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Our Father
By Audrey Wyatt
It has always been God's intention to have an intimate relationship with mankind. However, after the fall, a holy God had to separate from sinful mankind or there would be the immediate physical death of those whom God loved. Therefore, after the birth of Adam and Eve's grandson, Enosh, men began to do something that they would have never had to do before the fall. They began to call upon the name of the Lord (Genesis 4:26).
Approximately 2000 years later, God answered the call with a call. He called one man, Abraham, and made a covenant with him. God began to reveal His character to mankind through Abraham and the nation of Israel. Each time God revealed a new aspect of His nature, man would call Him a new name. Examples are, Jehovah Nissi "The Lord Our Banner" (Ex 17:15), El Shaddai "God All Sufficient" (first used in Gen 17:1,2), Jehovah Shammah "The Lord is There" (Ezek 48:35), Jehovah Shalom "The Lord Our Peace" (Judges 6:24), etc. Unfortunately, God was limited in what He could show mankind about himself. To really know anyone, including God, you must be able to have fellowship. God could not get as close as He wanted to. There was still the major problem of man's sin. Mankind was not becoming less sinful, but was in fact worsening.
Now, fast forward to 2000 years after the life of Abraham to the life of Jesus. Jesus, the Master Teacher, began to reveal a whole new aspect about God that man had never understood before. The cost of this lesson is free to us, but it cost Jesus His own blood. Although Jesus knew the cost, it did not make the lesson any less painful for him.
What is the aspect of God that Jesus died for us to know? Jesus died for us to know God as Father. Christ suffered "that he might bring us to God" (1Pet 3:18). One of the reasons He was crucified was for proclaiming that He was indeed the Son of God.
God is referred to as Father only 15 times in the Old Testament, and it has a significantly different meaning than what Jesus came to reveal to us. In the Old Testament, God as Father means originator, source, or Creator. In this regard, God as Father is universal.
The word Father is used 260 times in the New Testament. The emphasis now is on the spiritual relationship through faith in God's Son, Jesus Christ (Matt 11:27; John 17:25). The spirtual relationship is not universal (John 8:42, 44). (Vine's)
In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus we must be born again. While Nicodemus was attempting to wrap his mind around the concept of being born again, I wonder what Jesus was thinking? Perhaps Jesus was thinking of the cost that He was going to pay for our legal adoption. In effect, being born again is our brand new start as sons and daughters of God. We are no longer slaves and orphans. God has bestowed upon us the status and privileges that He has given Jesus, the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29).
No doubt, the disciples longed to commune with God the way Jesus did. They watched Jesus steal away for quiet moments with His Father. Surely they were amazed to know that everything Jesus said or did was in perfect obedience to the will of His Father. I am sure they were intrigued by the Son's relationship to His Father.
Perhaps this was on the disciples' minds when they asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Maybe they experienced that timeless inner longing for God. Perhaps they felt the same yearning that men throughout the ages experienced when calling on the name of the Lord. How excited they must have felt when Jesus told them to start with, "Our Father" (Luke 11:22). In effect Jesus is saying, "He is not just my Father. He is your Father, too."
In the Garden of Gethsemane, as the depth of the pain began to surge through His anguished soul, He cried, "Abba Father". Abba is the Aramaic word which corresponds to the English "Daddy" or "Papa". Abba, framed by the lips of infants, shows unreasoning trust; "father" expresses an intelligent apprehension of the relationship. The two together express the love and intelligent confidence of the child (Vine's).
My own earthly father died before my children were born. When my youngest daughter was three years old, she would ask me questions about her grandfather. One day she made a profound statement, "I only know His name, but I don't know him." You see, she longed to have fellowship with her grandfather. Many of us experience a lack of relationship with our heavenly Father. We know His name, but we don't really know Him. We have never experienced the true fellowship that God himself desires for us to have with Him.
If you want to know what the Father is like, get to know the Son. If you have seen Jesus, then you have seen the Father. They are one (John 14:7-13, 21). Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me." (John 14:6) If you are experiencing that same longing to call on the name of the Lord, don't miss the opportunity to know more than His name. Know God. Receive the Spirit of the Son into your heart. Even in your darkest hour, the Spirit of the Son, now living in you, will empower you to cry, "Abba Father" (Galatians 4:6). Our Father is very generous. He has given us the best gift in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. Let's not miss the benefits of relationship with the Most High God who is indeed "Our Father".
© 2005 Audrey Wyatt, www.greatlightcoaching.com |
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