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Chapter 60
“If God were Your Father...”
“…Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God...” (John 8:19-59)
Children almost always resemble their parents; and children of the same family almost always resemble one another. With some, the resemblance is stronger than it is with others; but it is a rare thing for children of the same family not to resemble one another, or not to resemble their parents.
In this 8th chapter of John’s Gospel, as our Savior taught in the Temple, the Pharisees, who were certain that they were distinctly the children of God, sought to discredit the Lord Jesus and tried to find a way to put him to death. These Pharisees, like the Jews as a whole, thought that they alone were the objects of God’s love and that they alone were the children of God. But the Lord Jesus stripped the mask off these hypocrites, saying to them, “If God were your Father, ye would love me” (v. 42). In verses 19-59 the Lord Jesus Christ shows us seven things by which the children of God in this world are always identified.
Yes, there are some things by which God’s elect are specifically identified. Yes, there are some things specifically named in Holy Scripture that always follow grace. Here are seven of those things.
1. If God were your Father, you would know the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone who is born of God knows Christ (v. 19).
“Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.” — These men boasted about their spiritual perception, the depth of their learning, knowledge, and understanding. They boasted about their knowledge of God. They knew just about everything there was to know; and they knew it. They knew the facts of Bible history, the tribes of Israel and their land grants, their creeds and customs, laws and punishments, rituals and ceremonies, the right animals for sacrifices, the sacrifices, their sabbath days and holy days. They knew all about feasting, fasting, and tithing. They knew everything about religion except the “one thing needful.” They didn’t know God.
They did not know God at all. Here, our Savior tells us plainly that they did not know God, because they did not know him. Can you imagine how offended they must have been? This was to them a public scorn. The Lord Jesus publicly denounced them, their religion, and their pretence of spiritual superiority. Learn this: there is no knowledge of God apart from Christ (John 1:18; 14:6; 17:3).
If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ by God-given faith in him, you do not know God. Christ is the brightness of his Father’s glory and the express image of his person. He that has seen the Son knows the Father; and, indeed, no one can know the Father, but he to whom the Son reveals him.
Having said that, I hasten to add that it means nothing to say, “I believe in Jesus,” if we do not know him as he is revealed in the Scriptures (1 John 4:2-3; 5:1; 2 John 1:7). Acknowledging Christ in name is meaningless, if we do not know him as the Prophets and Apostles have revealed him. If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ as the incarnate God, the Covenant Head of his Church, the Surety of his elect, The Law-fulfiller of his people, the mighty Sin-atoner of his chosen, and the effectual Savior of his people, you do not know God, and you do not know his Son. If you do not know Christ as your Savior, as your only Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption, you do not know God and you do not know his Son.
Until you trust Christ alone for the whole of your acceptance before God, you are like these Pharisees, utterly ignorant of God and all things spiritual. Your trust in yourself (your knowledge, your experience, your feelings, your creedal ceremonies and religious rituals. your own righteousness, your prayers and fastings, your repentance and faith, your sorrow and tears) is proof that you neither know Christ nor the Father. All your imaginary righteousness is of no benefit to your soul, but shall be its everlasting ruin. All your imaginary good works are but works of iniquity, for which you must ever suffer the wrath of God. We must trust Christ and Christ alone, or we must forever die!
2. If God were your Father, you would persevere in grace. All who are born of God persevere in grace (vv. 30-31).
“As he spake these words, many believed on him. Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” — As our Lord Jesus told his hearers about his crucifixion and the knowledge the Jews should have of him after his sacrifice at Calvary, as he set before them the excellency and divinity of his doctrine, of his mission from the Father, and of the Father’s presence with him, “many believed on him.” Many who heard him preach trusted him. As the gospel was preached, it came to some in power, and faith came by hearing.
As it was then, so it is today and in every day. Some believed and some believed not (Acts 28:24). “As many as were ordained to eternal life believed” (Acts 13:48).
To these new born babes in grace, the Lord Jesus declares, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” There are two kinds of disciples: professed disciples and true disciples. True disciples continue in the doctrine of Christ. False disciples go out from among us, because they were not of us (1 John 2:19). Those who do not continue in faith, who do not persevere in the faith of the gospel never were born of God, never were true believers. — “He that endureth to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 10:22; 1 Corinthians 15:1-3; Hebrews 3:6; 4:14; 10:23). All who are born of God, all who truly trust the Lord Jesus Christ shall persevere unto the end (Job 17:9; Psalms 1:3; 125:1; 138:8; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Isaiah 46:4; Jeremiah 32:40; Philippians 1:6).
3. If God were your Father, you would be free. All who are in Christ are the free born children of God (v. 36).
“He that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman” (1 Corinthians 7:22). The Master said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free” (v. 32). Then, he declares in verse 36, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” All who are born of God are free indeed. Christ sets the captive free, free from sin, free from Satan, free from guilt, free from the law, free from the curse, free from religious bondage, free from superstition, free from the fear of death. In Christ we are free!
Free from the law’s great curse, In Jesus we are free: For Christ became a curse for us And died upon the tree. The rituals of the law And all the law’s commands Have been fulfilled in Christ the Lord, Established by His hands.
No cov’nant with the law Can now with us exist: Complete in Christ we stand by grace, Both free and ever blessed. No more the dread of wrath, No more constrained by fear, We worship and we serve our God With gratitude and cheer.
In Jesus we are free, In Jesus we are free- Free from all sin and from all guilt, We live in liberty! We’ll join the happy song, With all the blood-bought throng, And sing the praises of the Lamb, Whose grace makes us His own.
