Calvary Road Baptist Church

“ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL?”

Ephesians 4.6 

I have some brief statements to make to begin. First, however, let’s read Ephesians 3.21-4.6: 

21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

1  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

2  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

3  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4  There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5  One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6  One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 

In verse 6 we find the seventh and final basis upon which genuine unity within a Church congregation can be and must be built. It is none other than the phrase, 

“one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” 

Paul acknowledges the supremacy of God, the omnipresence of God, and the reality that God is behind everything. But notice the phrase, “one God and Father of all.” God, indeed, is God of all. But is He the Father of all? That is, is He the Father of all men?

In the context of Paul’s letter, recognizing that he is writing to believers in Christ who are in the Church at Ephesus, God is Father of all. But God is not the Father of all men in one sense. He is only the Father of those who trust Jesus Christ and are saved from their sins, those who are members of the family of God. How critical this is to remember, since any attempt at real unity in a congregation will break down if a regenerate membership is not stressed and members do not have God as their heavenly Father. 

SERMON: 

I now speak about the matter of fear. Fear is a wonderful thing. It’s a pity that so many of our generation and so many of those younger than us have such a foolish attitude toward fear. Have you ever seen T-shirts or decals on trucks that say, “No Fear”? As soon as I see a man or woman wearing one of those T-shirts or a decal on a pickup a word comes to my mind in huge, bold, black letters. Foolish.

How many times have you heard some poor, silly, boy say, “I ain’t afraid”? People who are that foolish shouldn’t be allowed out on the streets alone. This is because fear is a wonderful thing. Fear is a beneficial thing. Fear is a healthy thing. Fear is a motivational thing. Fear is a protective thing. Imagine all the wonderful things that occur in the lives of those who are afraid.

Which student is more likely to do well in school, the one who is afraid of failing, the one who is afraid of doing poorly, the one who is afraid he’ll have to do backbreaking work at a low-paying job after he finishes school if he doesn’t do well academically, the one who’s fearful of not getting good enough grades to survive college, or that shortsighted person who thinks much of himself because he doesn’t care what his grades are, who isn’t afraid of not succeeding?

I am convinced that my father graduated from high school after World War II, attended college and graduated, and did a substantial amount of postgraduate work each summer for a number of years, partly because he was afraid. He was scared he would end up like my grandfather, crippled with a bad back and educated to do nothing except barely survive as desperately poor farmer working on another person’s land. Fear motivated my father to strive for excellence.

As I grew up, I had the distinct misfortune of being called out during recess and after class to fight every new kid who came to our school. All through grade school, I had to fight. In junior high school, I had to fight. And in high school, I had to fight. And in every fight, I ever got in as a kid, I was the winner, except for the last fight, the only fight I wasn’t afraid of losing. I didn’t pick the fights. I didn’t want the fights. But once they started, it was the great fear I had of losing the fight that enabled me to prevail. Fear is a wonderful thing when you’re fighting for your life.

What motivates a man to succeed at his job? Assuming he’s not going to shirk his responsibility as the breadwinner of the family, a great deal of that man’s success comes from a deep-seated and probably only semiconscious fear that he has that if he doesn’t succeed, his family will suffer.

Then there is the fear his wife will leave him if he doesn’t provide for his family, since women are typically less fulfilled in marriage than are their husbands, with about 70% of the filings made by women, according to Divorce.Com.[1] Unless a guy is taking care of business, he is right to be fearful.

It’s fear of the consequences that will motivate that man to work one job, to work two jobs, to take the risk of starting his own business, or to sacrifice his personal time with his family to complete his education, so that his family will be provided for in the long run. Yes. Fear is a wonderful thing.

Look around your neighborhood and take note of the kids who are running around in the streets, who are out riding their bikes late at night, who are left at home alone when they are young, whose mothers don’t have safety devices around the house to keep little ones from getting to the cleaning solutions under the sink or the electric plug that might electrocute them.

Are they not the children of mothers without fear? Those moms have no fear that their kids might harm themselves, that their kids might be kidnapped, that their kids might be swept up into a life of crime, or that their kids might be assaulted or murdered.

I’m telling you something. Fear is a good thing. Fear is a wonderful thing. So, why does our society put down so much fear? Why have we taken the fear out of heroism? Why have we taken fear out of responsibility? Why have we taken the fear out of success? Why do we have a society that’s unafraid of anything? Fool kids aren’t even afraid of dying.

Even these so-called Christians of the evangelical world have bought into this nonsense. Consider this: How many so-called Christians have bought into this malarkey about having a high self-esteem? What was started by atheistic humanists, the so-called need to make everyone on earth feel good about himself, and how crippled you are and how unable you will be to function in society if you don’t feel good about yourself, has been accepted hook, line, and sinker, by most so-called Christian leaders these days.

