The Father, the Bosom of the Gospel Part 5
The Father’s outworking His Will & Purpose in His Adopted Family
By the indwelling Spirit of Christ!
Galatians 3:13-14 Recall that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law.....that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Remember, this Promise was of the Father! (Lk 24:49, Acts 1:4, 2:33, John 15:26)
Galatians 4:4-6 Here Paul states that God (the Father) sent His Son to redeem law failures (that’s all of us) “that we might receive the adoption of sons, and because your are sons, God has sent forth THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON, crying Abba, Father.”
This name, FATHER, is the name Jesus taught His disciples and is crucial to understanding our God’s Eternal Will and Purpose. Jesus speaks of His Father over 100 times in John’s Gospel.
John 17:6 “I have manifested Thy Name (Father in Vs 5).
Vs 11 “Holy Father, keep through Thine Own Name those whom you have given me.”(See also John 6:37-39; Hebrews 2:10-13)
Vs 12 “while I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy Name.”
Vs 21-22 And here, our Jesus prays for us, “That they all may be one; as Thou Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also MAY BE ONE IN US: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” And notice that in vs 22, the Glory that the Father has give the Son, the same Glory that Moses could not see, the Son has given to us, “that they may be one, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE.” And that requires the Spirit of Glory, the Spirit of His Son, the Spirit of Sonship, in our hearts.!!!
Ezekiel 36:26-27 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will put within you......And I will put My Spirit within your, and cause your to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgements, and do them.”
Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”(think family!)
Hebrews 10:14-22 This is the covenant that the Holy Spirit is witnessing in us, the same covenant in which our Jesus is our ascended Melchizedek, our High Priest, by which we are invited into the Holiest by the Blood of the Lamb.
Romans 8:2 It is this “New Covenant Spirit”, this Spirit of His Son, this Abba Spirit of Adoption, that is the “law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus that has made us free from the Law of sin and death.” So how does this practically work??
Ephesians 3:14-17 Paul prays this prayer that all men and all principalities & powers in heavenly places might see the glories of the Father’s Eternal Purpose in Christ Jesus.
Vs 14-15 Notice, he bows his knees “to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named.”
Vs 16 Here is that working of His Spirit in our inner man, that New Covenant internalized promise!! Neither Adam’s nor Israel’s inner man could cut it. Not one single thing in our “inner man” by birth or nurture has any spiritual strength adequate to please the Father.(Matt.5:44-48)
Vs 17 The Spirit has to “clean house” so that “faith work” can be done. That is, that our inner man might be able to dwell in and with Christ by faith. And this is the rooting and grounding in love, the same work spoken of in Romans 5:5. This is the revealing of that love bond that is Father Love to His Adopted children. From this time forward, He deals with us as His children!!!
Vs 18-19a Paul seems to imply by his prayer that it takes this much of the Spirits’ working to get us to “first base” in knowing the Love of Christ, to root us in Christ’s Love. And then, he seems to run out of superlatives to describe the incredible treasure of Christ’s Love as we grow up into Him.(Eph.4:15) It’s kind of like he finally says, oh forget it, no human words or knowledge can express it. And truly, it has to be intimately KNOWN in our inner man by His Spirit.
Vs 19b “That ye may be filled with all the FULNESS OF GOD.” Truly, this is over the top! How on earth can this be?? My best stab at it is Colossians 1:19, “For it pleased the FATHER that IN HIM should all fulness dwell.” And again 2:9-10 For in Him dwells all the FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY. And you are complete IN HIM.....”
If the Spirit is strengthening is in our inner man in order that Christ Jesus may dwell in our hearts by faith, and this same Christ Jesus is the fulness of the Godhead, then His indwelling in us by faith through the operation of the Spirit is God working out His fulness in us.
Vs 20 Just in case we can wrap our brains around such incredible truth and promise that is in Vs 19, Paul lays this on us. Our God and Father “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” This immeasurable Power that works in us is His Spirit of Resurrection Life that Paul speaks of in Eph. 1:19-20.
Vs 21 All of this is that He might be glorified IN THE CHURCH by Christ Jesus, now notice, throughout all ages, WORLD WITHOUT END. AMEN”
Our God isn’t glorified by any work of our hands as though He needs anything.(Acts 17:25) He is rather glorified by our Worshiping Him in His working by His Spirit in the “inner man” of all His Family, the church, that the rejoicing of His children in Jesus Christ will bring Praise and adoration to Him for all Eternity. Recall the “circumcision of the New Covenant”
Philippians 3:3 “For we are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, AND HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH.’
Next time: The Spirit’s practical attack on our fleshly confidences.
