True Church Fathers

It's Fathers Day once more. And for sure many churches will base their Sunday worship programs on this occasion, recognizing fathers in their church, and of course, God the Father, to make everything sound spiritually legit. It's all a waste of time and money. How I hope it's really about true church fathers.

However, let's say Fathers Day is a legit event in God's eyes and not just a scheme of businessmen to jack up their profits. How would God want Fathers Day to be? What kind of fathers are true church fathers?

First John 2 says it all. True church fathers are those who are spiritual and raise up strong spiritual sons and daughters. They are not just biological. Most "fathers" in church are merely biological--they're called fathers because they're able to impregnate their wives and have children. And some of them are "fathers" because they provide well for their families. These are all good and apt, but this is not what God means when he talks about true church fathers.

"I write to you fathers because you know Him who is from the beginning," says John. He was addressing true church fathers God would've recognized gladly if there was then a Fathers Day. True church fathers personally know God who is from the beginning. The term "who is from the beginning" denotes a deeply rooted and personal knowledge of God. And this was the valid and strong reason why John took the trouble to "write" them. 

According to John, true church children were those who had been "forgiven of your sins." And this happened because of the fathers' knowledge of the One who is from the beginning. When fathers serve as real models of Christianity (knowing God who is from the beginning), church children repent of sins. And because fathers then were deeply rooted in their knowledge of God, church children did not remain just forgiven of their sins; they grew spiritually to having "known the Father," (2.13). 

When fathers in church are true church fathers in God's eyes, there is always an ever-increasing glory. Children, after being forgiven of sins, turn into God knowers, and then into young men who "have overcome the evil one." This is a strong statement--genuine church young men are so strong spiritually they overcome Satan. And this all begins with true church fathers who know Him who is from the beginning.

Later, John reveals the next level of ever-increasing glory for young men--they "are strong, and the Word of God lives in you, and have overcome the evil one." That's triple glory. This is how church growth ought to be--in ever-increasing glory--if fathers obey God's ways, will, and Word.

If you're just a biological father, how are you any different from fathers of other religions?