By the Son:

John 14:6

6     Jesus *said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

            There is no other way to come to the Father but through Jesus. There is a movement in the world to make all religions acceptable to Christians; that is, there is more than one way to come to the Father. But Jesus said there is no other way but through Him. If you try to come some other way, you won’t make it. It may sound cruel or narrow-minded to others to say that you must come through Jesus, but that is what God has said. He sent His Son to provide the only way to come to Him. If there was another way, then all that Jesus did would be to no avail. Also, we could pat ourselves on the back if salvation involved our doing something to come to the Father. Jesus is the truth. Everything else that says it is the way to God is falsehood. Jesus is also the life. Without Him, you have no life. You may be alive, but you have no life in yourself. It is only through Him that one can truly live.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My children you have come to Me through My Son. It is He who made it possible for you to come unto Me. I delighted in His being willing to sacrifice Himself for you. He came that you might have life abundantly. He gave Himself that you might experience what He has known from before the beginning of time. He is the only way to come unto Me. All others are imposters and frauds. He is the only way to Me. I decided upon that long ago … that it would not be through man’s wisdom or abilities, but through My Son.”

            12. I have come to the Father through Jesus, for He is the only way to God.

How we come to the Father:

            Draws:

John 6:44-45

44     “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.

     45     “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.

    

         God did not hit us over the head and make us come to Jesus. He doesn’t want robots. He wants a people that desire to be in fellowship with Him. He wants us to do right because we love Him, not because we’re afraid of what He’s going to do to us if we do wrong. Jesus said that the Father draws us unto Himself. He woos us. He is in no hurry. Jesus also said that He would raise us up on the last day. This is an assurance that our relationship with the Father is not just for here on the earth. It is an eternal one.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

         "I have desired to be with you, My children. I have longed for your fellowship. That is why I called you unto Me. That is why I drew you unto Me like a lover for his loved one. Come unto Me and taste and see that I am good. That is how I called you, My precious one.”

 

            11. God loved me so much that He drew me unto Himself … He did not force me to come.

God knew who would receive Jesus long before there even was a world for man to live on. He provided everything necessary for us to come to Him … everything necessary for our salvation. Even though God did all the work, we still must repent, believe in Jesus’ name, and ask Him to come in and take control of our lives. The slate is wiped clean, and we start off brand new in God’s sight. If we fail, we can ask for and receive forgiveness. This salvation is eternal. We are destined to be with Him forever. It is your destiny … live like it.

 

So, we were destined for a life that is eternal the moment we asked Jesus to come into our hearts. But what kind of life is it? Just to have one that lasts forever might not be all that great. Is there a quality that goes with the quantity? The answer is yes. First, there is a relationship with God, the Father. He isn’t just some uncaring potentate that lives in Heaven indiscriminately making decisions that affect our lives. He is our loving Heavenly Father. He cares so much for us that He only wants the best for us. It may not always be what we ask for, though. Also, He sometimes wants something for us but is unable to bring it about for reasons that we do not always know or understand. So in the next few posts, we will look at some of these aspects of God being our Father.

 

Justification:

            Justified:

Romans 5:18

18     So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.

  
Romans 8:30

30     … and these whom He called, He also justified …

1 Corinthians 6:11

11     Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

 

            Adam sinned, and that brought condemnation upon all of us … we have all sinned in his likeness. Through the death of Jesus on the cross (not because of anything we’ve done), all those that receive Him have been justified in God’s sight. Not only did He call us, He also justified us. It is more than being pardoned. When you’re pardoned, it says that you were guilty, but you were set free in spite of your guilt. However, it’s still in the records that you were found guilty. With justification, the sins we committed before coming to Jesus are no longer in the record books. We are justified in His sight. Of course you’ve heard the easy way to remember what justified means … just as if I’d never sinned.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "When you came to Me, you were unclean and walking in your sins. But now, you have been washed clean. To Me it is like you have never sinned. Do not keep bringing up past sins to Me. They are forgiven and forgotten, for I have cast them into the sea. You have been set apart for Me to walk in My holy ways.”

 

            10. I have been justified in the sight of God through the death of Jesus Christ. It is just as though I had never sinned, and I have right standing before Him.

Enter the Kingdom:

            Born of water and Spirit:

John 3:5

5     Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

    

            When we were born again (or, from above), we were born of the Spirit. We weren’t created like the angels; we were born. We are now in the Kingdom of God. We are no longer in the kingdom of the world system. Therefore, we should act like we’re in God’s Kingdom. We should behave differently than before we made Jesus Lord of our lives. The devil wants us to think and act like we used to. He doesn’t want us to realize how much power we have as members of God’s Kingdom.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are not just born physically; you are born from above by My Spirit. You are a member of My kingdom and are honored as such. Do not think that you are nothing or nobody. You are special to Me and shall do great exploits.”

            9. I have been born of water and the Spirit, and therefore I have entered the Kingdom of God. I can now partake of the privileges and fulfill the responsibilities of a member of the Kingdom.