in Mark? Where do you find out this idea of God being your Father?

Not directly, but indirectly. Mark what? Mark 3? Jesus, He looks around and says, you are My brothers, mothers, and sisters, those who do the will of My Father. And so, we take this idea for granted, right?

You tell a Christian that God is your Father. It's like, yeah, I already knew that. It's such a common knowledge. But if we enter into the knowledge that people had in Christ today, even the disciples, there's certain truths that might be really developed in your mind and it was not as developed in the disciples' minds.

And we need to consider those because those can be truths that we take for granted. And we maybe need to reconsider that they might have a greater impact upon us. And so the point in John's Gospel that Christ brings up that God is your Father is after Christ has been raised from the dead and prior to His ascension.

And that's in John 20. And so you can turn to John 20. John 20. And as you're turning there, let me just read some verses throughout John's Gospel that build up to this. John 3, the Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand.

John 5, for as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. He's talking about the Son and the Father. John 5, for the works that the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing bear witness about Me that the Father has sent Me.

John 6, for this is the will of My Father that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise Him up on the last day. John 8, they said to Him, therefore, where is Your Father?

Jesus answered the Pharisees, you neither know Me nor My Father. If you knew Me, you would know My Father also. And Jesus in John 8, He tells them their Father is who? The devil. The devil. John 8, I speak of what I have seen with My Father and you do not know what you've heard from your Father.

John 10, for this reason, the Father loves Me because I lay down My life that I might take it up again. And then you have this idea in John 15, but I have called you friends. Right? You've got that. Not a slave, but a friend.

John 16, because I go to the Father, you will see Me no longer. John 16, I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father. He's been telling them this, preparing them for what's going to happen.

Yet, I am not alone, for the Father is with Me. You see, John just highlighting again and again the Father and the Son's relationship. It's incredible that we're getting pulled into this. This Trinitarian love between the Father and the Son and the Spirit.

We're not outsiders. We're Christians. We're being pulled in. It's remarkable. John 17, Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You. And then John 17, 24, well-known verse, Father, I desire that they also whom You have given Me may be with Me where I am to see My glory that You have given Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.

Jesus Reveals “My Father and Your Father”

And then we get to John 20. So let's start. We won't read verses 1 -10 for the sake of time, but right there you've got different people reaching the tomb and you find first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, she came.

And all the stone was taken away. And then you've got Peter coming and the disciple whom Jesus loves coming. And then we start verse 11. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. And as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb.

And she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. One at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, They've taken away My Lord.

I do not know where they've laid Him. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing. But she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?

So she's going to ask multiple times, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, Sir, if You've carried Him away, tell me where You've laid Him, and I will take Him away.

Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to Him in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and say to them.

So we're about to read the statement that Christ, post-resurrection, wants Mary to take and say to the disciples. And this is what we find right here. Say to them, I am ascending to My Father. We know that, right?

That's been throughout the Gospel. That's emphasized again and again and again. But look at the very next phrase right here that is stated. I am ascending to My Father and Your Father. To My God and to Your God.

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I've seen the Lord, and that He had said these things to her. So He doesn't say exactly how she represented it, but she's relaying exactly what He stated to her.

So we're going to consider this, brethren. Think about our adoption and God being our Father. And I hope this will encourage you more about the Lord's love for you. But let's pray. Father, Lord, here we are 2 ,000 years after the fact, and we read about these different interactions and happenings.

We could almost visualize ourselves being there at the tomb or being there in the room when Christ appears and speaks peace to them. Lord, we read about it. It's incredible. Father, we've got so much light, so much truth, so much knowledge.

Lord, we want something obviously greater than the knowledge. Lord, we do think about what is written in Romans 8 about the Spirit bearing witness with our spirit. We read in Romans 8 of one kind Abba, Father.

And Lord, we want that. And Father, I pray if there's any of Your adopted children here today co-heirs with Your Son, and it's not hit them that You're their Father. Lord, I pray that You drive that truth home to them.

Lord, that that would be not just an intellectual fact, but something that presses their heart in and makes them have a greater level of assurance. Lord, that this all really is real. This isn't some theoretical adoption.

Lord, this is the real deal. We really are co-heirs with Your Son. And so Father, we thank You for that. We thank You for all You've done. Lord, bless Your Word to Your people. In Christ's name, Amen.

Christ’s Brothers and the Assurance of Adoption

You know something how Christ addresses His disciples. We want to think about what He says. Jesus never misspoke one word in His whole life. He never looked back and said He should have said something in a certain way.

