Who's Your Daddy?

Abstract

*When we align ourselves with Christ we live in victory under the authority of our Heavenly Father.*  First we will take a look at this ongoing conversation between Jesus and those who claimed to believe in him. Then there are three things we'll want to do in response: 1) Understand the importance of spiritual authority, 2) Put Satan in his place and 3) Exercise our spiritual authority in Christ.  Remember Jesus has been talking with a group of Jews and has made some pretty bold claims 1) Light of the World, 2) if the Son sets you free , you will be free indeed. Many professed belief Jesus trying to help them understand exactly what that means.  Previous section, Jews had pointed to heritage of Abraham as evidence they were not slaves. Jesus brings this back as opp. to talk about authority 37 Something wrong with this picture; physically, genetically descended from Abe, but contrast attitude of Abe w/ their self-centered attitude 38 Jesus reiterates the source of his authority (Father); raises poss. based on their actions, that they have diff. father 39a cling to their genetic heritage in Abe; source of their confidence in spiritual position/rel. w/God lay in covenant w/ Abe 39b-40 Jesus points out their actions hatred of Jesus, refusal to listen to truth, lack of simple faith contradicted their claim;  What was it that Abe did? Rom. 4:3; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23 all speak of Abe in same terms: He "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness." Believed! What did they NOT do? believe; in fact they were trying to kill God's messenger.  Imp. principle here: true heirs must have more than just a physical connection. True descendants of Abe not external but internal; For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. (Rom. 2:28-29)Paul also pointed out in Gal. 3 that descendants of Abe were those who shared his faith, not his genes. 41a again, Jesus points out that if they have no sensitivity to God to be able to recognize His voice in the words of Christ, they must have a different father. 41b must be feeling the heat of Jesus' argument b/c they start to lash out; sexual immorality "we're not the illegitimate ones here"; change tune to now align selves with God as Father, which is what Jesus had been claiming all along; basis of claim = Exodus 4:22 Israel is my firstborn son 42 Jesus lets the insult roll off and continues to press in to help the Jews realize the change that must take place in their hearts; not denying the OT truth, just calling into question its application to them; if they truly loved God, they would be in tune with Him enough to recognize and love the Son He sent; also begins to express that the authority he exhibits comes from Father "came from God..." 43 don't understand b/c incapable of hearing; hearing here means not just hearing but receiving and obeying; they couldn't receive his message b/c, as Jesus goes on to point out, they belonged to someone else 44 if no love for Jesus, God not truly their Father...then someone else must be; the devil; since he is father, they do his desires murder (Cain) and liar (Eden); 45 this is why they don't believe Jesus 46 if Jesus were lying they would be able to convict him, and yet if they can't convict him, he must be telling the truth...so why don't they believe him? 47 logical conclusion, they weren't from God.