Romans 122
(Father’s Day) The Role pf Fatherhood
Brian Kocourek
This morning I would like to continue in our
study in the Book or Romans and this will be number 122 in our series. I would
like to entitle this Father’s Day and the Role of Fatherhood, as taught by God
our Father Himself. And now, for our text let us now turn in our Bibles to
Romans 15 and we will read from verse 5 through 6 for our text.
ROMANS 15:5 ¶ Now the God of patience and
consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to
Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, this morning since it is Father’s Day, I
would like to take from the Scriptures and show you not only our role model for
being father’s but also the role model for being sons and daughters.
First I would like to establish that our role
model for fatherhood comes from God Himself who we call our Father, even as
Jesus called Him His Father, and taught us to pray to the One He called Father.
EPHESIANS 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in
Christ:
II JOHN 1:3 Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
JOHN 6:27 Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath
God the Father sealed.
I CORINTHIANS 8:6 But to us [there is but] one God, the Father, of whom [are] all things,
and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom [are] all things, and we by
him.
JUDE 1:1 ¶ Jude, the servant of Jesus
Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father,
and preserved in Jesus Christ, [and] called:
GALATIANS 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle, (not of men,
neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from
the dead;) 2 And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of
Galatia: 3 Grace [be] to you and peace from God the Father, and [from] our Lord
Jesus Christ,
EPHESIANS 6:23 Peace [be] to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ.
PHILIPPIANS
I THESSALONIANS 1:1 ¶ Paul, and Silvanus, and
Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians [which is] in God the Father
and [in] the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace [be] unto you, and peace, from God our
Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
II TIMOTHY 1:1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
2 To Timothy, [my] dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, [and] peace, from God the
Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
TITUS 1:4 To Titus, [mine] own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, [and]
peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.
II PETER 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came
such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I
am well pleased.
Here we find that God is the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
JOHN
I JOHN 3:1 ¶ Behold, what manner of love the
Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God:
therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. 2 Beloved, now are
we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know
that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he
is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is
pure.
Now, in the Scriptures this one that is called
God, (which the word God means an object of worship), we know as the
Self-Existent One, or in the Ancient Hebrew he was called Elohim, the Self-Existent
One. Now, in this Self-Existent One lay many attributes. He was Sovereign and
within this Sovereign One were attributes that lay dormant or without
expression. He had attributes to Be God, and Father, and Love.
Now, within the attribute of Father lay many more attributes of which the first and foremost was Love and Life.
Now, in the very beginning, before there was any beginning there was only God. He dwelt alone in His fullness, and solitariness. He alone is Sovereign. For He alone is above all, and answers to no one. No King can claim himself to be sovereign by the true definition of the Word sovereign, except God alone. He did not need the angels, he did not need children. He was complete in Himself. Yet, there laid within Him attributes, and yet in His solitariness, He had no way to express these attributes and thus bring fulfillment to Himself. Therefore God laid out in His great eternal mind, a plan, to bring fulfillment to Himself.
Now, within God He had attributes that
express Who and What He is. These attributes were eternal in His mind, and yet
in order to bring expression to Who He is and What He is, He had to lay out a
plan for expressing Himself. These attributes
that lay within God, were what and
Who God is; His essentiality and His Intrinsicality.
These Attributes were the very thoughts of God which are the
very attributes of Himself, all together in one, making up His Being. These Attributes or thoughts were
without expression. God could not be known in an unexpressed form.
Therefore, God then began to bring forth an
expression of Himself, He became then
the Word. John 1: 1 In the
Beginning was THE WORD, and THE WORD was with GOD and THE WORD was GOD.
Now, God can not be known "without", if
there is nothing "without". Therefore God had to become God. But,
before he was God He was All alone, He was Elohim, the self existent One.
(Remember, the word, "God", is
an object of worship and without anyone or anything to worship Him, He could
not be God.) Therefore, in order to give expression of Himself, the "Who
and What" He is, it was essential that He bring forth others to express
Himself to.
1) God being God, it
was necessary for him to create beings to worship him,
2) God being a Father, it was necessary that He have children to bring forth an expression of His attribute of Fatherhood
EPHESIANS
II CORINTHIANS 1:3 ¶ Blessed be God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
II CORINTHIANS
COLOSSIANS 1:3 ¶ We give thanks to God and the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
I PETER 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten
us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
II CORINTHIANS 1:2 Grace [be] to you and peace from God
our Father, and [from] the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 ¶
Blessed [be] God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all
comfort;
EPHESIANS 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and
revelation in the knowledge of him: 18
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the
hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
saints,
EPHESIANS 4:6 One God and Father of all, who
[is] above all, and through all, and in you all.
3) God being a Savior,
it was necessary that He predestinate a man who would require salvation in
order to give Himself reason and purpose of being.
4) God Being a
Healer, it was necessary that He predestinate a man who would need healing.
