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So this chapter is a great chapter to show the Trinity, and I'm gonna be preaching a short little series where I'm gonna be hitting or talking about each person of the Godhead. So this evening or this afternoon I'm gonna be preaching on God the Father. And so 1 John 5 and verse 7 here, notice what it says. It says, For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And this is a great Trinity passage here as far as understanding that there's three persons, one God, and you can think about how this goes back to John 1-1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. And so we see that the Word obviously is the Son, that's that's the Lord Jesus Christ. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. We be held as glory, the glory is of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And I want you to go back to Genesis chapter 1 because I want to first kind of just hone this in that the Trinity, the Trinity was was seen in the Old Testament, but it wasn't really explicitly shown or revealed to us like it is in the New Testament. And you may say, well yeah, the Son, you know, we don't really see much about the Son of God until the New Testament, right? There's some little glimpses here and there. But truthfully, do you see much about the Father in the Old Testament? You may not have realized this, but it really doesn't mention the Father much at all in the Old Testament. It's just God, okay? And you'll see glimpses of that, okay? You'll see glimpses of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost, obviously in the Old Testament. But first of all, I want you to see that in the very beginning we see that God is three persons, one God. That there are three different records in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And you can see that in the very beginning of creation that God said, let there be light, and there was light. And obviously the Word of God was there making the world, and that the Spirit moved upon the water. So you have the Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit that's there. But in Genesis 1 verse 26 it says this, it says, and God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness. So we see very clearly here that God is talking, and he's saying, God said this, let us make man in our image. Now, unless you, I mean, you say, well there's other people around them, or you know, there's angels around them. Were we made in the image of angels? Or were we made in the image of God? Okay? Because then it goes on in verse 27, so notice the plurality there. Let us make man in our image. That's, that's a, you know, a plural pronoun, right? And then you see in verse 27, so God created man in his own image. In the image of God created he him. And it says male and female created he them. Now we were made, men, we're made in the image of God. Women, you're the glory of men. Okay? So God doesn't look like a woman. He looks like a man. Okay? And it's very clear to show that distinction here, but I want you to see that it goes from being plural to one, just as much as it says for there are three, they bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. And you see that at the very beginning, but do you see Father, Son, Holy Ghost just clearly stated right there? Right? It's just not super revealed, but it's there. It's not like this is some, just, well that's the New Testament. Back before that, God was just one person. No. It's always been three persons, one God. Go to Genesis 3 and verse 22, and I can go on about this and go into other passages. This isn't really a sermon on the Trinity, but I do want you to see that, you know, that this was talked about in the Old Testament as far as God being more than one person, meaning that it's multiple persons, one God. And verse 22, so Genesis 3 verse 22, and it says, And the Lord God said... So who's talking? In all these cases God is talking, and then it says, Behold, the man has become as one of us. Notice that. One of us, right? Now anybody, if you just said one of us, you would know that you're talking about multiple people, right? That it's one of multiple. It's at least two, right? One of us would be like, if I was talking and I said one of us is gonna go, then it's one person of a multitude, you know, like a plurality of people, right? And it says, The man has become as one of us, to know good and evil. Now lest he put forth his hand and take also the tree of life, and eat and live forever, therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So this is obviously the fall of man, they're kicked out of the Garden of Eden, but you see that plurality that's used there. And so you may find it interesting, but it's kind of hard to find the Father in the Old Testament, like as far as just strictly saying God the Father. And that's interesting, isn't it? That you would think the way most people think is like, well, the Son, you know, where's the Son at? I could probably find more places of distinctly where the Son, it's just, it's got to be the Son, right? And you know, where the Son of God shows up, or kiss the Son, and just different places that it says that, go to Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6. And it's interesting because this verse is actually talking about the Son of God, but it's basically talking about some names that he's gonna have, and the fact that he's gonna be called the Everlasting Father is mentioned there, okay? So here's a mention that there's a Trinity, if you will, because in the New Testament it gives us clarification that he's gonna be the Son of God, and obviously he's called the Everlasting Father because he comes in his Father's name, and he's gonna look like the Father, all that is true. And obviously he's the Godhead, you know, the fullness of the Godhead bodily, you know, so and I've already preached a sermon on that, but in verse 6 here it says, So we see here that Jesus is gonna be called all these things, but you can definitely see, you know, the Father's being mentioned there, and that Jesus is the Son, right? And, you know, that he's gonna be in his Father's name. And go to Isaiah chapter 63. This is probably the strongest verse