So we're entering the last stages of this study in our union with Christ. It's a little bit different with these stairs here. I feel like I'm with you. This is going to be the last three lessons that we do on union with Christ. Pastor Mark is allowing me to teach him. So this whole time we've laid a foundation. These last, I think, 20 weeks we've been in this series. We've laid a foundation of union with Christ. But union with Christ leads us to something. It leads us to communion with the triune God. So that's what these next three lessons are going to be about. We're going to talk about our communion with the Father this week. Next week, our communion with the Son. And then the week after that, we're going to talk about our communion with the Holy Spirit. So if you look at your outline, you're going to need this. You really, really need it. I think there's 40 copies on the desk out there. If somebody wouldn't mind passing those out, that would be great help. If not, you also have it in Slack. I posted it in Slack. You're going to need to follow along with this seriously. Otherwise, you're going to get lost because I put a lot of stuff in there. So if you look at your outline, it's separated into five different sections. Section one is communion with God in general. And again, like I said, this week we're talking about communion with the Father. Next week, communion with the Son. And the week after that, communion with the Holy Spirit as the ends of this whole series on our union with Christ. Because that's what union with Christ is supposed to lead to. So section one is communion with God in general. So we're going to talk about the Trinity. The Trinity ontologically, the natural man and how the natural man can't have communion with God. The Trinity in the Covenant of redemption, the Trinity in creation, the Trinity in salvation. And the whole purpose of talking about all those things is so that we can understand each person's role in our creation and in our redemption. Because that will help us to see how we relate to each person of the Trinity. The second section is the Father's communion with us in general. And then the third section is the Father's communion with us as a Father because we're adopted. And then the fourth section is our communion with the Father, so the way that that relation moves up to him. And then the last section is a few practical inferences from Malachi 1. So look at the third page in the outline. I've got some questions here. And the purpose of me asking these questions is so that you can examine yourself. Do I commune with the Triune God? Is that something that I actually do? This is the life of a Christian. Communing with the Triune God is the life of a Christian. We're not Unitarians here. Like we don't believe in one God, one person. We're not civilians. We don't believe in one God who exists in three different modes or like with three different titles. We're Trinitarian. We believe that there is one God who exists in three persons. And we commune with each one of those persons distinctly even though they're united in one essence. So here are a few questions that you can use to examine yourself. Do I commune with this Triune God? Or do I not? First question is, do I address each person of the Trinity in my prayers when appropriate? Think about your own prayer life. When I'm praying, like if I'm praying for wisdom, who should I be praying to? Which person? The Holy Spirit, right? The Holy Spirit gives wisdom. Like you heard in my prayer just now. I was asking specifically the Holy Spirit that he would assist us today to understand his word. Because the Holy Spirit is the one who inspired these men. And the Holy Spirit is the one who guides us into all truth. Therefore, when I pray and I'm asking for wisdom, I pray to the Holy Spirit. Or what about when I'm being tempted? Who should I be praying to? Jesus Christ. That's exactly right. Hebrews 4, right? Hebrews 4. It says we have this great high priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. I'm sorry I'm paraphrasing. He's able to sympathize with our weaknesses since he had a nature like us, yet without sin. So when we're being tempted, we come to the throne of grace to find help and time of need. That's the throne of Christ because he was a man, a man without sin. But a man who is tempted in all the ways that we are. You know, like if I'm praying and I need provision, who should I pray to? The Father, right? So do you pray like that? Or do you just pray to God in general? You should be convicted if you just pray to God in general. We're Trinitarians. This is a Trinitarian Bible. God is a Trinitarian God, so we should pray to him like that. Another question you could ask yourself is, do I ask the Father for fresh supplies of grace from the Holy Spirit? That's Luke chapter 11, right? Or Matthew chapter 7, both those places. Jesus says, ask and you will, what does he say? Seek and you will find, ask and you will answer. I'm doing a horrible job at paraphrasing this. There you go. Knock and it'll be open to you.  