5) God being a
provider, it was necessary that He predestinate a man who would need provisions
And so we see the
fatherhood of God begin to manifest Itself to man, and thus was manifested in
the Pillar of Fire and in the Cloud to
Now, this morning, I would like to look at this role that God played out and bring out three points concerning this role of Fatherhood.
#1) What the role
of Fatherhood does. Now, that we have established that God is the role
model for what Fatherhood is all about, let's see what exactly that role
entails. What attributes does Fatherhood express.
I. He was called Yhovah yireh = "Jehovah sees and thus provides" We see God take on this role of Fatherhood with Abraham on Mount Moriah when He prevented the sacrifice of Isaac and provided a substitute ram in his place. Abraham called Him Jehovah Jireh, the Lord Who provides.
II. Yhovah nicciy {yeh-ho-vaw' nis-see'} The
second attribute God displayed in His role as Father he is called Jehovah
Nissi, "Jehovah is my banner and shield" In other words, the Lord is my Protector.
This is the name given by Moses when God gave him victory over the Amalekites.
The role of protector is the second most important role of a Father. Number One
He must be a provider, and then He must protect what He has provided and to
whom He has provided it.
What good would it do if God was able to give us good things, but the devil was able to snatch them out of your possession the minute you received them. And the same with any Father. His role is first to provide all the essential things a son or daughter need in life. Not only the physical needs, but to provide for the spiritual and eternal needs as well. And what good would it do if you were not able to protect your child from loosing what you have given them.
III. The third attribute of Fatherhood, He was known as Yhovah tsidqenuw . The Lord is our righteousness Now, we know the word righteousness comes from the Word right-wise-ness, or rightly wise. And this comes from instruction.
PSALMS 111:10 The fear
of the LORD [is] the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they
that do [his commandments]: his praise endureth for ever.
PROVERBS 22:6 ¶ Train
up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from
it.
HEBREWS 12:6 For whom
the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what
son is he whom the father chasteneth not? 8 But if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. 9 Furthermore we
have had fathers of our flesh which corrected [us], and we gave [them]
reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of
spirits, and live?
So we see then that
instruction in the right ways of life is an essential attribute that a Father must
possess if he is to complete his role of fatherhood. Providing for the needs of the children is
number one, then protecting your children from all harm physically and then
spiritually is next. And in order to ensure that the child is protected the Father
must train that child to make sure that child knows its boundaries and
limitations.
IV He was
known as Jehovah Jehovah-shalom The Lord is our
peace”. And peace signifies rest and assurance. Therefore this tells
us that this attribute of Fatherhood is one which brings consistency which
brings rest and assurance and thus peace. Being consistent is known in the
bible as faithfulness. Having a father who is faithful brings a rest and peace
to the child. Knowing that he or she does not have to worry about a vacillating
father. One who one week is a real believer and then the next is a heathen
sinner. But when you become consistent in your life it will bring a peace with
it, and an assurance to those you love.
V He is known as Jehovah-shammah or "Jehovah is Present" Part of the assurance and peace that a child has is that dad will always be there. No matter how much the child messes up, if he knows that his dad is there to protect him, and fight his battles, he has a real peace. I remember, as a child , when getting into an argument with the neighbor kids, I would say, My dad is stronger than your dad. I know that I was reassuring myself that if I got into this fight with the neighbor kid and it was more than I could handle, I knew my dad would be there to protect me. And thus it is with fatherhood. Being there is so very important. It's one thing to be a good provider, but if you are a good provider but are never there for your child, then what good does it all do. The security and peace they have is that you not only provide for them, but that you are their to ensure they will enjoy the things you have provided.
VI He is known
as Jehovah
ra'ah The Lord is our Shepherd
and we see in PSALMS 23: the attributes of the Shepherd. ¶ The LORD [is] my
shepherd; I shall not want (There is your provider). 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (He
maketh me, in other words He is an authoritarian figure, he is leading,
guiding, instructing, and this has to do with eating which is both a part of
providing, but is also in the spiritual sense, providing the spiritual meat in
due season, ensuring that the one being lead is getting the right sort of food
physically and spiritually.): he leadeth me beside
the still waters (Notice these are still waters, cool and
refreshing. He leadeth, not he maketh in this sentence, but by example I follow
to the place of rest and refreshment). 3 He
restoreth my soul (He knows how to help me in times of trouble. How
many times does a young person make mistakes, or hurt themselves in some way,
whether it be a physical hurt or a spiritual hurt, yet the role of father is to
be a helper and restorer to his children. When you spank that child you are
instructing it, and yet you do not cast it off. I remember so many times, after
I had spanked my child, I would then hug that child to assure it that I still
loved her, and she was still my little girl.): he
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake (The
role of a father is to teach his child, to know what is right and wholesome and
good, and what is eternal.). 4 Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art]
with me (How important it is to know that your father will never
leave you nor forsake you. How important it is to let them know you are there
for them, and if there is ever a need, that they might just call, and you will
answer); thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
(Thy Rod and thy Staff? They comfort me?
Now, this is the point I want you to see. This is not a meek and gentle Father,
He's speaking about to come and lead him.