However, the reality is, specifically psychological studies have substantiated, the top performers, the great achievers, the people who actually accomplish things, are usually motivated by feelings of low self-esteem and the fear of not being good enough to succeed.

So, you see, fear can actually be a very good thing, even if it is not usually a very good feeling. It’s good to be afraid of a thug with a gun. It’s good to be afraid of a snarling 120-pound dog who’s between you and the gate. Why, then, does no one fear God? When the Apostle Paul refers to God and our Father in my text, he is referring to God and the Father only of those who are saved. And those who are truly saved fear God.[2]

Let’s deal with whether or not God is the Father of all. Let’s deal with whether or not God is your Father. Because there is a critical connection between fearing God and being saved, a critical connection between fearing God and having God as your heavenly Father. 

First, LET’S EXAMINE SOME FACTS ABOUT GOD 

Perhaps the attitude that most people have about God is the sad consequence of the tragic reality that most people know nothing about God. I say this because any reliance upon television, or radio, or the movies, to gain any concept of the nature of Almighty God will steer you wrong about God every time. With that in mind, let’s learn about the God of the Bible in two ways:

First, by way of the biblical record of His deeds. Consider just these few things that God has done: 

So much for that partial record of some of God’s deeds. Now, let’s review just a few biblical declarations about God. First, God is personal. When I say personal, I want to point out that God feels and loves and hates and angers and delights. He both has and expresses the full range of what we would approximate as emotions.

Let me illustrate: God emphasizes that He is holy throughout the Bible. He is pure and clean and without moral defilement or the taint of sin. But He is also all-knowing and all-powerful. So, when He sees that which is wrong, particularly when it’s expressed toward Him, such as rebellion or disobedience or a lack of personal respect, He is both offended by it and He seeks vengeance against the person who did it.

Proverbs 6.16-19 gives us examples of how this works out, declaring that there are six things the Lord hates and seven are an abomination to Him. They are not the only things God hates, but the passage does serve to show it is undeniable that God hates certain things and God hates certain people. Job 37.22 declares that “with God is terrible majesty.” Think about that. God is so majestic, so wonderful, so glorious, so impressive, so magnificent, so immense, that He is terrible. He terrifies. He evokes overwhelming awe in those who are not stupidly foolish. What do you think His attitude is toward anyone who refuses to acknowledge how magnificent He is, or how wonderful He is, or how marvelous He is? What do you think would be His response to anyone who responds to His majesty in some way other than awe-inspired terror? Hebrews 12.29: “For our God is a consuming fire.” You sure don’t get that perspective of the nature of God from television programs or the movies, do you? What do you get when you have a holy God who hates sin, Who is moved to right that which is wrong, to correct that which is in error, to cleanse that which is contaminated, to purge that which is putrid, to punish that which is sinful? You get this description of God: “For our God is a consuming fire.” 

Revelation 20.12-15:    

12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

God will someday cast billions of people into the lake of fire, where they shall suffer the torment of His inescapable wrath forever and ever, and ever, and ever. Why doesn’t that bother anyone? Why doesn’t that fill sinners with alarm? Their minds have been so numbed to startling facts and truths by the carnage and the devastation they see on television and in the movies that reality has little effect on them. I have in my hand the Word of God. This is the infallible Bible. This is the book of God that God wrote. And in God’s book, He reminds us of the facts of history, that He has, time and time again, executed judgment upon those who have displeased Him. He’s done it to His Own and He’s done it to the heathen. No myth. No movies. No one goes back home after the director yells, “Cut.” This is real stuff. These are the facts. And if His judgments of the past are not bad enough, He informs us in His Word that the worst is yet to come. It’s Hellfire. It’s the lake of fire. It’s the constant and conscious torment of the damned. And it awaits you who have no fear of God. 

Now, LET’S CONSIDER THIS MATTER CALLED THE FEAR OF GOD 

First, what the fear of God is. The fear of God is reverence. The fear of God is also dread. The fear of God is also horror. People who fear God are scared of crossing Him, afraid to displease Him. Unless a terrible father raised you, you know what it’s like to both love your dad and be loved by your dad while at the same time having a holy dread of doing wrong and being dealt with by your dad. If so, you have some very small appreciation of what the fear of the Lord is.

Second, what the fear of God does. The fear of the Lord results in several things happening. For now, I want to concentrate on only one thing the fear of God cultivates. The fear of God motivates. The fear of God moves. The fear of God drives. When an illiterate thug is pointing a pistol at your head, you are so filled with fear that you will say almost anything, do almost anything. And it’s right and proper that you have that motivation springing from fear. Anything less is foolish. So, imagine yourself standing before the most powerful Being in existence. As you stand before Him, it becomes apparent to you that He is filled with rage, and rightly so, because He is good and kind and merciful and holy and loving. But for a long time, you have ignored His overtures, you have shunned His affections, you have discounted His importance.

