With Lord's Day 9 the Heidelberg Catechism begins the treatment of the articles of the Apostolic Confession, the Apostles Creed. These articles, by which we express unity with the Church throughout the ages, are very basic truths to the Christian faith. But make no mistake, the church fathers never intended that a mere repetition of the words of the Creed would be a sufficient sign of Christianity. Our faith consists not in words, but in that which those words teach, in doctrine. Our faith lays hold not of something superficial; but it lays hold upon the substance. That must be clearly understood. Virtually all heretics who claim the name "Christian" are willing enough to subscribe to the words of this Creed. Each, however, attaches to those words whatever meaning he pleases, even though his meaning may be diametrically opposed to sound doctrine. So we look at these articles of the Christian faith, and seek to understand them clearly in the light of the Scriptures. And understanding that fundamental importance of laying hold of God's truth, our Heidelberg Catechism demonstrates exactly what is meant by each article of the Apostles Creed.
With the awestruck rejoicing of the Apostle John in I John 3, so we also begin by looking with amazement upon our Father God. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God" (I John 3:1a). I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. The same God Who created the universe, Who is Almighty, is my God and my Father for the sake of Christ His Son. He is Father in Himself. He is the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is Father of creation, Father of all the works of His hands. For He produced them to reflect His own glory. But in Christ and because of Christ He is also my Father. That is the glorious truth before which we stand this morning. And true to the whole approach of the Catechism this is presented not merely as a piece of abstract doctrine, but as it should be—as a confession of our faith. This is what you and I are supposed to say this morning, as a fruit of the preaching of the gospel. By the work of the Spirit in our hearts, let us confess, "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth." Such a confession, coming from the heart, is sure to see the rich fruits of God's grace, resulting in a blessed assurance of perfect peace. Consider with me then:
OUR FATHER GOD
I. HIS GREATNESS
II. OUR RELIANCE UPON HIM
III. THE RESULTING ASSURANCE
THE GOD WHOM WE CONFESS IS A GREAT GOD, THE ONE ONLY TRUE GOD.
BEFORE WE GET INTO THE CONCEPT OF HIS FATHERHOOD, I WANT TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT OUR FATHER GOD IS INDEED "ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH."
That is presented to us as a source of tremendous comfort. And as that is our confession, it signifies that we live in the consciousness of its advantage. That is a theme that resounds throughout the Bible, and perhaps especially in the Book of Psalms. In Psalm 115, the third verse of which is referred to in the scriptural footnotes to this Lord's Day, the psalmist sets forth the contrast between our God and the gods of the heathen. "Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not," and so on. They are but impotent idols of men's imaginations. "But"—oh, what a sharp contrast this is; an infinite contrast. "But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased." Psalm 47 is a call to praise and adoration. It is a call to the Church to lift up her voice with singing. Why? "For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding. God reigneth over the heathen: God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness." The same is held forth in Psalm 145: "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts."
His greatness is seen in the works of His hands. He is the One Who "of nothing made heaven and earth, with all that is in them; who likewise upholds and governs the same by His eternal counsel and providence." You will notice that the last expression from my lips, which I quoted from Lord's Day 9, is included in the Lord's Day in parentheses. That is not the focus of this Lord's Day. Nevertheless, it goes hand in hand with the comforting focus of this Word of God, which points us to our Father God. For we have in our God not only a faithful Father, but an Almighty God. And the importance of that is quickly understood. As earthly fathers there are sometimes things that we would like to do for our children, or situations that we would like to keep them from entering, but we are powerless to change things. We stand, perhaps, as the sick bed of our children, and are unable to do anything to accomplish their healing. But our Father God is incomparable in His superiority over us earthly fathers. For He is not only willing as a faithful Father to do what is necessary for our salvation, but He is able to do it, being Almighty God. That is the perspective from which the Catechism comes when it points to our Father God being Almighty, and the Maker of heaven and earth.
