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ND this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. (John 17:3-10)
The most oft-repeated prayer of the Bible, the prayer our Lord taught us to pray, most fully provided in Matthew 6:9-13, begins with the term, Our Father. It is a great amazement to me to know the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ can also be ‘OUR’ Father, but it is so. The term, though less frequently used there, is found in the Old Testament and, later, more frequently in the New. In dealing with David, God says: 13 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels (Solomon), and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house (Temple) for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. (2 Samuel 7:12-14) Though this reference is made to apply to Solomon, it has an auxiliary allusion to the Son of God who would establish His House among Men, and serve as King of Kings forever.
The term, Father, is used sixty-five times in the synoptic Gospels, and more than one hundred times in the Gospel of St. John. An especially endearing term for God the Father is the Hebrew term, ‘ABBA.’ Surprisingly, this is the same term used in the Korean language for father. I have heard some very informal ministers, and laity as well, use the term ‘daddy’ for God the Father; but this would not be proper. Though a small child could refer to his father as ‘abba,’ it was also a term adults used as well for father. The use of daddy for God the Father would be irreverent for the use of an adult. The terms we use in our worship should be the most reverent and respectful we can muster.
It is impossible to speak of the Father without reference to the Son and Holy Spirit as they are One in Purpose, in Mind, and in Power. But the Father implies a progenitor – a Maker and Creator. It was the designed plan of the Father conceived in the Mind of God before the Creation of the world. He is from everlasting to everlasting along with the son and the Holy Ghost. In a certain limited sense, God the Father is father of all Creation, however, in a more restricted sense, He is Father only to those who are the elect and chosen. He may even be considered our Grandfather when we consider that Jesus Christ is also prophesied as our Father. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6)Our Lord Jesus Christ is the first begotten of the Father. Regardless the errors of Rome, the fact that Mary brought forth her first born son indicates the truth of others born to Mary subsequently. Christ is the first born of the Father meaning that His resurrection opened the Way for our own rebirth to life everlasting. It was the fulfillment of the ancient promise of God the Father whose provision was made before the worlds were founded.
In considering our redemption in Christ, we often neglect the matter of the love of the Father in sending His only Begotten Son to redeem us. His love is infinite. God the Father refers in many places to His first-born Son. I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. Psalm 89:27. In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. (Colossians 1:14-15) Christ is the First-Born of all who are the redeemed of the Father. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. (Colossians 1:18) We, topo, are sons and daughters of God the Father, but on far different terms – we are sons and daughters by adoption while the Lord Jesus Christ is the issue and substance of the Father. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Jesus Christ bore the exact likeness of the Father. Whose likeness do you bear?
