There are relationships based on God’s abounding grace.
These words should be very precious to us for they expose the depths of His love for those whom He redeemed with His own blood, and they expound the great blessing into which He has brought us.
Notice how He addresses His own. We are, He says, His brethren and, as such, united with Him. “For both He that sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of One, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Heb. 2:11). So all-encompassing is His work that He is not embarrassed to include us with Himself as He describes His relationship with His Father.
But this was a new relationship for Him as well as for us. That last sentence might sound strange, but think for a moment. During His ministry prior to the cross, He could rightly and uniquely speak of His (very own) Father. Because of this claim to an exclusive relationship, His brethren after the flesh were determined to crucify Him (Jn. 5:18). They understood that this was a claim to deity. And it is clear that no one else could ever share in His essential relationship as the only begotten Son.
But now, we who believe are His brethren, for He embraced true humanity at Bethlehem, entering into our condition, apart from sin. We are now united to Him who has been raised from the dead (Rom. 7:4). Where He goes, we go. What He is, we are. That glorified Man is a sample of what we are before God: “The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20), “As He is, so are we in this world” (1 Jn. 14:17). So, He ascended to His Father and to ours, to His God and to ours.
Not that the relationships are identical, of course. He does not say, “I am ascending to our Father and to our God.” Nonetheless, there are lessons to be learned and blessings to be enjoyed from these new relationships.
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, in their Commentary On The Whole Bible, put this very neatly, but their comment is obscure if you do not take time to meditate on it. They quote from the Church Fathers: “His Father essentially, ours not so; our God essentially, His not so; His God only in connection with us; our God only in connection with Him.” I have tried to make this a little clearer in the thoughts expressed above. I hope I have succeeded. If not, think on His words rather than mine or theirs—you will surely be blessed as I have been.
We need to think much on this grand truth. True faith lays hold not of what we are from a natural perspective, but on what we are in Christ. When we pray, we ought to think more of the holy and precious relationship we now have with His Father and ours, His God and ours. It is one of those verses that will enable us to come, not irreverently, but nevertheless with great boldness to the throne of grace. It is then that prayer becomes communion and we find it easy to ask according to His will, for we are so conscious of His grace and our hearts are full of praise.