Yes — think about that for a minute and realize many of us have never truly paused to acknowledge that reality, and we should be surprised we haven’t.
Listening to the audio Gospel of John on a cool Monday morning while riding my bike to work, this chapter brought that question to my attention:
John 5:18 KJV “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”
In a sermon I once listened to, I learned that the term Father means Source — and repeatedly in Scripture, you’ll notice Jesus referring to God the Father as the source of His teachings and manifestations.
John 5:19 KJV “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.”
You’ll also see it in:
- John 7:16-17 KJV
- John 12:49 KJV
But here’s the thing — why was it only Jesus acknowledging God as Father, while the Jews who supposedly knew so much of the Law and Scriptures were completely ignorant of it? I mean, they knew the Scriptures so well — yet how come they never acknowledged what the Psalmist declared in:
Psalm 82:6 KJV “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”
If God is your Source, wouldn’t that be the very reason the Psalmist could call them gods and children of the Most High? After all — are children not the offspring of their Father?
Like the Jews in our world today, many believers haven’t fully embraced the reality of God as Father. We often approach Him as a distant, transactional deity rather than the intimate, loving Father He is.
Too often, Christian life is reduced to religious routine. We pray because we’ve been taught it’s how to “receive,” not because we crave fellowship with our Father.
Imagine a teenager whose dad only pays fees and picks them up from school — but never asks how they’re doing, never talks with them heart-to-heart. Would you call that a relationship? And the tragic thing is, there’s no conflict or quarrel causing the distance — just neglect.
This is what happened with the Jews: keeping laws and ordinances without cultivating genuine fellowship. They misunderstood Moses too, thinking he provided the manna — yet Jesus corrected this thinking in:
John 6:32 BSB “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.’”
And we all know the relationship Moses had with God, as it’s written:
Exodus 33:11 KJV “And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend…”
No wonder you hear Jesus pray so intimately:
John 11:41-42 KJV “And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always…”
How confident are you when you engage God in prayer? Do you seek to know His will for your life, or simply send petitions? Do you carry the consciousness that God cares for you and longs for fellowship with you like a loving Father?
Have you forgotten 2 Chronicles 16:9 KJV? “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…”
This is a call to recalibrate our hearts and attitudes — to seek deeper relationship, not just religion.
I’m reminded of a quote by Smith Wigglesworth: “I talk to God about everything; there’s nothing too small or too great to bring before Him.”
When we cultivate that kind of intimacy, we’ll discover the fullness of faith and security in His love. And like Paul, we’ll confidently say:
2 Timothy 1:12 KJV “For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
May this be our heart’s posture. 🙏
