So the letter of John, 1 John chapter 3, the first three verses. This is the word of the Lord. How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. And this morning, I want to read to you the New King James translation as well, because that's where our sermon comes from, through the New King James translation, where it says in verse 1, Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. Beloved, Now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure." God's holy word. This morning's message has been preached in the Brampton United Reformed Church by Pastor John Bowers. And so I bring this word to you here this morning with the knowledge that even though I didn't write the sermon, it has been written. It's been written by a servant of the Lord And this is what's before us today. So it is our prayer that we would be encouraged through it. So based on 1 John 3, 1 to 3, the title of the message is The Blessing of Calling God Father. And then what does the Bible say? Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, As we come here to look at the basic things the Bible teaches us, we come together this morning to see what the Bible says about being called children of the living God. What does the Bible say about being able to call God our Father? Being able to say that we are to be considered children of God, that we are called children of God. We come to that, I think familiar to many of us, portion of scripture in 1 John 3 verse 1, in the New King James, Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God. You probably know a song that goes kind of like that. Take these words and put them to wonderful music. And you have the sense as you sing these words, behold what manner of love, that really this is something that's amazing. The language in the New King James translation may be considered by some to be a little archaic or old-fashioned. Who speaks this way anymore? Who says, behold, We don't typically run into people on the street and say, behold, the light is turning green. We tend to not speak that way. So we may say this language is a little bit old-fashioned. Some other translations these days will say something like, look or see. And I would submit to you that they lack a little bit of the urgency that still comes to us in the word, behold. There are other translations that dismiss the word altogether and simply say, how great the love the Father has given us. But we have to understand that the opening word is a command. That is to say, you need to take note here. You need to open your eyes and see. You need to look and ponder this reality. You need to think about what we are talking about here this morning as something that is of great, great significance and blessing. Behold, that we should be called the children of God. And why is that? It is because of the great love of our God and Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is at the heart of what it is to be a Christian. J.I. Packer has said, if you are not thrilled about the privilege of being a child of God and the privilege that you get to call God Father, then you haven't yet really understood with any great degree of significance what it is to be a Christian. The blessing that we have unpacked before us is at the heart of what it is to be a Christian. The blessing of adoption. Adoption. That's what's being set before us. And over against the reality that Jesus Christ is the eternal and natural Son of God, the Father, we, by His grace, because of Jesus Christ, come to know ourselves as His adopted children. And it's helpful for us to think about what we know about adoption to help us appreciate the blessing that is set before us in this biblical teaching, this blessing of adoption. We know that when someone is adopted, they are adopted as an expression of compassion on behalf of those who do the adopting. And it's the same, just to the nth degree, so to speak, with an eternal perspective. in terms of the blessing that we may be the adopted children of God. There was nothing about us that would have recommended us to God so that he would say, well, I take this one and that one. And it's helpful then for us to know that the blessing set before us, we know that when someone is adopted, that they're adopted out of love of Christ. There was nothing about us. It's His grace. It's His mercy. It's His loving favor. What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called children of God. So I want to preach that blessing to you this morning. The blessing of being called children of God. Or the blessing, we could put it another way, the blessing of calling God our Father. And reflecting together, from the summary of the Bible's teaching here, what the Bible has to say about that. So we're going to ask three questions together along the way. And the first question is this. What is so amazing about this? You definitely have the sense from the opening, behold, that there is something that almost knocks your socks off. Something that is just too much even to get our minds around. Something that is so wonderful. Something that is so great. Now as you will see as we make our way here, I'm simply just going to work out the phrase, God is my father, but choosing to emphasize different aspects of that phrase. First of all, in the first point, God is my father. And in the second place, God is my