Grace Fellowship Church Pastor/Teacher Jim Rickard Thursday, June 28, 2012

Doxology Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise Him, all creatures here below; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.— Amen.

John 17 The Great High Priestly Prayer of our Lord!

John 17:20-26 Jesus Prays for the Church!

John 17:25 The Righteous Father! Part 2

“O righteous Father” – PATER DIKAIOS. DIKAIOS, “upright, righteous, good, just, right, correct, fair, honest.”

Doctrine of God the Father as Righteous (continued):

7. God the Father is absolute good, which is perfect righteousness. Psa 25:8, 34:8, 86:5, 119:68; Luke 18:19

8. God the Father is perfect, both in His person and in His character. Deut 32:4; Psa 7:9, 11:7, 97:6, 119:137; Jer 23:6; John 17:25; Rom 1:17, 10:3; 1 John 2:29

a. As perfect and absolute righteousness, God rejects all relative standards of righteousness, and therefore, all human standards of righteousness. Isa 64:6

9. God is totally free from sin. He has never sinned. He cannot tempt or solicit to sin. He cannot in any way be involved in sin except to judge it. James 1:13

James 1:13, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”

10. God the Father is our supreme judge. The righteousness of the Father demands decisions. His justice administers them. Gen 18:25; 1 Kings 8:31-32; Psa 7:11; 47:8; Heb 12:23

Gen 18:25, “Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”

Psa 7:11a, “God is a righteous judge.”

Heb 12:23, “To the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous (DIKAIOS) made perfect.”

11. God the Father is fair; it is impossible for Him to be unfair. His Justice administers that which His perfect righteousness demands. 2 Chr 19:7; Job 37:23; Psa 19:9, 50:6, 58:11, 89:14; Isa 45:21; Rom 3:26, 12:3; Heb 10:30-31

12. As noted in John 17:11, God the Father is Holy which is made up of His righteousness and justice. Lev 19:2; 1 Sam 2:2; Psa 22:3; Rev 3:7; 4:8; 6:10

13. In grace God provided through salvation all that His love desires, and His +R and +J demand. The issue in salvation is Divine justice accepted or rejected.

a. You get Divine justice sooner or later. You get it sooner by believing in Christ, or you get it later by the Lake of Fire.

b. Sin is not the issue in salvation, justice is. Because of propitiation, He is free to save those who believe because of His justice.

c. The basis for the unbeliever’s indictment at the Last Judgment is evil and human good, not sin. Rev 20:12-15

14. Divine righteousness and justice is mankind’s point of reference with God.

15. The source of all blessing, discipline, testing, and punishment is the integrity of God the Father. This is what we call the Grace Pipeline.

Love Righteousness Love God Man (R + / -) Blessing or Discipline

Grace Fellowship Church Thursday, June 28, 2012 Tape # God the Father’s Righteousness Great High Priestly Prayer, Part 121 John 17:25; Gen 18:25; Psa 35:24; Heb 12:23; James 1:13 James H. Rickard Bible Ministries 2012