right here, I would say, as far as, you know, God the Father, as far as seeing that. So I just want you to first realize that, and maybe you've already realized that, you know, when you're reading through the Old Testament, it's not like it's just God the Father everywhere, and then where's Jesus? And then he just pops up in the New Testament, okay? By the way, Jesus is the Word, okay? So obviously when it's saying the Lord said these things, Jesus is the Word, okay? So the idea that Jesus is not in the Old Testament or that he's not speaking, no, that's God speaking. And remember, there's a hierarchy of the Trinity. The Father, the Son, the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost only says that which the Son says, and the Son only says that which the Father says. Therefore, they're all saying the same thing, okay? So when you say the Word of God, you're talking about the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, their Word, okay? And so now in Isaiah 63, Isaiah 63 and verse 15, notice what it says here. It says, Are they constrained? Doubtless, notice this, Thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us. And Israel acknowledged us, acknowledged us not. Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer. Thy name is from everlasting. So we see a clear scripture saying that God is our Father, okay? And we see this mention of God the Father, if you will. And so that being said, you know, you kind of see this stuff in the Old Testament. I'm going to show you a way where you can look at this and be like, that's definitely God the Father. Like, this is a story about God the Father, and I'm going to show you how you can prove that. But if you didn't know that distinction as far as the way that the New Testament shows it, you probably may not even realized it, okay? You know, which person of the Trinity is the person dealing with there? I'd say in most cases in the Old Testament when you're dealing with someone speaking with God, or obviously God, you know, obviously showing himself physically, that's Jesus, you know, that's the son that you're seeing there. And so you'll actually see that a lot. Now, go to 2 Peter chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1. So this is all kind of prefaced into the sermon about God the Father. Because what I'm going to be getting into is the fact that, you know, what's some details about God the Father? And then next week we're going to be getting into some details about God the Son. And then the next Sunday after that, we'll be getting into details about God the Holy Spirit. And the three persons, and just kind of just diving into the person of God the Father, you know, diving into the person of God the Son, and diving into the person of God the Holy Spirit, and just kind of diving into, you know, what, you know, what's some attributes? You know, what's significant? What distinctions are there between the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost? And there are some distinctions there, but it's all three. They all three are who God is, okay? Now in 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 17 here, it says, For he received from God the Father honor and glory. When there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the Holy Mount. Now that's the Mount of Transfiguration, but you could also think about the fact that when God the Father said that when Jesus was baptized, and you had the whole Trinity there with the Spirit of God coming upon him and God the Father saying out of heaven, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And so you kind of see the Trinity working there and the idea that God the Father is sitting on the throne in heaven and speaking from heaven, the Holy Spirit's coming upon the Lord Jesus, and all that. But what I want you to see here is verse 19. We have also a more sure word of prophecy. Whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and a day star arise in your hearts. The Bible says that we have a more sure word of prophecy. That means the New Testament that we have here is more sure, meaning that it's more clear, okay. It is something that is just it's a revealing of what we know to be true in the Old Testament, and it's more like a flashlight if you will. It's the light that you would shine on the Old Testament and the light of the Old Testament, if you will, is the New Testament. So when you go into the New Testament, the first thing you see is that there's a Son of God, there's the Father, there's the Holy Ghost. When you're reading the epistles, what is it constantly saying? You know, grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, you know. And it'll say, you know, God the Father, the Son, the Father, or Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, you know. And it'll just give these distinctions of who God is just over and over and over and over again. When you go in the Old Testament, you don't see those distinctions. You just see the Lord, you see God, and sometimes you'll see where it'll be using some distinctions or, you know, say, you know, God and with the Lord, and it'll kind of use those type of terminology, but it's not as clear as the New Testament. When anyone doubts that God the Father and the Son are two different persons when you're reading through the epistles and knowing that Trinity that you're seeing there, okay? So that being said, the Bible teaches the Trinity, but the New Testament is really the place that you're gonna go to to really show people the Trinity, right? Because I could take you to Genesis and show you that he's speaking in plurality, but I'm not showing you it's three and one there. Does that make sense? Like, I'm kind of showing you, like, hey, you can understand it if he's saying, let us make man in our image, and then it says he made him in his image, and you see that it's multiple, but yet one, and you can see that truth, but you're not seeing, you know, necessarily that it's three and one, and you're not seeing necessarily that it's Father, Son, Holy Ghost, right? But the New Testament shows that. Now go to John chapter 4. John chapter 4 and verse 23. John chapter 4 and verse 23. So we're talking about God the Father. John 4 and