And let us understand, this confession is fundamental. To confess God as our Father, we also confess that He is the Maker of heaven and earth. That is Scripture. Our smallest children learn the first verse of the Bible very early in life. We teach them, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." We believe that. We believe that because God tells us that. We believe our heavenly Father. That is faith after all, as we have already seen. Faith holds for truth all that God has revealed to us in His Word. Faith doesn't listen to man's proud theories concerning the origin of all things. Faith, in fact, rejects anything which contradicts that which God reveals in Scripture. Pastor Haak said it in his speech the other night, and that is certainly true: Evolution is not science. The teaching of evolution and the belief in evolution is another religion that stands opposed to the God Who reveals Himself in His Word. Evolution is that religion of man who rejects God and who, following the lie of the devil, makes God out to be a liar. I believe in the Creator Who is God my Father. I believe His Word. I believe therefore that in six literal days he made all things. "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." It wasn't that He even needed six days. For as Psalm 33:9 puts it: "For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." But according to His own will He took six days, enjoying the fruits of each one, and then standing back at the completion of it all and resting on the seventh day from all His creative handiwork. I stand, therefore—and you do too—before the wonder of creation and stand in awe that God out of nothing made heaven and earth and all things in them according to His sovereign and eternal counsel and to serve His own good pleasure. Our Father God is the great God!
WE CONFESS HIS GREATNESS BECAUSE WE SEE BY FAITH THAT HE IS OUR GOD AND FATHER.
God the Creator made heaven and earth, with all that is in them, and even now upholds and governs all things, as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We confess faith in God the Father as "the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." That explanation by the Catechism gets us into the heart of this article of faith. This article of faith, properly understood and confessed, immediately excludes all false religions which deny the plurality of Persons in the Godhead. Our complete confession concerning the Son of God and the Holy Spirit will follow. But Christianity does not stand in harmony with Islam or Buddhism or Hinduism. Nor does it stand in harmony with what is taught in the Church of the Latter Day Saints (the Mormons), or by the Jehovah Witnesses. Christianity is not one with Judaism, though it is the fulfillment of Judaism with the Messiah being Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God. We believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, Who is the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
A father we often identify by certain character traits or characteristic that we expect in such a man. A father, we might say, is loving, is a leader, gives guidance, and so on. But such characteristics do not define a father. The word "father" speaks of one who begets a child. Now that word beget might seem like an outdated word. To produce might serve as a substitute for the word beget, but certainly not without its problems. A father is one who begets or generates a child. He may have nothing of those desirable characteristics that we would see in a father. But such a lack does not make him less than a father. That is why, when we hear God referred to as a Father, we must not form a conception of Him based upon any human father. Rather, it must be the other way around. As earthly fathers, we are called to mold ourselves according to the character traits God sets before us in the Bible as He reveals Himself to us in all His glory. But on the foreground in this revelation of Himself is the truth that He is the One Who generates a Son in His own likeness.
God is Father in Himself, Father of the Son in the divine essence. This goes beyond our human and finite minds, of course. But from all eternity the Father generated the Son, One like unto Himself yet standing as another Person within Himself. And although this is indeed a very difficult concept for us to grasp, Scripture reveals that this was indeed an eternal act of God the Father. It isn't so that the Father was first alone and that He then generated a Son. The Father and the Son are co-eternal. And that generation of the Son within the divine Being takes place in the Holy Spirit. Now this brings us back to our meditation on the Trinity and the covenant family life of God, into which He brings us His people. But such is the Fatherhood of God. And as the Father looks upon His Son, He sees Himself. The Son is the perfect image of the Father.
But when we make this confession of faith in God as the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we are saying something different. We are not confessing here our belief in the First Person of the Trinity in relation to the second. Yet, it is true, the Lord Jesus Christ is also the Son. But when we speak of God being the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we do not refer to the Father as the first Person of the Holy Trinity, but to the Triune God in relation to Christ in the human nature. That is a biblical expression, found several times in the New Testament. "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," Peter exclaims in I Peter 1:3. The Triune God Who saves us is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But what I would call your attention to right now is the fact that all
things serve Christ. That is a very beautiful aspect of this Lord's Day. The eternal
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ does all for His sake. He made all things as the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is why, properly understood, your view of Genesis 1
and 2 has everything to do with your salvation. The first two chapters of the Bible as
well as all the rest of Scripture are gospel. All things were made with Christ in view and
for His sake! This entire creation and every thing that has ever taken place and will yet
occur has a central focus—the revelation of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ
our Lord. When Adam fell into sin and death, it was purposed in God's counsel so that
Christ might come. The eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ had Him in mind when He
proclaimed the gospel to Adam and Eve and throughout the entire Old Testament period. And
in the accomplishment of His purpose and eternal good pleasure Christ came in the fulness
of time, born in Bethlehem of the virgin Mary, having been conceived in her womb by the
power of the Holy Spirit. Some 33 years later He died on the cross as God the Father had
ordained. He was raised the third day for our justification, and is now exalted in the
highest heaven at God's right hand for our sakes. The greatness of God is seen not only in
His creative power and handiwork, but in being the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
OUR RELIANCE UPON OUR GREAT GOD COMES, HOWEVER, FROM SEEING HIM AS OUR FATHER FOR
JESUS' SAKE.
