The Teachings of Jesus Our Loving Heavenly Father

Lesson #1 for July 5, 2014

Scriptures: [Matthew 7:9-11; John 14:8-10; 16:25-27; Luke 15:11-24; Matthew 6:25-34; Hebrews 9:14.][1]

1.    With this lesson we begin a new series entitled, The Teachings of Jesus. In these lessons we will try to bring together the teachings of Jesus on different subjects at different times to understand more fully what He wanted to teach us.

2.    In this first lesson, we are going to seek to understand what Jesus taught about His Father. Even through the prophets of the Old Testament, God was sometimes addressed by the familiar name, Father. [(Isaiah 63:16; 64:8; Jeremiah 3:4,19; Psalm 103:13)][2] However, the most common expression used to describe God in the Old Testament was the personal name, Yahweh. That name occurs in the Old Testament more than 6800 times.

3.    So, how do we get to know God? The first thing we need to recognize is that-and this may be surprising to some-Jesus Himself was the God of the Old Testament. [(1 Corinthians 10:1-4; John 5:39; Luke 24:25-27,44)][3] So, if Jesus-Christ-was the God of the Old Testament, how do we know when He was speaking about the One we call the Father? Clearly, when Jesus was here on this earth as the human Jesus, He spoke frequently about the Father. Especially in John 17[4], He spoke of the intimate relationship that He had with the Father which He said is the kind of relationship He wants us to have with both of Them.

4.    So, we are faced with the tough challenge of finding ways of relating to and getting to know a friendly God that we cannot see or hear or touch. Does that mean that an intellectual or theoretical knowledge about God—like something we might learn from a dictionary or a theological treatise—is adequate? Not at all! God is asking us to develop a personal and intimate relationship with Him. How is that possible?

5.    What evidence do we have that God really loves us? What kinds of things do we need to know about Him? Is it possible to know God the Father through personal experience in the 21st century? Or, can we learn about God the Father only by reading the Bible?

6.    There are several things about God that are very difficult for us to comprehend: He is omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. While we believe that He wants to have a personal relationship with us, He is also the One in charge of the entire universe. So, what does it mean to say that God is “in heaven” where millions of angel are worshiping Him (Matthew 18:10)[5] when He is also omnipresent? (Psalms 11:4)[6]

7.    Read Matthew 7:9-11[7]. Jesus focused our attention on what He wanted to teach us about the Father by suggesting that He is like a good human father. Good human fathers do not give bad or dangerous gifts to their children: No stones for bread, scorpion rather than eggs, or snakes instead of fish. (See also Luke 11:11-12[8].) But, unfortunately, not everyone living here on this earth has had the privilege of having a loving, caring father. See, for example, God Is for Real, Man which is a paraphrase of portions of the Bible in street-smart language including Psalms 23 comparing God to a probation officer. If one has not had such a privilege, how is s/he supposed to relate to a loving, heavenly Father?

8.    Since the days of Adam and Eve, no human being has been able to walk, talk, and personally communicate with or even see any Member of the Trinity in Their divine form. (Exodus 33:20)[9] Even so, in His final prayer on this earth, Jesus stated unequivocally that eternal life means to know the Father. (John 17:3)[10] Was Jesus thinking about the words He inspired Jeremiah to write in Jeremiah 9:23-24[11]? Is it all right to boast about the God we know? Absolutely!

9.    In the great controversy as spelled out in Scripture and the writings of Ellen White, we come to understand that Satan and his colleagues have launched an all-out campaign to misrepresent all three Members of the Godhead. Notice these comments taken from various places in the writings of Ellen White regarding what Satan has said about the Father and about the Son: Early Writings 218.3-220.0 (revised 1882); GC 535; and see #14 below.

10.    Since to know God is life everlasting, (John 17:3) Satan is doing his best to keep us from learning and understanding the truth about God! If we succeed in knowing God, Satan is finished! So, how do we explain the apparent contradiction in the following two passages spoken so close to each other by Jesus Himself on the last night before His crucifixion?

John 14:8-9 (GNB): 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need.” 9 Jesus answered, “For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, ‘Show us the Father’?”

John 17:6-8 (GNB): [Jesus said in prayer to His Father:] “I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world. . . . 8I gave them the message that you gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me.” [Content in brackets is added.]

