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May 06, 2024Sons Becoming Like Our Father
Sons Becoming Like Our Father
Introduction: Romans 8:12-17 expresses the benefit and challenge of becoming “sons of God.”
As seen in our earthly families, there are immense advantages to “family” and immense benefits to becoming a heir.
This is also seen in our spiritual life as sons of our Father. We were not brought into his family as slaves, but adopted as sons & daughters, having all the full rights and benefits that would be given to a natural born child.
But as is seen in verse 17, to be brought into God’s family is just like being adopted to any family. Yes, there are amazing benefits, but as a family, we are called to participate in the work and purposes of the family head. Therefore, if we are to be glorified with him, we will also suffer with him.
Our Purpose as Sons of Our Father
“Sons of God” in the heavenly realm
Deut. 32:8-9 The Lord placed angels (or spiritual beings) over the nations and called them “sons of God.” We also see this in Daniel 10
Job 1:6, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themself before the Lord, and Satan (Accuser) also came among them.” In this case, we even see these sons of God gathered in a type of council giving a report to God.
Psalm 82 describes a similar council, calling it a “divine council.” In this case, we see those within the council who have not kept their charge before the Lord. This reminds us of Daniel 10 and the angel of the Lord mentioning his battle with the prince of the kingdom of Persia and the future battle with the prince of the kingdom of Greece.
Let’s stop and make a couple quick conclusions:
The fact that these beings are called sons of God indicates that their existence and purpose is defined as image-bearers of God. This is even evident in the Psalm 82 text in which the Lord condemned them for failing to reflect and teach about God to the nations.
The heavenly realm existed before the creation of the heavens and earth. In that heavenly realm, we get glimpses of how God ordered his spiritual universe. God did not just “do” everything by himself. In other words, he didn’t always just “speak” and it happened, like in the Creation story. Spiritual beings were created to participate in God’s work in the heavenly realm.
Now transition to the creation of our earthly realm (Genesis 1:27-28). It would seem that when God created the heavenly places, he also had in mind an eventual “expanded dwelling place” and a new creation. We also were made in the image of God. We also were given a high calling, not only multiplying the image of God throughout the world, but also having dominion over the world.
Though through sin we fracture ourselves as image-bearers, the Lord was determined to bring us back into his image. Romans 8:14-15 tells us, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not received the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba Father!’”
Therefore, we are immediately able to see our similarity in this earthly realm in comparison the angelic beings in the heavenly realm. In speaking of our creation and our ultimate purpose, Hebrews 2:5-10 explains that we have been given dominion over the world to come, and that even though we have not yet attained that position, Jesus is leading us to the same glory and honor as he received. But the path to the goal is through suffering.
Why suffering? The creation of the earthly realm obviously did not sit well with Satan and a host of angels who have followed him. Thus, “there was war in heaven” (Rev. 12:7). Satan was determined to destroy God’s new creation. Thus God appointed us to show his manifold wisdom by our fidelity to him no matter how severe our suffering from the result of Satan and sin. Therefore in Hebrews 2:11, we are told that for this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call us “brothers.” To bring about victory with our Savior, we will gladly share in his suffering.
Therefore, we are “sons of God” in regard to our position as image-bearers, but also “brothers” in that we participate with him in suffering so that his work in this world bears fruit (Isaiah 49:6-8).
Divine Power to Make Us Sons of Our Father (2 Peter 1:3-4)
Peter begins his second letter by immediately making the connection with the same purposes we have previously seen. Through God’s divine power, he “called us to his own glory and excellence.”
He has also “granted to us his precious and very great promises” (to say the least!!), so that we can “become partakers of the divine nature.” Do you recall the “divine council” of Psalm 82:1? Again we see God making us sons like him in order to participate with him in his purposes. “Partakers of the divine nature!” Who can grasp the thought? It is a pursuit above all pursuits!
Therefore, when we think of ourselves as sons becoming like our Father, we must reconfigure the way we consider the reason for being born again or born from above.
We must not simply think in terms of us becoming better people, better Christians, better fathers of our own children. Those goals are certainly important but only when they are seen in how we practice and grow to the greater purpose of reflecting God’s image and preparing for the future goal of the world to come. God’s purpose for us is glory and honor, not becoming “Dad of the year.”
Please consider Peter’s contrast to being a person sharing in the divine nature. 2:12 “irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed.” They are like Balaam (2:15-16), dumber than a speechless donkey. This is simply more evidence of what we become when our pursuit is not becoming sons of our Father.
Becoming Sons of Our Father (2 Peter 1:5-11)
Please note some of the key words in the text:
Vs. 5: “make every effort…”
Vs. 8: “yours and increasing”
Vs. 10: “be all the more diligent”
Partaking of the divine nature; becoming like our Father:
Virtue relates directly to the characteristic of God already mentioned in vs. 3. It means “excellence” or “goodness.” It is an excellence of character or moral excellence that is seen in how we live our daily lives.
