He is My Brother's Father
/John 14:8-13 ESV
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
Hebrews 2:9-12
9 But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying,
“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
Hebrews 5:9-10
9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, 10 being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 2:14
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
Hebrews 2:17
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
My Brother’s Father
My main thought: I can’t know the Father except through the Son, and I can’t know the Son, who is the living word, unless the Holy Spirit reveal Him through the written word.
Intimacy with God. The closest model that we have is family, and more specifically the family of God/ the church is supposed to be the fulfillment of that on earth. Looking at Israel as a nation of families that serve God together and separate from the world around them and this looks so different compared to American families and even ones in the church.
An understanding of how important family is to God, results in an understanding of how important it is to know the heart of Jesus, so that I can know my Father. Some cultures vary slightly, but for the most part there is identity in our connection to our families. We see ourselves in light of family. I’m of the Hebert clan. My name is Matt Hebert and I am Jimmy’s boy. Biblically, it would sound like this: I’m from the tribe of Judah, a son of Jesse, my name is David.
I used to have an uncle that would introduce me to family members: this is a Molaison your 2nd cousin once removed. What does that even mean?
Identity- the fact of being who or what a person or thing is. Who are you? What are you?
People identify so many ways
How do we identify?
I am a son of the creator of the universe. I am set apart from the created world which is fallen in Adam. I am a new creation in Christ. Through faith I identify with Jesus. I am one with Him in His death, burial and resurrection. I have been born again. I am a new creation. My original identity was dead to God and alive to sin. My new identity is alive to God and dead to sin. I am a son of God, because I have been made accepted in His beloved Son (Ephesians 1:6). I am part of the family of God.
Family is a beautiful thing on earth because it is a reflection of the Father’s plan from heaven: Bridegroom, bride, offspring…
But earthly family, like everything else can take on something it was never intended to be. Even in the lives of church goers, the concept of family can become bigger than Christ in our lives. I love my family. But I cannot let my family get between me and Jesus. And if they do, He says I am not worthy of Him (Matt 10:37; LK 14:26-30).
This is not God’s definition of Biblical family
Mom’s—kids—soccer, swim, dance…
Women—how they are accepted within a larger group of women
Dad’s—provider—
Men—work (ethic) Colossians and Ephesians not with eye service, as men pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God
Kids—sports
Rudderless waves tossed on an ocean…
But let’s understand something our flesh, which is the remaining part of us that is still affected by the fall loves those things because they give us **recognition—and flesh will love a gospel that promotes these things.
In a world that is struggling with identity. Men that identify as women and vice versa. People that identify with the real Jesus are seen as weird, because it results in a denial of self while everyone else is being deceived to preserve self.
Everyone says, “I’m good with Him…” No, if our “old self” isn’t dying and Jesus isn’t being fashioned, we’re not okay with Him. The world is thrown into chaos, the church is thrown into chaos, families are thrown into chaos. Will the real Jesus please stand up. Could I please get a clear picture of the Lord, so I can know who I am, because I really need to know my Father?
John 1:18 KJV
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
John 1:18 NASB
No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
John 1:18 AMP
No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known].
John’s writings refer to God the Father over 110 times
Bosom— Deut 13:6 “The wife of your bosom”
Moses Numbers 11:12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers?
That is the best description, the intimacy of when a mother puts her baby to her bosom for feeding and nurture. The bosom is a place of closeness, intimacy and protection.
John 13:23
Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.
Through John, the Holy Spirit shows us something very important. Jesus was in the bosom of the Father and John made sure that he was in the bosom of Jesus.
John, through the Spirit, shows us that the only way to the bosom of the Father is to be close to the bosom of the Son. God reveals Himself to humanity through His Son. He is the Son of God for He is God born of God. He is the Son of man for He is God born of man. He is the only way that man can know God.
God is my Brother’s Father and because of the self denial of my brother God has become my Father too. I cannot know our Father except through my elder brother.
His Son is His beloved, and His beloved Son manifest the Father to a lost and dying world. He desires to see His Son..because His Son glorifies the Father. Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name [reputation/character] your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven….
John 17:4
I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.
John 17:6
“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
John 17:5
And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.
Now, He looks to His right and sees His only begotten unique Son. In ages past, He left that place of glory to become my brother, so that He could teach me about our Father…
Hebrews 2:14
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
Hebrews 2:17
Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
He became like me in physical flesh, so I could become like Him, renewed in spirit, and a partaker of His divine nature.
His Son brings Him joy. His Son brought His glory to this earth. God said, “As surely as I live the glory of the Lord will fill the earth (Numbers 14:21).” Joshua [Jesus]— the purpose of Joshua and Israel was to get us to the place where the world receives the Son.
Joshua was a man who refused to allow wickedness to rule God’s earth and stop God’s plan.
Joshua 24:14-15
Choose Whom You Will Serve
14 “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
How He longs to look upon the earth and to see His sons bearing the image of His Son. How else will this earth be filled with His glory on this side of the Millennial reign unless His Sons bear the image of His only begotten Son?
What does He see when He is looking for His Son:
Isaiah 66:2
…but to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembleth at my word.
Matt 5:3 …blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God
He looks upon the earth for to see His Son:
John 5:19
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
He listens to the conversations of men hoping to hear the voice of His Son
John 12:49
For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
Paul said:
Galatians 4:19
My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,
1 John 3:2-3
2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
2 Corinthians 6:17-18
17 Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
18 and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Colossians 1:13
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
Philippians 2:15 Unmixed
that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Conclusion
In this relationship, my brother sits me down. I have not been able to shake this thought from my mind all week. You can’t get a better illustration to describe what I’m trying to say in this message than this. My elder brother is Jesus and I am an adopted son. 5 times in the New Testament the terminology adoption as sons is used. He [Jesus] is the natural born Son of God. He is the elder and I am the younger. He knows my Father, and I desperately need to know Him. He sees my struggles in the relationship that I am having with our Father.
So He sits me down and teaches me the things that I don’t know, but it’s those things that He has learned from His closeness to our Father. He speaks to me the words He heard from the bosom of His Father, and through His word, and the intimacy I have with the Spirit, through the cross, I learn what pleases my Father.
The Father is pleased with His beloved
Isaiah: it pleased the Father to bruise Him