Missions Conference

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Sandy Willson preached.

October 2, 3, 4

Lift Up Your Eyes

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Fred Manning preached.

Back to the Basics

Fred Manning preached.

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The Son of God — part II

Jeremy Coenen preached.

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The Son of God, Part 2
March 8, 2009

As you may remember from last week, part of what we have been
talking about is our identity. Who are we? Where do we come from? Who do
I belong to? These are important questions in theology. They are of
course, a big deal for all people. It is a big business, you know, to be in
DNA testing. Law enforcement uses it to identify victims and criminals. A
person’s guilt or innocence can be established by the work of DNA testing.
For a long while, this sort of thing was done using our unique finger
prints. If my finger prints are on file and matching fingerprints are found
at a crime scene, I could be charged for the crime. So, identity is key.
As we continue to think about this, we will be challenged to
understand and grasp hold of our identity as a son of God. This certainly
involves who we are, but also, what we look like.

I want us to begin this morning where we left off last week. Let us
look again, briefly, at Galatians 3:26-27. And we will use this passage as
a jumping off point.

We will remember that the idea of a ’son of God’ has strong ties
into the Old Testament. Adam, Israel, the kings were all called the son of
God, by God himself. This concept is also strongly connected with the image
of God. Being made in the image and likeness of God is closely related to
the idea of sonship. Remember also, that Jesus himself is the Son of God
pre-eminently and he is the true image of God. His relationship with the
father was absolutely perfect. Jesus was able to cry out, “Abba Father” and
this showed the incredible closeness he and the Father has. We too, by
grace through faith can also cry out, “Abba Father.” We are all sons of God
through faith in Christ Jesus.
Now, notice the next part of that sentence. Paul writes that (27)
“for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with
Christ.” We sometimes call baptism the initiatory sacrament. What is meant
is that baptism is the first visible step in our life within the Body of
Christ. But, that is referring to water baptism. Water baptism is a
sacrament that signifies the cleansing from sin. We understand that this
baptism is not connected with a particular time when the person’s sin is
washed away. It could be before or after a person confesses Christ. Also,
it doesn’t, in any way, guarantee salvation. Is this what Paul is getting
at here?
No. He is not referring to water baptism, which is external. Here
he is speaking of the internal work of the Holy Spirit. The phrase,
“baptized into Christ” is related to the line just before it, “faith in
Christ Jesus.” You see, faith is an invisible sort of thing. We hope to
see our faith worked out in repentance. But faith itself is unseen.
Similarly, this baptism that Paul describes is internal.
But, what is the next line. How does this internal baptism play
itself out? If we are ‘baptized into Christ, then we are clothed with
Christ.’ This is imagery is more visible. To be clothed with something
means you can see it. You see my jacket. Well, what does it mean to be
clothed with Christ?

Two things, I think. First, who sees this? To answer this, let’s
start with who Christ is. Christ is God’s Son. He is the only one who can
legitimately make this claim. Any others, including ourselves, who claim to
be God’s son, can only do so because of Christ. Our adoption is dependent
on him. So, picture this: From God’s point of view, if we are clothed in
Christ. Who does God see us as? If I was standing here in a police
uniform. What would you think I was? …
This has a second, more earthly meaning. If we have been baptized
into Christ, that means that we have become a part of what he is doing.
Like water baptism, this internal baptism shows your membership in the
church. You are identified as a Christian. Like me, you probably have
several identification or membership cards in your wallet right now. These
come with rights and responsibilities. You have a license so you can drive,
but it comes with responsibilities. I have a Zoo membership card so we can
take Andrew into the zoo whenever we want, but I have to support the Zoo.
Maybe some of you were in a fraternity in college. You needed to pledge and
that gave you some rights, but also some responsibilities. When I became a
pastor, I got a real official document to hang on the wall. What did I have
to do to get it. Aside from the training and exams, I had to give an oath.
This means I am ‘all in’ with being a pastor. If we are baptized or
initiated into Christ, we are ‘all in.’ He has become my identity. Not
just from the perspective of the Father, but also in the perspective of the
watching world. God has identified you as his son, but do you really look
like him? Do you bear the marks of a Christian?
Let me assure you, none of us perfectly acts, speaks, or thinks like
Jesus. Surely this is the goal, but we are all moving in that direction.
How can we be sure? If we are trusting in Christ… If we have received
and are resting on him by faith, then we are his son. But our response is
often, but, I have so much pain in my life. I have so many difficulties.
Look at all this sin in my life. Sure, I believe it because God says it.
But, look at my life. The reality is that I have made little progress down
the road of sanctification. Look with me at Romans 8:28-30.
We understand from these verses that God uses all the various
influences in our lives for our good. The Heidelberg Catechism understands
this verse to mean our salvation. All things work together for our
salvation. All that junk in our lives God takes to move us to salvation.
But in what sense? We understand that it was his eternal purpose to
“conform us to the image of his Son.” We may not look like much now, but
God has predestined us to conform to the image of Jesus, his firstborn Son.
The image here is that of something pressed against or into another thing
like a mold. Think of a coin. Our coins are stamped. The result is the
image of Abraham Lincoln that I can spend on a gum ball. Think also of a
hammer beating a fiery-hot piece of steal against an anvil. What is the
result? A sward or other useful tool. Think also of those holy articles in
the Old Testament temple. How were they made? They were hammered into the
shape God intended. God’s goal for us is that we are conformed into the
image of Jesus, his son.
The question you and I are faced with is how this happens? Can’t he
just zap us into heaven? Couldn’t he just make us all holy right now? The
process seems really painful doesn’t it? It doesn’t always come across as a
fatherly way of doing things.