verse 23. It says, But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father seeketh such to worship Him. So who is he talking about? He's talking about the Father, right? That you're gonna worship the Father in spirit and truth, that you seek the, you know, the Father seeketh such to worship Him. Notice in verse 24, God is a spirit. So who are we talking about? God the Father, right? So God the Father is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth, right? Because it just said, shall worship the Father in spirit and truth, and now it's saying God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth. So we understand that God the Father is a spirit. He doesn't have a body like Jesus does, okay? There is a distinction there. The man Christ Jesus, who has a body, and even in the Old Testament you say, well, okay, well what about before Bethlehem's major? He was still, you know, Melchizedek, where he didn't have a lineage, he didn't have bloodline, but he was still a man. He was still, had a body, right? So you kind of have the Melchizedek, then you have Jesus flesh and blood, you know, walking here on the earth, and now he's in his resurrected glorified body, and it's still, there's one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Jesus still is a man, still has a body, but God the Father doesn't have a physical body. So what we see here is that God the Father is a spirit, okay? Go to John chapter 1, John chapter 1. What we're also going to see is that no one has seen God the Father's face, okay? Here's a big distinction between God the Father and God the Son. No one has seen God the Father's face, and so notice what it says here in John 1 and verse 18. John 1 and verse 18. It says no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. So there's no way to get out of reading this to knowing that when it says no man has seen God at any time, it's talking about God the Father, okay? Because it reiterates itself. It says no man has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Declared who? God. Who's that? The Father. Okay, so you're dealing with the fact that no man has seen God the Father at any time is what it's stating here, okay? You say, well, and this is where you get into the modalism, like, well no one's seen, you know, Jesus because he was veiled in the flesh. Okay, I just got done reading that they were on the Mount of Transfiguration where it says they saw him in his glory, okay? So you can't say that they haven't seen Jesus because he literally, his countenance changed and they even said, you know, you're gonna see, before you die, you're gonna see, you know, me coming in my glory, okay? So he basically gave them a glimpse of his glory. And by the way, it was his face, right? Wasn't it his face that transfigured? Now obviously his clothes did too, but his face transfigured and they saw him in his glory. That means he's not God the Father, okay? Which makes sense, right? Because it says no man's seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. Who? God who no man has seen, okay? Now go to 1 John chapter 4 because it says the same thing. We'll be coming back to this passage in 1 John chapter 4, but I just want you to see that it says it in another place. This is a very important point that no man has seen God the Father at any time, meaning and particularly his face, okay? It says in 1 John chapter 4 and verse 12, it says no man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us. We'll go back to that passage when I get into another point and just kind of, it's going to put it all together that you're dealing with God the Father there, but John chapter 1 definitely shows us that we're talking about God the Father that no man has seen, right? And go to 1 Timothy chapter 6, 1 Timothy chapter 6. This is a crucial point because if you understand that no man has seen God the Father's face at any time, then you know that Jesus is not the Father, okay? I mean, how could you say that no man has seen Jesus? I mean, 1 John starts off with that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon in our hands have handled of the Word of Life. And the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, it was manifested unto us, right? So not only did they say, we've seen him with our eyes and we have looked upon him, right? The idea is that we've seen him, we've held him, we touched him, we have touched the Word made flesh, we have touched that eternal life that is made flesh and we are eyewitnesses. Isn't that what, isn't that what Second Peter even says? We are eyewitnesses of his coming because they were on the Mount of Transfiguration and they were eyewitnesses of him coming in his glory. He gave him a peek into the future as far as him coming in his glory and so for anybody to say, well he was veiled by the flesh, come on now, like that is clear as day that he showed past the flesh that his, you know, his glory, okay? Now in 1 Timothy chapter 6 here, verse 13, it says, I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession, that thou keep this commandment without spot unrebucable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in his times he shall show who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now notice in verse 16 here. Clara, Clara, sit up straight and look up here. Sit up straight. Look at verse 16 here. It says, who only hath immortality? Now at this point, I believe we are talking about Jesus, okay? That's what it says, which in verse 15, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which in his times he shall show who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Sounds like the Lord Jesus Christ. When he comes down on the white horse, he's gonna be the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling, now I want you to really know that that word is there, dwelling in the light. It doesn't say which is the light, okay? It says, dwelling in the light, which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see, to whom be honor and power everlasting. Amen. So what does this say? It's talking about Jesus is dwelling in the light. Makes sense because Jesus said, believe it's not that the Father is in me and I in the Father. He's, you know, as he's