Human beings search tirelessly to discover who they are, but Scripture reveals that true identity is found only in relationship with God as His children. Through Christ, believers are not merely forgiven but adopted, receiving His Spirit to cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Father loves, provides, and leads, and His children are called to depend, follow, and radiate His glory. To know oneself rightly is to see ourselves through the eyes of the loving Father and then live as those made new in the Son.

Automatically Generated Transcript

[00:00:00] Hello, my name’s Joseph. Jared referred to me as Joey. Some people call me Joe. You can call me whatever you like. In my house, I get called Kip, so do with that what you will. Jim’s away on pastor’s retreat. The question that comes from that is, what’s he retreating from? I guess it’s all of us. What I want to talk to you about this morning is about a new identity. It’s up on the screen. I think in our world, people are searching for their identity. We have schools full of young people who don’t know who they are. Universities full of people looking for their identity, trying to find their place in the world. And as you grow up a little bit, you end up finding out that your whole life is a search for purpose and meaning. You’re looking for your identity.

[00:00:58] You’ll see the little picture on the screen from The Lion King. Just a show of hands, who’s seen The Lion King? The original, I mean, not the remake. Pretty much everyone, that’s good. So I’ll assume you know the story. Simba is the prince lion of the pride. His dad, Mufasa, the pseudo king, who dies. And Simba runs away, and he’s lost, looking for his identity. And in the movie, sort of the climax of the film is this great scene where Simba is in the wilderness, lost, and he sees in his reflection his father, and then his father appears in a cloud. It’s a little bit mystical and weird. But Mufasa appears in a cloud and says to him, Simba, you’ve forgotten who you are, and so forgotten me. We, like Simba, can lose sight of

[00:01:53] our identity. That’s what I want to talk about today. The father’s identity and your identity go together. Fortunately for us, Disney isn’t the only place you might find out something about yourself. The scriptures have a lot to say to us about it too. And so what we’re going to do today, and also next week, is look at how God sees us. This Sunday morning really is an introduction for next week, so come along then too. But today we have the passage which Jared read for us from Galatians chapter 4, verse 4 to 7. I’ll read it again. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you

[00:02:48] are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave but a son, but a son. And if a son, then an heir with God. I think the passage is pretty straightforward. Jesus, the Son of God, sent into the world, born of a woman, Mary, born under the law, to redeem those under the law. That is, everyone. And he could redeem us because he also was born under the law. His identity as a Son of God was added to being a Son of Man. So he becomes both God and man. That was who Jesus was and is. And he went to the cross, as we remember in communion, to redeem those under the law. That’s you and me. Something that was only possible because he was also under the

[00:03:45] law and he was perfect. That’s why he could redeem us from under the law. And so he offers redemption and the forgiveness of sins. That’s what it says. He can redeem those under the law. But it’s a little bit more than that. You’re not just redeemed. He also offers that you might receive adoption as a son or a daughter. And even more than that, he also offers the spirit of his Son to come and live in your heart and to give you an inheritance as an heir of God. It’s a pretty good deal. But what I want to talk about this morning is the picture of a father and a son. I feel it’s topical for Father’s Day. God is a father and we are called to be his sons and daughters, his children. It’s something that we should be looking at when we try and find our identity. You are, can be, if you would

[00:04:49] receive Christ, a child of God. It’s pretty plain that what Jesus and what God the Father wants is to adopt you as his son. And I think the best way that we might find out a little bit about ourselves in this picture is to look at how God the Father relates to Jesus, his first only begotten son. Their father-son relationship is a major emphasis of the Gospels. You will actually find, if you look it up, that in John’s Gospel, the words, my father, Jesus referring to God the Father appear more than 30 times. And in fact, God is referred to as Father in the Gospel of John more than twice as many times as all the forms of the word love. The fatherhood of God is an essential part of the Gospel and it’s something I’m hoping we can get a little handle on

[00:05:49] this morning. I’ve just got three, I hope, pretty simple points about Jesus and his sonship and God the Father and his fatherhood. The first is that the father loves and gives or provides and the son receives. This passage is Matthew 3, 16 to 17. I’m sure many of you know the story, the events that are happening. Jesus is about to begin his ministry journey and he goes to see John the Baptist to be baptized. And this is what it says. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending on him like a dove and coming to rest on him. And behold, a voice from heaven said, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. It’s a picture of a proud father. In fact, it’s showing off. God puts on this big