Or if your son asks for bread, is going to give him a rock? None of you Fathers would do that. So your Father in heaven, will he not much more give to those who ask the Holy Spirit? Fresh supplies of grace, right? So do you pray to the Father for fresh supplies of grace from the Spirit? Here's a question that's particularly pertinent to our study this morning. Do I understand the work of the Son and the work of the Spirit more than the Father? I'm convicted because I think about the Son in His work a lot of times, the Son in His person. I think about the Holy Spirit, His work, His person. But the Father tends to be neglected by us. So the Father, He loves us and we should commune with Him. We should know about Him. He is the fountain of all grace and all goodness. So we should learn about the Father specifically and how we relate to Him as Trinitarian Christians. So with that said, let's start with the first bullet. Communion with God in general. Let's talk about the Trinity ontologically. That just means like of His being. We're talking about His being, we're talking about His persons. What is the Trinity? Well it's not Unitarianism. It's not like one God who exists in one person. It's not like Sebellionism, which is like one God who puts on different masks or like one God who has three different titles. It's just one person but you can call Him the Father or you can call Him the Son or you can call Him the Holy Spirit. That's not what we believe. We believe in the Trinity. So look at 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and I'm going to blow through this a little bit because this is a little bit of a review for us. But 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and look at verse 4. Paul says, therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, is there such a thing as an idol? Yes and no. Like people do bow down to idols but they're not what they purport to be. Make sense? We know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world and that there is no God but one. What's Paul saying? He's saying when he says there's no such thing as an idol, of course Paul knows in fact he was in the Areopagus or whatever in Acts chapter 17. He knows that there's such a thing as an idol. People bow down to rocks and to trees and all kinds of things. But the idols are purporting to be God. So there's really no such thing as an idol. Make sense? They aren't what they are saying that they are. They aren't God. There's only one God. What these idols are saying that they are, they're not, and there truly is only one of those. Make sense? He's talking about the being of God. There's only one being of God. One God. Look at verse 6. Yet for us there is but one God. Who's he talking about? The Father. Exactly. So he's moving from essence to the persons, right? Yet for us there is but one God. The Father from whom are all things and we exist for him. And one Lord Jesus Christ by whom are all things and we exist through him. If you turn the page a couple of times, you go to 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 in verse 17. Now the Lord is the spirit. Again, it's still Paul and he's still talking to the same audience, right? It's just a different epistle. The Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as from the Lord the spirit. Paul is calling the Lord the spirit. So in Paul's mind, three persons, one God. Make sense? Really easy. Now these aren't three different titles for one God.  That's not the case. That's not the way that the Bible describes God. Look at John chapter 15, look at verse 26. And if you're not there yet, you can just listen. It's just one verse. When the helper comes, Jesus is talking to his disciples. He says when the helper comes, who's that? The helper. Holy spirit. When the Holy spirit comes, whom I will send to you from the father, that is the spirit of truth who proceeds from the father, he'll testify about me. Now imagine for a second that we were civilians. How are we going to explain this text? Here's how we would be reading it. Jesus would say, again, if we believe that there was one person, this is what it would sound like. Now when I come, whom I will send to you from myself, that is myself, who proceeds from myself, I will testify about me. That's kind of silly, right? That's not what he's saying. There's three different persons who interact with one another. Make sense? Okay. That's the doctrine of the Trinity. One God, three persons. These three persons interact with one another. They're co-eternal. They're, what is it, co-eternal? They're, what is that? Co-equal. Yeah, thank you. Co-equal, co-eternal. Very good. Okay. Now, for the natural man, what's a communion with God look like for the natural man? Look at Galatians chapter 3. Again, I'm going to bust through this a little bit. Because we're talking about communion with God. Does the natural man have communion with God? Galatians chapter 3 verse 10. Paul says, as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. There's only one of two ways that you can have a relationship with God. Only one of two positions that you're in. Only one of two perspectives that God has on you.  There's no in between. For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse. For it's written, cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them. That's from Deuteronomy chapter 27. After the giving of the law. Paul says, if you do not abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them, you're cursed. So, if I lie one time, am I still blessed or am I cursed? Cursed, right? That's the kind of relationship that we have with God. If we don't abide by... You see in the text, you have to abide by all things written in the book of the law to perform them. It's exclusive language. All things. Let's look at the trinity, and I'm going to skip down a little bit, because I'm running a little bit behind. Let's look at the trinity and creation. I'm sorry, the trinity and salvation. You can go back to those texts. Ezekiel 37.9 is particularly interesting for the covenant of redemption. But just quickly, the covenant of redemption is this... This covenant that the three persons of the trinity entered into before time began to plan out our salvation. That's why Jesus Christ is sent. He was sent by the Father. He says that he is obeying the command of the Father. Son can only obey the command of the Father in terms of a covenant, because essentially, he's co-equal with him, right? He's not subordinate to him, essentially, in his essence. He's only subordinate in the sense that he's entered into a covenant