Who's Your Daddy?

“I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me” (John 8:38-42).

Jesus confronted the crowd again. His effort to compel followers to become disciples was relentless. He continued His pursuit of “the Jews who had believed him” (John 8:31). These were the chief priests and Pharisees, the elders in the crowd who followed Him for the wrong reasons. They believed they could trip Him up and discredit Him. They sought to have Him arrested, and even to kill Him (see John 7:44; 8:37). Jesus confronted these corrupt followers with truth about their ancestry. He called them to consider their response to the truth He spoke in light of their standing as “Abraham’s children”. He went further and compelled them to consider their hatred of the Son of God in light of their standing as God’s children of promise. Here, the Holy Spirit reveals through John’s testimony another truth about the difference between Christ followers and true disciples. The words and deeds of disciples show the world they are part of the family of God. Their life reveals the character of their Father. As true disciples seek and do the will of our Father, embrace the truth of His word, and grow in the love of Christ, our lives will reflect the character of our Father and prompt the world around us to ask, who’s your daddy?

The elders who followed Jesus claimed that, “Abraham is our father”. Jesus was the revelation of God’s glory, grace, and truth… “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). God revealed His glory to the children of Abraham, the Israelites first… “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11), and then to the rest of the world… “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). If these elders were really the children of Abraham, they would respond to the revelation of God’s truth as Abraham did. When God spoke to him, Abraham believed God… “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness—and he was called a friend of God” (James 2:23). When God’s glory appeared to him, Abraham obeyed God… “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). When confronted by the truth and glory reflected by God’s Son these false children of Abraham neither believed nor obeyed Him, but they sought to arrest and kill Him. Do people believe that God is your Father because you trust and obey Jesus Christ His Son?

The elders who followed Jesus claimed that, “We have one Father—even God”. They believed they were God’s special children because they were descended from Abraham... “Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth… and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 28:14). But the Spirit of Truth teaches that God’s true children are children of promise, not of flesh… “This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring” (Romans 9:8). The Spirit inspired the apostle Paul to teach that Christ’s true disciples are God’s children of promise… “Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise” (Galatians 4:28). God’s true children are those who have received Christ by faith… “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13). God’s true children love the Son… “For the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14) and each other… “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Do people believe you are born of God because they see your love for Christ and others?

As we grow up into Christ our life reflects the character of our Father and prompts the world to ask…

Who’s Your Daddy?