Our Father 3

Hello Everyone,

It is through Jesus, that we all become part of the family of God.

Paul reminds us in (Ephesians 2:12, 13, 18, and 19) that Gentiles:

"were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.... For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household"

Four things stand out in this passage.

First, apart from Christ, that is, until we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are "without hope and without God in the world."

God is the Creator of all, and every person is God’s creature.

But God can only be our Father and we can only become His children through Jesus Christ.

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

No one who has not experienced through faith the salvation provided by the death and resurrection of Jesus has the right to even begin this prayer and say "our Father."

Second, both Jews and Gentiles have access to God as Father now through Jesus Christ.

He died on the cross and shed His blood so barriers might be broken down and that both Jews and Gentiles might be brought into the one family with Jesus as our Elder Brother.

So all true believers have the right to call God "our Father."

Third, we have access to the Father "by one Spirit," the Holy Spirit.

He makes our relationship with God real.

In New Testament times Jewish believers cried out to God, Abba (Aramaic for "O Father").

Gentile believers cried out, "Ho Pater" (Greek for "O Father").

It was the Spirit who testified to both that they really were God’s children (Romans 8:15, 16).

It is still true that when we cry out to God as our Father, we are not just saying words.

The Holy Spirit still testifies with our spirit and makes us know that our relationship with God as our Father is real.

Fourth, we approach God, not just as individuals saying "my Father," but as members of the household or family of God saying "our Father."

Greater Things Are Still to Come!

Pastor Phil