Fatherhood of God, Part 4: From Knowing His Acts to Becoming a New Creation

The fatherhood of God is, in this preacher’s words, the most important revelation in the Bible. In this message he teaches that worship goes beyond thanking God for what He does: it relates to who He is, our Father. Through the new birth we become a new creation, born of the incorruptible seed of His Word, not merely adopted into a family as outsiders.

He calls this the fourth part of his teaching on the fatherhood of God, and it follows Fatherhood of God, Part 2: Born Again as Sons, Not Foster Children. Below you will find the full video, a structured summary, the Scriptures he uses (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline and practical steps for growing closer to the Father this week.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was posted on March 14, 2023, at NTC Ministries. The speaker ties it to an earlier series on becoming worshipers and says everything is coming together into a greater relationship with God than the church has known so far. His foundation text for the whole teaching is Ephesians 3:13–15, where Paul bows his knees to the Father, of whom every fatherhood in heaven and earth is named.

From there he moves through God’s names, the gifts of the Father, the last verses of both Testaments, the new birth, and Moses and David seeking God’s face. He ends with an invitation to be born again or to return to the Lord.

From Praise to Worship: Knowing His Ways

The pastor explains the difference between praise and worship. Praise thanks God for what He has done, is doing and will do. Worship relates to who He is. Scripture reveals Him step by step, and he traces that revelation through God’s names.

Genesis 1:1 introduces God as Elohim, the Creator. Sovereign, he says, does not merely mean God can do whatever He wants; that is a shallow definition. It means He exists without any external support and needs nothing to be God. After man is created, God is revealed as Yahweh, the intimate covenant keeper and grace giver who dwells with His people. Then come the redemptive names: the Lord our righteousness, the Lord our healer, the Lord our shepherd, the Lord who repays.

When Jesus arrives, He keeps speaking of the Father. “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). That is why, the pastor says, worship is relating to God as our Father.

He uses Moses as the model. Moses pitched his tent far outside the camp, called it the tabernacle of meeting, and said anyone who wanted to seek the Lord could go there. Nobody went but him (Exodus 33:7–11). So Psalm 103:7 says God made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.

Israel asked for food, water and healing, and God gave all of it, but they only knew His acts. Moses entered a deeper intimacy and became the most humble man on earth, because in God’s presence you begin to take on His character. God knows what we need, the pastor says, but there is a place beyond “gimme, gimme” where our character and our very identity are changed.

The Fatherhood of God in Ephesians 3

“There’s nothing more important in the Bible than the revelation of the fatherhood of God,” the pastor says. He reads his foundation text, Ephesians 3:13–15: Paul asks the church not to lose heart at his tribulations, and says, “For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named.”

He explains that the Greek word translated family is patria, which comes from the word for father and means a fatherhood. He points to the Phillips translation, which renders it “every fatherhood in heaven and earth.” Calling it a family is not wrong, he says, but it takes away much of the meaning. There is liberating power in embracing God as Father.

He laments how many children go to bed without a father at home. God did not create because He was lonely. He created because He is love and wanted to bring created beings into the fullness of His love, which has length, width, depth and height (Ephesians 3:17–19). Knowing Him as Father lifts us into a dimension where this world no longer has the same effect on us.

He notes that the first four of the Ten Commandments concern our relationship with God and the last six our relationship with people, which is harder. God is easy to come to. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” and His burden is light (Matthew 11:28–30). Yet people often look to other people for help before they look to God.

A Father Who Gives

The kingdom, the pastor says, is all about giving, because the Father is a giver. If God did not spare His own Son, how much more will He freely give us all things (Romans 8:32)? “There’s always more,” he says.

Before God created Adam, He created everything and planted a vast garden. Then He gave Adam dominion, which he defines as ownership, over the works of His hands. Adam gave it away, Satan gained authority, and corruption spread to everyone and everything. God did not ask what to do now that everything was lost. He gave another gift: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16).

The giving continues. Even our faith to receive Jesus is a gift, because we are saved by grace through faith. When we receive Him, He gives us righteousness: those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17). Then Jesus says to ask the Father, and He will give the Holy Spirit, who in turn gives gifts: tongues, interpretation, prophecy, words of wisdom and knowledge, discerning of spirits, miracles, faith and healing.

