by Vance Havner

I will be a Father unto you. 2 Corinthians 6:18

Yes, if you are born from above by faith in His Son. Popular modern preaching to the contrary notwithstanding, He is the father of them only that believe (Gal. 3:26). Jesus’ Word to the Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil” (John 8:44), is forgotten these days.

But we are told that if we come out and are separate and touch not the unclean thing, God will be a Father unto us. Does His Fatherhood depend on our separation? No, it depends on our regeneration. But He cannot be to some of us the Father He wants to be because we are not in fellowship. There are fathers who cannot be to their children what they want to be because their children are in no condition for such favors. Sometimes they must be corrected and chastised. What a grief it is to want to do things for a child whose rebellious spirit makes it impossible! God wants to bless us with all the riches of His grace, but He cannot until we are separated from sin and made “blessable.”