Deepening our Relationship with Father, Son & Spirit

—Eph 2:14–18; 3:14–21; 4:4–6 & 5:24–32 (Part 9)

Andrew Fountain – July 9, 2023

Click on this slide and then press the spacebar to advance slides: ➜ (or swipe on a touch screen)

God-like behaviors in Eph 4:1–6

(Jesus) with all humility and gentleness,
(Father) with patience, bearing with with one another in love,
(Spirit) keep the unity of the Spirit by the bond of peace

Deepening our Relationship with Father, Son & Spirit

Relationship with the Father
Relationship with Jesus
Relationship with the Spirit
Invitation

Goal:

To deepen and enrich our relationship with God.

Ephesians 2

For he [Jesus] is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility
…He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace,
and to reconcile them both in one body to God [the Father] through the cross…
And he [Jesus] came and preached peace…
so that through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 3

For this reason I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on the earth is named.
I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love,

Ephesians 3 cont’d

you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Now to him [the Father] who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think,
would you like that?
to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Genesis 1

God created humankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them,
male and female he created them.

Relationship with Father God

In the history of the church, there has been (rightly) a lot of emphasis on Jesus
More recently an emphasis on the Holy Spirit
But the Father rarely receives the emphasis that he deserves
Yet Paul talks almost as much about the Father as about Jesus
In Jesus came to earth for the purpose of reconciling us to the Father
[Eph 2:16] “and to reconcile them both in one body to God [the Father] through the cross…”

1 John 4

Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is from God,

and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Many people find it easier to relate to Jesus than to the Father
- Why? because of poor experiences with imperfect earthly fathers
  - Not a single person here who had a perfect earthly father
  - So we tend to impose their failings on our Heavenly Father
- Imagine you are driving a car and you notice... “warmth and comfort because there are authority figures behind you”
  - So society is also to blame
We must take our eyes off our earthy fathers, no matter how good they were to us
- and let the Scriptures describe the true Father
- remarkable thing about my own father
So if that is the wrong way, what is the right way: Look at what Jesus teaches us about the Father.
e.g. the Parable of the “Lost Son”
- or better the “extravagantly loving Father’
- Jesus gives us this teaching to re-define our idea of Father
We need a mental image as we are praying to the Father
- Also there are some wonderful words in the Psalms and the Prophets

Zephaniah 3

The LORD your God is in your midst,
The mighty one who will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you with his love;
he will rejoice over you with singing.

Ephesians 3

For this reason I kneel before the Father…
I pray that according to the wealth of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner person, ¹⁷that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love,
you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Now to him [the Father] who… is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, ²¹to him be the glory… forever and ever Amen

Ephesians 3 – Jesus

[I pray] that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love,
you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Now to him [the Father] who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think,
to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 5:24–32

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
…
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

The Bride of Christ

As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride
So shall your God rejoice over you. [Is 62:5]
Rev 21:2–4, 9–11 We are pictured as the Bride and there is a wedding feast
Psalm 45 is a song about the wedding of Jesus, similar to the Song of Solomon
Heb 12:2 “[Jesus] …who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame…

Relationship with the Spirit

How do we feel this love of Jesus?
—not just read about it!
Through the Spirit—he is the channel of blessing
He is a person, not a force. Verses that speak of grieving him (you can’t grieve electricity)

Experiencing the Holy Spirit

He is the advanced deposit of our inheritance [1:13–14]
- i.e. he brings some of heaven to us now
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear,
but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (=“daddy”) [Rom 8:15]
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God” [Rom 8:16]
He makes us “feel fathered”

Communication

So how does this communication happen?
Times of Prayer
Through reading the Bible
He answers our prayers
A felt sense of his presence through the Spirit
Any way God chooses to!

Sometimes we say “I want more of God”
- and that is not wrong, God knows what we mean! but let’s think about it.
- If a man says to his wife, “I want more of you”, she’ll probably say, “You already have everything of me, but if you want to experience more of me, then spend some time with me.
- We already have all of God. God is not holding anything back but it’s up to us to pursue him.
You may have heard of the term “spiritual disciplines”
- Can sound negative, but actually it is about being intentional about deepening your relationship
How to we speak to him?
- Times of Prayer
- Cultivating an awareness of his presence
- Living a life of worship by means of our self-sacrifice
Through reading the Bible
- Countless times I have asked God for help and he has spoken directly to me
- Did Jesus read the Bible (Old Testament)?
  - What evidence? Luke:age 12; Answering Satan; Explaining to the 2 disciples
  - Read regularly and prayerfully —encourage you to have a plan and a regular time
He answers our prayers
- When God answers my prayer in a very direct way, then I strongly feel his love
Providential care
- (providing work for me)
- Receiving love and encouragement from other believers
  - (When Anne & I moved to Canada)
A felt sense of his presence
- His Spirit can lead our spirit with feelings, impressions, burdens (needs discernment but nevertheless can be real)
- I’ve been in some horribly stressful situations where I have had a sweet peace in me
- Simply putting joy in our hearts
- God sometimes does some very strange things—don’t rule it out
Not a formula God relates differently to different people
- He is a person, not a slot-machine. Don’t demand he relates to you exactly the same as to others
So, the Spirit is the channel

Deepening our Relationship with Father, Son & Spirit

Relationship with the Father
Relationship with Jesus
Relationship with the Spirit
Invitation

Ephesians 3 – Jesus

[I pray] that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, so that, because you have been rooted and grounded in love,
you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

Ephesians 4

But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head.
From him the whole body grows, fitted and held together through every supporting ligament. As each one does its part, the body grows in love.

The Love Story within the Trinity

God’s love for his Son Jesus and his joy in preparing a bride for him
Jesus’ love for his Father, willingness to do anything for him, especially to restore the relationship with mankind
The Spirit’s delight in selflessly lifting up the Son and the Father
We are caught up in this embrace
(e.g. my parents)
We need to enter into it

Invitation:

The Father: “I am the LORD your God… Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.” (Ps 81:10)
Jesus and the Spirit: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. (Rev 22:16,17)

Father, Son & Spirit

He will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you with his love;
he will rejoice over you with singing.
[Zeph 3:17]
…who for the joy [wedded to you] that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame… [Heb 12:2]
You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
I will not leave you as orphans…
[Jn 14:17–18]