Knowledge: Not just knowledge of the Word, but knowledge that brings us to know God. God supplied us with a book that one can study for a lifetime and not learn it all or see it all; there is still more to understand. And yet, how many Christians remain satisfied with the basics?
Self-control is the foundational quality of a person who is mature. Self-control has to do with what we do with food, with our tongue, with possessions, with sexual desire, with our emotions, with our work, and with our time. A person who lacks self-control is doomed. A self-controlled person does not allow his feelings and urges to control him. He is able to say, “No.” He is disciplined.
Endurance/steadfastness is the ability to bear up in the face of difficulty. One is able to remain steadfast whether he is dealing with persecution or dealing with the constant pressures of temptation. He does not give in to the fleshly desire to relax and quit.
Godliness is a loyalty toward God so that a person is fully conscience of God’s presence at all times and responds accordingly. Godliness is a mind and a life that is the opposite of the ways of the world.
Brotherly affection is a love of family members and thus a love of brethren, our spiritual family. Peter has already gone to great lengths to stress this: “love one another fervently from a pure heart.” This is the most important command that Jesus left His disciples (Jn. 13:34), and yet it is repeatedly violated.
Love: Jesus defined love when he sacrificed his life so all could be saved. This may be the one command in which we are most lacking, and yet it is the primary description of being God’s image-bearers. We do not involve ourselves in the lives of others so we can share Jesus with them. “Love” lays down his life, as John says (1 Jn. 3:16).
Conclusion: God made a heavenly realm and then expanded his dwelling place in an earthly realm. The time will come when God merges these two realms together (Eph. 3:10). In both realms, God created sons of God, those who would reflect him and bring about his purposes. And in both realms rebellion marred God’s creation. But when God created us as his sons, he also created us to be crowned with glory and honor and have “dominion over the world to come.” He said we would even judge angels (1 Cor. 6:3). Now, are we living up to the title sons of God?
Berry Kercheville
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55 min
May 06, 2024 Our Patient Father
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48 min
May 05, 2024 Our Providing Father
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43 min
May 05, 2024 Our Father Who Disciplines
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1 hr 6 min
May 05, 2024 Our Gentle Father
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51 min
May 05, 2024Child Baptism
Child Baptism
This is not about figuring out a specific age. Questions we need to answer:
Is there is authority in scripture for baptizing a child?
“Is there any need for a child to be baptized?
“Does a child have the ability and maturity to understand what is the true meaning of baptism?
Why are the majority of children who grow up on the pew worried about their “sins” and desiring to be baptized?
Let’ begin with the “simple” texts and principles:
Acts 8:12 Men and women were baptized after believing “the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.
” If you were asked to explain the “good news (gospel) of the kingdom” and the “name” of Jesus, how would you answer?
Acts 8:35 Before the eunuch was baptized, Philip “preached Jesus to him.” I think we would all admit there is a tendency, especially in youth, to just “believe in baptism.” (And yes, this is happened entirely too much with adults.)
Since baptism is “for the forgiveness of sins,” a primary question would be, “Is a child accountable for their “sins?” Or, “Can we even say that God even calls the faults of children “sin?”
Romans 7:5-9
Deuteronomy 1:39
Question: What was expected of people in the first century to believe before they were baptized?
We must be careful to not expect a mature knowledge of scripture? Cf. Acts 2:38-39.
Is there a difference between knowing facts and knowing Jesus? Cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34
Even simpler question: What does it take to have faith?
It takes evidence (Romans 10:17)
Belief in the resurrection
How does the death and resurrection of Jesus affect one’s understanding of baptism? (Romans 6:3-4; Col. 2:11-12; 1 Peter 3:21
Discipleship principles that need to be understood?
John 3:5
Luke 14:26-33
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45 min
May 05, 2024 Special Servants
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45 min
May 05, 2024Revelation 7: Saints Sealed & The Great Multitude
Sealed Saints & A Great Multitude
Revelation 7
Introduction: Over 600 years has passed since an angel told Daniel to “shut up the words and seal the scroll until the time of the end” (12:4). When the Lamb took the scroll out of the hand of the one who sits on the throne, all heaven, earth, and those under the earth exploded in praise and joy to finally learn the outcome of Daniel’s scroll.
In chapter 6, the Lamb opened the first six seals of the scroll revealing coming judgments on the powers persecuting and killing God’s saints.
As we approach chapter 7 and await the opening of the seventh seal (ch. 8), we need to keep in mind that the opening of the seals and the judgments they reveal are not intended to be chronologically timed events. From the perspective of the original hearers, these were future events, future judgments on those who persecute them. It is enough to know that they will happen. It was not necessary to know “when,” except to know that John was told these things “must soon take place” (1:1).