4. If God were your Father, you would do the works of Abraham. All the children of Abraham do the works of Abraham (v. 39).
“They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.” The Word of God tells us plainly that all who trust Christ (Jews and Gentiles), and only those who trust Christ (whether Jew or Gentile) are the children of Abraham. These Pharisees were Abraham’s physical seed. They were Jews. But the Lord Jesus declares plainly that they were not the children of Abraham. The children of Abraham are those who are the children of promise, the children of God, his spiritual children, the Church and Israel of God (Romans 2:28-29; Galatians 3:29; Philippians 3:3).
What does our Savior refer to when he speaks of his people doing the works of Abraham? What are the works of Abraham? What are these works that are characteristic of all who trust Christ? The works of Abraham were works of faith and love. Those are the things that characterize all believers. These proud Pharisees, who boasted of being Abraham’s children, were trying to murder the Lord Jesus (v. 40-41); but Abraham was a man who hazarded his own life to save the lives of others. Is that not what he did when he went to war to rescue Lot?
What are the works of Abraham which are performed by all who are born of God, the works of Abraham that characterize all the children of Abraham? Abraham forsook all for Christ (Genesis 12:1-4). Abraham cherished Christ, the Sacrifice of the covenant (Genesis 15). Abraham was a magnanimous, forgiving man. We see this throughout his life and most distinctly in his treatment of Lot. Abraham was a hospitable, generous man (Genesis 18). Abraham was a man who saw the Lord Jesus, and seeing him sacrificed everything to him (Genesis 22).
5. If God were your Father, you would love the Lord Jesus Christ. All who have God for their Father truly love the Savior (v. 42).
“Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.” — “We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19). We may differ on many points. But in this one thing every true child of God is like every other child of God: — “We love him.” We do not love him as we desire. We do not love him as we know we should. We do not love him as we soon shall. But we really do love our blessed Savior. It is not possible for a man to experience the grace of God in salvation and not love the God of all grace. It is not possible for a person to know the efficacy of Christ’s blood in his own soul and not love his gracious Redeemer. It is not possible to have a heart renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit and not love the Spirit of life. In spite of our many weaknesses, sins, and failures, we do honestly and sincerely confess, “Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee.”
We know also that we would never have loved him if he had not loved us first. The love of God for us precedes our love for him. “He first loved us.” He loved us before we had any desire to be loved by him. He loved us before we sought his grace. He loved us before we had any repentance or faith. He loved us before we had any being. He loved us eternally. Does he not say, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I called thee”? He chose us, redeemed us, and called us, because he loved us.
Not only does God’s love for us precede our love for God; but God’s love for us is the cause of our love for him. — “We love him, because he first loved us.” This heart of mine was so hard, this will was so stubborn, that I would never have loved the Lord Jesus, if he had not intervened to conquer me with his love. In the midst of my sin and corruption, he passed by and, behold, it was “the time of love!” The Triune Jehovah, the Lord God, the God of all grace revealed his great love for me in Christ. Beholding the crucified Christ dying in the place of sinners, the love of God conquered this rebel’s heart. Trusting Christ as my only Savior, I am compelled to love him, because he first loved me. And now I know that I am what I am by the grace of God, because he loved me. Tell me, my brother, tell me my sister, is it not so with you? Every heaven-born soul can sing with Phillip Doddridge…
“Do not I love Thee, O my Lord? Behold my heart and see; And turn the dearest idol out, That dares to rival Thee.
Do not I love Thee, O my Lord? Then let me nothing love; Dead be my heart to every joy, When Jesus cannot move.
Is not Thy Name melodious still To mine attentive ear? Doth not each pulse with pleasure bound My Savior’s voice to hear?
Hast Thou a lamb in all Thy flock I would disdain to feed? Hast Thou a foe, before whose face I fear Thy cause to plead?
Would not mine ardent spirit vie With angels round the throne, To execute Thy sacred will, And make Thy glory known?
Would not my heart pour forth its blood In honor of Thy Name? And challenge the cold hand of death To damp th’ immortal flame?
Thou know’st I love Thee, dearest Lord, But O, I long to soar Far from the sphere of mortal joys, And learn to love Thee more!”
6. If God were your Father, you would hear his Word. All who have God for their Father, all true believers, all true Christians hear God’s Word (v. 47).
“He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.” — All saved sinners believe the gospel. They all receive, embrace, believe, and rejoice in the doctrine of God. Regenerate men and women have eyes to see the glory of God in the face of Christ. This is not true of all religionists. Many religious people, very religious people are will-worshipping Arminians. But believers “know the truth” (v. 32; 1 John 2:21). Tell a believer about divine sovereignty, and he will fall down and worship. Tell him about covenant grace, and he will find comfort. Tell him about electing love, and he will sing with joy. Tell him about total depravity, and he will weep as he confesses it. Tell him about effectual blood redemption, limited atonement, and he will dance like David before the Ark of God. Tell him about irresistible grace, and he will shout, “Amen!” Tell him about the security of the saints, the final perseverance of God’s elect, and he will pray for grace to honor the God of all grace!
7. If God is your Father, you shall never taste death (v. 51).
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” — It is true, we shall drop these bodies of flesh; but that is not death. That is just laying aside a garment that is worn out and no longer needed or wanted. Like Enoch, we shall be translated, and never see death (John 11:26). Like Elijah, we shall be carried to heaven on a chariot of fire, and never taste death. Because the Lord Jesus tasted death for us (Hebrews 2:9), we never shall. We have everlasting life (Revelation 20:6; 2 Corinthians 5:1-9).
Don Fortner
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