Or does it? Imagine a situation from your growing up years where
your parents wanted something genuinely good for you. And you wanted this
thing too. Was it always easy attaining this goal? Part of the job of
parents is to watch / allow / or cause difficulty – for our kids own good.
The other day we made pizzas at our house, and Andrew really loves helping
in the kitchen. So, he wanted to help. You already see where this is
going! He wanted to help cut the pizza. I told him a number of times,
“don’t touch the baking sheet!” What did he do? He only did it once.
Read with me Hebrews 12:1-13. Since we are identified as sons of
God, we must go through the Lord’s discipline. Check again verse 7: God is
treating us as sons when we go through discipline. And verse 8: if this
weren’t the case, we wouldn’t be God’s sons. But again, what is the goal?
Hebrews says the goal is to share in his holiness or elsewhere a harvest of
righteousness.

Here is the question I want us to leave with. Last week I asked you
to ponder your identity. You are God’s son. This mind-set makes a huge
difference in my faith. But, does it make a big difference in how I conduct
myself? I am clothed with Christ, so that is something. But, do I
outwardly look like him? How do I respond to the hammer of God’s
discipline? “This is part of what it means to be God’s son.” or like an
ordinary child, “Get off my back dad.”

The Son of God — part I

Jeremy Coenen preached.

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The Son of God
March 1, 2009

How do I become a son of God and what does it mean to be one?

Intro
If I ask you how you would characterize your relationship with God, how
would you respond? What adjective would you use? Would you say that you
are saved? Are you his servant? Are you God’s beloved? …
How does God view me?

