(c) Children of God trust their heavenly Father. This mark of Divine sonship is emphasized in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus exhorts His disciples not to be as the Gentiles, but to rely upon their heavenly F'ather's knowledge of their needs and His desire to help thera. Anxiety must be banished from the hearts of God's children, who are fed and clothed by their Father (Mt e'^**, Lk S-'^-^%
(d) Children of God try to be like their heavenly Father. They are to be perfect, even as their heavenly Father is perfect (Mt 5^'). This must not be interpreted, as it often is, 'Be as perfect as your Father.' Its exhortation is to take the fatherly character of God as the standard of perfection. ' Be ye perfect, even as He is perfect.' 'The Father loves all men : let His children do likewise. By thus taking the fatherly character of God as the standard, His.children will fulfil the second great law, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Mt 22^"). The natural man adojjts other ideals of perfection ; but the children of God try to be like their Father.
Jesus gave immortal expression to the desires characteristic of the children of God, in 'the Lord's Prayer.' That prayer is put into the lips of those who can say 'Our Father which art in heaven.' It includes all the marks of God's chil- dren that have been found elsewhere in the teach- ing of Jesus. The hallowing of the Father's name implies the sanctitication of His children after His likeness. The prayer ' Thy will be done ' lifts us to the loftiest level of obedience. Only those who trust God can pray 'Give us our daily bread,' and can limit their desires for material good to such humble bounds. The prayer breathes through- out the spirit of love : that spirit is the warp into which the weft of the petition is woven.
CHILDREN OF GOD
CHIL1)REN OF GOD
The blessings enjoyed by tlie children of God are all the good that Jesus Christ came on earth to otfer to men. This good is summed up in the phrase ' the kingdom of God ' or ' the kingdom of heaven.' All the children of God are members of that Kingdom ; cf. Mt 13^ IS^'". The Kingdom is God's prottered blessing : ' It is your Father's good pleasure to give you tlie kingdom ' (Lk 12^=). The Kingdom includes the blessings of forgiveness (Mt6"|!); of guardian care (Mt B^^) ; of the Holy Spirit (Lk 11") ; of eternal life (Jn 5-'-* 17") ; and finally, the enjoyment of the Father's house (Mt 2o'^ Jn 14=- =).
This identification of the blessings enjoyed by the children of God with the good of the Kingdom, leads naturally to the statement that the ethical attitude characteristic of the children of God can be secured by faith in Jesus Christ. He not only spoke of Himself as the Son of God ; He also declared that His revelation of Sonship made son- shi[i ])ossi1jle to men. Considerable importance .nttaches to the solemn words in Mt 11-' 'All things have been delivered unto me of my Father : and no one knoweth the Son, save the Father ; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.' They declare that the knowledge of the Father must be experimental. Only one who has lived as a son can know the Father. Men do not know God primarily as Father. They think of Him as King, as Judge, as Law-Giver ; and be- cause they are sinners they cannot know Him as Father. The shadow of the broken Law
purely : falls ac
falls across God's face, making it appear the face of a judge, and falls upon the attitude of men, chilling it into that of .servants. But ' the Son ' knows God as Father. He has no fear of Him as Judge ; He claims to be Himself the King in the kingdom of God (Mt 25^°) ; He is conscious that He has never broken God's law. Therefore He can know God as the Father ; and He is able to reveal God to men as Father. Jesus does tliis by ransom- ing captive spirits from the bondage of sin and death (Mt 20^), by persuading them to trust the fatherly love of God, and by strengthening them to break away from the self-life in favour of the life of surrender (Mt 16^-" ||).
The close connexion between this great word and the gracious invitation whicli follows it (Mt ll^-*), must not be overlooked. Tliat invitation shows the universality of Christ's outlook. The Son is willing to reveal the Father to all. But the connexioii explains the personal note in the invita- tion. Jesus does not say ' Go to the Father ' ; He says 'Come unto me, and I will give you rest.' This is because He is the reveal er of the Father ; and the rest He offers is rest in the Fatherhood of God. The chapter describes the discouragements that darkened the noon of His ministry. He found rest to His own soul in the Father : ' 1 thank thee, O Father . . . Even so, Father' (vv.=5--«). This rest He desires to give to others. The only way in which men can come to the Father is by coming to Himself.