with him to obtain for us our salvation. The same thing with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son. So, let's look at the trinity and salvation. Ephesians 1. Think about it. Your salvation... Your salvation is brought about by each person of the trinity. It's not only a work of Jesus Christ. It's a work of the Father. It's the work of the Holy Spirit. Each person is involved in our salvation. So, look at Ephesians chapter 1. And there's a ton of texts here. I'm not going to go to all of them. I'm just going to go to Ephesians 1. But I encourage you... This is a Trinitarian book. Look at all those texts, and you'll see it. Like, the trinity permeates every page of the New Testament. You can see it in those texts. So, let's look at Ephesians 1. This is Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 through 14. Through 14 is the economy of our redemption. It's the system, the theolog... How do I put this? It's the administration of God's redemption. God is very particular in the way that He saves the people. He's not flipping about it. It's not like He's going in, shooting from the hip. Like, He's got no plan. He's got a plan. Yeah, Noel? I think you may have clarified on this already. But can you explain what you mean by economy and administration? Yeah, I just mean it's the way that He works it out. That's all I mean. God has a plan for our redemption. So, it's the way that He has planned to work out our salvation. That's all I mean by that. So, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 3. Paul says, A couple of notes about that verse. This verse is one of the most theologically packed verses in the entire New Testament. This word is spiritual. You see that? It's probably not capitalized in your Bible, but it should be. And I say that because of the way verses 3 through 14 are laid out. He's talking about the way that our salvation is brought about by each person of the Trinity. So look, who is it that blesses us with salvation from that text? Father, right? What kind of blessing? Spiritual blessing, right? A blessing of the Holy Spirit. And in whom does He bless us? In Christ. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Look at verse 4. Just as the Father chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before Him. The Father predestines. That's His primary work. He foreknows. He predestines. Right? He chooses. He elects. He foreloves. That's what the Father does. He chooses us in Christ. Look at verse 7. In Him, in who? In the beloved. In the beloved. That pronoun changes. In the beloved, in Christ, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. Look down at verse 13. In Christ, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of His glory. The Father chooses. Jesus Christ dies and purchases the people with His blood. The Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit efficaciously applies that work to us by sealing us. Make sense? It's a Trinitarian work. Our salvation is a Trinitarian work. And what I'm doing is I'm laying the foundation for our communion with each person. So look at 2nd Corinthians, 2nd Corinthians chapter 13. This is probably my favorite verse in the entire Bible, because this is my life. And this should be your life. 2nd Corinthians chapter 13, look at verse 14. And if you're not there yet, you can look at the top of the outline, because it's right there. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. That's a Trinitarian verse. You see how we're supposed to relate with each person? How are we supposed to relate to the Father? In love. In love. The love of God. How are we supposed to relate to Jesus Christ? In grace. In grace, right? We relate to Christ in grace. What about the Holy Spirit? By His fellowship or by His consolation. He is the parochletos, our helper, our comforter, right? He's the applyer. So we relate to each of these three persons. We relate to the Father in love, to Christ in grace, and to the Holy Spirit in fellowship. So let's talk a little bit about that. Let's talk a little bit about that. Let's talk about the Father. We'll talk about the Son and the Holy Spirit in the next two weeks. Let's talk about the Father's communion with us in general. I'm moving down to point two on your outline. So what does the Father specifically do for us in our salvation? The Father, He gives, He predestines, and He chooses us among other things, among other synonyms. That's what He does. And just to clarify, whenever I'm talking about what we call the opera ad extra of God, the external works of God, whenever I'm talking about His works, really they're indivisible. Each person of the Trinity works. So even in our predestination, each person of the Trinity is involved. However, the Father primarily is involved, and the other person is secondarily. Same thing with, for example, like giving us faith. Each person of the Trinity is said to give us faith, but particularly it's a work of the Holy Spirit. Makes sense? So each person gives and predestines and chooses, but primarily it's the Father who's attributed that work. So let's look at John chapter 17. John chapter 17. And what you should think about is like yourself, because what I want to do, the whole purpose of this study for me, because I really, I chose, I chose this study. And the reason I did is because our union with Christ is the foundation for something, for a blessing that God has provided for us. And so many of us neglected. Like we don't think about the way that we relate to the Father and how that's different from the way that we relate to the Holy Spirit. Like we don't think in those ways. This is perhaps the greatest blessing that God has afforded you in the Gospel. You should know how has the Father demonstrated his love for me? You should know that. As contrasted with the way that the Holy