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THE FATHERHOOD
OF GOD
Letting Who He is Become Who We Are
"For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." - Ephesians 3:14, 15
Paul told us in the book of Ephesians, "Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children" (Eph 5:1). The Greek word for followers is MIMETES. It's where we get the word imitate or to mimic. Many of the different translations speak of it on this wise. The Amplified Bible reads: "Therefore, be imitators of God (copy him and follow his example) as well beloved children imitate their father." One of the great truths associated with this statement is the fact that with God being our father, it should be natural for us to act like him, especially knowing that we have his spiritual genes within our born again nature.
There are many different references, within the scriptures, that encourage us to be like our father. For instance, in the previous chapter, Paul says, "And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32). That should be just as normal and natural for us to do as it is for him to do. That is so powerful to realize that what he is capable of doing is a part of what we have in us, and how we are to follow after him as our example. Peter writes: "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation" (1 Pet. 1:15). In other words, we are to take our position in life from how he lives. We are to act like him. We are to talk like him. We are to walk like him.
If God is called the Father of glory, then should it not naturally fall within our grasp to expect our lives to be one that bears his glory?
Folks should be able to look at our lives and see the same spirit that our heavenly Father has. It should be just like when Jesus said to Philip: "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me? He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, show us the Father?" (John 14:9). One of the greatest compliments a person can pay a father is to say to him, "Boy, I sure do see a lot of you in your son or in your daughter!" It can be very touching to know that the same attributes you have tried to exemplify are now being lived out in your children. How much more should that be so when it comes to us letting God's attributes shine through us?
When Paul prayed for the church of Ephesus he called the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory. When you understand the role of a father you begin to see how God is not only the one who begets us, but he is also the one who nurtures and mentors us after his likeness. In fact, in our original creation we were made in his image, after his likeness (Gen. 1:26). How much more should that mean to us now that we are born of him? The very same characteristics that we see of him should be what we seek to develop each and every day we live down here below.
Think about this: If he is called the Father of glory, then should it not naturally fall within our grasp to expect our lives to be one that bears his glory? After all, is not the gospel called the glorious gospel of Christ? And it is not also true that we are now called the "sons of glory?" (Heb. 2:10). Why should we not take this to the next level and accept the fact that if sin was the cause for us falling short of the glory, and Christ came to deal with the sin issue, that we take our rightful place and live a life not only capable of experiencing the glory, but one that continually draws from the glory of our Father; that is, to the point where his glory now shines on us, in us, and through us?
Let's not make the same mistake so many others have made is relegating a life of glory to when we get to heaven, when we should be embracing what has been fathered into us through the new birth, expecting to be changed from glory to glory now, in this life, so as to live a life of transformation that identifies us as being bone of his bone, and flesh of his own flesh.
PRAYER
Father, today I expect to see all that you are surface in me. I pull on the power of that divine nature to find expression in my walk, in my talk, and in all that I deal with today. I will act like you my Father, because I am begotten of you. What is in you is now in me. I am your child, and all that I possess I purpose to give sway to, so that I reflect your life and glory in the way I live my life for you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
CONFESSION
I confess today that I am a son of glory. The same life that is in my heavenly Father is now in me, and it is just as natural for me to live and walk in the glory as it is for my Father in heaven. Therefore, I will imitate God in all his mighty attributes. I will be a person of mercy. I will be a person of love. I will live holy. I will be perfect even as my Father in heaven is perfect. This is who he is, and this is who I am!
DEFINING MOMENTS...
The more I know who God is the more I understand who I am to be. There is a place in our Christian walk where we so identify with being born of God that it becomes natural for us to act like him. I fully expect my life to take on his attributes. In fact, I should be able to say just as Jesus said, "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father!" What better legacy can we leave behind us than for folks to know us as a person who patterned their whole life after God? This is our first and truest destiny...taking our fatherhood from the one through whom all fatherhood derives its purpose and meaning.
In His Grace,
Pastor David
Faith Harvest Church
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