father. And in the third place, God is my father. We hope to reflect on all of these things as we make our way together. And so in the first place, God is my father. What's so amazing? You definitely have the sense when the passage begins with a behold, that there is something that is of great significance. But what's the wonder that stands behind the awe? What is the explanation for this wonderment? What manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called his children? Literally, translating from the Greek, it could be something like, what country is this from? Where does this come from? And we would say that this is something almost foreign about what we are considering here. There is something that is completely unexpected. something we would never have imagined, that the God of the universe, and there is but one, I am God and there is no other, he says, the God of the universe has become our Father. So we speak to a degree of communion and intimacy, fellowship with a Father who loves us. Now there are those, and maybe I'm addressing some here this morning, who face any discussion about fatherhood with a degree of apprehension or even disappointment. Because we understand fatherhood in light of our own broken reality. And I would have to say that we should all get that to a degree. I am a father. And by God's grace, a grandfather. I think by the grace of God, I'm a better grandfather than I am a father. But I'm still a father. But I'm not a perfect father. I have not been a perfect father. And my children could tell you that. And I think every one of us would be able to speak in similar fashion if we were really honest. We are talking about God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. What's so amazing here is that His fatherhood is not something that is sort of on a tangent of who He is. It is who He is. It's who He is from all eternity. That builds upon the fact that we serve one God, who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And God is the eternal father of our Lord Jesus Christ, suggesting that that is something that he always was. That's something that is a deep-rooted part of his character. He didn't have to learn how to be a father. He hasn't made mistakes along the way. He is an eternal father who has always been a father, who has always known what he is doing. and who always expresses this tenderness that we will sing about later in Psalm 103, this pity, this compassion for sinners, this tender love that our Father has. He is the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He knows how to be a good Father. He is also the one who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them by the word of His power. He spoke and there it was. This God, our Father. That's an amazing thing. That's what makes this so amazing. This God, the one only God, our God and Father. He made all things out of nothing. If you look to Hebrews 11 verse 3, when it speaks of how by faith we confess and believe that the Lord made all things, not out of anything that was made. That's creation out of nothing. In the beginning was God, we read in Genesis 1 verse 1. Other than God, who is eternal, there was nothing. We can't even get our minds wrapped around that. That's so above and beyond where we are at. But this is the God we speak of, who spoke the world into existence by the word of his power. And this God, who is so amazingly our God, not only spoke the world into existence, he also upholds and governs all things by his eternal counsel and providence. That is to say, He's got this. God's governing all things as being in His hands. He's got the whole world in His hands. So God is not a cold, distant, or aloof God who has simply set the world into being, wound it up like a clock, and set it off to see what happens. God governs and upholds all things. Our times, our lives are in His hands. We will see a little bit further in the unpacking of the teaching here that He turns all things to our profit. Even the adversity He sends us in this sad world, in this veil of tears. Note the quote in today's bulletin. by J.C. Ryle, a trial is an instrument by which our Father in heaven makes Christians more holy. We know what adversity is. We are experiencing a new kind of challenge in this present day. And our confession is, nevertheless, God is God. And He's got this. He's got us. And we are His children. So we've been looking together at the first question, what is so amazing about this? Well, we're just looking at the fact that God is God. And that's amazing. He's amazing in the exercise of His control, His sovereignty, His care, His dominion, His creative power. And this God is our God. What makes it more amazing, as we come into our second question, is who we are and what we were. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we, we, should be called the children of God. When we understand something about ourselves, what we were by nature, what we deserve in our sinfulness and rebellion, And this makes this consideration all the more amazing. And so how significant is this for me? This is the next question that I have to ask. And we are looking at the blessing that God is my father with the emphasis God is my father. Do you know that blessing? Are you living in the joy of being able to say, God has become my father for the sake of Christ his son? It's important that we know this personally. Knowing and believing that God is my father helps us in bringing together the teaching of the whole Bible. And we'll always seek to ensure that we get this personally. and that we are able to say, by the grace of God, he has become my father for the sake of Christ, his son. In John 1, the gospel of John toward the beginning of the New Testament, when we are being introduced to the Lord Jesus who came and dwelt among us to be the savior of his people, we were told in John 1, verse 11, that he came unto his own and his own did not receive him. Who are you? Why do you matter? They said. But John 1 verse 12 says that as many as received him, he gave the right to become children of God. And that's how we are able to say God has become my father. It's important that we understand this. Now, there is a sense, perhaps, that it can be said that God is the father of everybody. by virtue of the fact that everybody has been created by God. But that's not what we're talking about here. And that's not enough in terms of why this matters to me personally, and in terms of how I may experience and enjoy this personally. We enjoy that blessing only by faith, and only because of Jesus. That's very, very important. It's very rich. And it's very amazing. It's what keeps us singing with a sense of wonderment. He has become my father, that we, we should become the children of God. That is an amazing thing. It's by the work of God's spirit in our life that we are directed to put our trust in Jesus. and go to the Father through Him. In 1 John 2 verse 1 it is said that we have an advocate with the Father. We have Jesus in the presence of the Father, who is our way to the Father. Left to ourselves and in our own sinfulness, we would not only just stay away or not care, or be unconcerned about God as Father, we would also be completely unworthy and unable to stand in the presence of the holy, beautiful God. But we have an advocate with the Father. Jesus Christ has opened the way. Jesus Christ brings us together into the presence of his Father. In Hebrews 2.11 we read, both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. Jesus is not ashamed to call us his brethren, even though we have given him every reason to be ashamed. You see, the blessing of being able to say, he is my father, is not because we have puffed ourselves up or pumped ourselves up, cranked ourselves so that we can say, hey, look, God, I've tried really hard. You should really be pretty impressed with me. No, not at all. God is not looking for that. It's all grace. It's His love. What manner of love He has bestowed upon us. And God has set His love upon sinners. Unworthy sinners like you and me. Because of Jesus Christ, His Son. And it is because of that that we are able to say, He is my Father. My times are in His hand. My life is in His hand. He is a loving Father who knows exactly what I need. Your Father in heaven knows. And so we may look to this God and Father in the confidence that He knows. He knows how to give good gifts to His children. It's just like the way we deal with our children. Sometimes our kids ask us for silly things. And when they ask for silly things, we don't typically give them to them. I would love, the child might say, I would love to have a scorpion as a pet. And you would say, I don't think that's a good idea. Because you love them, but you'll find ways to bless them and give them things that are good for them. that answers to their need without being taken along with foolish and unhelpful requests. And again, to the nth degree, God, our Father in heaven, knows what He's doing in answer to our requests. For all those who are able to say, He is my Father, for Jesus' sake. Now look as well at the language of 1 John 3. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God. That's what we are called. We read in verse 2, beloved. We are loved by God. Now we are children of God. It's not just that you are called children of God, but it's who we are in Jesus Christ. He has become my father for Jesus' sake. On the one hand, this challenges us over against a distant, cold nominalism. Nominalism in the sense of being a Christian in name only. There are people who call themselves children of God who don't know him. who don't actually trust Him, who are not living their lives in loving and joyful fellowship with Him as their loving Father. But here we are being encouraged as we say, I put my trust in Jesus Christ and come to the Father through Him. God has become my Father. It's not just what I'm called, it's who I am. And when we think about who we are in the Lord Jesus Christ, let's be encouraged in the face of everything else we're up against in this world. I may struggle with certain particular sins in my life. I may struggle with fearfulness or anxiety. There may be aspects in our hearts and lives where we have thoughts that are not at all right. Lustful thinking. These things are sometimes present with us, the ones who desire to glorify God. We need to be encouraged that rather than looking within for a description of who we are, I'm a lustful person, I'm an anxious person, I'm an angry person, that instead we look beyond ourselves. We look up. Behold, we look. We look up to God and we say, who am I? I am a son or daughter of the king. I am a child of God. Now that is