He spoke perfectly. So every word of His is literally pure gold. Something to really, really be considered. And you know, Mary, we don't really know exactly what she's thinking right here. He's given her a message to go and say to Christ's brothers.

Who does she go to? Does she go to His biological brothers? No, she doesn't. We see right here verse 18, she went and announced to the disciples. So clearly those in view that He's saying what He's saying to are His followers, are His disciples, are the Christians.

This is for you and I. This is for us. And no doubt, Mary representing this to them in truths like Mark 3, my brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers for those who do my will, no doubt she could apply this to herself.

That I am the sister of the Lord. There's a real relationship here. And you can think all the more now that Christ has accomplished the cross. There is a sense through the Gospels of there's a progression here leading to it is finished.

And Christ is hinting at or more explicitly stating specific truths. And we kind of look at it after it's all been said and done. But there's certain truths Christ has been trying to tell the disciples and they've not fully grasped that.

Or He's had to repeat it again and He's had to state it again. But what a statement for Him to make to them. And what I want to consider is the point at which He makes this statement to me is incredibly meaningful.

After everything that's just happened to these disciples, for this to be the message that the Lord gives Mary to take to them, that I hope you will see in a little bit is very, very striking. So I want us to be gripped with this reality.

If you look at a few of the statements that are in this verse and what's being said, you see first, Jesus' relationship to God. And I know we know this, but just look what He says, I am ascending to My Father.

Right? This is His Father. The Father who sent the Son. It's been completed. Right? How long has Christ been gone from the Father? How long has He been gone from the glories above? Around 33 years. It's been done.

He's fulfilled all righteousness. He's completed the mission and He is going to ascend to His Father. And then you have Jesus' relationship to us. John 20, 17. But go to My brothers. And we saw it's the disciples.

He's calling His brothers. That's Jesus' relationship to us. He's our elder brother. You grew up wanting an older brother to look up to, you have it in Jesus Christ. Right? The perfect example. And then thirdly here, our relationship to God.

I'm going to My Father, Your Father, to My God and Your God. And so clearly, Christ here, in certain words, is speaking about the amazing grace that's brought us, basically stating we've been brought into the same position as the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ is very much relating to us right here. It's not just His Father. It's Your Father. It's not just me ascending. You're my brothers. It's not just my God. It's Your God. He's stating this in a striking, clear way after His resurrection, after He said it's finished, after all of their doubts, after all their denial, this is what He wants to communicate to them.

And you know, obviously, most people in our world, they think everyone is a child of God. They just have this idea we're all children of God. John is very clear, you're either a child of the devil or you're a child of God.

Most people in humanity are children of Satan, children of the devil. Their will is to do their Father's will. They've not experienced this adoption. We're among those few who can say our Father, as Jesus taught, how to pray our Father who art in heaven.

We've got a Father. We really are children of God. This isn't some hypothetical statement. And it's so direct here with what Christ says to them. And you go on from the Gospels, right? You've got this buildup in John where he finally uses this language.

And you've got it being spoken of in Matthew. You've got this idea of God being our Father. But what happens after Christ even ascends? You've got statements that are far more clear. They're much more clear.

Listen to Romans 8. For those He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son in order that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. Or Ephesians 1. In love, He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.

Paul is stating these things after it's all been finished. The cross work is done. And Paul is stating these things in such a clear, direct way. But when they heard this right here building up in the Gospel of John, what did they think of this?

When did it hit Peter? When did it hit these guys that God is their Father? We don't explicitly know. But what about you? Has it hit you that God is your Father? What happens when you actually adopt a child, right?

We've had people, they've adopted children. You might adopt a child. They might say, Daddy, to the father who's adopted them. But you're wanting something more than just addressing him as dad or father, right?

You want it to get to a point where that kid really realizes this is my father. I really am his child. We want the same thing as Christians. Christians, we want it to really hit home to us. And so, let's think first here about what Christ says when He states, I am ascending to My Father.

“Do Not Cling to Me”: Christ’s Ascension and Presence

So John 20, 17, Jesus said to her, Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to My brothers and say to them. So let's think about this first part of the verse right here. Christ's statement to her of not clinging to Him.

What's that about? What's going on there? Well, no doubt, He's trying to prepare her for His absence. This reunion that she has with the Lord. It's a momentary reunion. It's not going to last. He's resurrected.

