The Eternal Fatherhood of God
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there cold and stiff. The glory of God came down, and His spirit came back, and He was
standing there, back in His body. The women saw Him just minutes after this happened. They
fell down and were going to hug him, and He said, “Don’t touch Me. I have not yet ascended to
the Father.” (John 20:17) Now He was about to operate in the High Priestly office which was
typified for centuries in the Old Testament.
Once a year, the high priest would wash himself and put on his special clothes. He would go into
the Holy of Holies after sacrifices had been made, and he would offer up and pour the blood—
the blood that could never take away sins. The blood of animals, innocent animals, could only
cover over the sins for another year; then they had to do it again.
Oh, but this day, this day, the Spotless Lamb of God had risen from the dead. Hebrews tells us
that He entered into the Holy of Holies with His own blood to obtain an eternal redemption for
us, never to be done again. (9:12) There is now no more sacrifice for sin, never again—which
includes you doing little works to try to make up for your sin.
Serve God and do things because you love God, because you love people, not to try to pay for
your sins. Penance is not in the Bible. Penance is an insult to God. It’s acting like the Blood is
not enough. This is serious.
What else did He say to them? They were standing there, about to grab Him. They were amazed.
The last time they saw Him, He was dead. They’re saying, “Oh, Master…” but He said, “Don’t
touch Me. Don’t touch Me. I’ve not yet ascended. But, you go to the Disciples and tell them that
I’m going to My Father and your Father. I’m going to My God and your God.” Glory to God!
The way has been made for you and me to come boldly before the very throne of grace, and for
God to be our Father, and for us to be His sons, and for us to call Jesus our elder Brother, and for
Him to acknowledge us as family.
Say this out loud:
God is my Father.
I am His child.
We are His family.
He is my forever Father.
We are His forever family.
This is what gangs are looking for. They talk about family, but true love isn’t there. There is only
one family in the universe where Someone loved you, died for you, spilled His blood for you,
and sacrificed Himself spirit, soul, and body, so you can live: It’s the family of God. All of us
now have this love shed abroad in our hearts, and we’re supposed to be the same way, just like
Him. We would lay our life down for our brother, and it’s not just talk.
He said, “You’re no longer just a servant, you’re a son, and if you’re a son, you’re an heir of
God.” We know from Romans that you are a joint heir with Jesus.
You might ask what this has to do with healing. Well, only everything.
