(#1558) Day 4. Jesus Knew God As Father - So Can I (14/9/26)
Welcome to this Come to Jesus Daily Devotional (currently posted on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) as we continue our 9-week series: Fresh Vision From Jesus' High Priestly Prayer from John 17.
To watch this devotional, go to:
Please read John 17:1-5
There are, currently, 3.2 million lone-parent families in the UK. About 85% of lone-parent families are headed by mothers and 15% by fathers. No family is perfect, no parent is ideal, and we all carry - to a greater or lesser degree - wounds from our family background.
Our culture has much to say about understanding and managing the wounds of our past. While there can be real wisdom in that, God's answer goes far deeper. His desire is not simply to help us cope with our past but to bring us into a living relationship with Himself. Knowing God as our Father is one of His greatest gifts and the surest source of healing, security, identity, and joy.
My own father died when I was fifteen. With no mother at home either, the years that followed were something of a bumpy journey. Yet it was through that loss and hardship that I came to know Jesus Christ. God truly does work all things together for good (Romans 8:28).
Coming to know God as my Father has been the greatest joy of my life and the deepest strength of my soul. His love has given me an identity that circumstances could never provide, a security that loss could never take away, and a hope that has never failed. Jesus lived in the constant joy of knowing His Father, and through Him, we are invited into that same relationship.
As Jesus begins His High Priestly Prayer, He prays to His Father:
‘“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”’ (John 17:1)
Knowing God as Father - adoption by God - is the highest privilege for the Christian. John writes:
‘See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.’ (1 John 3:1)
Tim Chester writes on this so movingly:
‘The author and theologian Russell Moore describes how he was struck by the terrible, poignant silence of the Russian orphanage. Children learn not to cry out when no one comes to them—when no one cares for them. For a week Moore and his wife played with their two future sons. They read to them, sang to them, held them, loved them. And each evening they walked out leaving this eerie silence behind. And then on the last day the time came for them to go. They had to go back to the United States to complete the legal formalities before the boys could become part of their family. And Moore says he felt compelled to turn back. He went back in and, quoting the words of Jesus, said, “We will not leave you as orphans. We will come for you.” And as they walked out down the corridor, they heard one of their sons scream out. The scream of a one-year-old—wordless, angry and desperate. And Moore says it was the most terrible and lovely thing he ever heard. It cut him to the heart, but it was the cry of a son for his father. With that cry of anguish, this orphan had become a son.’ (Tim Chester, Enjoying God. Page 116)
This is a wonderfully powerful truth. As we come to know God not only as our Saviour, Healer, Provider, and King, but also as our loving Father, our relationship with Him is transformed. God does not simply want us to seek His gifts; He wants us to seek Him. He longs for us to know His heart, delight in His presence, and love Him as beloved children love a good father.
This is why the Bible teaches that the defining mark of God's children is not fear but loving confidence:
‘The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.’ (Romans 8:15–16)
Fear is a powerful emotion. Life and people regularly assault us with fear. Worry and fear are a storm that is, if we’re not careful, constantly on the horizon of our souls. If someone has a good father they will talk to him about their fears. A good father will listen well and give good advice and support. The love of a good father is a great gift that too many don’t have. However, any good Father is simply a shadow and imitation of our true Heavenly Father.
Through Christ, we have been adopted into God's family. We are no longer slaves living under the shadow of fear, but sons and daughters who know the love and security of a perfect Father. As His children, we need no longer live in fear of His judgement, fear of rejection, fear of people, or fear of the future. Instead, we can approach Him with confidence, crying, “Abba, Father,” knowing that we are deeply loved, fully accepted, and eternally secure in Him.
To ‘cry’ - krázō - means to shout and exclaim. This is about total assurance that we are loved as God’s children. We are told that this confidence is not something that we work up, it’s an assurance given by the Holy Spirit to every child of God. The Holy Spirit ‘testifies’ - symmartyréō - confirms and bears witness to our spirit - our inner person - that we are indeed God’s adopted child.
‘Abba’ is the Aramaic word for Father, a term that Jesus’ used (See Mark 14:36). In putting it in the language of Jesus (Aramaic was Jesus native language) we are to understand that our familial relationship to God is the same as that of Jesus! Like Jesus, we can talk to our Father about anything and at any time.
Adoption is a term borrowed from Greek and Roman culture. Douglas Moo describes this in reference to Romans 8:15:
‘The word (adoption) denoted the Greek, and particularly Roman, legal institution whereby one can ‘adopt’ a child and confer on that child all the legal rights and privileges that would ordinarily accrue to a natural child…but the underlying concept for Paul is rooted in the OT and Judaism. Once again, then Paul has taken a term that depicts Israel’s unique status as God’s people and ‘transferred’ it to Christians.’ (Douglas J. Moo, TNIC, Romans, note on 8:15, Page 501)
In an interview, the Christian minister Sam Storms was asked:
“Why do you believe that adoption is the greatest gift of the gospel next to Jesus’ death for our sins? What makes it so great?”