THIS IS WHERE THE WRITING OF THE INSPIRED APOSTLE IN I JOHN 3 CAUSES A THRILL IN THE SOUL OF EVERY BELIEVER.
Listen once again: "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." What a profound definition of who we are as Christians! You and I, such as we are, stand in this relationship to God—that He is our Father, and we are His children. "The eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is for the sake of Christ His Son, my God and my Father." And in I John 3 the inspired apostle pauses to contemplate this wonder. What does this mean that we are the sons of God? Well, in the first place, there is in this relationship is legal statement that defines the relationship. A son is one who is related to his father in a way that no one else is. He has a position that entitles him to certain legal privileges. But in I John 3, there is another emphasis here. Because the word sons is more properly translated children. Now it is true, there is little difference between the two words. But those are two distinct words. And the distinction is this, that the word son emphasizes that legal, external relationship, while the word child or children always puts the emphasis on the nature that the child derives by generation. The child shares the common nature and blood of the parent. So that the word child speaks of the internal, organic aspect of the relationship rather than the legal position. And what John, therefore, emphasizes here and what we must receive as a profound blessing, is the fact that we who are truly Christians are partakers of the very life of God. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is my Father! He is my Father in such a way that for the sake of Christ His Son He has made me partaker of the divine nature, says Peter in II Peter 1:4. He has taken me into His own covenant life of intimate fellowship and love. What we confess in this article of faith, therefore, is directly related to and flows out of our confession concerning the Trinity, which we considered last time.
Now there is much talk in our day about the common brotherhood of man. That is something that, according to many, flows out of the universal Fatherhood of God. All men are the children of God and therefore God loves all men, longs for the salvation of all men, etcetera, etcetera. To that idea we point out that there is indeed a sense in which all men and women are the offspring of God. By that we mean simply that they have been created by Him and find their existence from Him. That is the sense in which Paul spoke when he said to the men of Athens that God had made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth. And he proceeded to warn them, "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, of stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" (Acts 17:29-31). We who have life and breath, cannot possibly be the offspring of an inanimate object made by another man. God is our Creator. It is He that has made us.
BUT THAT WE CONFESS HIM AS OUR FATHER FOR JESUS' SAKE POINTS TO A VERY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP THAT IS FAR DIFFERENT FROM THAT RELATIONSHIP OF BROTHERHOOD IN ADAM.
The fact that God gives us our earthly existence through the generation and conception of our earthly parents does not bring us into His own family. John made that very clear when he recorded in his gospel account the words of Jesus to Nicodemus. You must be born again! And so this relationship of which we speak now is very clearly set forth in the Bible as a very special relationship of sonship to God as a result of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit. John goes on in this chapter, as we read, to spell out the differences that mark the children of God in distinction from the children of the devil. "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother" (I John 3:10). The Lord Jesus himself made the same sharp distinction when He turned to certain people and said, "Ye are of your father the devil." So that this idea of the universal Fatherhood of God that finds all men objects of His love and grace is not biblical at all. Indeed, it violates that which is the plain teaching of Scripture. It is only those who are born again, who are in Christ, that are truly the children of God and who cry out "Abba, Father." Only those who are in Christ stand in this intimate relationship to God. Of those who know not Christ with a true and living faith the Bible says that they are outside the life of God. They remain dead in trespasses and sins, and have none of the privileges of sonship. And such were we, beloved. What an amazing thing this is! "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God!" He has made us members of His own family!