[00:06:58] display on Jesus in front of people. He’s a proud father showing his love for his son. The father loves. But it’s not just a mushy love. It’s a love of provision. You see the Spirit of God descending on him like a dove. And if you keep reading the story, Jesus then goes out into the wilderness and is tempted by the devil. And he’s equipped for that tempting by the presence of the Spirit on him. And he would go on being equipped for his whole life by the Spirit of God. The Father loves and that love leads to provision. And what you see Jesus do is faithfully receive what the Father provides. He with open hands receives what God has given to him and he just receives it. It is what it means to be a child. In our country anyway, the government would refer to children as dependents. I have one

[00:08:07] dependent, my son. He is totally dependent on what me and Nicola give him. We go home this afternoon, who’s going to make his lunch? It’s not him. It’s true also for you all. After church, you might want a cup of coffee. You’re going to be dependent on whoever’s there at the machine to make one for you. That is what it means to be a child. And you and I are called to be children of God in the same way. That is to just depend on him, to receive what he gives. The Father is delighting to give to the Son and the Son is delighting to receive. In our Galatians 4 passage, I might just go back and put up, we see these words that Jared mentioned earlier too. God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our

[00:09:07] hearts crying, Abba, Father. Now Abba is not just a band. It’s an Aramaic word which means father or dad. And actually it’s an affectionate term, something that little kids would call their dad. The picture is like you get home from work and your kids run to the door and say, Dada, Father. That’s the picture you should have in your mind when you read that. And the sentiment shows a certain closeness that you should relate to God in that way as a small child. That’s what it means to depend on him. The Father’s provided for you and me a way to know him through what Jesus did on the cross. And what it means to be a child of God is to receive it, not to be more than that, just to depend on what he gives. That’s point number one. Are you following so far? Does that make sense? Good.

[00:10:22] Father loves and gives, the Son receives. The Father loves and leads, the Son imitates and follows. This is John chapter 5. I hope you can read it on the screen, but I’ll read it for you anyway. Now, this was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, that’s Jesus, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own father, making himself equal with God. 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. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him so that you may marvel. There is not a

[00:11:16] shortage of examples in the New Testament where Jesus explains that what he’s all about is just doing what the Father has told him to do. If you read John’s Gospel it’s very repetitive in that sense. Jesus has come to earth and he is just following what God the Father is doing through him. The leading of a father and the following of a son. In our passage here Jesus, you’ll see at the beginning, the Jews are seeking to kill him because firstly they think he’s breaking the Sabbath and secondly he’s calling God his own father. And his response is to say yes, God is my father and I’m just doing what he tells me. In fact, I don’t do anything without the Father and I always am acting in concert with him. It shouldn’t be lost on you and me either that again God the Father tells us that he loves the Son

[00:12:15] and his love not only provides but it also leads. It’s something that perhaps we as fathers ought to see too that God the Father’s love is about including Jesus in what he’s doing. When you’re a father, that’s a pretty good lesson to include your children in what you’re up to. That’s a part of loving them. It’s a love that’s rooted in leadership and the faithful obedience of the Son to what the Father leads him into. You and I should see ourselves in the same way. Being a child of God means firstly that God the Father will show you what he’s up to and secondly you’re expected to follow along with it to get on board with what he’s doing just like Jesus. Matthew 7 tells us Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my Father

[00:13:14] who is in heaven. What it means to be a child of God is to act are in concert with what the Father’s doing to do his will. That’s part of being a child being obedient That’s number two Number three The Father speaks from glory and the Son reveals and radiates God the Father is in the business of speaking to people That’s true in the whole Bible and it’s certainly true now Hebrews 1 tells us Long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom also he created the world He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature and he upholds the universe by the word of his power

[00:14:15] After making purification for sins he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high having become as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs God the Father speaks to people In the past he spoke by the prophets of the Old Testament but now he’s spoken by his Son Indeed the Son is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature I’ve always been drawn to the word radiance I have a background in chemical engineering and heat transfer is interesting to me and that word radiance comes from a principle of heat transfer if it’s been a while since you were in a high school science class I’ll give you a refresher There are three types of heat transfer. The first is conduction. Solids conduct heat. That’s why when you take a hot pan out of the oven,

[00:15:18] you should wear some insulating oven mitts. Otherwise, you’re going to get burnt. Then there is convection, which is where the flow of liquid or gas aids heat transfer. That’s why your oven has a fan in it to cook things more quickly. And the third is radiation or radiance, which is when a hot object emits electromagnetic radiation, which warms up the things around it. That’s how the sun warms up the earth. That’s why a fire warms you up when you stand near it. Radiance or radiation. Our passage tells us that Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God. The very way in which the Father’s glory comes to the world, to us, is by his Son, Jesus. The force that brings the revelation of God is Jesus. That’s why he came. And it’s an important principle. The Bible tells us, and Matt explained to us earlier,

