Fatherhood of God #2

Fatherhood of God Overview

In this powerful sermon, the pastor continues a series on the Fatherhood of God, declaring it the most important subject in all of Scripture. Drawing from Ephesians 3:13-15, he establishes that every concept of fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives its meaning from God the Father. The message traces the revelation of God from Elohim in Genesis 1 to Yahweh in Genesis 2, showing how God progressively reveals not just what He does but who He is. Through the contrast between the first Adam and the last Adam, Jesus Christ, the pastor unpacks how sin brought corruption and fear into every dimension of human life, while Christ came to restore us to an even greater relationship with the Father than Adam originally enjoyed. Key passages from John 8, Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 15, and 1 Peter 1 anchor the teaching, which culminates in the truth that believers are not merely adopted but truly born again by an incorruptible seed into God’s family as mature sons. The sermon calls every listener to move beyond knowing God by His functions and to embrace an intimate, transforming relationship with Him as Father.

Fatherhood of God Outline

• 0:00:00 – Opening Prayer and Series Context: The pastor transitions from a previous series on worship into this continuation on the Fatherhood of God, opening in prayer and declaring the theme to be the most important subject of the entire Bible.
• 0:08:00 – Every Fatherhood Named After the Father: Review of Ephesians 3:13-15 using Phillips translation: every fatherhood in heaven and earth derives its name and nature from God the Father, establishing the foundational premise of the series.
• 0:17:00 – God Reveals Who He Is, Not Just What He Does: Exploration of the shift from Elohim in Genesis 1 to Yahweh in Genesis 2, and the contrast between Israel knowing the acts of God and Moses knowing the ways of God through intimate presence.
• 0:28:00 – Jesus Confronts Religious Leaders About True Fatherhood: Exposition of John 8:37-47, where Jesus tells the Pharisees their father is the devil because they refuse to hear God, showing that true sonship is proven by likeness and obedience, not religious function.
• 0:38:00 – The Curse of Adam and the Seeds We Sow: Study of Genesis 3:14-19 revealing that God’s words to Adam and Eve were not arbitrary punishment but a declaration of the harvest produced by the seeds of disobedience already sown.
• 0:48:00 – The First Adam and the Last Adam: Deep teaching from 1 Corinthians 15:35-49 on the two Adams: the first man made of dust bringing corruption, and Jesus the last Adam as a life-giving spirit bringing resurrection and the image of the Heavenly Man.
• 0:59:00 – Born Again by the Incorruptible Seed: From 1 Peter 1:22-25, the pastor explains that true new birth comes not through religious ritual or church attendance but through the living and abiding Word of God planted in the heart.
• 1:07:00 – Sonship, Not Adoption: Romans 8:15-17 is opened to show that the spirit received at new birth is not a spirit of bondage and fear but the spirit of sonship, and that the Greek word points to mature adult sons, not merely adopted children.
• 1:13:00 – Closing Exhortation to Embrace the Father: The pastor calls every listener to renew their mind daily through the Word, to step into the full inheritance available as sons and daughters of God, and to live unashamed of the gospel of Christ.

Scripture References

Ephesians 3:13-15, John 8:37-47, Genesis 3:14-19, 1 Corinthians 15:35-49, 1 Peter 1:22-25, Romans 8:15-17, Romans 1:16, Romans 12:1-2, Psalm 116:15, John 17:26, 1 John 3:1, Genesis 4:7

Key Takeaways

• The Fatherhood of God is the central theme of the entire Bible, and without a revelation of it believers limit themselves from everything God has freely provided.
• Jesus came not merely to perform miracles but to reveal who God truly is as Father, something the religious leaders of His day despised and refused to receive.
• God’s words of consequence to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 were not a curse but a declaration of the harvest that naturally follows the seeds of disobedience already planted.
• Through the last Adam, Jesus Christ, believers are restored to a relationship with the Father that is greater than what Adam originally possessed in the garden.
• True new birth is not achieved through church attendance, baptism as an infant, or religious ritual, but through the living and incorruptible seed of the Word of God taking root in the heart.
• Believers have not received a spirit of fear and bondage but the spirit of sonship, meaning they are born into God’s family as mature heirs and joint-heirs with Christ.
• Renewing the mind daily through Scripture is the ongoing process by which the born-again spirit transforms the soul and body into the image of the Heavenly Man.

Fatherhood of God Notes

God as Father Defines All Fatherhood

The sermon opens with a striking insight from Ephesians 3:13-15 in the Phillips translation: every fatherhood in heaven and on earth derives its name from God. This means human fatherhood is not the original; it is a reflection of the divine original. Every father carries a God-given responsibility to display the Fatherhood of God within his family. When that revelation is missing, families fracture. The pastor establishes this as the reason Jesus spoke about the Father 167 times during His earthly ministry, knowing that without this revelation humanity would remain spiritually orphaned and perpetually limited in receiving what God desires to give.

Knowing Who God Is versus What He Does

A pivotal distinction runs through the entire message: praising God for what He does is good, but worshiping Him for who He is brings transformation. Israel celebrated the acts of God with tambourines and dancing, but Moses pursued the presence and ways of God. The pastor connects this to the Old Testament names of God, such as Jehovah Jireh and Jehovah Shalom, noting these reveal His functions. The name Father, however, reveals His very being. Just as children do not address their father by his professional title, believers are invited into a relationship built on intimate identity, not religious function.

The Two Adams and Human Potential

Drawing from 1 Corinthians 15:35-49, the pastor presents the first Adam as made from Adama, meaning fertile ground, carrying unlimited potential that became corrupted through disobedience. Jesus, the last Adam, entered as a life-giving spirit to restore and surpass what was lost. Every human being made of the ground carries the same potential: what is sown into that ground will be reaped. When the incorruptible seed of the Word is planted and allowed to die to self, it produces fruit far greater than the seed itself. This agricultural metaphor becomes the pastor’s central illustration for spiritual rebirth and transformation.

Fear as the Voice That Replaced the Father

The fall of Adam is reframed not primarily as moral failure but as a shift in the voice being obeyed. Satan introduced fear, and Adam began listening to fear instead of to God. The question God asked, who told you that you were naked, reveals that fear is a voice, and when that voice is believed, it displaces faith and identity. The disciples on the storm-tossed boat had the same problem: they still carried an image of what they were not rather than embracing what God had made them to be. The pastor calls this the root of most human limitation, even among believers.

Sonship Is Birth, Not Adoption

One of the most theologically precise moments in the sermon comes when the pastor addresses the Greek word behind adoption in Romans 8:15. He argues the word huiothesia, derived from huios, points not to an adoption of an unrelated child but to the placing of a mature son in full legal standing. More importantly, 1 Peter 1:23 makes clear that the new birth is not adoption at all but genuine birth by an incorruptible seed, meaning the born-again believer is truly God’s child by spiritual generation. This distinction dismantles the orphan mentality and opens the door to bold, confident prayer and inheritance.

Daily Renewal as the Path to Full Inheritance

The sermon closes with a practical and urgent exhortation: read the Bible every day, whether it makes sense or not, because the Word is seed and seed must be sown consistently to produce a harvest. The mind, unlike the newly born spirit, requires a process of renewal described in Romans 12:1-2. The body will be fully redeemed at the last trumpet. Until then, the daily practice of immersing oneself in Scripture is how believers progressively bear the image of the Heavenly Man, moving from faith to faith, strength to strength, and glory to glory in step with the Father’s purposes.

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