You know, beloved, there is something about making this confession our own that is almost staggering. To confess that the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is for the sake of Christ His Son, my God and my Father, is at the same time so wonderful and so overwhelming that it is almost impossible to accept, isn't it. Don't you find it so? Yet that is what defines a Christian. He or she is a member of God's family! We must not think of a Christian as merely one who lays claim to the name. A Christian is not merely someone who is friendly, who is tying to live a good life, trying to be a little better than the next guy. A Christian is not someone who goes through certain rituals and follows certain regulations dictated by the church. Oh yes, a Christian follows the pathway of righteousness. A Christian is one who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, who loves God's precepts, who longs for the Word. But before anything a Christian does stands this: He or she is a child of God. We are those who have been born again, born of the Spirit of Christ. We have received something of the very life and nature of God our Father. We are a new creation, and therefore absolutely and essentially different from those who have not experienced that.
How have we become the children of God? The Catechism points us to Christ. John speaks of the wonder of the Father's love which He has bestowed upon us. Notice, John doesn't say that God has shown His love to us, nor that He has revealed it. He doesn't say that God loves us—although He does love us and has from eternity and has shown and displayed that love to us. That is all true. But John goes further here, when he says that the Father has bestowed His love upon us. He has implanted Himself into us, infused His love into us. Paul says in Romans 5 that the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us. That is ours for the sake of Christ His Son. After all, He gave us to Christ. And He gave Christ for us. He did so that He might accomplish His purpose in the children who were the objects of His sovereign and distinguishing love. He did so for us, for you who believe. Oh the marvel of it all! "Behold, what manner of love!" Love that has not only forgiven us, but has given itself to us! Love that has not only cleansed us, but has taken us into such intimate fellowship with God that we know Him as our Father!
When we see Him in that relationship, as we stand before him in Christ
Jesus our Lord, then we may say, "I rely upon Him so entirely, that I have no doubt
but that He will provide me with all things necessary for soul and body, and further, that
He will make whatever evils He sends upon me, in this valley of tears, turn out to my
advantage; for He is able to do it, being Almighty God, and willing, being a faithful
Father."
WHAT A POWERFUL ASSURANCE RESULTS FROM KNOWING GOD THE FATHER, ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN
AND EARTH, FROM KNOWING HIM WITH TRUE FAITH AS OUR FATHER FOR JESUS' SAKE.
OUR SITUATION IN THIS WORLD IS OFTEN VERY UNPLEASANT TO THE FLESH.
We live, as our Catechism says, in a valley of tears. Being a Christian doesn't excuse you from the sufferings of this present time. Being a Christian in fact will bring increase to those sufferings. Because not only do we experience the sufferings common to man, but we experience the spiritual sufferings and soul cares of those who are Father's children. We experience the sorrow of heart in knowing our offense against God when we fall into sin. We suffer the grief of the constant struggle with our sinful natures. We live in a world where our spiritual consciousness is constantly pounded by the sin around us, and where we ourselves, weak in the flesh, are tempted on every side.
Then, even our physical battles with affliction and death and every earthly trial has a spiritual dimension which the world cannot understand. No wonder then that the Bible again and again speaks of the sorrows and burdens and tears of the Christian. No wonder that the Bible, seeing the reality, calls our earthly sojourn a journey through the waste-howling wilderness.
BUT WHAT A COMFORT, WHAT BLESSED ASSURANCE, IS OURS WHEN WE KNOW THE RELATIONSHIP IN WHICH WE STAND TO GOD AS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CHILDREN AND THEIR LOVING FATHER.
The Almighty Creator and Sustainer of the universe is my Father and my God for Jesus' sake. And because He is Faithful, the God Who never changes, I am assured that He will love me, provide for me, instruct me and rule me by His Spirit and grace at all times and in every circumstance. He guides me through this earthly sojourn. By His hand He leads me, even through that which I call evil. And He does so in such a way that everything turns out to my advantage. Oh no, I often don't understand now. But with faith I place my confidence in my Father, Who is Almighty God and willing to take me unto Himself. And I say, "What a comfort, that I belong in body and soul, in life and death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ! For in Him I know my Father's love."
Amen.
Preached: 1) Randolph PRC 10/6/96 (am)
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