The Father’s outworking His Will & Purpose in His Adopted Family
By the indwelling Spirit of Christ!
Galatians 3:13-14 Recall that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law.....that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Remember, this Promise was of the Father! (Lk 24:49, Acts 1:4, 2:33, John 15:26)
Galatians 4:4-6 Here Paul states that God (the Father) sent His Son to redeem law failures (that’s all of us) “that we might receive the adoption of sons, and because your are sons, God has sent forth THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON, crying Abba, Father.”
This name, FATHER, is the name Jesus taught His disciples and is crucial to understanding our God’s Eternal Will and Purpose. Jesus speaks of His Father over 100 times in John’s Gospel.
John 17:6 “I have manifested Thy Name (Father in Vs 5).
Vs 11 “Holy Father, keep through Thine Own Name those whom you have given me.”(See also John 6:37-39; Hebrews 2:10-13)
Vs 12 “while I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy Name.”
Vs 21-22 And here, our Jesus prays for us, “That they all may be one; as Thou Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also MAY BE ONE IN US: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” And notice that in vs 22, the Glory that the Father has give the Son, the same Glory that Moses could not see, the Son has given to us, “that they may be one, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE.” And that requires the Spirit of Glory, the Spirit of His Son, the Spirit of Sonship, in our hearts.!!!
Ezekiel 36:26-27 “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will put within you......And I will put My Spirit within your, and cause your to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgements, and do them.”
Jeremiah 31:33 “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”(think family!)
Hebrews 10:14-22 This is the covenant that the Holy Spirit is witnessing in us, the same covenant in which our Jesus is our ascended Melchizedek, our High Priest, by which we are invited into the Holiest by the Blood of the Lamb.
Romans 8:2 It is this “New Covenant Spirit”, this Spirit of His Son, this Abba Spirit of Adoption, that is the “law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus that has made us free from the Law of sin and death.” So how does this practically work??
Ephesians 3:14-17 Paul prays this prayer that all men and all principalities & powers in heavenly places might see the glories of the Father’s Eternal Purpose in Christ Jesus.
Vs 14-15 Notice, he bows his knees “to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of Whom the
whole family in heaven and earth is named.”
Vs 16 Here is that working of His Spirit in our inner man, that New Covenant internalized promise!! Neither Adam’s nor Israel’s inner man could cut it. Not one single thing in our “inner man” by birth or nurture has any spiritual strength adequate to please the Father.(Matt.5:44-48)
Vs 17 The Spirit has to “clean house” so that “faith work” can be done. That is, that our inner man might be able to dwell in and with Christ by faith. And this is the rooting and grounding in love, the same work spoken of in Romans 5:5. This is the revealing of that love bond that is Father Love to His Adopted children. From this time forward, He deals with us as His children!!!
Vs 18-19a Paul seems to imply by his prayer that it takes this much of the Spirits’ working to get us to “first base” in knowing the Love of Christ, to root us in Christ’s Love. And then, he seems to run out of superlatives to describe the incredible treasure of Christ’s Love as we grow up into Him.(Eph.4:15) It’s kind of like he finally says, oh forget it, no human words or knowledge can express it. And truly, it has to be intimately KNOWN in our inner man by His Spirit.
Vs 19b “That ye may be filled with all the FULNESS OF GOD.” Truly, this is over the top! How on earth can this be?? My best stab at it is Colossians 1:19, “For it pleased the FATHER that IN HIM should all fulness dwell.” And again 2:9-10 For in Him dwells all the FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD BODILY. And you are complete IN HIM.....”
If the Spirit is strengthening is in our inner man in order that Christ Jesus may dwell in our hearts by faith, and this same Christ Jesus is the fulness of the Godhead, then His indwelling in us by faith through the operation of the Spirit is God working out His fulness in us.
Vs 20 Just in case we can wrap our brains around such incredible truth and promise that is in Vs 19, Paul lays this on us. Our God and Father “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.” This immeasurable Power that works in us is His Spirit of Resurrection Life that Paul speaks of in Eph. 1:19-20.
Vs 21 All of this is that He might be glorified IN THE CHURCH by Christ Jesus, now notice, throughout all ages, WORLD WITHOUT END. AMEN”
Our God isn’t glorified by any work of our hands as though He needs anything.(Acts 17:25) He is rather glorified by our Worshiping Him in His working by His Spirit in the “inner man” of all His Family, the church, that the rejoicing of His children in Jesus Christ will bring Praise and adoration to Him for all Eternity. Recall the “circumcision of the New Covenant”
Philippians 3:3 “For we are the circumcision which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, AND HAVE NO CONFIDENCE IN THE FLESH.’
Next time: The Spirit’s practical attack on our fleshly confidences.
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