This whole process of getting to His ascension has started. And in a way, He's saying to her, do not think, Mary, that by grasping hold of Me so firmly, you can keep Me with you always. Don't you remember what I already said?

In John 13, where I'm going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later. Christ's departing. They want to be with Him. They want to go with Him. Christ is saying to Mary, this former mode of fellowship, it's not going to be resumed.

It's not going to keep going. But Christ does have a message for her to take to the brothers. To express something to them that I would say it's far greater than clinging to Me now. It's kind of like the truths earlier in John about the Spirit coming and being given a Helper.

The disciples are trying to get their minds around these truths. Christ is departing. He's going to the Father. Oh, and that's our Father, and He's going to bring us to Him eventually. And then He's also saying I'm sending a Helper to be with you.

As much as we might comprehend this now, it wasn't that easy for them as they're hearing these things. And Christ hasn't yet died. It's all being lived out before them. They're facing trials, persecution.

At some point though, these truths are going to hit home in their heart. We need the same thing in our own lives as Christians. But the intimate relationship between Jesus and His Father, this language.

Jesus uses the possessive pronoun, My, when referring to His Father. Indicating His exclusive and separable connection with God. And you know what? He then turns around and says that's true of you. So you and me should be able to say the same thing.

My Father. My God. The same way Christ can confidently affirm that His Father is His Father, we should be able to say that as Christians about our Father and our God. And knowing Christ's desire is for us to come, not yet, but later at some point.

We need this reality in our lives. It's something I would say that's supernatural for God to make hit home in our heart. But here Christ is going back to His Father. The One who He was with. The One whom He left to come down.

And they had perfect fellowship for all of an eternity past. He left the glories above. What's Psalm 24 about? It's the ascension psalm. It's about Christ ascending. And it uses the language in there.

It says that when the King of glory comes back, it says the Lord what? Mighty in battle. Have you ever thought of that? Christ's life was a battle. And He was successful and mighty in battle. And He's accomplished the mission and He's going back to the Father.

And here He says this statement prior to that. I mean, there Christ, the Son of God, who just called from the cross, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Who was sent in God's predetermined plan to suffer and die for the sins of His people.

He's going back. He's leaving the disciples. He's going back. He will no longer have creatures spit on His face. No more will they take the rod and strike Him with the reed. You know what's going to happen?

He's going to return one day with a rod to judge His enemies. It says in Matthew, think of this, in Matthew it says some slapped Him. And imagine being one of those people who slapped the King of glory.

You kind of see it in a kid kind of gets in a fight maybe. Not my kids, I hope. And they go to slap another kid and the mother steps in the way and they accidentally slap their mom. And they're just so embarrassed.

They're so ashamed. These people, it wasn't an accident. It was intentional. The slapping, the mocking of Christ. These disciples are witnessing this. They're hearing Him say, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

And here we're at this point where it's happened. He's resurrected. And there's this short period before He ascends and goes back to His Father. And He's leaving these disciples. He's going back to that glory above.

It's incredible. But here we are. We're the other soldiers in the platoon and we've not completed our duty. We're not going with them. We're stuck here. We've got to remain. And we're losing our captain.

Christ’s Grace Toward Failed Disciples

And what just happened prior to this? Think of the blunders of the disciples. They did what? Peter denied Christ. Jesus says they all fled. What happened prior to the fleeting in the garden? They had the most important mission operation to get together and figure out what's going to happen to prey in the garden and what happened with the disciples.

They fell asleep. You're going to call Jesus. You're going to tell these people that Your Father is their Father. You're going to identify with them as your brothers. When they just fell asleep in a prayer meeting with you in your greatest hour of trial, they've just denied you.

They've just fled. Peter denies you before this girl. They totally don't understand your plan right. And they take a sword to cut a guy's ear off. And you have to heal the guy's ear back and stop him from being physically violent.

They don't even get what's happening. And you're now finished the mission. You're going to go back to your Father? Part of you would almost think, who cares about these unbelieving runts who weren't faithful to Me?

And that's not Christ's message. I mean, I've got a message I'm going to give to Mary to send to My disciples. What am I going to say to them? Well, you know, Mary, make sure when you get to Peter, really rebuke them.

I mean, yes, let Peter have it. Tell him, quote to him Revelation, the cowardly will have no place in heaven. Their place is in the lake of fire. Tell them this. Tell them that. That's not what happens.

I mean, if you were there and Mary gets there, and from John's perspective, such an emphasis on God the Father and the Son, and here at this point, in this Gospel, after over a hundred mentions, now it gets mentioned.

