God the Father – Simply True

The shape and feel of life when God is Father

When Jesus comes into our world, there’s something very dear to his heart that he wants to share. He says the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus will ensure that the world will be shaped as God wants it to be. And he begins to explain what this kingdom will be like. But there’s something else.

Jesus is God’s beloved Son. He’s come to express his Father’s love for our world. And he wants us to know the Father as our Father in heaven.

We see all this happening in his Sermon on the Mount.[i] Jesus tells us how we are to live under his Father’s reign. But he also tells us that everything will flow from us knowing his Father as our Father. The phrase ‘your Father in heaven’ occurs 15 times in just three chapters.

Every matter that Jesus raises is related to us knowing or receiving something from God as our Father.

Here are the life issues that Jesus raises in this Sermon, and, in each case, the way they relate to our knowing our Father.

First, Jesus commends certain attitudes—like being poor in spirit or meek or being hungry for righteousness. There’s eight in all.

And then he tells us to let our light shine in the world—presumably by acting according to these attitudes. But when the world sees these actions, they give glory to ‘your Father in heaven’.

Why should glory go to the Father when we have done the deeds? Clearly, because there’s no way we can live with these attitudes unless the Father is teaching us and present with us. That’s why people, seeing us, want to glorify our Father in heaven.

The attitudes Jesus commends may not be things we would put in a job application. For example, being poor in spirit doesn’t sound like someone who’ll get things done!

But then, people who know God as their Father, lose the egotism and power-seeking natural to this world. They grow in naturalness and transparency and usefulness. And this declares the majesty and faithful love of the Father to those around us.

I hope this is the longing of us all. We’ve not been created to muddle aimlessly, or live by our own resources. We’ve been made to know God—as his sons and daughters, and to let our life develop in the warmth of relating to him.

I’ll say a little more about these attitudes at the end of this article.

Second, Jesus talks about keeping the law—the law that Jews prided themselves on keeping. He shows what several of the commands really mean.

But then, he says we should let our favours shine on good people and bad people alike. This, effectively, is keeping the whole law.[ii] It’s what ‘your Father in heaven’ does. And we are to be perfect, just as ‘your Father in heaven’ is perfect. As Paul later tells us, ’Be imitators of God as beloved children’.[iii] And, of course, if we are going to imitate him as Father, we will first need to know him as Father.

Third, Jesus talks about worship. Jews at the time think prayers, charity and fasting are the important things to do. So, they do them—publicly! They want to get some credit for doing the right things.

Jesus says, try to make the things you do for God as inconspicuous as possible. Then you will be rewarded by ‘your Father in heaven’.

We’ll never understand ourselves or our world until we understand how dependent we all are on approval. If we can’t get it from God, we’ll play to our local earthly audience. Our need to know the warmth of our Father’s approval is profound and continual. We need to see ourselves as playing to a one-person audience—the one we have come to see as our gracious Father.

Fourth, Jesus talks about our treasures. ‘Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’.

He wants us to treasure God’s kingdom. He wants us to pray to ‘our Father in heaven’ and ask for his kingdom to come. And then to ask for him to forgive us, provide for us, and keep us.

So, we need to trust God with all our needs, and not be anxious. We’ll never be free enough to care about God’s kingdom if we’re preoccupied with what we lack. He says ‘your heavenly Father’ feeds birds. How much more us!

Being preoccupied with material needs is what people do when they have no God. They are spiritual orphans. But Jesus insists that ‘your Father in heaven’ knows about everything you need. And ‘Your Father in heaven will give good things to those who ask him’.

Fifth, Jesus talks about doing the will of ‘his Father in heaven’. This is what we need to do to enter the kingdom.

But why does he change from talking about our Father, to his Father?

Perhaps it’s because he knows that when it comes to obedience—in everything, he is the only one who will do this.

None of the apostles are living by the Sermon on the Mount. Not yet. They don’t even have the attitudes Jesus commends at the beginning of his sermon.

For example, Peter won’t be meek when he brags about being better than the other apostles. Jesus nick-names John and James ‘sons of thunder’ which doesn’t sound like being peace-makers, or merciful.

Something needs to happen before the disciples will understand this Sermon on the Mount. They will need to know the Father. And everything Jesus says and does will be needed to bring that about.

As we follow the story of Jesus in the Gospels, we see that he is the one person among us all who lives by the Sermon on the Mount.

He knows the world works by the blessings God gives. So, as a man among us, he is ‘poor in spirit’—humble about what he can and can’t do.

He knows the sorry state of our world, and grieves over it. He is meek and lowly and serves his disciples, and many others as well. He thirsts for righteousness and knows judgement will fall on everyone who ignores his Father.

But he doesn’t want that to happen. He’s full of mercy. His heart is pure, not distracted. He, single-handedly, will make peace.

And he will be persecuted for all his faithfulness to his Father. But by this very persecution, he will bring many of us to ‘our Father in heaven’.

We could say that he is the one realist in all of creation. He’s not expecting something from us that we can’t produce. He’s not relying on the world to fulfill his agenda. He’s descending upon his duties as one who knows the Father.

That’s why he can endure the world that hates his Father, but still call it what it is. And he can also ‘see’ his Father’s love for this world—and express it.

