Entering Into God’s Presence Knowing God Through His Roles & Titles

Father (Sphere of Family) To Study and Ponder

• Jesus calls God “Father” (pater) 189 times: (Matthew x45, Mark x4, Luke x29, John x111) This

  may not seem unusual for those of us who have grown up in a Christian context where it is quite common to refer to God as Father, however, this form of address was anything but usual in Jesus’ historical context. Including His one use of abba, its more intimate Aramaic equivalent, Jesus used this way of referring to God exactly ten times as much as this same imagery was used of God in the Old Testament. In the whole of the Hebrew Scriptures God is referred to as Father on only 19 occasions (Deut. 32:6; 2Sa 7:14; 1Ch 17:3; 22:10; 28:6; 29:10; Ps.68:5; 89:26; 103:13; Pro 3:12; Isa 9:6; 63:16a,16b; 64:8; Jer 3:4,19; 31:9; Mal 1:6; 2:10). Jesus refers to God as Father in his brief Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5-7) nearly as many times(17) as in the OT! In John 14 Jesus refers to God as Father more times than in all of the OT texts. This frequent usage of the term was a revolutionary and uniquely distinctive mark of Jesus’ ministry.

• Of Matthew’s 45 uses of Father for God, Jesus is the only speaker that calls God Father, but he never uses it when addressing the religious leaders.(Lord and God are used) Only in praying or addressing his disciples & crowds does he use “Father.” (Matthew 5:16,45,48; 6:1,4,6a,6b,8,9,14,15,18a,18b,26,32; 7:11,21; 10:20,29,32,33; 11:25,26,27a,27b,27c,50; 13:43; 15:13; 16:17,27; 18:10,14,19,35; 20:23; 23:9; 24:36; 25:34)

• Although God is mentioned as Father in the earlier Scriptures, it was so unusual, that to address God in this way implied a degree of intimacy that was anathema(detestable) to the Jewish leaders. Indeed, they considered it to be blasphemous and punishable by death (John 5:18). It is therefore clear that Jesus’ use of the term Father was not the staid repetition of an over-used, archaic metaphor. Jesus was not bound by the narrow cultural constructs of His generation. Jesus’ choice of this word was a deliberate linguistic break with the traditional patriarchal society of His day. He was not using the culturally acceptable way to refer to God... John exclaims See what [an incredible] quality of love the Father has given (shown, bestowed on) us, that we should [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! 1 John 3:1 (Amplified Bible)

• He loves, protects, cares for, and guides a family of redeemed sons and daughters who put their trust in Him. And He has eternally existed in a perfect relationship of love and oneness with the other two unique Persons of the Trinity, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

  - And yet, O Lord, you are our Father.We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. Isaiah 64:8

  - For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

  - And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. 2 Corinthians 6:18

- when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. Galatians 4:4-7

• God is a compassionate, loving father to those in need (Hebrew ‘Compassion’ = to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection)

- The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. Ps.103:13

- Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families ... Ps.68:5-6a Deut.10:18-19

• -  The Book of Hosea expresses the deep, compassionate love of the Father for his wayward child Israel - Hosea 11:1-8

• -  Jesus told stories to show how the Father is filled with joy when His children return to Him: The Lost Sheep(Luke 15:4-7), the Prodigal Son(Luke 15:32)

  • * As children we are to reflect His character – loving, compassionate etc.

• -  Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a

  life filled with love, following the example of Christ. Ephesians 5:1-2a

• -  Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with

  tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Col 3:12

• By calling God his Father Jesus is not making a sexual statement. To try to mine the term to discover gender connotations violates the very intention of Jesus’ communication. He is not suggesting that God is somehow more masculine than He is feminine. He is not described as Father as set against his being Mother. He is Father as set against an impersonal, distant, cold, abstract, legalistic, philosophical concept of the divine. The issue is not gender. To try to turn it into an expression designed to support a corrupt patriarchal system is grossly erroneous. To view it as a narrow, sexist terminology is a crass misunderstanding of the context into which Jesus spoke and the tremendously liberating impact this word would have had upon the hearts of his hearers, both male and female. The issue is relationship. Jesus uses the term Father to express to us a new possibility of relationship with the divine because he is the Supreme Person wanting to enter into friendship with us. This possibility is equally available to men and women, Jews and gentiles, slave and free. It transcends all gender distinctions, racial divisions and social stratifications. The good news is that Jesus came to make it possible for his Father to become our Father. This intimacy is offered to all. To those who desire such a relationship the Spirit of God is given to them. “And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom 8:15-16). ( from David Joel Hamilton’s “Appendix V – How Jesus Referred to God” in his thesis I Commend to You My Sister.)

Meditation/Memory:

Lower Grades: See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that iswhatweare!1John3:1a (NLT)

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. Ephesians 5:1-2a (NLT)

Middle Grades: And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand. Isaiah 64:8 (NLT)

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Psalm 103:13-14 (NLT)

Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Ephesians 5:1-2 (NLT)

Upper Grades: See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. 1 John 3:1-2 (NLT)

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. Psalm 68:5-6 (NLT)

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NLT)