To which he replied:
“Although we should be careful when we compare the goodness of God’s gifts, I do believe that adoption is near the top of the list. This isn’t in the least to slight justification or forgiveness or the indwelling presence of the Spirit. All God’s saving gifts are precious and perfect. But I consider adoption to be the most marvellous proof of God’s love for us (next to the love demonstrated by the cross itself; cf. Romans 5). I draw this conclusion from what John said in his first epistle:
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! . . . Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:1-2).
John’s tone and terms virtually bristle with urgency and excitement. “Come quickly and see! Look! Listen! You can’t imagine what I have to tell you!” I like that. Here’s an elderly man nearing the end of life who still gets excited about the love of God. And he did so because he knew that God’s love has bestowed on us the greatest of all blessings: sonship. Here is the measure of God’s love. Here is the test of how deeply He treasures us...He didn’t make us His children because we were prettier than others. Divine adoption isn’t concerned with physical health or financial wealth or potential or a person’s past history. God loves the unlovely and unappealing. God loves because God loves. That is why you are His child. Because He loves you. Once this truth is understood I think people will more readily open their hearts to [adopting] infants and young children with special needs, whatever they may be.”
God wants us to know Him as Father. This is the birthright of every Christian. He wants us to know that we are chosen, adopted and precious. He wants us to listen to the testifying voice of the Spirit in our hearts and the Word - to listen to this voice over all fear and the noise of this life.
J. I Packer wrote:
“If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.”
How do we stand against this test? Are we fearful, haughty, easily offended, easily rejected…? Or are we built on the joy-giving, prayer-empowering truth of adoption?
Moment To Reflect
Jesus' vision for each of us is that we would know God personally and speak to Him as our loving Father.
Is your relationship with God marked by intimacy and trust, or has it become formal, sporadic, or even fearful?
Like Jesus, are you growing in a loving, confident, and constant relationship with the Father?
Do you regularly address God as your Father in prayer? Why is this such a precious privilege, and how should it shape the way you approach Him?
Download the booklet
Below is the link to download the devotional booklet: Fresh Vision From Jesus Prayer. This is a series of 27 devotionals based upon Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 17.
This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the founding of CCP; to watch our anniversary video, please select the link below:
Community Group Study
1. Notices
It might be good to begin with notices. Please share from this week’s Church News.
2. Icebreaker
Following the summer period, you may want to use this time to catch up and reconnect.
It not, you could discuss: How has God been speaking to you from His Word recently, and how has this helped you?
3. Worship together
Let’s begin our time together by lifting our eyes and hearts to worship our great God. Perhaps you have readings and songs that you would like to use together. Let’s be open to the gifts that the Spirit wants to give in order to encourage one another.
4. Study and pray together
Balanced Time Allocation - Please ensure a balanced focus on discussion, SIV (Serve, Invest, and Invite), and prayer so that each section is meaningful and fruitful.
On Sunday, we continue our series, Fresh Vision From Jesus’ Prayer, reflecting on God’s vision for our lives and the church through Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer in John 17.
(Note: To accompany this series, we have produced a devotional series. To download the full booklet, visit our devotional page or go directly to communitychurchputney.com/post/fresh-vision-from-jesus-prayer. Daily devotions will also be posted every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday on the Community Church Putney channel.)
Read John 17:1–5 together and discuss:
What spoke to, challenged or inspired you from Sunday’s message?
Has anything from the series of devotions particularly encouraged or helped you? If so, what could you share with the group?
On Sunday, we reflected on how, like Jesus, we need a vision of what it means to live as a child of God. How does this understanding of who we are transform the way we live?
We also considered the complementary truth that, like Jesus, our times are in the Father’s hands. We are therefore called to learn to trust God in every season of life. What are some of the things that can shake a Christian’s faith? If you’re willing, you might like to share from your own past or present experience.
How can we learn to be like Christ, who trusted His Father in every season - even in the darkest of times?
Let’s pray together:
For our new series: Pray that God uses Fresh Vision From Jesus’ Prayer to inspire, refresh, and re-envision us as a church.
For Serendipity: Pray for Graeme, the team, and the relaunch in its new format. Ask God to raise up more volunteers from within the church family.
For students: Pray for the young people in our church and community who are heading off to university.
Let’s pray for one another based on our study, and bring before God any other needs or requests for prayer.
SIV:
Have you had any recent opportunities to Serve, Invest in, or Invite someone toward Jesus? Let’s encourage one another by sharing testimonies of God at work through us.
Pray for the ‘people of peace’ in our lives, asking God to open their hearts and give us the Love and boldness to share His love as He opens opportunities.
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