Spirit demonstrates his love for you, it's different. Like there's distinctive ways that they've done that for you. And wouldn't you be offended if you gave your life for somebody and they didn't even know why or how or on what terms, you know? And they didn't even, they didn't even attempt to understand what the blessings of your death were. Like wouldn't you be offended by that? God has done so much for you in his word. You should know like what the Father specifically has done for you. And the whole purpose of us studying that is so that your heart would exult in praise and thankfulness to him. That's what I want. That's what I really, really want for you. And for me. Like we need to be thankful. Our hearts need to be overflowing with gratitude to the Father for his predestination and for his giving and for his election, for his love and for knowledge of us. We should overflow in gratitude. Our lips should declare his excellencies because of what he's done for us. Right? Let it come off of your lips. These hymns that we sing are trinitarian hymns. Pay attention. Pay attention. Pay attention to who you're talking to. The Father didn't die for you. The Father gave you to the Son. The Father loved you before you were born. The Father's love is antecedent. I'm getting ahead of myself. The Father's love is antecedent to Christ's death. Did you know that? His love is antecedent to Christ's death. It came before. He loved you before Christ died. John 17 verse 6, Christ is speaking to the Father. He says, I've manifested your name to the men whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours. That's a term of possession. Think about that. They were yours and you gave them to me. There are things that I have in this world that I may give to my wife, Lauren. Something that I possess that I give to her in love. The Father gave a people to the Son in love. You see? Let's look at Romans chapter 8 verse 29. We'll just blow through these things, but I want you to think about yourself. Think about your own soul. When I read these texts, think about your own soul and what the Father has done for you. Romans chapter 8 verse 29. I'll use Nick. I hope this doesn't make you feel weird, Nick. Romans chapter 8 verse 29. For Nick, whom the Father foreknew. The Father foreknew you, Nick. Nick, whom the Father foreknew. He predestined to become conformed to the image of his Son. You see how personal that is? It's personal. Think about yourself. Braulio, whom the Father foreknew. He also predestined to become conformed into the image of his Son. Troy, Aether, whom the Father foreknew. He also predestined to become conformed into the image of his Son. I could use each one of the baptized believers in this church who are truly converted in that verse. Plant yourself in the Word of God. It's a personal work. Praise God. Praise the Father. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4. Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4. We already went here, but you'll see it again. Just as he, the Father, chose us in him before the foundation of the world. It's a personal work. Just as the Father chose Ryan Gramlevitz in Christ before the foundation of the world. Is your heart not melted by that? What did he do to deserve that? I'm sick and tired of people saying that we are worthy of the death of Christ. You ever heard that before? Like, he died for me because I'm worthy. Like, that is, I hate that.    We're not. We're not. We're not worthy of that. We're not worthy of the Father's love and choosing us. The Father crushing his son for us. We're not worthy of that. We've sinned against him. We've lied to him. We've taken his name in vain. Taking his name in vain is hypocrisy.  And yet, he chose Ryan Gramlevitz in him before the foundation of the world. Right? I'm running out of time here. What else does the Father do? Who sent the Son? The Father sent the Son. The Holy Spirit didn't send the Son. Jesus Christ didn't send Himself. He agreed. He submitted. The Father sent the Son. Look at, um, I'm actually going to go to, I'm not going to go to the text here. I think a different text will be more helpful. Let me go to John chapter 10. And sometimes I do this and I regret it. John chapter 10. Look at, um, verse 17. Jesus Christ says, For this reason, the Father loves me. Why does the Father love Jesus Christ? You ever think about that? What reason does the Father have to love Jesus Christ? Because I lay down my life so that I may take it again. That's a work. That's a work. Can I say that the Father loves me because, um, I take up my cross because I bear the instrument of my death? No? That's a work. But Christ can say that, right? He can say that because he was in a covenant with the Father. A covenant of works with the Father. The covenant of redemption is for our salvation. It's a covenant of grace for us. For Christ, it was a covenant of works. He worked for the Father's love. Think about that. Verse 18. No one has taken it away from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority to lay it down. And I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from my Father. The Father commanded the Son to do that. The Father sent the Son. There are texts all over the New Testament about that, especially in the book of John. All over the New Testament. What about the Holy Spirit? John chapter 14. John chapter 14. And look at verse 26. Who sent the Holy Spirit? John 14, 26. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, excuse me, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Who sent the Holy Spirit? Who's the Father? It wasn't only the Father. It was John 15, verse 26. When the Helper comes, Jesus is speaking, whom I will send to you from the Father. Jesus Christ and the Father send the Son. The Holy Spirit, I'm sorry, thank you. Thank you, brother. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was only sent by the Father. You see that relationship between the three of them? We call this the result, like that they took upon themselves these roles in the covenant of redemption because of their relationship to one another ontologically. You hear what I'm saying? I know it's a lot of big words. Here's what I'm saying. Jesus Christ is begotten of the Father. The Holy Spirit isn't begotten. Jesus Christ is begotten of the Father eternally. The Holy Spirit is spirated from the Father and the Son. From the Father and the Son. Therefore, the Son is sent to die for us. You ever wonder, like, why was it Jesus Christ who died for me? Why didn't the Father take on human flesh? He could, right? He could have. But the Father wasn't begotten. The Son was begotten. Why didn't the Father come and apply the work of Christ to me? Why was it the Holy Spirit? Because the Father and the Son spirate the Holy Spirit. That's why the two of them sent the Holy Spirit. You see? The Bible is a lot deeper than you think. It's a deep book. It's a deep book. It's more than cheap grace. I'm so sorry. I can't take questions right now. I'm running out of time. I'm really behind. I actually have a clock up here. I'm behind. So we can chat afterwards a little bit. What else does the Father do? This is the primary work, okay? Remember 2 Corinthians chapter 13, 14. Let that sink in your mind. It says, In the face of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, how does the Father relate to us in love? So let's look at that. The love of the Father. John chapter 14 verse 23. Turning the page back. John 14 verse 23. Jesus says, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. Do you keep Christ's word? Is that the practice of your life? Can you say that you are characterized by a changed life? I'm not talking about perfection. I'm talking about the direction of your life. That's what I'm talking about. Has Christ changed you? Do you keep his word? Do you love him? Verse 23. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him. He doesn't say, If anyone loves me, he'll keep my word and I will love him. He says, My Father will love him. You see how in Christ's mind, the Father is the primary, the primary one who loves us. It's the Father. My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our abode with him. Okay. The Father loves us. It's everywhere in the Bible. You can look at those other texts if you want. Let's move down to the way that the Father communes with us as a Father. So there's a difference between the way that he has... I've drawn a distinction, maybe even an arbitrary distinction, but just a helpful way for us to think about the Father, how he communes with us in general versus how he communes with us as a Father. Okay. Because he's adopted us. We're adopted into the family of God. You ever wonder why Christ is said to be our older brother? Think about that. He's not ashamed to call us brethren. Hebrews, Jesus isn't our Father. Right. There's some ways in which he can be said to be our Father, be like a Father to us. But our Father is God the Father. You see, Jesus Christ is our older brother. We're united to him. And so God becomes our Father. We're not biologically his children, but we're adopted. You see, Christ is biologically, quote, unquote, his son. You see, he's the only begotten. We're adopted. So how does he relate to us in this?  Enough is enough. We shouldn't forget you and neglect you. You relate to us in a particular way. Let these words melt the hearts of your people. It should. We know more. We know so much more than the people out there, oh God. This should melt our hearts. So what does the Father do? Look at Psalm 103. Psalm 103, God tells us the way that he relates to us, the Father. That is Psalm 103. He pities us. He pities us. Think about your own sin. Look at verse six. The Lord performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding and loving kindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will he keep his anger forever. Do we deserve his anger? Yes. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. Think about your sins. Think about your iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far as he removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. What does that look like? For he himself knows our frame. He's mindful that we're just dust. The Father pities us. What does it mean to pity? Or to have compassion? Or to have mercy? These three things are synonyms. You've heard grace and mercy the way that those two things are different. I think that's not a very good explanation. If you know what I'm talking about, mercy actually is compassion. Mercy is pity. That's what it is in the Bible. That's the definition of mercy. Mercy, compassion, pity. Same thing. What it means is that God looks upon us in our miserable and helpless state, and he acts upon it for our good. That's what our pity, I'm sorry, that's what God's pity for us looks like. That's what his compassion for us looks like. That's what his mercy is. He looks upon us in our miserable state, and he acts on it for our good. Just as a father has compassion on his own children. You see? Look at how he protects us. John chapter 10. John 10. Christ is speaking. He says, in verse 27, my sheep hear my voice, and I know them. And they follow me. How do you know if you follow Christ? You hear his voice, right? He look in his word. Your life looks like this. It doesn't mean it's perfect, but this is your life. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give eternal life to them. They'll never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father, who's given them to me, he's greater than all. Is anyone greater than the father? No. Not in terms of power. Not in terms of might. Not in terms of being or essence or intelligence or presence. He's more present in this room than we are. No one is greater than the father. The father is greater than all. And no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. See? And think about it. No one is able to snatch Nick's soul out of the father's hand. No one is able to snatch Chase Burchett's soul out of the father's hand. You're in his hand. The father carries his children. Deuteronomy chapter one, verse 31. Let's scoot back a little bit. Let's see. Verse 29. Then I said to you, do not be shocked nor fear them. The Lord your God, who goes before you, will himself fight on your behalf. Just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes. And in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you just as a man carries his son in all the way which you've walked until you came to this place.  You may be tired, right? But you're going to carry your son, aren't you, in a desert? You're going to have to. He can't do it. You've got to do it for him. The father carries us. And look, this isn't... Don't... Don't look at Deuteronomy chapter one as though it's not applicable to you because he's talking about the people of Israel. He worked this kind of way with the people of Israel to demonstrate for us with a physical picture what he does for us spiritually. What wilderness are we in right now? We're waiting to enter into the promised land, aren't we? So who carries us? The father. The father carries us. He carries us in our battle with sin. You think you're carrying yourself, you're not. The father's carrying you. He works in you both to will and to work according to his good pleasure, right? Okay. All right. What else does the father do as a father? Well, he chastens his children. Look at Proverbs chapter three. Are you chastened for your sin? Proverbs chapter three, verse 11. My son, Solomon says, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe his reproof for whom the Lord loves the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all for whom the Lord loves, he reproves even as the father cracks his son in whom he delights. Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 actually quotes this. You've not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood and you're striving against sin and you've forgotten the exhortation which has addressed you as sons. Proverbs chapter three. My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord nor faint when you're reproved by him for those whom the Lord loves he disciplines and he scourges every son whom he receives. It's for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? Today we might find fathers like that. Are they acting like a dad? No, they're not. They don't care about their son's soul. If you don't discipline your son it's because you don't care about him. It's because you don't love him. But if you are without discipline hear what he says. If you are without discipline of which all have become partakers then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Does the father discipline you? What does that look like? What does it look like when the father disciplines somebody? I'm not going to tell you where I'm going. Some of you might recognize it. But this is what discipline looks like. There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation. There is no health in my bones because of my sin. My iniquities are gone over my head. As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. My wounds they grow foul and fester because of my folly. I'm bent over and greatly bowed down. I go mourning all day long. My loins are filled with burning. There's no soundness in my flesh. I'm benumbed and badly crushed. I groan because of the agitation of my heart. Are you chastened by God? Do you feel a godly sorrow? I'm not talking about a worldly sorrow that leads to despair because your hope is in yourself. I'm talking about a godly sorrow. Your hope is in Christ. You don't despair, but you feel that godly sorrow, don't you? And it looks like that. That's what it looks like. Our father loves his children. 1 John 3 1 John 3 1 See how great a love the father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God. Who are we children of naturally? Satan. Is that an exaggeration of our spiritual condition? Am I overreaching to say that when I was a liar and when my life was characterized by adultery and by covetousness and by stealing and by laziness and by procrastination and by murder of the heart and by breaking a Sabbath is it an exaggeration to say that my spiritual condition was that of a child of the devil? That's not an exaggeration. That's what I was by nature. That's what the Bible teaches. In fact, verse 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil. If you practice sin, it's because you're of the devil. You're from him. You're his child. And everyone is born like that. Everyone. There's not one person in this room who wasn't born like that. And look at verse 1. See how great a love the father has bestowed on us. That those who by nature are called children of God. Not because of us. Not because of our works. Right? So how do we respond to this? Notice, look back at this outline a little bit. What I've done this is not an exhaustive list by any means, okay? But what I've done is I've attempted to draw a little bit of an outline or a summary of the way that God the Father relates to us. So here it is. Think of these texts in your mind, right? Think of all the texts that we've gone through. What does the Father do? He gives us to the Son. The Father predestines us. He chooses us. Right? He elects us. He foreknows us, doesn't he? The Father sins the Son for us. Think about 1 John 4 9. In this, the love of God was manifested. That he sent his... How does it put it? 1 John 4 9. By this, the love