11.    Jesus’s response in John 14:8-10[12] implied something like this: “Is it possible that after walking with Me, hearing My words, seeing My miracles of feeding the crowds, of healing the sick, and of raising the dead, you do not know Me? Is it possible that you do not recognize the Father in the works that He does through Me?” They were still waiting for Him to defeat the Romans!

12.    How do we understand those words? Was this the first time the disciples had really asked Jesus about the Father? Surely not! (Compare John 16:25-27[13].) Hadn’t Jesus tried to explain about the Father earlier? What was Jesus trying to tell the disciples about His Father? Look at Ellen White’s comments on the relationship between the Father and the Son.

Had God the Father come to our world and dwelt among us, humbling Himself, veiling His glory, that humanity might look upon Him, the history that we have of the life of Christ would not have been changed....In every act of Jesus, in every lesson of His instruction, we are to see and hear and recognize God. In sight, in hearing, in effect, it is the voice and movements of the Father. Letter 83, 1895; That I May Know Him 338.4; 21MR 393.1.

13.    Why did the disciples learn and understand so little about God and the truth about the Messiah despite being with Jesus all that time? (Compare Luke 18:31-34[14].) What were they thinking about? How could the disciples participate with all of Jesus’s miracles and teachings and not ask questions about what was behind it all? Jesus even gave them miraculous powers! (Matthew 10:8) From where did they think those powers came? Did they really think that Jesus’s goal was just to become an earthly king? Where did they get that idea?

14.    What were the prevailing ideas about God in Jesus’s day? In that light, what did Jesus come to do?

The law of Jehovah was burdened with needless exactions and traditions, and God was represented as severe, exacting, revengeful, and arbitrary. He was pictured as one who could take pleasure in the sufferings of his creatures. The very attributes that belonged to the character of Satan, the evil one represented as belonging to the character of God. Jesus came to teach men of the Father, to correctly represent him before the fallen children of earth. Angels could not fully portray the character of God, but Christ, who was a living impersonation of God, could not fail to accomplish the work.

The only way in which he could set and keep men right was to make himself visible and familiar to their eyes. . . .

Christ exalted the character of God, attributing to him the praise, and giving to him the credit, of the whole purpose of his own mission on earth,-to set men right through the revelation of God. In Christ was arrayed before men the paternal grace and the matchless perfections of the Father. In his prayer just before his crucifixion, he declared, “I have manifested thy name.” “I have glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.” When the object of his mission was attained,-the revelation of God to the world,-the Son of God announced that his work was accomplished, and that the character of the Father was made manifest to men.” The Signs of the Times, January 20, 1890, par. 6,9; contrast ST December 4, 1893; Manuscript Releases, vol. 18, 358.3-359.1; RH August 14, 1900; YI November 21, 1883; RH, November 1, 1892 par. 12. [Bold type is added.]

15.    Is this what is usually taught about the life and death of Jesus? Do we really believe that the whole purpose of Christ’s mission on this earth was to reveal the truth about God? Or, did He come to “pay the price for sin”? What does it say to us about God when we read in some translations words like these?

Romans 3:25, (The Living Bible): For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God’s anger against us.

How does that fit with John 3:16[15]?

16.    In Romans 3:25, the King James Version calls Jesus’s death a propitiation. What is a propitiation? Does God’s anger against us really need to be appeased? What does that have to do with love? Could God be angry with us and love us at the same time?

17.    Where was the breakdown between these two ideas? We must believe that Jesus did the very best that He and His Father could to communicate; and yet, the disciples did not seem to get the message. What about us today? Do we tend to fear God and His judgment and yet, love our favorite sins? Could we turn that around and learn to love God and fear sin?

18.    What is the most important thing Jesus said about His Father? No one needs to plead with the Father on our behalf because the Father loves every one of us. (John 16:25-27) Doesn’t this seem to contradict the whole idea of the priestly ministry described in the Old Testament? God is doing everything possible to win us back. In fact, He gave us the very best gift of heaven, His Son. (John 3:16) It is pagan to say that He needs to be appeased, or propitiated, and even that someone, anyone, needs to plead with Him to forgive us and accept us back. With our immature misunderstandings, we may need to see Jesus pleading with His Father; but, when we grow up and come to know God better, we will realize that pleading with the Father is absolutely not necessary.

