One Family

Our Lord knew His own deliverance. He knew He would be raised from the dead. He knew of the joy that was set before Him. He had an eternal right to heaven and glory and also a new right by the purchase of perfect obedience unto death, yet He would have this right confirmed by prayer. So it is with all believers. Even if we are independently wealthy and have our assurance of mercy, yet we are commanded to acknowledge our dependency upon His grace as our Saviour taught in MAT 6:11-13. "Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." This helps keep us humble, walking in the Spirit of Christ and dependent on the Lord. You and I still carry that old nature. We are still subject to temptation, and we must ask for this deliverance daily. The Lord wants us to acknowledge these things and reflect as a little child our dependence upon Him.

It is good to recognize that Christ did not commence His intercessory prayer saying "Our Father." He distinguishes between His relationship with the Father and ours even though we are coheirs with Him. JOH 20:17 says, "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." He is a Son who is coequal with the Father, and we cannot lay claim to that. We are sons by adoption in Christ.

ROM 8:15-17 says, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." His relationship with the Father is the original relationship, and our relationship is only through Him. In our land, if you have a natural child and then you have an adopted child, you can disinherit your own child, but you cannot disinherit an adopted child. So now we become joint-heirs with Christ. We are not heirs by nature; Christ is. We can be glorified together with Christ, but we have no glory outside of the glory we have in Jesus Christ.

What an unspeakable blessing when we receive that spirit of adoption whereby we can, "cry, Abba, Father," that we can address Him as our Father. With such a parental relationship with our heavenly Father, we beam with affection, holy reverence, confidence and childlike submission, under the most trying circumstances. See Christ's example in MAT 26:39, "And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt." Think of a time when your child may have been on his death bed. It would draw all of your love and affection for such a one, and that is where the heart of our heavenly Father is toward His children. He was able to restrain His love for His own Son because of the love He had for such wretches as we are. We call into remembrance His parental love when we call to Him, "Abba, Father." We come with reverence, yet we also come with childlike submission. We can take the Father's hand as a little child, confident that He will take care of all of our needs. We confess that our hearts are in unconditional submission to His will.

See how that all Christ's prayers are bottomed on this parental relationship with His Father. JOH 17:5 says, "And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."

Our Saviour taught by His example and in His teaching that we are to come unto God through faith, addressing Him as our Father. MAT 6:9 says, "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name." We are to come before God respecting Him and acknowledging that parental relationship, which denotes authority and submission, reverence, dependency.

The great work of the Holy Spirit is to rebuild this family relationship between those whom the Father has loved from eternity and Himself. In paradise, we that parent-son relationship with God the Father. We rebelled against that authority. It is in that spirit of adoption that we acknowledge and accept that He is our Father, and that we bow to that authority, that we are drawn by that affection and love.

Those who remain under the "spirit of bondage" unto sin and self, may well cry "Lord, Lord," but they cannot cry, "Abba, Father." We see this in MAT 7:22-23, "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." They could not address God as Father because there was no humble submission to His will. They were not in His service. They were still working iniquity even though they called Him Lord.