talking to Philip, he's saying, I am in the Father. And that means that he's dwelling in the light, which no man can see, or which no man can approach unto, whom no man has seen, nor can see. Okay? So we're dealing with Jesus dwelling in the Father. You say, well Jesus is light. He's the light of the world. Yeah, well God is light in general, right? God is light and in him is no darkness at all. But the light of the Father no man can approach unto. But Jesus can dwell in that. Makes sense because no man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. So it's the same thing, right? He's in the bosom of the Father. He's declaring the Father. And he's in the light which no man can approach unto. He's dwelling in that light. And what is he doing? He's manifesting that light. He is, you know, basically declaring that light which no man can approach unto. And this is something that Jesus keeps saying over and over and over again about the Father. He's like, I've declared your name. I've glorified your name. You know, he's basically telling them of the Father, showing them the Father. And which makes sense, you know, this all goes back to Isaiah 9 6 where everybody's just like, wow, he's called the Everlasting Father. That means he is the Father. No, he's literally saying all the words that the Father wants him to say. He's doing the will of the Father. He's coming in his Father's name. He looks like the Father and he's declaring the Father and everything that the Father is. So you can imagine why he's called the Everlasting Father in that aspect, right? Just as much as John the Baptist was called Elijah even though he wasn't Elijah the person, but he was in the spirit and power of Elijah. Now, go to John chapter 5, John chapter 5 verse 37. So I'm just trying to make a point here that God the Father no one has seen, okay? And specifically his face, okay? And I'm going to be getting to that, that no man has seen God the Father's face. Now, notice what Jesus says here about the Father in verse 37. It says, Now, have they seen Jesus' shape, right? This is where you get into lunacy when you deal with the fact that Jesus is the Father, you know, the Son is the Father, okay? This modalism stuff. But do you see this big distinction between Jesus and the Son and the Father? No man has seen God the Father and particularly his face. I'm going to be getting to that because we're going to see a story about Moses. And when I show you this, you're going to see that is definitely God the Father in the Old Testament, okay? And I can show you and maybe we'll get to that next week about, you know, Old Testament appearances of Jesus and just seeing that. But the point I'm trying to make here is that no man has seen God at any time. That's talking about God the Father. The light which no man can approach unto whom no man has seen nor can see. That's talking about God the Father. God is the Spirit or God the Father is the Spirit. God the Father is invisible, okay? Now, go to Revelation chapter 22. Knowing all of that, when you get to Revelation 22, this verse is going to be a little more crucial or it's going to make, it's going to be more miraculous or something to look forward to, okay? Because it says no man has seen God at any time, but it's not saying that we'll never see Him, okay? Now, notice what it says in Revelation chapter 22 and verse 3. It says, And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him, and they shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads. So now, knowing that no man has seen God the Father, you know what this means? Is that even in the thousand-year reign, no one's seen the God the Father's face. Even, you know, until we get to the new heaven, new earth, like, no one has seen God the Father's face. Now, obviously, Jesus has. And the holy angels. Remember, you know, this gives another aspect to the angels. I preached about Gabriel and angels and stuff like that last week, that the angels of the children that believe in Jesus, the little ones that believe in Jesus, it says that their angels do always behold the Father's face. See how that gives a little more significance when you understand that no man is seeing God the Father's face? Now, with that in mind, knowing that, go to Exodus chapter 33. Exodus chapter 33. You say, well, how can they not see Him? Well, because they'll say, well, I see, you know, Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father. Well, how do you know that's even the Father? Well, what I'm going to show you here is that the significance here is His face. Like, you can't make out His face. You can understand it's a person, right, that's standing there. But when you understand that He's light, which no man can approach unto, it's like trying to look at the sun and trying to see the details of the sun. It'd be kind of like that, you know. But when you, if you had some way of, like, toning down the glory of the Father, you know, and turning down that light to where you can actually see the shape, that's what it'd be like. It'd be like staring at the sun and trying to see all the details of the sun, if that makes sense. So, that's what I liken it unto anyway, is that it's so bright that you just can't make it out. You can't see it and you'd go blind. And in this case, the Bible says that if you saw His face, you'd die. Okay, so in Exodus chapter 33 and verse 17, it says, So, this is Moses saying, well, asking God to show Him His glory, and he said, See how all that makes sense now when it says no man has seen God at any time? We're talking about seeing His face, right? It says, Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me and live. Notice in verse 21, That I will put thee in a cliff of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by. So, he's basically saying, I'm going to walk by you in His glory. Now, glory would be like brightness, right? You think about the glory of the sun, the glory of the moon, and the glory of the stars, and one glory is, you know, greater than the other, meaning that the brightness, you're talking about brightness here, okay? And basically what he's saying is that I'm going to put you in a cliff of a rock. I'm going to put my hand over your face so you can't