19.    God’s very essence and the essence of His government is love. (1 John 4:8,16) The very essence of Satan’s government is selfishness. We are all born selfish; that is, as infants and children, we think only of our own needs and wants. Christianity is God’s way of encouraging us to grow up and leave our selfishness behind and adopt God’s plan of love. Think about it. What percentage of your daily activities are basically motivated by selfishness? How often do we do things that are truly loving? When the truth is known, some of our lives look pretty bad!

There is no chapter in our experience too dark for Him to read; there is no perplexity too difficult for Him to unravel. No calamity can befall the least of His children, no anxiety harass the soul, no joy cheer, no sincere prayer escape the lips, of which our heavenly Father is unobservant, or in which He takes no immediate interest. “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3. The relations between God and each soul are as distinct and full as though there were not another soul upon the earth to share His watchcare, not another soul for whom He gave His beloved Son.—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 100. [Bold type and italics are added.]

20.    Does that mean that our lives will be easy and comfortable as we seek to live more and more like Jesus?

2 Timothy 3:12 (GNB): Everyone who wants to live a godly life in union with Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

21.    Do you know anyone who is being persecuted? Is the persecution of Christians by communistic, totalitarian, and atheistic governments a part of the persecutions predicted for the last days? When will that persecution spread to the entire world? (See Revelation 13[16].)

22.    While Satan is doing everything he can to deceive us and confuse us by misrepresenting the Father, Paul made it very clear that all three Members of the Godhead are on our side. [(Romans 8:26-27, 31-39)][17] They cooperated in the earthly ministry of Jesus. [(Luke 3:21-22; John 14:16-17)][18] With all of Them on our side, do we have anything to fear?

In order to strengthen our confidence in God, Christ teaches us to address Him by a new name, a name entwined with the dearest associations of the human heart. He gives us the privilege of calling the infinite God our Father. This name, spoken to Him and of Him, is a sign of our love and trust toward Him, and a pledge of His regard and relationship to us. Spoken when asking His favor or blessing, it is as music in His ears. That we might not think it presumption to call Him by this name, He has repeated it again and again. He desires us to become familiar with the appellation.

God regards us as His children. He has redeemed us out of the careless world and has chosen us to become members of the royal family, sons and daughters of the heavenly King. He invites us to trust in Him with a trust deeper and stronger than that of a child in his earthly father. Parents love their children, but the love of God is larger, broader, deeper, than human love can possibly be. It is immeasurable.—Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons, pp. 141.4-142.1.

As the inspired apostle John beheld the height, the depth, the breadth of the Father’s love toward the perishing race, he was filled with adoration and reverence; and, failing to find suitable language in which to express the greatness and tenderness of this love, he called upon the world to behold it. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.” 1 John 3:1. What a value this places upon man!—Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 15.

23.    Have we comprehended this love? Do we really believe it? Have we experienced it? Are we telling everyone about it? Why? Or, why not?

© 2014, Kenneth Hart, MD, MA, MPH. Permission is hereby granted for any noncommercial use of these materials. Free distribution of all or of a portion of this material such as to a Bible study class is encouraged.    Info@theox.org

Last Modified: June 1, 2014

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1-Matthew 7:9 Would any of you who are fathers give your son a stone when he asks for bread? 10 Or would you give him a snake when he asks for a fish? 11 As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

John 14:8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need." 9 Jesus answered, "For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, "Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you," Jesus said to his disciples, "do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work.

John16:25 "I have used figures of speech to tell you these things. But the time will come when I will not use figures of speech, but will speak to you plainly about the Father. 26 When that day comes, you will ask him in my name; and I do not say that I will ask him on your behalf, 27 for the Father himself loves you. He loves you because you love me and have believed that I came from God.