[00:16:28] that we’re separated from God by our sins. There is a big gap between us, the world, and him. He is perfect. We are not. In fact, our world is a dark place, and it seems to get worse and worse. Certainly, it’s a long way from the perfection of God. But God has made a way for us to know him, his glory, that is, by radiation from his Son. The Son brings the glory of God to us. Jesus himself said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you do know him, and you have seen him. Jesus reveals God the Father. It’s not a complicated thing to think about, but it is very important. You can know the Father because you can know Jesus. His glory comes to us in Jesus. And when you and I are adopted as children,

[00:17:40] we are called to join in this radiating of God’s glory. Jesus himself put it like this. You, he’s talking to the disciples, are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but rather on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. It’s a pretty simple passage. Jesus wants you to get on board with sharing the Father’s glory. It’s a glory so great that it should be shared like light. You don’t hide a light. You put it up in the roof so it lights up the whole room. God wants you to be doing the same thing, to be sharing his glory with others. That’s part of what it means to be his child.

[00:18:49] So those are those three things. The Father loves and he gives. The Son imitates and follows. The Father speaks from glory and the Son is the radiance of his glory, the revelation of God, the Father. That’s how Jesus the Son relates to God, the Father. And there are more things you could say about it too. I’ve just picked three. I hope simple ones that make good sense. But it gives you a little picture of the Father’s relationship with Jesus. And that Father-Son-ness of the two of them should be also central for you and me. You can only know who you really are when you see yourself the way God sees you. That’s what our Galatians passage is all about. We were all created by God and that’s your first step in your identity with him. He defines who you are because he made you. You’re a creature created by God.

[00:20:13] That’s step one. But the truth of the gospel is that that’s not just the only way God relates to you anymore. When you receive Christ, your identity can be changed. As we read in our passage, redeeming those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent his spirit of his son into your hearts crying, Abba, Father. In truth, the identity of a child of God is Christ’s identity. And that’s what he offers you. If you’ve been coming to a church for a while, you would have probably heard the term substitutional atonement. People at theology school talk about it a lot. It just means Jesus’ death on the cross is a substitute for yours. And you can have your sins forgiven because of what he did. What I’m talking about this morning is having a substitutional identity.

[00:21:18] Having your position before God changed because of what Jesus has done. You and I are invited to receive the sonship of Jesus. Of course, he is special as the only begotten son of God. He’s not just only a son of God like you and me. He’s the real son of God and God himself. But in him, he invites you and I to receive his sonship. That’s what our passage is saying. By receiving Christ in your life, you receive his identity before God the Father. That’s why earlier in Galatians, Paul will say, I’ve been crucified with Christ. It’s no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. A Christian’s identity should be one which can say those very words too. It’s no longer me, but Christ in me.

[00:22:35] Forevermore a child of God because of the presence of his eternal Son, Jesus. In our world today, identity or status is something you earn. In a school, you’ll be told that you need to put on your best self. You’ve got to work hard to be presented well. Who you are is something you’re told to work towards. We wear nice clothes. We drive nice cars. We live in nice houses because we want to look the part. You put on a good display so that people will see your best self. We spend a lot of our lives worried about how other people see us about our identity in front of others. And we in Christian life, in Christendom here, we fall for the same trap. We work really hard to put on a good display. Whether that’s even doing good things like standing up here and talking to you or serving up the back or doing whatever it is,

[00:23:47] we want people to see us as someone special. But God is not really interested in that. What God wants to see when he looks at you is his son. A child. Not because of the good things you do, but simply because you’ve received Christ, his identity. The sonship of Jesus can become yours when you receive him. It’s really about him, his identity before God. And the more you receive of him, the more you let go of trying to be a better you, the more God can make you something new. My dad always says he didn’t come to make you a better you, he came to make you new, different because of Christ. if I put my points back up. The more Jesus is your identity, the more those things will be true in your life. the more you receive him, the more you’ll know the Father, the more you’ll know his love, his provision, his leadership, and his speaking in your life. And the more

[00:25:13] you’ll be able to be like his son, Jesus, the more you’ll be able to receive what he gives to follow his leading and to radiate his glory. When you receive Christ, you can become a child just like him. Let me pray. Father, I want to thank you that you invite us to call you Father. Abba, Father. And would you help us to really understand what it means to be sons and daughters of God? Help us to receive, to follow, and to reflect your glory. And would you help us to see ourselves the way you see us? In Jesus’ name, amen. Amen. Amen.