see me, okay? He doesn't want Moses to die here, okay? And he says, I'm going to pass by, and I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen. So, basically, Moses saw the back end of God the Father, but he didn't see his face, okay? So, this is clearly God the Father. Does that make sense? You're dealing with God the Father, you know, who is a spirit that basically allowed Moses to see the back side of him, but he's like, if you saw my face, you wouldn't live, okay? And so, very significant when you deal with this as far as God the Father is concerned, and just some distinctions, okay, between God the Father and God the Son. So, that being said, when you look at these passages, and you say, that's why when you look at modalism, you're like, what are you thinking? Like, how do you reconcile all these passages? How can you say, you know, no man is seeing God at any time, and then say Jesus is God, right? You got a problem, modalist, if you're going to say that, and it's just a lot of problems with it. Now, now what I want to get into is the person of the Father, and the one thing that just sticks out to me about the Father, because, you know, we're going to be doing the Lord's Supper here, and we're going to be remembering the Lord's death, the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him giving Himself for us, but sometimes I think we don't really think about the Father and what He did for us, okay? Now go to John 3 16. I know you know this verse, but I want you to look at it. John 3 16, I want you to see the love of God the Father. Now, Jack Scott preached a sermon one time called For Christ's Sake, and it was all about the fact that God the Father hates us, and the only reason that He loves us is because Jesus loved us and came to die for us. I'm not lying. That is one of his sermons that he preached. Now that is probably one of the lesser crazy sermons I've heard him preach, but that was one of them. I remember him, and I think R.B. Ouellette, and you may not even know who that is, but R.B. Ouellette was like an old IFB, like well-known preacher. He preached against him, and I remember him making fun, and he's like, you know that song. Yeah, Jesus hates me this, or God, you know, like God, God hates the little children, and he's like going through this whole spiel about how that's ridiculous to say that God the Father hates us, and because you had the verse in Ephesians where it talks about God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you, and that's where he got the sermon, you know, for Christ's sake, and listen, if you knew Jack Scott, he was a very perverted person, and he didn't, and he put that in there for Christ's sake on purpose, because people use that all the time, and they're using it as a blasphemous way to say it, right? It's kind of like saying God's name in vain, right? And people say that, you know, when they're like upset about something, they'll just say that, okay? So there was no accident that was the name of the sermon, okay? But second of all, he said God the Father didn't love the world. Jesus loved the world, and because Jesus died for the world, in turn, because Jesus loved the world, God the Father loved him because Jesus did that. You know how, like, we were talking about Smeagol, I mean, Sam Giff, and how it's crazy that he said that Jesus, that his name shouldn't be Jesus, and how in the world he could come to that conclusion. I ask you, how can someone come to the conclusion that God the Father doesn't love us, okay? Or that he didn't love us until after Jesus died on the cross, okay? John 3.16, most famous verse in the Bible. I mean, good night, you go to In-N-Out Burger, and it's on the bottom of the cup, right? I mean, everybody knows about John 3.16. People are parodying John 3.16. I wasn't big into wrestling, but I remember Austin 3.16, and like, people would just take that all the time. The people would do that all the time on football, and you know, take 3.16, like, to try to, it was just like their way of saying, like, that is gospel truth, right? It's the idea of, like, John 3.16 is a very well-known, powerful verse. What does it say? Verse 16. For God so loved the world, you say, well, is that God the Father, or is that the Holy Spirit, or is that the Son? Well, read the next portion. For God so loved the world that He, who? God, gave His only begotten Son. You're clearly talking about God the Father. So loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Notice this. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. How can someone say that God the Father doesn't love the world when He sent His Son into the world to save the world? Not to condemn it. You know, if God the Father really hated the world, He would have sent the Son to condemn it, right? He would have sent the Son in to destroy it. And obviously, He's going to eventually destroy the world, but remember, Jesus, when His first coming is to save the world, His second coming is going to be to, you know, pour out wrath, you know, the wrath of the Lamb, okay? But go to 1 John chapter 4, 1 John chapter 4, and sometimes I think we look past the love of the Father, okay? Because obviously the love of the Son, I mean, you can't comprehend that, okay? The love of Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins, to go through all the stuff that He went through, to be spit in the face, to be buffeted as the Son of God, to die for people that were rejecting Him, smiting Him, He was despitefully entreated, and He despised the shame, but He did it anyway because He loved us. I mean, that's intense love. I mean, hereby I perceive we love God because He laid down His life for us. Like that, yeah, I mean, you perceive the love of God when you think about what Jesus did. But think about the love of the Father to send your Son to die for people that are spitting on Him, rejecting Him, buffeting Him, mocking Him, and then, you know, being willing to send your Son. Notice in 1 John chapter 4, 1 John chapter 4, verse 9, it says, In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. This is how love is manifested toward us, right? And hereby I perceive we love God because He laid down His life for us. Who? Jesus. Who's God, by the way? Jesus laid down His life for us, and that's how we perceive the love of God. No greater love has a man than this than He laid down His life for his friends, right? But don't lose this. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Here in His love, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and His love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in Him and He in us because He hath given us of His Spirit. And we have seen to testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Now I want you to think about this on a human aspect because many of you have children. Would you rather die for somebody or have your child die for somebody? Anybody that has children knows the answer to that question. You would in a second die before you let your child die. Now what you have to understand with God is that Jesus was the only way this could happen. Okay? He said, well why didn't the Father die? He couldn't. He's a spirit. Does that make sense? Like there is a distinction between the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost. Jesus was the only one that can do it. The Son was the only one that could actually do it. And the Father loved us so much that He let His Son be crucified and mocked and beaten. Would you do that? Would you do that for a righteous person? For adventure, one would die for a righteous person. But God commanded His love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You want to know true love? Is God the Father sending His Son, who He's loved for eternity past, to be mocked, ridiculed, spit on, given vinegar and gall to drink, beaten, to die for people that were spiting Him. That's love. I couldn't do it. You're like, you wouldn't do that? No, I wouldn't do that because I don't have that kind of love. You know the love and the peace that passes all understanding? There is some truth to that and sometimes you need to dig into that. You need to dig into the fact that God, we don't come close to the love of God. We love God because He first loved us. You understand that? And the idea of even touching how much God loves us is unfathomable because I wouldn't let my child, any of my children, die for anybody in here, okay? And I love you guys, okay? So I'm not saying that because I don't like you. I'm talking about people I love and, you know, I pray over and I want the best for you and I would die for you, okay? But I would not let my child die for you, okay? That's my father speaking here, okay? This is just me being real with you, okay? I'm not gonna be an extra, oh listen brother, you know, I would just let them all die for you because I got the love of God in me. Listen, on a human aspect, no. I will let everyone in the world die before I let my children die, okay? That's just the way it is. And listen, any father in here would say the same thing, that you would let everything else burn before you let your children, I mean they would be the thing that you would be holding on to, your wife and children, as far as everything else is gonna go, right? If this building was on fire, okay, of course I want to make sure everybody gets out safe, but you know how I'm gonna make sure it gets out safe before anybody else? My daughter, or if my whole family was here not in an infirmary, my family okay? That's why it's ridiculous, you know, when I heard that Baker guy preach a sermon against the Trinity and the modalism and he was mocking, he says, you know, yeah, you know, these people believe that the father sent the son, you know, to go die for the world and it's just like, I ain't gonna go, you go do that son, you go do that. What kind of wicked person would not understand how much love it has to be for a father to let their child die for someone else? That's insane. You say, well, is God the father's love more than the son? No, the thing is you can't pit the father's love against the son's love, okay? The son doesn't have a child, right? You know, he's the son, so it's not the same, you know, you can't just pit it against each other because Jesus loved us as much as he could love us, and the father loved us as much as he could love us, and listen, I can't think of any more love than for you to give your child so that someone would, someone would live. That's, I can't fathom it, and I wouldn't now do it, but I thank God for his love, okay? I thank God for his love, and you say, you're not strong enough as a Christian, well, that's so be it, you know? I'm just being truthful, you know, I'm not gonna stand up here and pontificate some spiritual value that doesn't exist because, you know what, if I said that I would do that, you'd probably be wondering about my love for my children, you know? Now, obviously when it comes to, I want you to read some verses here in Matthew chapter 26, and listen, God the father loved his son, okay? What you have to understand is that God the father saw the endgame as far as how his son would save everybody else, okay? And he endured what had to happen to his son to save all those that would be saved because of that. Does that make sense? And so it's not that he, you know, he just wanted his son to have to go through that, if that was the only way it was possible, and you say, are you sure that's the only way it's possible? All right, we'll go to Matthew chapter 26 and verse 28, because I'm going to show you that Jesus didn't want to do it. You're like, I can't believe you said that. I didn't say that. Jesus said that, okay? Now in Matthew chapter 26 and verse 28, now obviously Jesus loves us and everything, and he did it, okay? But notice what it says in verse 28. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. Tear ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt. See, Jesus said, I came down from heaven not to do mine own will, for the will of him that sent me. Jesus is saying, if it's possible, let this cup pass from me. You know what that means? There was nothing else that was possible. And what he means by possible, he's not saying like, you know, because even when they were in the, before he went, he got taken away, he said, don't you know that I can basically speak the word, and my father will send all, you know, like these legions of angels to come to me? It's not that Jesus couldn't have gotten out of it. What he's basically saying, is there any other way to do this? Is there any other avenue? And the answer is no. There wasn't any. Go to Mark chapter 14. Mark chapter 14 and verse 36. Mark chapter 14 and verse 36. And in verse 36 here, Mark 14 verse 36, and he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee, take away this cup from me, nevertheless, not what I will, but what thou wilt. Now obviously, when it says all things are possible, obviously God can't sin. He's basically saying, I know that you can, basically, if there's any other way, this is basically what he's laying out here, if there is any other way, I know that that you would do it, right? Because all things are possible with you, and what it comes down to is that this is the only way. The only way for God to save us was for Jesus to die and to be raised again. For Jesus to be made the sin of the world. That was the only way it was possible. With that in mind, it's not like he's like, I don't want to do it, you go do it, son. Like these wicked modalists would say. No. God the Father knew that he couldn't do it. He doesn't have a body. He wasn't made flesh. That makes sense? He had to be made flesh in order to be one of us, to die for us. And so, but God the Father knew that, hey, my son can do it. You know what that means? My son's gonna have to do it, right? My son is gonna have to die and go through all that agony, and you say, you know, how bad was it? Well, go to Luke chapter 22. Luke chapter 22. I want you to think about this. Think about your child, okay? You're saying, okay child, you know, my daughter, my son, or whatever, I need you to, you know, this is the only way this person's gonna live, or this whole group of people live, is for you to die, okay? Now imagine that child pleading with you saying, is there any other way? Please. Now think about that, and think about the father and the love that he had to have to go through that. Look at Luke 22. Now as a father, I'm like literally right in the center, like weeping, because I'm thinking about my children, you know, and like thinking about the human aspect of it, of God dying, or God the Father, and the love that he had to do that, and Luke 22, and I don't like cry. I'm not like a weeping prophet up here, you know, but, you know, sometimes it just hits you. It hits you when you think about the love of a father and his children, and the love that he had to do this. In Luke 22 and verse 41, it says, Now what you have to understand, go to Hebrews chapter 5, is that Jesus right here is in agony, but what you gotta understand is the cup that he's about to take is the indignation of God the Father, okay? And what he feared was God the Father, okay? Because there's no way that he's, especially when he says, don't fear what man can do unto you, right? Fear God, right? There's so many verses on that, you know, don't fear him that is able to kill the body, fear him that is able to destroy both body and soul in hell, okay? And notice what it says in Hebrews chapter 5 here, in verse 5, just to get some context, it says, Notice this. I believe this is calling back to the Garden of the Gethsemane. Now usually we're thinking about that with Jesus, but think about that as a Father. Strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save. See, God the Father could have said nuts to the world, not doing that to my son, and he could be perfectly justified, right? God didn't owe us salvation. God loved us and did it. Does that make sense? God could have just let it all, you know, let us all get what we deserve, but he loved us. He loved us and he said, you know what, I'm gonna do it anyway, and imagine you have a child that's saying, you know, is there any other way, and strong crying and tears, and knowing that you can save them, knowing that you can cut it off and just let the whole world die, but that's how much God loved you. So when you look at that verse, when it says, For God so loved the world, those aren't just words. That's not just, you know, a nice phrase. That's power right there. That's love that no one can comprehend, that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. There is so much power in that verse when you understand the Father and the Son, when you understand what the Father was willing to do. Think about this, Matthew 27. Matthew 27 verse 46. Imagine as they're doing this, they're nailing them to the cross, and it says in Matthew 27 verse 46, it says, In about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani. That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And for the first time, God the Father was completely forsaken from the Son. The Son was, you know, the Father had to forsake the Son. You say, well, how is that possible, the Trinity and God? Listen, you had to just take the Bible by faith. You're like, well, how can God die if he's eternal? It says he died, okay? It says that the Father forsook the Son. Or you're calling Jesus a liar because he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? You think he's just joking around there? Or is he saying that because God the Father forsook him? Why? Because he was made to be the sin of the world. His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. He was made to be sin of the world. Go to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53. Because as much as, and you got to say, well, how in the world could the Father do that? Because the Father, just like Jesus said, he despised the shame, and it says, you know, he, I'm going to misquote it now, but I want to show you kind of the idea of like how God the Father, you imagine, because God the Father knew that his Son would not be dead forever, right? He knew that this wasn't going to last forever. It was just going to be a short time that this was going to happen, right? But still, I don't care if you knew it was going to be a short time. Like, would you still do it? You know, like that's the idea you got to understand there. Where was I going to go? I'm losing my train of thought. Yes, okay. So in Hebrew chapter 12 is what I'm thinking of. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners, lest you be wearied in your mind. I'm getting it wrong here. Okay, yeah, who endured the cross. It says, who for the joy that was set before him despised the shame and is set at the right hand of the Father, endured the cross. Okay, that's what I'm getting at. So for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. And what I'm going to show you here is that the, you know, you have to understand like how in the world did he, could he do that? Like how in the world could he have that much love for the world because he saw the joy that was set before him, right? He saw the glory of what his son was going to become, right? So what you got to understand is that he understood that he knew that his son would be victorious. He knew that his son would have the keys of Helen of Death, that he would be the the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, that he was meant to be, that he would be the Savior of the world, and that he would be glorified in that, and that every knee would bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, that he saw that, right? And he saw it through the suffering of his son that, hey, this is what's going to happen in the end, okay? So in Isaiah 53 and verse 5 it says, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned away, or we have turned every one to his own way. Notice this, and the Lord had laid on him the iniquity of us all, the Lord. It says, He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He has brought his lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken for prison and from judgment, and who shall declare his generation, for he was cut off out of land of the living. So the transgression of my people was he stricken, and he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Notice in verse 10 here, Yet it pleased the Lord to bruce him. Now what you got to understand is that what it's talking about here is that this is the payment, okay? This is the atonement. Why did it please the Lord to bruce him? Because of the fact that we would be saved by it. Does that make sense? That this is how it had to be. This is the way it had to be. He had to take the sin of the world, and he had to be punished for it in order to take our penalty. So yet it pleased the Lord to bruce him, and he hath put him to grief, and thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. So he's kind of, you see, even when he's saying that, he's like, he's seeing the future. He's seeing what's gonna follow, the glory that should follow after his death, burial, and resurrection. And God the Father is seeing that. In verse 11 it says, He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. So when he died on the cross, and his soul was in hell for three days and three nights, that was how it was being paid for, and he saw through the trees, if that if that makes sense. He saw through all the pain that his son would have to go through, and he saw what was gonna come out at the end. And it says, Therefore, notice this in verse 12. So he goes through all this, but what is gonna happen to Jesus after this? Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he hath poured out his soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors, and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. This puts a whole, you know, new view, and it says in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21, not new, but just more profound view on this, For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Why did he do it? Why did he have his son come down across, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him, that the world might be saved? So try to say that God the Father doesn't love us, because I can't fathom that love. I can't even come close to that love. You know, if we as parents, as fathers, give good gifts unto our children, how much more does your Heavenly Father? Right? And if we love our children, how much more does God the Father love the Son? And I know I'm just trying to get into, you know, to get you to understand that, but sometimes I think we just need to step back and think about that on that level, and you'll know that God loves you. And God the Father loved us so much, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. That is a verse that's used all the time, but how much love is in that? And I'm not trying to be cliche here. You'll be like, you know, like this, like you have a cliche sermon where it's like all about the love of God, and you know, just love, love, love, love. No. That's love right there. You can't match that. And God the Son loved us and gave his life for us, and God the Holy Spirit loved us just as much. And you can't separate, but what I'm trying to show you is, okay, we're honing in on the Father right now, because I think sometimes we forget the love that the Father had for us, and we think, does the Father love us? Right? You think about that, and I know it's silly, but sometimes, you know, you have to be reminded, yeah, you have no idea. You can't even fathom how much God the Father loves us. And, you know, that's the big thing I see. You know, obviously you see the fact that God the Father is the Spirit, doesn't have a body. God the Father, no man has seen his face, right? And those are big things you kind of see, but to me, the thing that sticks out is the love that he had to have to send his Son into the world to die for us. That is love that I can't even grasp, and I thank God for it, because that is true love right there. Let's end with a word of prayer then, Father, we thank you today, and thank you for your word, and Lord, Father, just thank you for the love that you had for us, that you would send your own Son, your only begotten Son to die on the cross for us, and Lord, as a Father, I can't imagine how much love that had to have for us for you to do that. And what we just thank you for it, we praise you and thank you for the love that you had for us, the love that Jesus the Holy Ghost has for us, and Lord, just pray that we remember that, and as we take the Lord's Supper, Lord, that we'd remember your Son's death, and Lord, that the love there of God to die for us, and Lord, we love you and pray all this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.