I'm not saying they didn't hear this language already in Mark's account and Matthew's account. I'm not saying that, but John emphasizes this reality right here in this verse. Go to My brothers and say to them, I'm ascending to My Father.

And then Mary looks and says, and He said to tell you guys, she probably wouldn't have said it like that, to your father. So right there you hear Christ say, you're My brother. And My Father is your Father.

That to me would be an incredibly encouraging statement to hear after everything they just went through to have that affirmed right there at that point. I don't see Christ trying to send a message to the disciples to reprove them right there.

It's rather a message of encouragement. It's a message of affirmation right before He's going to ascend at some point in the near future and this is being affirmed to those disciples. To me, that is an incredible statement.

Don't cling to Me. What about us? I'm going to your Father. Yes, I'm your brother. Have you not understood? Have I not been with you so long? I came to save you not just to forgive you legally, but you're a co-heir with Me.

Seated in the heavenlies. Have you not understood? He's your Father too. It's not just My Father. That's why I said to pray to your Father in heaven. Because He's yours. This is real. You really are adopted.

He really is your God. He really is your Father. At some point, it's got to click. If it hadn't already. What a message. Your Father. To put us on equal footing. You know, Wody Bauckham preaches a lot on adoption.

And you know they adopted multiple children. And he doesn't even like when people ask which children are adopted. He doesn't even want to answer that. Because he feels like it's making a distinction still between the biological and the adopted.

And he feels like that diminishes the reality of adoption. If there really are my child now through adoption, why am I going to keep segmenting them? You see what I'm saying? It was very impactful in the sermon I heard of his just trying to emphasize that reality.

We're co-heirs with Christ. It says it in Romans 8. We've got to believe that reality. So here Christ owns us as His brothers and affirms to us that His Father is your Father. He didn't shame Peter. And then when you see He gets there, the doors were locked.

Verse 19. Fear of the Jews. You know, Mary already affirmed to them these truths. They're still terrified enough to lock the doors. I'm not saying locking the doors is wrong. But Jesus came and He stood among them.

How is this happening? And look what He says to them here. Peace be with you. Where is Christ? Really scathingly reproving these men. He's not. I realize He says some things to Peter. But even with Thomas.

You get later down to Thomas. Thomas who wasn't there. And Thomas is saying, verse 26, eight days later, His disciples were inside again and Thomas is with them, although the doors were locked. Jesus came, stood among them and said, peace be with you.

Then He said to Thomas, put your finger here. Because Thomas had said, verse 25, unless I see His hands and mark of the nails and place my finger into the mark of the nails and place my hand into His side, I'll never believe.

What a statement! Christ is risen from the dead. Thomas has heard this and he's making a statement like that. How's Christ going to deal with that? Eight days later. His disciples were inside. Thomas is with them now.

And Jesus came again and look what He said. Peace be with you. The same statement. Apparently, somehow He knows about what was going on with Thomas. Because verse 27, Jesus takes initiative. And He said to Thomas, put your finger here.

See My hands. Put out your hand and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. Christ wants them. He's working with them to encourage them prior to His ascension. He wants them to not disbelieve, but to believe.

And honestly, these are incredible statements of peace. They're incredible statements of a gentle, loving Savior to His disciples at such a time where they have failed Him in so many ways. Christ is not letting that impact Himself in His treatment of these people, but He's seeking to be there as a support to them in what He says.

Gentle Restoration and the Family of God

And you see Thomas' response. My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him, have you believed because you've seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen Me and yet have believed. So you see Christ's treatment here?

I really appreciate this. And obviously, this is something we want to imitate. How do you handle those who are struggling as Christians? What does it say in Timothy? Restore them with a spirit of gentleness.

That's Galatians, I guess, right? Galatians 6. So we want to have this type of character of the Lord Jesus Christ in our treatment of people. Jesus can affirm to them with these possessive pronouns indicating how real this connection is.

And we want to be able to believe these things for ourselves. By referring to God as your Father, Jesus is affirming that the disciples now share a family relationship with Himself and with God. They're not merely servants, followers, friends.

Is John 15 that language is used? They're actually part of the same family. In that word, your, it denotes a personal, individual relationship between each disciple and God. It signifies that the disciples as individuals have a unique and personal connection with God the Father.

And this adoption is not based on any merit or achievement of our own. It's based on the perfect achievement of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we can see that just in the context of everything. We didn't read it, but what happened prior to this and the different failures of the disciples and their different unbelief.

