The purpose of Jesus' coming to earth was to break down the Law of sin and death that kept us separated from the Father. Man was separated from God because of Adam's transgression and had no way of returning to Him. There needed to be a sinless sacrifice that was stronger than death and sin. The blood of bulls and goats could only cover man's sins and do so for only a short time. Day after day and year after year, the sacrifice must be made in order to stave off the judgment and penalty of sin.
John the Baptist referred to Jesus as the "Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world." Jesus said of Himself in John 14:6 (Amplified) saying, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me." No man could stand free in the presence of God without the sacrifice of Jesus. He couldn't be a Just and Holy God without extracting the cost of sin in man's life.
The old covenant provided temporary payment for sin, but didn't provide righteousness and justification for sin. Romans 3:9-10 (Amplified) says, "Well then, are we (Jews) superior and better off than they (Gentiles)? No, not at all. We have already charged that all men, both Jews and Greeks (Gentiles) are under sin (held down by and subject to its power and control). As it is written , none is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one."
The above scripture tells us that even the Jews (the covenant people), were still not in right standing or righteous before God. None, but Jesus ever called Him Father. Jesus came as the last sacrifice for mankind, there is none else and no need for another. By His Own Blood sacrifice, God paid the price to make man in rightstanding (righteous) with Him. It's not our righteousness, but His righteousness that we now stand. The "Only way to the Father is by Jesus. The old covenant people could come to God by the sacrifice of bulls and goats, but they couldn't come to Father.
Jesus spoke about this very thing in John 14:7 (Amplified) saying, "If you had known Me (had learned to recognize Me), you would also have known My Father. From now on you known Him and seen Him." Jesus has revealed the will and nature and the love of the Father. We still someone to reveal Jesus to the masses of unsaved persons. Until we know Jesus, we can never know the Father.
Today, many Christians still only know Him as God. We call Him Father, but have no intimate relationship with Him as Father. We seemingly stumble over what His will if for us and His nature concerning us. We mostly still identify with the God of the Old Testament rather than the New Testament Father.
The Holy Spirit's job is to reveal all the grace, mercy, love, nature and compassion of the Father to all who will hear, as well as God's will to heal and deliver. We will never know the Father until we know the Son. We can never really know the Son until the Holy Spirit reveals Him to our spirit.
Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit's coming and He made some comments that we should look deeper into. Jesus knew above all people, the reason for the Holy Spirit's coming, saying in John 14:26 (Amplified), "But the Comforter (Counselor, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by) the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on M behalf) He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
As the Holy Spirit reveals more and more about what was accomplished on the cross and resurrection, we will see more and more of the Father's heart through Jesus. We've had so many false ideas and impressions of our Father that are distorted by men and not the Holy Spirit.
When we refer to "God fearing people," we truly mean that they fear God. No Father wants his children to be fearful of him. We're not supposed to be afraid of God, we're speaking about having reverence or awe of God's presence. Every Father wishes His children would respect him, but not fear him.
Until Jesus brought God into focus as Father, we were outside that relationship with Him. Now, the Holy Spirit reveals Jesus and we can see the Father though Jesus. Only the Holy Spirit can do this work in men's hearts. He is to be our Comforter and is the Only One Who can bring comfort to a believer's heart. Without acknowledging Him, we abide in a place where we worry about our old life and how we're not in right standing with God. We cannot seem to get comfortable in His presence and feel inferior as though it was only through pity that we became His children. Without the Holy Spirit there is no comfort in our lives.
I asked my congregation how many felt comfortable in the presence of the Father. I had to ask a second time saying, "How many of you feel at home in the presence of the Father? Then, I asked, "Do you feel like you don't truly belong in the presence of such a Holy and Awesome Being?" I added, "If so, then let the Holy Spirit reveal what Jesus has done on your behalf." Then you can feel like Paul did when he said, "To live is Christ, to die is gain."
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