Luke 15:11 Jesus went on to say, "There was once a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to him, "Father, give me my share of the property now.' So the man divided his property between his two sons. 13 After a few days the younger son sold his part of the property and left home with the money. He went to a country far away, where he wasted his money in reckless living. 14 He spent everything he had. Then a severe famine spread over that country, and he was left without a thing. 15 So he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him out to his farm to take care of the pigs. 16 He wished he could fill himself with the bean pods the pigs ate, but no one gave him anything to eat. 17 At last he came to his senses and said, "All my father's hired workers have more than they can eat, and here I am about to starve! 18 I will get up and go to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against God and against you. 19 I am no longer fit to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired workers." ' 20 So he got up and started back to his father. "He was still a long way from home when his father saw him; his heart was filled with pity, and he ran, threw his arms around his son, and kissed him. 21 "Father,' the son said, "I have sinned against God and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.' 22 But the father called to his servants. "Hurry!' he said. "Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. 23 Then go and get the prize calf and kill it, and let us celebrate with a feast! 24 For this son of mine was dead, but now he is alive; he was lost, but now he has been found.' And so the feasting began.

Matthew 6:25 "This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn't life worth more than food? And isn't the body worth more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren't you worth much more than birds? 27 Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it? 28 "And why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow: they do not work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that not even King Solomon with all his wealth had clothes as beautiful as one of these flowers. 30 It is God who clothes the wild grass - grass that is here today and gone tomorrow, burned up in the oven. Won't he be all the more sure to clothe you? What little faith you have! 31 "So do not start worrying: "Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?' 32 (These are the things the pagans are always concerned about.) Your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things. 34 So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings.

Hebrews 9:14 Since this is true, how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve the living God.

2-Isaiah 63:16 You are our father. Our ancestors Abraham and Jacob do not acknowledge us, but you, Lord, are our father, the one who has always rescued us.

Isaiah 64:8 But you are our father, Lord. We are like clay, and you are like the potter. You created us,

Jeremiah 3:4 "And now you say to me, "You are my father, and you have loved me ever since I was a child. 19 The Lord says, "Israel, I wanted to accept you as my child and give you a delightful land, the most beautiful land in all the world. I wanted you to call me father and never again turn away from me.

Psalm 103:13 As a father is kind to his children, so the Lord is kind to those who honor him.

3-1 Corinthians 10:1 I want you to remember, my friends, what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the protection of the cloud, and all passed safely through the Red Sea. 2 In the cloud and in the sea they were all baptized as followers of Moses. 3 All ate the same spiritual bread 4 and drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself.

John 5:39 You study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you will find eternal life. And these very Scriptures speak about me!

Luke 24:25 Then Jesus said to them, "How foolish you are, how slow you are to believe everything the prophets said! 26 Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and then to enter his glory?" 27 And Jesus explained to them what was said about himself in all the Scriptures, beginning with the books of Moses and the writings of all the prophets. 44 Then he said to them, "These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms had to come true."

4-John 17:1 After Jesus finished saying this, he looked up to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your Son, so that the Son may give glory to you. 2 For you gave him authority over all people, so that he might give eternal life to all those you gave him. 3 And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent. 4 I have shown your glory on earth; I have finished the work you gave me to do. 5 Father! Give me glory in your presence now, the same glory I had with you before the world was made. 6 "I have made you known to those you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your word, 7 and now they know that everything you gave me comes from you. 8 I gave them the message that you gave me, and they received it; they know that it is true that I came from you, and they believe that you sent me. 9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those you gave me, for they belong to you. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and my glory is shown through them. 11 And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one just as you and I are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them safe by the power of your name, the name you gave me. I protected them, and not one of them was lost, except the man who was bound to be lost - so that the scripture might come true. 13 And now I am coming to you, and I say these things in the world so that they might have my joy in their hearts in all its fullness. 14 I gave them your message, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but I do ask you to keep them safe from the Evil One. 16 Just as I do not belong to the world, they do not belong to the world. 17 Dedicate them to yourself by means of the truth; your word is truth. 18 I sent them into the world, just as you sent me into the world. 19 And for their sake I dedicate myself to you, in order that they, too, may be truly dedicated to you. 20 "I pray not only for them, but also for those who believe in me because of their message. 21 I pray that they may all be one. Father! May they be in us, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they be one, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 22 I gave them the same glory you gave me, so that they may be one, just as you and I are one: 23 I in them and you in me, so that they may be completely one, in order that the world may know that you sent me and that you love them as you love me. 24 "Father! You have given them to me, and I want them to be with me where I am, so that they may see my glory, the glory you gave me; for you loved me before the world was made. 25 Righteous Father! The world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you sent me. 26 I made you known to them, and I will continue to do so, in order that the love you have for me may be in them, and so that I also may be in them."

