Heidelberg 120- Our Father

"Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will." (Mark 14:13)

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." (Rom. 8:15)

Thoughts: We call God Father because He cares for us as a good father- a great father would.  God is not an "it" - a "force" who does not care about us.  He is not so far removed from us that He does not look down on us and help us.  One great teaching of Jesus was that God loves us- and loves us as a Father. Seven times in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus refers to God as "your heavenly Father."  Our heavenly Father forgives sins, provides for us, knows our needs, is perfect, cares for even the birds.  He is , in a sense the father of all- birds and all people.  But Jesus reminds us to believe and trust in God as Father.  The trinity names of Father and Son indicate a closeness in relationship, mind, and essence.  We are adopted children as we believe in God- adopted into a relationship of love.  

Prayer: Thank you, Father, that we can call out to you as our Father.  Help me to trust in your fatherly love. 

Q & A 120

Q. Why did Christ command us to call God “our Father”?

A. To awaken in us at the very beginning of our prayer what should be basic to our prayer— a childlike reverence and trust that through Christ God has become our Father, and that just as our parents do not refuse us the things of this life, even less will God our Father refuse to give us what we ask in faith.1

1 Matt. 7:9-11; Luke 11:11-13

7/31/12- God our Father

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:“‘Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name, (Mt. 6:9)

SCQ. 100 What does the preface of the Lord's Prayer teach us?
A. The preface of the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father in heaven", teaches us to come near to God with full, holy, reverence and confidence, as children come to a father who is able and ready to help us.  It also teaches us to pray with and for others. 

(Michelangelo- Sistine Chapel- Vatican)

Thoughts: Any language of God will be limited, and in this case, no father can fully represent the fatherhood and love of God.  Yet, the idea of a perfect father is not to be given up easily.  Jesus' point in not only allowing but encouraging us to call God "Father" is so that we may know of the personal care of God, and that we should trust in God as a child trusts in their father.  God is not so far removed from us that He cannot help or care.  Yet in calling God "Father" versus the pagan "mother" of almost all the surrounding cultures and religions, Jesus is pointing to the subtle separation in creation.  Creation is not God- we are not linked to God simply by our being- forming from His womb.  There is no umbilical cord to cut. Pantheism and panentheism are denied, but so is deism and atheism.  God cares for us though we are separate from Him.  While God is like or similar to a mother (Isa. 66:12), scripture never calls God mother or feminine, and to portray God in that way goes against how God is portrayed in scripture.  God is separate from us- in heaven.  He is the good father- where earthly fathers fail.  He is the father in a different place and so deserves our reverence.  But since He is our Father- we can approach the holy one with confidence.

Prayer: Father, help me to trust and call on you- finding you my provider, sustainer, and help.

[Modern Translation: Q. 100. What does the beginning of the Lord’s prayer teach us?
A. The beginning of the Lord’s prayer (Our Father in heaven) teaches us to draw near to God with
completely holy reverence and confidence, as children to a father who is able and ready to help us. It also teaches that we should pray with and for others.]

4/21/12- Not all are Children of God

4/20/12- WSC Q. 32- What rewards do those who are really called by God obtain in this life?
A. Those who are really and effectively called by God obtain justification, adoption, sanctification and the several other awards that come with or from them.

Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us, that we should be called the children of God. (1 John 3:1).

You are of your father the devil.  (John 8:44)

²¹ “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

(Jesus and the children)


Thoughts: In some ways God is father of us all.  He makes each of us.  As part of creation, He provides for us- making His grace to fall on the just and the unjust.  His father's call is offered to all people- to come back to Him.
    But we cannot overlook that some have obviously rejected his fatherhood.  Some have disowned God and refuse to listen to Him or claim Him.  In fact, we all disown God's fatherhood by doing wrong.  The Bible says, and we experience, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  Sin ultimately is against God who defines right and wrong by Himself (and thus by His creation and Word).  Jesus even said to those who were rejecting him that they belonged to their father the devil.
    Now without knowing that God is our father, we do not know who we are or whose we are.  Without knowing that God loves us, we have forgotten a key ingredient and hide the blessing of God from ourselves.  Without knowing that God has made us for a reason- a purpose- we struggle to find an eternal purpose in this life.  Without knowing that God loves us as a father- we are alone in the universe.  
    But Jesus teaches His disciples to pray..."Our father..."   It is a loving gift to know that God did not just make us way back when, but cares for us today.  It is truly a gift to know God desires us to talk and pray to Him- and that it is possible to communicate with God.  


Prayer: Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name.  TYhy kingdom come thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  

2/9/12- The Personality of God

Q. In how many persons does this one God exist?
A. Three persons exist in the one God: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  These three are one God, the same in substance, and equal in power and glory.    
"Abba, Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36)


For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” (Rom 8:15)

(William Blake- God the Father on the throne)


Thoughts: God is not an it.  Jehovah's Witnesses believe the Holy Spirit is an "it" like lightning or electric power.  An early heresy (taken up somewhat by the Muslims) believed that Jesus was not really a human person but a phantom- a ghost- not  a real person.  There are others (like Deists) who think that God is not caring or loving but an impersonal being.
Part of the belief in the Trinity is in the three "persons" not simply three "entities."  God is not an it or an illusion.  God makes us in His image (we do not make God in our image as Freud inferred).  God reveals Himself (not "itself" or even "herself") as a He.  God is love but God also is separate.  We are made in God's image-- but precisely "made" not duplicated by mitosis or even just a different facet of the same image.
The revelation of God as male in the Bible (though with some female qualities) is in contrast to many pagan religions who portray creation as morphing from the womb of a goddess or those who say we are a part of the mother earth. There are those who say the Bible writers were super-patriarchal; and therefore should not be taken seriously.  But we need to be careful to not just react to what we perceive, but instead listen to what God has revealed.  Jesus taught to call God "Abba, Father."  Even the first two names in Christian faith tend to point toward a separation from creation but at the same time a love for creation.  The name "father" expresses concern, protection, love but also a tad more separation. than the idea of mother with womb and umbilical cord. The name "Son" does not just refer to the earthly Jesus, but to the second person of the trinity.  The baptism formula given by Jesus is "in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."  It is important that we be able to listen to what God says about God's self. If we cannot listen to what God says about Himself, what else are we not hearing?  God is love and wants us to believe what He says about Himself.  He is separate from us- but He loves us as an ideal father should love their child. God models fatherhood for all fathers, and models love to all of us. It should be noted to those who are starting to believe that pantheism or panentheism is the best option, that this is very different from the idea that God is love.  An "It" does not love- as lightning does not love.  While we may say we love the sunset, that is not the same as what Jesus commanded to love God with heart, soul, mind, and strength.  Panentheism and pantheism are not the same as the God Jesus talked about or the bulk of the Bible speaks of- a God who love is everlasting.  


Prayer: Father, help me to believe in your love shown by your Son's coming and by the Holy Spirit's presence in life.