Exploring God as Father CHLBAT401A Explore foundational Christian beliefs - P a r t C Certificate IV in Christian Leadership Student Notes Influencers Leadership College 57 Darley Rd Paradise SA 5075 Ph: (08) 8336 0033 Fax: (08) 83360005 Email: [email protected] Web: www.influencerslc.com Version Date: 7/3/2016. These notes may not be copied without permission from Influencers Leadership College Contents Who is our Father? ..................................................................................................................... 1 The Importance of Knowing God as Father ................................................................................. 2 The Challenges to Knowing God as Father ................................................................................. 4 A. Imperfect earthly fathers ......................................................................................................................4 B. Wrong theology ...................................................................................................................................4 1. Harsh judgement of wrongdoers ....................................................................................................4 C. The presence of suffering in the world ................................................................................................7 Jesus Reveals the Father ........................................................................................................... 9 A. Jesus reveals the Father through his actions ................................................................................... 10 1. Jesus blessed the children .......................................................................................................... 11 2. The woman caught in adultery .................................................................................................... 11 3. Healing all who came to him ....................................................................................................... 11 4. A friend of sinners ....................................................................................................................... 11 5. A sacrifice for man ....................................................................................................................... 12 B. Jesus reveals the Father through his words .................................................................................... 13 1. The Sermon on the Mount .......................................................................................................... 13 2. The shepherd heart of the Father ............................................................................................... 14 3. The parable of the prodigal son .................................................................................................. 14 4. Jesus’ farewell discourse and prayer .......................................................................................... 15 C. Jesus reveals the Father through his sonship .................................................................................. 16 1. Jesus the eternal Son of God ...................................................................................................... 16 2. Jesus the human Son of God ...................................................................................................... 16 3. Jesus glorifies the Father ............................................................................................................ 17 The Purpose of the Father ........................................................................................................ 21 A. Reconciliation – Peace with God...................................................................................................... 21 B. Adoption – Members of the family .................................................................................................... 22 C. Glorification – The image of Christ ................................................................................................... 23 The Fatherhood of God and Life Today .................................................................................... 25 A. Relationship with the Father ............................................................................................................. 25 B. Opportunity ....................................................................................................................................... 25 C. Security ............................................................................................................................................. 26 D. Endurance ........................................................................................................................................ 26 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 28 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 29 Who is our Father? At the beginning of this series on the Fatherhood of God it is good to ask ourselves about our perceptions of God. What is He like? Can we trust Him? What are His purposes? What does He think about us? How comfortable do we feel in His presence? The answer to these and other questions can help us understand our understanding of God as Father. Consider the following passage from Genesis chapter three that recounts the original sin of Adam and Eve and God’s response to their rebellion. Genesis 3:6-11 (NKJV) 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” When Adam and Eve rebelled against God we find that God came looking for them in the garden. When we read this account, how do we hear God’s voice calling out for Adam? In our imagination is God’s voice an angry or a loving voice? Is the Father in Genesis in this passage an angry judge wanting to punish Adam and Eve for their rebellion or is He a loving Father wanting to make things right? 1 The Importance of Knowing God as Father For many Christians the main focus of their worship and relationship with God centres upon the person and work of Christ who died on the cross and rose again for our salvation. For others their Christian experience is captivated by the empowering work of the Holy Spirit as He enables them to minister through the gifts that He brings. Without minimising the importance and place of both of these two members of the Trinity it is important to recognise that the primary message and revelation of Christianity is that God is our Father. Thomas Smail describes the focus of the Christian Gospel as follows: “[The Gospel starts] not with the cross of Jesus or with the gift of the Spirit, but with the Father who so loved the world that He gave His Son in His Spirit. And it achieves its purpose, not when the Body of Christ is gloriously renewed, not even when the enthroned Christ has subdued all His enemies and brought every knee to bow before Him, but rather when that same Christ ‘hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after He has destroyed dominion, authority and power’. ‘When He has done this, then the Son will himself be made subject to Him who put everything under Him, so that God may be all in all’”. Thomas Smail [Pratney: 1988, 332] In a similar vein J. I. Packer explains that the primary message of the New Testament is that God is our Father and that those who do not understand this have not really understood Christianity. “You sum up the whole of the New Testament teaching in a single phrase if you speak of it as a revelation of the fatherhood of the Holy Creator… If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and his prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means he does not understand Christianity very well at all … ‘Father’ is the Christian name for God.” J. I. Packer [Pratney: 1988, 351] While it is clear that Jesus came into the world to redeem mankind it must never be overlooked that His whole life, ministry and death was a revelation of the heart and purpose of the Father. John 1:18 (NKJV) 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. John 1:18 (NRSV) 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. In a similar manner when we become a Christian the Holy Spirit comes into our hearts and reveals the Father to us by bearing witness that we are now children of God. Romans