not to say that God would have us to stay in our sin or that God would pamper us in our sin and say, hey, that's okay, it doesn't matter. Not the point. We'll get to that in the third point. But who are we? Who am I? What manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God? I am a child of God. That's significant, isn't it? He is my Father, for Jesus' sake. So then finally, the third question. What difference does it make that God is my Father? This God who created everything by the word of His power out of nothing, this God who rules everything in His sovereign grace, His eternal counsel and providence is my Father. He is at work in my life. He's got me in His hand. I alluded already to the fact that this is a veil of tears. The world that we live in is broken. There is brokenness around us. There is pain and there is sorrow. There is anxiety and there is fearfulness. But our confidence, because He is our Father, is that He is turning all of these things to our profit. Think about that and be encouraged and be emboldened by it. These days, as difficult and as hindering as they are, are an opportunity for us. Let's pray and work that we may see it that way, because God is at work for our good, even in the midst of all the difficult things that he sends into our lives. That's a humble confession. God is in control. We can be helped so much by our confessions when we look to the Westminster Shorer Catechism and the Heidelberg Catechism to deepen our understanding of God's Holy Word. The Heidelberg Catechism question and answer 26 draws out the following for us when asked, what do we believe when we say, I believe the God, I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. And the answer that the eternal father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and everything in them, who still upholds and rules them by his eternal counsel and providence, is my God and father for the sake of Christ his son. I trust God so much that I do not doubt he will provide whatever I need for body and soul. and will turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this veil of tears." He is able to do this because he is Almighty God. He desires to do this because he is a faithful father. In turning to question and answer 100 of the shorter catechism, Through our memorization that we've just begun, we'll be picking this one up in August 2023. Question and answer 100. What does the preface of the Lord's Prayer teach us? The preface of the Lord's prayer, which is our father, which art in heaven, teaches us to draw near to God with all holy reverence and confidence as children to a father able and ready to help us that we should pray with and for others. You see, brothers and sisters, he's not just a powerful God who lives at a distance. and who does as He pleases. He is a God who loves us and knows what He is doing. And that means we have a glorious future. That means we can live with great confidence. Again, as expressed in 1 John 3, taking up at verse 2, we are children of God. It's not yet been revealed what we shall be. That is to say, what's going to happen tomorrow? How things will go for us on the way to eternity has not been fully revealed to us in terms of the specific details and challenges we will be called to face. But we know this. We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him. We shall see Him as He is. We know our future is secure with Him. We know we will be with Him in eternity. And we know that He is at work along the way. And in addition to the things we don't know in this veil of tears, there is hardship, there is opposition. Again, in 1 John 3, back at verse 1, the world didn't know us. because it didn't know Him. There are all kinds of things that we will run up against that will be difficult. The blessing promised us that we shall see Him and that we shall be like Him does not mean that we are set free from challenge and difficulty. It doesn't mean that our lives will be pain-free. But it does mean that He is our loving Father, that even our pain will have its glorious purpose, because He loves us. And He is turning even that to our good. And the encouragement as well, when we live in this hope, what do we do? Last verse, verse three, we purify ourselves even as He is pure. That's His work of grace. It's our calling, it's our responsibility, now that we know we are His children, now that we are certain we should be like Him, we shall see Him as He is, that we have this desire, a desire to clean up our heads, clean up our hearts, and clean up our lives. That's an ongoing challenge, but one that we are enabled to take on because of His love, because of His grace, because of His faithfulness. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us. And so let me just conclude with an urging and an encouragement for every one of us to behold, look, look to this God, and be amazed at the wonder of His grace. Rest in His sovereign love and care. Trust, as you are able to say, as I commit myself to God and rest in Him. He is my Father for Jesus' sake. He is at work for my good and for His glory. And one day, I will be like Him. That is to say, I will be fully purified. I won't have any more sin. That blessing will be enjoyed when He takes us home. Not till then. But it's something we can be completely confident of. We will see Him as He is. Amen.