Now, as you stand before Him, you are filled with the realization that you are in the wrong, and you fully and completely deserve every punishment this holy and righteous God has planned to pour out on your head in wrath and judgment and vengeance. The fear of God, if it really is the fear of God, will motivate you and move you to turn away from your sin, which has so angered and outraged this most reasonable One you have sinned against.

Third, why the fear of God is absent. The fear of God is absent from many people because the facts about God are missing. Almost anyone you know feels that sins are sins. You don’t have much trouble convincing people that adultery is wrong, or that drunkenness is wrong, or that backbiting is wrong, or that stealing and lying is wrong. Even folks who do those things and deny that they are wrong know in their heart those things are wrong. The real error lies in understanding Who it is these sins are being committed against. God is not “the man upstairs.” And God is not a tottering old man. When you commit a sin, any sin against anyone, you are really committing a sin against Almighty God, the holy One. The reason there is no fear of God these days is because men and women have no concept of the God of the Bible, His holiness, His majesty, and His might. When you commit a sin you, number one, don’t figure your sins are committed ultimately against God, and number two, you have such a low opinion of Who and What God is, so you aren’t terribly concerned about sins. But when men look into the Bible, when your eyes fall upon the holy Scriptures, and when you read such passages as Isaiah 6.1-5, and when you realize that this is the One you’ve been sinning against, then you will begin to know the fear of God: 

1  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

2  Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

3  And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

4  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

5  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 

And when preachers thunder as from Mount Sinai, and declare to men Who it is they have sinned against, and what their sins against Him are, and what punishments await them, then will men begin again to fear God. 

Finally, THE FLIGHT TO THE SAVIOR 

The man who realizes that he is a sinner in the sight of God and who comes to the logical conclusion that he has much to fear from God has only one legitimate option that will not result in his eternal damnation in the lake of fire. And that is to flee by faith to Christ.

It is the only reasonable thing to do. Isaiah 1.18 reads, 

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow.” 

It is a reasonable thing to do whatever is necessary to remove the sins that taint your soul. It is a reasonable thing to do whatever is necessary to reconcile you to God, Who is outraged at your sin and Who stands ready to pour wrath upon you if you are not saved. But what, other than the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, can cleanse away your sins, First John 1.7? Baptism won’t wash away your sins. Good works won’t do it. Church membership won’t do it. Being good won’t do it. And even if you never sin again, what is to be done about God’s memory of your past sins against Him? No friend, only coming to Christ by faith and trusting in His shed blood to wash your sins away, only that is a reasonable way to deal with your sins.

It is the only required thing to do. Think about it. Do you really think God sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross and pay the penalty for your sins so you can remedy your sin problem some other way? I mean, if there was another way, why did the Lord Jesus suffer and bleed and die? Jesus Christ suffered and bled and died because it was required. Not that He had to do what He did, because He didn’t. He didn’t have to submit to the cross. God didn’t have to send Him. By required, I mean, it was the only way God’s holiness could be satisfied. It was the only way you could be saved. When the Lord Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me,” He was pointing out that He is the exclusive way, He is the unique way, He is the required way, of salvation. If you do not flee by faith to Christ and trust Him to save you from your sins and from the hot displeasure of God, you will have rejected the only option God has provided for you to escape the wrath that you so justifiably fear. Walk out of here an unsaved person and you will have scorned, once again, the love of a God Who wants to save you, but Who is at the same time furious at your sin.

And fleeing to Christ by faith is the only recommended thing to do. The Lord Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” The Apostle Peter told men that they should turn from their sins and be converted by placing their faith in Christ. The Apostle Paul told men to “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” in order to be saved. You are not recommended to be a better person. You are not recommended to turn over a new leaf or try harder. You are recommended to go to Jesus Christ by faith, and He will save you from the wrath to come.

 

Most people figure God is their Father. But He’s not. He is their God, but He’s not their Father insofar as being in His spiritual family is concerned. For God to be your Father you must first come to Jesus Christ by faith and trust Him to cleanse you from your sins in His Own precious shed blood.

But you’ll not do that so long as you are blind to the reality of Who and What God is. Once you appreciate Who He is and What He is, holy, almighty, righteous, indignant at your sin, and fearful, then you might fear Him, unless you have been blinded.

Being truly fearful of Him and of the consequences of sinning against Him, you will then turn to the only remedy, the Lord Jesus Christ, unless you have been blinded. Jesus Christ directs you, instructs you, actually commands you, to come to Him by faith for salvation from your sins and from the wrath of God.

__________

[1] https://divorce.com/blog/who-initiates-divorce-more/#:~:text=The%20study%20concludes%20that%20approximately,divorces%20are%20initiated%20by%20women

[2] Psalm 111.10; Proverbs 1.7; 9.10

[3] Genesis 6.5

[4] Leviticus 10.1-2

[5] 2 Samuel 6.7

[6] Daniel 4.30-33

 

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