Paul told the Romans he longed to see them so that he could impart a spiritual gift (Romans 1:11). That, the pastor says, is why the church comes together: “we’re gifters.” Many congregations expect the pastor to be everything for everybody, but if people would rise up and use the gifts God has given them to serve one another, that burden would be lifted.

From Curse to Grace

Next the pastor compares the last words of the two Testaments. Malachi 4:5–6, the end of the Old Testament, promises Elijah, who “will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” The last verse of the whole Bible, Revelation 22:21, says, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”

What happened between a threatened curse and a blessing of grace? Jesus came to reveal the fatherhood of God. He showed the heart of a perfect Son to the Father and the heart of the Father to us. He said He always does what pleases the Father (John 8:29). The pastor rejects the idea that God is waiting to curse the nation: Jesus took the judgment of every person who receives Him, and they receive the gift of righteousness.

He reads 1 Corinthians 15:47–49. The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. As we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. “The climax of the whole Bible is just to know the father,” he says. That was the purpose of creation.

The Hebrew word Adam, he explains, comes from adamah, soil. The unique thing about soil is that it produces whatever is planted in it. A field full of thorns, thistles and brush can be torn up and replanted with good seed until it feeds everyone around it. “That’s us,” he says. That is why John the Baptist said the ax is laid to the root of the trees (Matthew 3:10), and why Jesus said new wine needs new wineskins (Matthew 9:17). We can change, not by our own effort, but supernaturally, by the seed of God’s Word.

Born of Incorruptible Seed: A New Creation

The heart of the message is the new birth, the way we become a new creation. 1 Peter 1:22–23 tells believers to love one another fervently with a pure heart, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.” Fervently, he says, means white hot, like two pieces of iron heated until they are white and then joined so that no seam remains. That is how God wants His children to love one another.

Jesus said, “You must be born again” (John 3:5–7). The pastor teaches that being born of water refers to natural birth, and that infant baptism does not make anyone born again. It is a dedication, in which parents commit to train up a child in the way he should go. When he went through confirmation, he says, it did not make him anything. Only the Word of God makes us children of God.

He turns to Romans 8:15–16: we did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” He teaches that the word for sons here points to a mature son, ready and able to stand, rather than a baby. He cites Kenneth Wuest’s translation, which speaks of the Spirit placing us as adult sons. The Father is not a foster parent, he says; you are born again of Him.

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 confirms it: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The pastor explains two Greek words for new. One means renewed, like an old car with a new engine, interior and paint, still the same old car. The word used here means something that never existed before. The table below sets out the contrasts he draws.

God has given us the ministry of reconciliation, he continues. We are ambassadors for Christ, and God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Our minds still need renewing, like a computer that must be rebooted and given new programs (Romans 12:1–2). God promised, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you,” replacing the heart of stone with a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26–27).

He adds his own story. He says he once backslid into drugs and alcohol, and when he recommitted his life, he went out on the street preaching that same day. Being born again made him a new creation, and he says he has shared Jesus every day since.

Seek His Face

The pastor reminds the church that worship means sitting at His feet and listening. Martha was busy serving, and Jesus did not call that bad, but He said Mary had chosen the good part (Luke 10:38–42). Many of us rush into prayer with our minds racing instead of letting Him speak. Reading the Bible each morning should not be a religious duty, he says, but a conversation: “Talk to me again, Father.”

Then he turns to the climax of Moses’ story. On the mountain, Moses asked to see God’s glory, and God answered, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (Exodus 33:18–20). Yet God later invites His people to seek His face (2 Chronicles 7:14), and David responds, “Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:8–10). The difference, he says, is that God wants something in us to die.

What we might spend a lifetime and thousands of dollars trying to fix in our emotions and our minds, he says, can die in a single glimpse of His face. David added that when his father and mother forsake him, the Lord will take care of him.

Jesus shows us how. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter and, like a silent lamb, did not open His mouth (Acts 8:32). He alone had the right to complain, yet He did not, and so instead of the curse we receive grace. “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15). The pastor applies this to dying daily to self, as Paul said (1 Corinthians 15:31). When we stop self-justifying and say, “Father, forgive them,” the Word goes deep, and seeds of calling, gifts and blessing begin to grow.

Because you are born again, he adds, God no longer sees you by your past. We know no one after the flesh anymore; we know them as a new creation in Christ.