As we begin, I’d like to take us through a little survey of biblical history
to help us understand what a son of God is. This will help us get some
perspective and will orient our thoughts for the next little while. We will
be summarizing several OT passages fairly quickly. Just write down the
references to look up later.
Let’s start in the beginning. There are several ways we could
describe our first father, Adam. He is, of course the first human. He was
formed from the earth. … He was also made in the image and likeness of
God. This is very significant. What does this phrase from Genesis 1:26-27
mean? Many here could give some very good theological explanations. But, I
am looking for a more straightforward explanation. If look a little further
on in the Adam narrative we find a fairly clear picture of what this phrase
means. Genesis 5:1-3 “This is the written account of Adam’s line. When God
created man, he made him in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and
female and blessed them. And when they were created, he called them “man.” 3
When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own
image; and he named him Seth.” Part of what it means for God to create Adam
in his own image and likeness is that Adam was, in a sense, God’s son. To
confirm this, we could look at the genealogy found in Luke 3. The genealogy
starts out by saying, “Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he
began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of
Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of
Jannai, the son of Joseph…” And the list ends with these words, “(37) the
son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel,
the son of Kenan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the
son of God.” … So, we see that the Bible views Adam as a son of God.
Let’s move along in biblical history and we will look at the Hebrew
people. We remember that God called Abraham to live in the land of promise.
And after Abraham we read about Isaac and Jacob. Then Jacob and his sons
move down to the land of Egypt. Initially this was under very good terms,
but that soon ended, and this, now nation, was forced into slavery. We also
remember that God raised up Moses to deliver his people from this slavery.
And, do you remember the words Moses was to use before Pharaoh? NIV Exodus
4:22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my
firstborn son, 23 and I told you, “Let my son go, so he may worship me.” But
you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.’” Then, much
later in Israel’s history the prophet Hosea said, NIV 1:10 “”Yet the
Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured
or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
they will be called ’sons of the living God.’” And again in 11:1 he said,
NIV “”When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my
son.” Note the focus on the exodus. And where did they go from Egypt? We
cannot take the time now to look at the passages, but when each tribe and
family of Israel was moving into the promised land, they were moving into
their inheritance. According to Deut 15:4 the land they possessed was their
inheritance. So their inheritance was a very tangible thing that was to be
passed down generation to generation. [Naomi]
Continuing on in history we must consider the Lord’s relationship
with Israel’s king. Remember that God himself was to be Israel’s king, but
he approved one to bear his image tangibly on the throne. Earlier we heard
2 Samuel 7 read for us. Do you remember the context of that passage? David
intends to build a house, or a temple, for the Lord. But what was the
Lord’s reply? He said, “I will build a house for you. And his kingdom will
be forever.” The direct fulfillment of this was that king Solomon built
God’s temple, but his throne of his kingdom was not eternal. In fact the
kingdom was split in two. Is there a more distant fulfillment of this
passage?
Turn into the New Testament to Colossians 1:15. We will look
briefly at this passage. [Read it.] Here we see that Jesus is the firstborn
over all creation and he is the image of God. These terms are teaching us
that Jesus is the Son of God par excellence. Jesus Christ is the Son of God
that the earlier figures were pointing forward to. They were shadows of the
one reality. Where Adam, Israel, and the Davidic Kings failed, Jesus will
never fail. If we want to know what the Father is like, look to Jesus. If
we want to know was is important to the Father, we must get to know Jesus’
priorities. If I want access to the Father, I must go through Jesus. Why
is that? I am a son of Adam, who was a son of God. Why can’t I claim my
inheritance that way? No chance. Look at what is behind Colossians
1:19-20, we need reconciliation with the Father, that can only come through
the Son. Sure, our first father was made in God’s image, but that perfect
relationship was marred by Adam’s disobedience. And we too, prove that true
everyday. You and I sin against God in thought, word and action everyday.
We need that reconciliation that can only come through Christ.
But, know this, Christ didn’t simply earn for us forgiveness.
Surely that is a wonderfully gracious act. But we also have so much more.
Did you realize that you and I also have an incredible inheritance. Israel
had an inheritance but lost it. Ours is an inheritance that can never be
lost. How is it that we have such an inheritance?
Turn, finally, to Romans 8:12-17. [Read it.] Here we find a very
well known passage. The beginning of this paragraph has to do with our
actions. We cannot take time now to go through this but this will be our
focus for next week. Let’s start at verse 14. Those who are led by the
Spirit of God are sons of God. Now, this is interesting considering all
that we have seen so far about the “son of God.” What does this language
mean and how does it relate to the other types of sons of God?
First we notice that this is describing those led by the Spirit of
God. This has a couple of meanings, I think. An inward and an outward. We
will talk specifically what the outward or visible one means next week.
Then we will talk about some outward changes that we should expect in our
lives. Now I simply want to talk about the inward realities of the sons of
God. Notice the parallel between this passage and the events of the exodus.
We already noted that the people were then called God’s son, but also
remember that they were led by the pillar of cloud and fire; in an analogous
way we too are led by the Spirit. This also recalls God’s sovereignty
because as they ancient Hebrew slaves brought nothing to the table to make
God love them, we can do nothing repel or bring about the Spirit’s leading
in our life. But, in his sovereignty, God adopts us as his sons. By what
means can we be called God’s sons? If we skip down to verse 17 we see that
we are co-heirs with Christ, who is legitimately God’s firstborn Son. He is
God’s Son by right because of who he is and what he has done. Remember,
where the others failed, he conquered. We have access to the Father simply
because of our ‘elder brother’ Jesus. This is what it means to be a
co-heir.
Now, let me deal with the gender issue. I am aware that some
contemporary translations want to say “children” or “sons and daughters.”
This seems like a good idea theologically because we are all one in Christ.
There is no male or female. (Gal 3:28) Which is exactly Paul’s point here.
Typically, in the ancient world, which gender inherited the father’s stuff?
Males. Ethnically, who would inherit the promises of the Bible?
Israelites. Morally, who could qualify to inherit this? The righteous.
Who here qualifies? None of us. But we all, regardless of what we have
done in our old lives, regardless of our ethnic background, regardless of
our gender, we are sons of God. Of course, God doesn’t disregard our gender
in our life before him. He uses us as his children exactly as we are. But,
when it comes to our adoption, we are considered as sons that we might have
full rights of inheritance. So, when God looks at you and me, who does he
see? God is looking at his own son. Rather than accusing the Apostle Paul
of gender inequality, we should be thankful that he is such an astute
theologian.
Before we wrap up, I want us to make one more observation on this
text. It is amazing to me that we can approach the Father so personally and
intimately just as Jesus did. We remember that as Jesus prayed in the
garden in Mark14:36 he said Abba, father. Why did he pray this way? He was
demonstrating the closeness that he had with his Father from all eternity.
Keep in mind, nothing separated him from his father. There was absolutely
no sin in their relationship. No hurt feelings. No undone chores. No
misunderstandings. This is a relationship that we can hardly imagine. It
is perfect. The only thing that has ever separated the Son from the Father
was our sin. When Jesus was dying on the cross he took on our sins and at
that moment he cried out, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” At
that point the sins of God’s people were cancelled. Because he did that,
you and I can cry out, Abba Father. You and I can have that relationship
that Jesus has with the Heavenly Father. This is a relationship that can
never change. We have done nothing to earn it and there is nothing we can
do to mess it up.
Sarah and I have been considering for some years now to adopt a
child. It is kind of on the back burner now. But one of the sad things
about modern adoption law is that, if the parents no longer likes a child
that they adopted the child can be returned. Now, there is no way that
could ever happen to us. We have been bought and paid for by Jesus himself
and there is a strict no return policy. We are perminantly in God’s family
as his own sons. As you are approaching God remember that you are communing
with your Father. This is not some unknowable being out there. He is not
an untouchable creator. God, our Father, is the one who has sought you and
brought you into his family at a terrible cost to himself. You are hisown
son. This week, as you are praying and meditating on your relationship with
him, rethink who you are because of the Son of God.