And as I mentioned, adoption, people tend to blend adoption and justification together. That's not a good thing to do. Justification deals with the legal reality that we've been reconciled to God and we're declared legally righteous in a courtroom.

But our salvation goes far beyond being legally reconciled to God. Right? Where you view God as a judge and in His courtroom, we're legally declared righteous through Christ's righteousness. Amen. That's true.

But there's another reality that we are adopted. We are brought in as sons and daughters of God. And He actually wants to give us that assurance that we might cry, Abba, Father. He wants His Spirit who He's left with us to bear witness with our spirit that we're children of God.

You read in Romans 8. 16. You get assurance from the Word of God. You get assurance from believing the Lord, but there's also this subjective witness of the Spirit of God in the Christian's heart where there's this reality, kind of like what Alex even was sharing in the first hour where he read that verse in Isaiah and it's like it became known to him, I am the Lord's.

There's that assurance given. You're my child. The Bible speaks of that reality. So our captain, he was mighty in battle. We failed. We let our vehicle into an ambush. And we got out and we ran terrified.

And here, what does our captain do? He says, my Father, I'm going to Him and He's your Father too. Even though you guys just did everything you did, He's your Father. And He's my God and He's your God.

He associates with you. You're in the family. That's not been lost. All the more now it's going to be true with my ascension and the words, it's finished. This is all being brought about. These different truths, even different prophecies in the Old Testament that were spoken about.

It's all being completed here. Incredible. There's so much that could be said about the fatherhood of God. His tender care, His provision, His guidance toward His adopted children. It's amazing He doesn't shrink from identifying with us.

Christ was not forgetful of those He was leaving behind. He had, to me, such a good word to those He's about to leave behind. He's going to ascend. You can't sit there and hear what Mary relays and think, oh, He's forgotten about us.

Rather, it's affirmed to you the Lord knows us. And though He will now be rich when He ascends, we're going to remain poor. Right? We're still going to be here with our bodies of flesh. Though He'll be seated up there no longer despised, we're going to be despised here.

And right at this point, to use the words of the writer to the Hebrews, He was not ashamed to call us His brothers. Why would Hebrews 2 even state that? He was not ashamed to call us His brothers. You can be ashamed.

You want to identify with certain people, right? You feel that in your own life. There are certain people you don't want to identify with. Christ had a thousand reasons to not want to identify with us and He actually says, you're My brother.

And My Father is your Father. Hebrews 2 .11, For He sanctifies, He makes holy those who are made holy, all have one source. That is why He is not ashamed to call them His brothers. You know, when you think about family and everything, many older brothers, they stand between the affections of their father for the younger children.

Right? They want to engross the whole of the inheritance. They want to have those who are younger just be dependent and not be left as beggars. But Jesus pitied those who were less happy than Himself.

He pleaded for us. And He shares with us in our miseries. And He's determined to make us partakers of all His honors and riches. And He calls us co-heirs. I mean, that's just incredible. We've got the best elder brother possible.

Right? You know, when your parents die and you have all these siblings, what's going to happen with the resources and the inheritance? Is there going to be a fight? Is this going to split the family? And that happens on earth.

We're not going to struggle with that with the Lord. We should be incredibly grateful for our elder brother allowing us to be partakers with everything to be co-heirs. At this point, if you're one of the disciples, you're in that locked room, you've denied Christ, you've even wondered if this is all true, you're like Thomas.

I mean, your conscience must be in a sensitive and a convicted place. There's anxieties. These are Christ's words to you. I'm going to my Father. He's your Father. You're His child. Don't be scared. Don't be afraid to go to Him.

Own Him as your God. Own Him as your Father. Who else in the Bible treated His brothers in such a way after their great denial? Joseph. It's incredible. There's so many ways Joseph is a type of Christ.

Joseph as a Type of Christ

Just remarkable. He could have driven His brothers to despair, but He showed them great love and comfort at such a time. He said in Genesis 45, once He's revealed Himself, He's resurrected, right? He's basically resurrected in the sense they thought He was dead.

And He says don't be distressed. Don't be angry with yourselves because you sold Me, for God sent Me before you to preserve life. What a revealing of Joseph! What patience! What love! You know what? Joseph was a type of Christ, but I'll tell you this, Joseph was a man.

He was a man just like you and I. And we see Him in an hour of trial and how He's going to treat people who have miserably failed Him. We see Him through the power of God respond how you and I want to respond.