144,000 of Israel Sealed
To prepare ourselves for God’s servants being sealed, note 6:9-11. Those who had been killed for the word of God and their testimony ask how long before the blood is avenged. They are told to rest a little longer until more of their fellow servants are killed. Then the future judgment scene of 6:12-17 is revealed. But before God’s judgment takes place, the saints must be protected.
Now look carefully at 6:17 and the question: the great day of the wrath of the God and the Lamb has come, “and who can stand?” Compare this to 7:9: after the saints are sealed, a great multitude are standing before the throne. The question is answered. Those who can “stand” are those who serve God and are clothed in white robes.
Therefore, chapter 7 should be seen as parenthetical, a pause in between the sixth and seventh seal. The Lord promised the Christians at Philadelphia that he would “protect them from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.” This would explain the “sealing” of the saints.
7:1-3
“Four angels holding back the four winds of heaven” refer the coming judgments. The four winds are also seen in Zechariah 6:5 and were used to punish the nations of the north who had troubled Israel. The angels are restraining these judgments until the saints can be sealed
The sealing of the saints is parallel to Ezekiel 9 when God prepared to destroy Jerusalem and the nation but first protected the righteous: “Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand…And the LORD said to him, ‘Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.’ And to the others he said in my hearing, ‘Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.’ So they began with the elders who were before the house” (Ezekiel 9:4–6).
Therefore, the sealing is a sign of ownership and protection. Later in 9:4, when a locust plague is announced, they are told to “harm only those who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.” Paul said when we come to Christ, “we are sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).
7:4-8
The number sealed is 144,000. The number is not literal, otherwise we would have to identify them as only 12,000 ethnic Jews from 12 tribes of Israel. Further, you will notice that there is a “tribe of Joseph” but no tribe of Dan (possibly because Dan was not an exemplary tribe). Instead, the number is figurative of the perfect number of the saved, a multiple of 10 (power) and 12 (religious).
Remember, in verse 3, those who are being sealed are the servants of God.
Someone may say, what about those who have already been martyred or who have died in Christ? The answer is in the follow section.
The Great Multitude (7:9-17)
The description of the multitude indicates they have already won the victory. They have conquered and proof of their victory is that they are clothed in white robes with palm branches in their hands – a reference to palm branches carried during the feast of Tabernacles that signified celebration and rejoicing (Lev. 23:40-41).
Ultimately, this group is not necessarily different from the perfect number of the saved (144,000), but simply a different perspective of how this same group will be rewarded. Therefore, 144,000 are the perfect number of saved who are spiritually sealed/protected. The great multitude are proof that once the tribulation was over, the saved were protected and victorious.
Verses 10-12 Join the 24 elders and the living creatures around the throne praising God! These victorious saints give glory and honor to God and to the Lamb for the salvation they have received.
Verse 13: “Who are these…” “The ones coming out of the Great Tribulation.” This phrase is used only one other time in scripture to describe a broad judgment, and that was predicted by Jesus concerning Jerusalem/Israel in Matthew 24:21, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.”
This is exactly what Daniel predicted concerning Jerusalem/Israel in 12:1, “And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people will be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book.”
Therefore, the great multitude are those who endured faithfully through the great tribulation (destruction of Jerusalem/Israel and the affect that had on the whole world) and are now dead either by martyrdom or being faithful until and including death.
If we wonder why the fall of Jerusalem/Israel would affect Christians in other parts of the empire, while we do not have much in terms of secular historical records, consider Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7:29-31, “This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now one, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.” (About 55 AD)
Therefore, whatever the details are, it is clear that for Christians anywhere in the empire, the world was about to change for the worse so remarkably that Paul urged the Corinthians not to marry!
Victorious Saints Before the Throne
What comfort to read of what these victorious saints are experiencing! All of their suffering was worth it.
Look at the blessings of conquering and overcoming:
“Before the throne of God” Access into the very presence of God.
“Serve him day and night in his temple” What an honor!
God will “shelter them with his presence” No evil can touch them.
No more hunger, thirst, sun striking them, or scorching heat. They have come into God’s paradise. It is perfect.
“The Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd guiding them to springs of living water.” Abundant life.
“God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” The typical trials and pain of this life is all over. There is complete comfort in the presence of God.
Conclusion: As we have seen time and again in Revelation. We have two choices. There are two kingdoms: the kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God and Christ. There is no in between. We cannot be Lukewarm Laodicea, or Sleeping Sardis, or “Immoral Thyatira.”
Berry Kercheville
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37 min
May 02, 2024 Zechariah Chapter 6
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45 min
April 28, 2024 The Sacrificial Disciple
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56 min