Walking with the Father This Week

The pastor closes by saying the whole creation is waiting for the sons of God, not religious icons, but sons who do what they see the Father do and say what they hear the Father say. Here are practical steps drawn from this teaching on the fatherhood of God:

• Pitch your tent outside the camp. Like Moses, set aside a place and time simply to be with God, not only to ask for things.
• Read to listen. Open your Bible each morning with “Talk to me again, Father,” rather than as a duty to finish.
• Believe you are a new creation. You are not an old life patched up; you are born again of incorruptible seed.
• Use your gifts for others. Be a gifter in your church instead of expecting the pastor to do everything.
• Zip it and go to the Father. When you are wronged, follow Jesus’ silence and forgive instead of self-justifying.
• Be an ambassador. Invite people to be reconciled to God so heaven comes into their lives today.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 From becoming worshipers to knowing the Father
• 1:13 Elohim, Yahweh and the redemptive names
• 2:34 Jesus reveals the Father; Moses’ tent
• 3:49 Israel knew His acts, Moses knew His ways
• 4:53 Ephesians 3:13–15: every fatherhood is named
• 8:54 The Ten Commandments as relationship
• 11:49 How much more will the Father give
• 14:20 Gifts of righteousness and the Spirit; we are gifters
• 16:53 Malachi 4:5–6: the last words of the Old Testament
• 19:08 Revelation 22:21: grace to all
• 20:18 1 Corinthians 15:47–49: the heavenly Man
• 25:45 The ax at the root and new wineskins
• 26:59 1 Peter 1:22–23: love with white heat
• 30:39 Born of water and the Spirit; infant dedication
• 31:43 Mary at His feet
• 34:27 Romans 8:15–16: the Spirit of adoption
• 40:05 2 Corinthians 5:17: a brand new creation
• 46:20 Ezekiel 36:26–27: a new heart and spirit
• 51:28 Religion’s rules and the convention in Germany
• 56:35 Moses asks to see God’s face
• 58:46 David seeks His face
• 1:00:01 The silent Lamb: Acts 8:32
• 1:04:43 Bowing the knee in tribulation
• 1:09:08 Invitation to be born again

Fatherhood of God Series

This message is part of a teaching series on the fatherhood of God at NTC Ministries. Start from the beginning or continue where this one leaves off:

• First message: Fatherhood of God: Knowing Who He Is, Not Only What He Does
• Previous: Fatherhood of God, Part 2: Born Again as Sons, Not Foster Children
• You are here: Fatherhood of God, Part 4: From Knowing His Acts to Becoming a New Creation
• Next: Fatherhood of God, Part 5: Knowing the Father, Not Just His Acts

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the 613 laws and the rabbinical laws he mentions?

The pastor says the Old Testament contains 613 commandments, many of them ceremonial, which kept people in constant fear of whether they had done everything right. On top of those, he says, there were thousands of rabbinical laws, more than twenty thousand by his account, that varied by district, and when they disagreed with the law of Moses, the rabbinical rule won. His point is that religion made up by people is a heavy burden, while relationship with the Father brings liberty.

Does God judge people by their troubles?

No. He points to the disciples asking whether a man born blind had sinned or his parents. Under the law, he says, everything was judged by performance: trouble meant you were cursed, and blessing meant you had done well. Jesus said neither. The pastor warns Christians against doing the same thing, assuming someone else’s sickness or financial struggle means they did wrong while calling their own problems an attack of the devil.

Why does he compare a believer to soil?

Because the Hebrew word for man, Adam, is related to the word for ground. Soil produces whatever is planted in it. A field overgrown with thorns, thistles and brush can be cleared and planted with good seed until it produces enough to bless everyone around it. In the same way, when the Word of God is sown into a soft heart, it produces fruit, gifts and character that a person could never manufacture alone.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• Ephesians 3:13–15 — the Father of whom every family is named
• Psalm 103:7 — His ways and His acts
• Malachi 4:5–6 — turning the hearts of the fathers
• Revelation 22:21 — the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
• 1 Peter 1:22–23 — born of incorruptible seed
• Romans 8:15–16 — the Spirit of adoption
• 2 Corinthians 5:17–21 — a new creation
• Ezekiel 36:26–27 — a new heart and a new spirit
• Psalm 27:8–10 — Your face, Lord, I will seek

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

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