of God was manifested in us. That God has sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. It's God's love that sent Christ. God's love for us. The Father sent the Son for us. The Father sins the Spirit to us. That's in love as well. If you look at Romans 5, we won't go there. The Father loves us. That's the particular way. 2 Corinthians 13 14. The love of God be with you all. Right? The Father pities His children. Like a Father has compassion on His own children. Our Father protects His children. No one can snatch us out of His hand. The Father carries His children through this spiritual wilderness in our battles with sin. Our Father chastises His children in love. Whom the Lord loves, He disciplines. Our Father loves His children. In this love of God was manifested. Right? How great the love. How great a love the Father has for us that we would be called children of God. So what's our response to that? What's our proper response that we should have? Well, first, how do we relate to the Father particularly? There are a few different ways. There are several ways actually, but I'm just touching on a few. This is supposed to be an introduction. This is not enough for you. You need to study this. Because this is your Christian life. This is supposed to be your Christian life. What does your Christian life look like? Somebody comes up to you and they ask you, what does your Christian life look like? Well, the Father loves me and I reciprocate that love. Jesus Christ bestows grace upon me and I exercise faith in Him. The Holy Spirit abides in me and I don't quench Him. Right? I don't grieve Him. I don't reject Him. You see? That's what my Christian life looks like. Specifically, I walk by the Spirit, not by the flesh. You see? The book of Matthew chapter 5 verse 44 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Is there anybody that I know in the Godhead who loves his enemies? The Father.   He adopted you. He loves you. So you should pray for those who persecute you. You should love your enemies, right?  You want to mimic him, don't you? Look at the end of chapter 5. Therefore, you are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect. Mimic him. Mimic the Father. Think about it, like, you should ask yourself when you wake up in the morning, open your eyes, how am I going to mimic the Father today? You're being persecuted? In this instance, right now, can I mimic my God who is in heaven? What can I do to reflect the Father? That's a way that you can reciprocate his love, isn't it? We pray to the Father, specifically. Now, you can pray to each person, each individual person, because they're all God, and God deserves our prayers, right? We are made to pray. Made to pray to God. But specifically, the Father is the one that we go to. Look at Matthew chapter 6, verse 9. Pray then in this way, Christ says. Our Father. That's where he starts. Our Father. Now, before I move on, I just want you to have an idea. Like, you can pray to each person individually. But specifically, this is the order, right? That God has revealed in his word. You pray to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. That's what your prayer is like. It's a Trinitarian prayer, isn't it? It's a Trinitarian prayer. Okay? You pray to the Father. Why? Because he's the fountain of all good. We receive his love by faith. Now, if God has loved us, if he's demonstrated his love for us and sending his own son for us, or reject it, receive it by faith. We have to receive it by faith. In fact, that's why he sends the Holy Spirit into us, so that we would cry Abba Father. Because that, it's too much for our feeble weak knees and hands. Like, we can't, it's too much for our mind in our heart to believe, really, the Father loves me? That's too much for us in our natural condition. He has to send the Holy Spirit in us, the spirit of his son otherwise we're not going to believe it. That he's our Father. You might believe it presumptuously, but that's a whole different thing, isn't it? Look at John chapter 14. John chapter 14, verse 1. Who is the object of our faith? Do not let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. It's in each person of the Trinity, right? He doesn't say the Holy Spirit there, but the Holy Spirit is the object of our faith. Specifically, I want you to think about how the Father is the object of your faith. If we believe in Jesus Christ in terms of his life and death, in what sense am I supposed to believe in the Father? In terms of his love, you see? In terms of his love. Believe in the Father in terms of his love. It's true. Verse 6, Jesus says, I am the way and the truth in life, no one comes to the Father but through me. Don't try to come to the Father apart from Jesus Christ. Don't try it.  You don't deserve it. But the Father sent a mediator so that you could come to him. Believe in him. Believe in his love. He sent Christ. He sent Christ. Okay. Look at John 14, verse 8. I'm going to point out what this means in a second. Philip said to Jesus, Lord, show us the Father and it's enough for us. What's Philip saying? Look at your notes in this third page. I've got a quote here. John Owen says this. This resonates with me. He says, Christians walk oftentimes with exceedingly troubled hearts concerning the thoughts of the Father towards them. They're well persuaded of the Lord Christ in his good will. The difficulty lies in what's their acceptance of the Father. What is his heart towards them? Show us the Father and it suffices us. John 14, 8. That's why I read that text. Now, this ought to be so far away that his love ought to be looked on as the fountain from whence all sweetness is flow. Thus the apostle sets it out in the book of Titus. What's John Owen saying? It's very common, Christian. It's very common for you to have Christ's perspective on you. It's very common for you to think well of his good will to be persuaded of his good will. It's also very common to have an exceedingly troubled heart concerning the thoughts of the Father towards you, isn't it? The Father didn't die for you. So it may be a little bit more difficult for you to be persuaded of his good will towards you because you've sinned against him, haven't you? Haven't you? You've had idols, haven't you? Let's look at the book of Titus. The Father's love is antecedent to Christ's death. It's prior. Titus chapter 3, verse 1. Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. Think about yourself. Think about your own life. Five years ago, four years ago, three years ago, two years ago, one year ago, now. Think about your life. For we also were once foolish ourselves. How are you foolish in your life? Seriously, let the memories flood in. How are you foolish? What foolish decisions did you make? Disobedient. Why were you disobedient to God? Deceived. Were you deceived? I was. Deceived. The blind led the blind, in my case, and I was blind. Enslaved to various lusts and pleasures. Does that describe you? Spending your life in malice, in envy, hateful, hating one another? So what was the hinge on which this door opened for our salvation? What was the turning point? Because here we are. Foolish, deceived, enslaved to various lusts. What was the hinge? What pivoted? What changed? The kindness of God. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, which person is that? That's the Father. That's the Father. He saved us. How do we know it's the Father? He saved us. Not on the basis of deeds which we've done in righteousness but according to His mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. Okay, there's the third person, right? Whom He, who's that? Whom He, He poured out. Who's the He? It's the Father. Whom the Father poured out. Who's the Whom? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the Father poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ. It's a Trinitarian text. So then who's the He at the beginning? It's the Father. His love prior to, antecedent to Christ's coming and dying on our behalf. What was the turning point? See, because here's the thing. Here's the thing. Why did Jesus come in the first place? Why was He sent in the first place? His death His death was successively after the love of God. The love of God is the fountain of the work of God for our salvation. It's the starting point. You say, why did Jesus die for me? Well, it's because God loved you. God the Father loved you. Well, why did God the Father love me? The Father loved you because He said He loved love on you. And if you ask any further than that, you're peering into mysteries that you can't comprehend. But here's one thing I do know. I don't deserve it. Because what's lovable about me? Is it my stammering tongue? Is it my feeble, tiny mind? Or is it my sin? Is it my adulteries? Is it my Sabbath breakings? Is it the thoughts that I have about work while I'm here on the Lord's Day? That's not right. Does God love me because of that? No. Is it because I've had other gods and other priorities? Is it because I worry and I'm anxious? Is that why God loved me? Or is it because I've hated Him by my actions and my deeds? Is that why He loved me? And He sent His Son for me? No. No. He loved me for my good, not His good. You see? I love my wife for tangible reasons. I love her because she's kind to me. She's sweet to me. Because I have a relationship that's mutual with her. Because of the way that she looks. I love the way that she looks. I love the way that she speaks to me. I love all these things about her, right? That's not the way that God loves us. His love isn't a meritorious love. Humble yourself. Humble yourself. Let go of your traditions. Let go of the false conceptions that you have of your own worthiness. You're not worthy. But God is a compassionate God. He shows compassion like a father has compassion on his children. So I'm supposed to wrap up now. I'm supposed to wrap up. I encourage you to look at those other texts that I had in here. And even that last section is just a practical inference on this discourse that we've had in the book of Malachi. It's a good text. Malachi 1 on the way that we relate to the father. But here's the homework, okay? And this homework is do at the end of your life and every day before then. Commune with the father. He loves you. He predestined you. He chose you. He elected you. He foreknew you. He loves you. He sent the son for you. He sent the Holy Spirit for you. What more could he have done to demonstrate his love for you? He has compassion on you like a father has compassion on his children. He carries you through the wilderness. Right? You can't be snatched out of his hand. Commune with the father in these ways. Commune with the father in these ways. Mimic him. Mimic him.  Pray to him. Receive his love by faith and reciprocate his love. Reciprocate his love. Don't love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the father is not in him.   You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Reciprocate his love. Come out from the world. See? Let's pray. We're in desperate need of you, oh God. In desperate need of you, we're tiny creatures. We need you to carry us and have compassion on us to hold us. We thank you for sending your son for us. We thank you for sending the Holy Spirit for us. We thank you for loving us unconditionally. What can we say to you? We're speechless before you. We don't deserve your love. We don't deserve that. Oh God, I pray that these people and myself that we would commune with you as our father. Chasing us, oh God, don't leave us derelict. Chasing us when we deserve to be chastened. Carry us when we need to be carried. We're in a miserable estate. Amen.