"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.
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Discipleship Training Course Come… Follow Me!
Lesson 9: New life has begun!
Review
We have seen...
1. If the Lord calls you, and you are a slave, remember that Christ has set you free from the awful power of sin; and if he has called you and you are free, remember that you are now a slave of Christ. (See 1 Corinthians 7:22 LB)
2. You have been crucified with Christ: and you yourself no longer live, but Christ lives in you by the Holy Spirit. And the real life you now have within your body is a result of your trusting in the Son of God, who loved you and gave Himself for you. (See Galatians 2:20)
3. Because of his kindness, you have been saved through trusting Christ. And even trusting is not of yourselves; it too is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good we have done, so none of us can take any credit for it. Now you belong to Christ Jesus, and though you once were far away from God, now you have been brought very near to him because of what Jesus Christ has done for you with his blood. (See Ephesians 2:8, 9, 13)
4. Your life as a disciple depends upon your faith in the facts concerning your salvation, your new identity in Jesus and your call to discipleship. For if you tell others with your own mouth that Jesus Christ is your Lord and believe in your own heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God; and with his mouth he tells others of his faith, confirming his salvation. For the Scriptures tell us that no one who believes in Christ will ever be disappointed. Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect: they all have the same Lord who generously gives his riches to all those who ask him for them. Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. (See Romans 10:9-13)
5. Through repentance and forgiveness God assures us of unbroken fellowship with Him "Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved; in quietness and confidence is your strength"; (See Isaiah 30:15)
6. As you know Him better, He will give you, through His great power, everything you need for living a truly good life: He even shares His own glory and His own goodness with us! And by that same mighty power He has given us all the other rich and wonderful blessings He promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the lust and rottenness all around us, and to give us his own character. (See 2 Peter 1:3-4)
In this lesson, we shall consider...
1. Ways of understanding the Fatherhood of God and our new relationship with Him;
2. The blessings, privileges and responsibilities we have as sons of God.
Our objective is...
to pray for the illuminating revelation within our spirits of the Fatherhood of God, so that our understanding of Him and His character within our souls can equip is for the workings that He has prepared for us to do.
A. Your experience of the Father.
John 14:6-11 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, 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; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. "
The word "Father" is only used 15 times in the Old Testament as a description of God. In the New Testament it is used more than 250 times. The Greek word, pater, means, the nourisher, the provider, the upholder, the protector.
Jesus is the Way... to the Father.
Jesus is the Truth... about the Father
Jesus is the Life... of the Father.
See Jesus and you will see the Father. See Matthew 11:27-30; John 10:14,15; Hebrews 1:1,2
Jesus reveals the Father. John 5:43; 6:45, 46; 8:19; 17:6; Hebrews 2:11,12
Ephesians 1:17-23 "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. "
Revelation about the Father comes through the spirit to the soul and is manifested by the works the believer does.
vs. 17 revelation to the spirit
vs. 18 understanding in the soul
vs..19 workings in the body
B. The "father heart" of God.
Luke 15:11-32 "Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself, he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called our son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ' And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry. Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.' "
C. The fatherhood of God revealed.
Hebrews 1:1 "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,"
John 14:6-7 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, 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; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
Through JESUS because He brings us to the Father. See also John 14:5-9; Ephesians 2:17,18; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 1:1-3
Ephesians 3:14-15 "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, "
Through HUMAN FATHERHOOD. The Fatherhood of God is the FIRST CAUSE of the universe. Biblically there is no family without a father.
John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."
Malcolm Vine, Cornerstone Ministries. September 2004.
To contact the Bible School email: bibleschool@cornerstoneministries.org.uk
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