5-Matthew 18:10 See that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven.

6-Psalms 11:4 The Lord is in his holy temple; he has his throne in heaven. He watches people everywhere and knows what they are doing.

7-Matthew 7:9 Would any of you who are fathers give your son a stone when he asks for bread? 10 Or would you give him a snake when he asks for a fish? 11 As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

8-Luke 11:11 Would any of you who are fathers give your son a snake when he asks for fish? 12 Or would you give him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?

9-Exodus 33:20 I will not let you see my face, because no one can see me and stay alive,

10-John 17:3 And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

11-Jeremiah 9:23 The Lord says, "The wise should not boast of their wisdom, nor the strong of their strength, nor the rich of their wealth. 24 If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me, because my love is constant, and I do what is just and right. These are the things that please me. I, the Lord, have spoken."

12- John 14:8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father; that is all we need." 9 Jesus answered, "For a long time I have been with you all; yet you do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Why, then, do you say, "Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe, Philip, that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I have spoken to you," Jesus said to his disciples, "do not come from me. The Father, who remains in me, does his own work

13-John 16:25 "I have used figures of speech to tell you these things. But the time will come when I will not use figures of speech, but will speak to you plainly about the Father. 26 When that day comes, you will ask him in my name; and I do not say that I will ask him on your behalf, 27 for the Father himself loves you. He loves you because you love me and have believed that I came from God.

14-Luke 18:31 Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of him, insult him, and spit on him. 33 They will whip him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life." 34 But the disciples did not understand any of these things; the meaning of the words was hidden from them, and they did not know what Jesus was talking about.

15-John 3:16 For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life.

16-Revelation 13:1 Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads; on each of its horns there was a crown, and on each of its heads there was a name that was insulting to God. 2 The beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear's feet and a mouth like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave the beast his own power, his throne, and his vast authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have been fatally wounded, but the wound had healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast. 4 Everyone worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast. They worshiped the beast also, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?" 5 The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God, and it was permitted to have authority for forty-two months. 6 It began to curse God, his name, the place where he lives, and all those who live in heaven. 7 It was allowed to fight against God's people and to defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language, and race. 8 All people living on earth will worship it, except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living which belongs to the Lamb that was killed. 9 "Listen, then, if you have ears! 10 Whoever is meant to be captured will surely be captured; whoever is meant to be killed by the sword will surely be killed by the sword. This calls for endurance and faith on the part of God's people." 11 Then I saw another beast, which came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns, and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It used the vast authority of the first beast in its presence. It forced the earth and all who live on it to worship the first beast, whose wound had healed. 13 This second beast performed great miracles; it made fire come down out of heaven to earth in the sight of everyone. 14 And it deceived all the people living on earth by means of the miracles which it was allowed to perform in the presence of the first beast. The beast told them to build an image in honor of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 The second beast was allowed to breathe life into the image of the first beast, so that the image could talk and put to death all those who would not worship it. 16 The beast forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, slave and free, to have a mark placed on their right hands or on their foreheads. 17 No one could buy or sell without this mark, that is, the beast's name or the number that stands for the name. 18 This calls for wisdom. Whoever is intelligent can figure out the meaning of the number of the beast, because the number stands for the name of someone. Its number is 666.

17-Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express. 27 And God, who sees into our hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is; because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will. 31 In view of all this, what can we say? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 Certainly not God, who did not even keep back his own Son, but offered him for us all! He gave us his Son - will he not also freely give us all things? 33 Who will accuse God's chosen people? God himself declares them not guilty! 34 Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with him for us! 35 Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death? 36 As the scripture says, "For your sake we are in danger of death at all times; we are treated like sheep that are going to be slaughtered." 37 No, in all these things we have complete victory through him who loved us! 38 For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, 39 neither the world above nor the world below - there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.

18-Luke 3:21 After all the people had been baptized, Jesus also was baptized. While he was praying, heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit came down upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, "You are my own dear Son. I am pleased with you."

John 14:16 I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit, who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains with you and is in you.

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