But big tough protector Father, stay close to me. My dad's bigger than
your dad kind of stuff.
Now, David was glad
His Father had a big stick. A big, big stick, and the Hebrew word for rod is
shebet and it means a club, for it is the weapon. Therefore the rod is the
weapon part and the staff is the support part.
5 Thou
preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Now, I want you to think about this statement. Thou
preparest a table, a meal, food for my nurishment, right in the presence of my
enemies. Now, it is not easy to eat when you are in the midst of danger. But
when your dad was there, you werenn't afraid of anybody.
5 thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. (again,
the provider) 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
for ever. What a wonderful father-Son relationship we see here. This
is not a young man who had to get away from dad to FIND himself. This is a
young man who loved His father so much, that he would be willing to live
forever in the house of his father.
VII Finally we come to the seventh and last attribute of Fatherhood, He was called Jehovah Rapha or the LORD that healeth thee. And should not that be the role of every father. To not only watch out for your children, not only to provide for them and protect them, but when they do get sick or hurt, again, whether it be through their own fault or the fault of others, a real dad is there to help and to heal. These are the attributes of a real father, and God shown them to us when He played out the role of a Father.
#2) What the role
of Fatherhood means for his Children.
First of all a man is just a man until he has
children. Then he becomes a father. And the number one attribute for a father
for his children is His love to his children. And in showing forth his love to
his children, he acts as a provider, and protector etc. For what good would it
do to give his children, if he could not protect what he gave. And so we see
each attribute in Fatherhood is an expression of Love. And what is fatherhood? Is an attribute of God. For
God is Love. Then if we be God's children, then God wants us to love one
another. In doing so, we love God. Is that right? We love His Church.
#3) The role the
children must play concerning their respect for the role of their father in
Fatherhood.
And what is the role
we as children should play to our fathers? The forth commandment tells us
"Children obey your parents, for this is the first commandment with
promise. Love your fathers, and mothers, love them, and respect them, for
surely their words of correction are not meant to be a putdown, but they are
meant to point you to the way of life.
And Jesus the Son of God, was the main role
player for us as God’s children, and for you children in fulfilling your role
to your parents. The main attribute we find in Christ is his obedient nature as
a son.
Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered.
Jesus subject to the Father
Jesus grew in the knowledge of God
Jesus did nothing but what the father showed Him
first.
Jesus said only what the father told him to say.
Not my will but thine be done:
HEBREWS 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he
suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation
unto all them that obey him;
In John
5:19 & 30 we are told the son could do nothing except what he had seen the
father do first. John 5: 19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth
the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son
likewise.
John 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my
judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father
which hath sent me.
We are told by Jesus Himself, the Son of God,
that the words he spoke he learned from the father. JOHN 14:10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father,
and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:
but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
We are told by Jesus Himself, the Son of God, the
very doctrine He taught was not His own, but what the Father told Him to teach.
JOHN 7:16 Jesus answered them,
and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. 17 If any man will do
his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or [whether] I
speak of myself. 18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he
that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness
is in him.
We are told by Jesus Himself, the Son of God, that He did not come to do His own will but the will of the Father. LUKE 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
Again we hear the
Apostle Paul speak of the Son of God sacrificing his own will to do the
father’s will in HEBREWS 10:7 ¶ Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the
book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
Notice when Jesus was asked by the Apostles to
teach them how to pray we find these same attributes coming forth in His
request to God, as Father.
LUKE 11:1 ¶ And it came to pass, that, as
he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said
unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. 2 And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father (Notice Jesus is telling them to acknowledge
God’s Role as Father) which art in heaven,(and this refers to His
elevated state)
Hallowed be thy name. (and this shows great reverence) Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,(notice the submission of our will to His will) as in heaven, so in
earth. 3 (now He begins to
ask God express Himself to us as provider) Give us day by day
our daily bread. 4 (and as redeemer, and savior) And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive
every one that is indebted to us. (and Next as our Guide) And lead us not into
temptation; (and finally as our protector) but deliver us from evil.
Now, in closing, let us in pray to the same
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our God whom we can not only call our Father,
but Who in actuality is our Father. Therefore, let us bow our heads and our
hearts in prayer.
Dear Loving Father, we have come to worship you
on this day we call Father’s day. May we honor thee by living out the attribute
of obedient children, even as we were shown our role as sons by your Only
begotten Son. We know that he was an obedient son, who got himself out of the
way, that you might manifest your attitude towards your children through Him.
For he said, no man has seen the Father except the Son, and whomsoever the Son
might reveal Him.
Thank you Father, for so loving us that you gave
your only begotten Son, that, we through Him might receive your God-Life,
Eternal Life, in us, that we might also come forth and manifest that life in
these mortal beings. For this we are ever grateful, and will sing praises of
Thee from henceforth even throughout the rest of Eternity. In the Lovely name
of your Son Jesus who was an obedient son, and thus our role model, we pray.
Amen.