It’s this God and Father of Jesus that we need to know as ‘our Father in heaven’.

Can you bring yourself to trust him? The reality is that we can’t. But the Father is drawing us to himself.[iv] We need to be hearing what he says to us through his Son. We need to be receiving what he provides.

We’ll continue this series by seeing what Jesus says about his Father—in Matthew’s Gospel, and then in John’s Gospel. And finally, see how the apostles teach us to live before our Father in heaven.

[i] Matt. 5—7

[ii] Matt. 7:12

[iii] Eph. 5:1

[iv] John 6:44

The Father focus of Jesus

When Jesus comes among us, he is eager for us to have a life like his own—full of certainty and love. As the Son of God, he’s is always enjoying his Father’s company and purpose. And he’s come so we will be able to do the same.[i]

But Jesus encounters people who are self-absorbed and opposed to what he does. Even his disciples are dull. Bringing us to know God as Father is not an easy job. It’s contested territory!

We’re looking now, at the early chapters of John’s Gospel, and particularly, at two confrontations Jesus has with opponents. These encounters, and the conversations that follow, show us how we should be thinking about God as our Father.

In the first event, Jesus heals a man who’s been paralysed for 38 years.[ii]

But he does it on a Saturday—Israel’s tightly regulated Sabbath. And their leaders object. But Jesus says his Father is working! Our Creator God might have stopped creating on the seventh day but he hasn’t stopped caring for what he’s made. Especially looking after his people.

Israel should know that God is Father to their nation, and that he can be called on for help.[iii] But they’re not expecting him to do anything!

Here’s a man, crippled for decades. Seemingly, not expecting anything to change. And Jesus sees that the Father wants to heal him. So, he does!

God’s people should be able to see that a miracle like this is nothing less than their Father God in action. And therefore, they should be recognising Jesus as the one sent to do his work.

Jesus is setting out the reasons why people should believe in him, but in doing so, of necessity, he must tell us about his Father.[iv] Here’s what he shows us.

The Father tells the Son what he’s doing—because he loves his Son. That’s why there’s been a miracle. In fact, Jesus tells us that he doesn’t do anything unless he sees that it’s what the Father wants.[v] People should see his good works and give glory to his Father in heaven.

And the Father raises the dead. Only God can do this of course, but Jesus will do it too. He’ll do it for Lazarus. But he’ll also do it for all of us who trust in him for salvation. Jesus is doing work that marks him out as the beloved Son of the Father‚ equal with God.

And the Father has life in himself. As Jesus also has. And then, the Father judges us. And Jesus has been given this authority—so we should have reverence for Jesus in the same way we have reverence for the Father.

Jesus is doing the kind of thing Israel’s Father does[vi]—healing, judging, giving life. But people won’t recognise the Father in what is happening. They’re being willfully blind.

It’s the same now. We wonder how to commend Jesus to people. This should be an easy thing to do because Jesus is very commendable! Why then is it difficult?

There may be many reasons why people take time to recognise who Jesus is, but underneath this, people are deciding what to think about God. Is he good? Can I trust him? Is he our Father?

It’s easy to forget that behind all we can see and do is a loving Father who wants to communicate with us. We prefer our own works—things we can see and control—even the religious regulations that are being raised in this case. We try to make them the issue. We want to show that we are the ones who are right.

We need to follow Jesus in his argument with these detractors. It may be that the reason we don’t understand Jesus is because we want a Jesus who’s human rather than one who reveals an ever present and gracious Father.

The Father hasn’t forgotten the human race. He hasn’t left everything to us. We’re not alone. Jesus has come to show us that the Father is always working.

The second encounter Jesus has with opponents happens after he miraculously feeds more than 5000 people—starting with just a few loaves and fish.[vii]

In this case, Jesus is confronted with what we could call ‘bread and circuses’ people[viii] They’re not interested in God. They just want to be fed and entertained.

In fact, the crowd would like Jesus to become their king.[ix] One day’s work by this man and thousands go home happy. Think of the difference he could make to the economy!

On the next day, Jesus explains that he’s the ‘bread’ they need. But everything he says about himself is couched in what his Father is doing. They’re not going to get a human Jesus without an unseen Father.

These people want everything to be domestic—Jesus just being a nice lad—the son of people they know.[x] And they are grumblers. Everything should be pleasing to them.

They are like a lady who told me she liked God ‘with skin on’. She didn’t want to grapple with anything unseen.

It could be that we are happy with a human Jesus—especially, one who can do super-human things, but not really want to know him, or who sent him.

So, look at the several ways Jesus links this encounter to his Father in heaven.

It’s the Father who gives his Son to us—as ‘bread’, so we can live forever.[xi] The Father has loved the world.[xii] Given that we all have to die, eternal life is surely something we would all line up for! Jesus wants us to see the generosity of his Father.

And, it’s the Father who gives certain people to his Son. Jesus must love this fact because he mentions it four times—the Father wills it, the Father attracts us to Jesus, the Father teaches us who he is, and then, the Father gives us to his Son.[xiii] And we’re special to the Son because we’re the Father’s gift to him.

We’re being given to the Son in readiness for a wonderful future we will share with him—as his Bride. So, we have every reason—like Jesus—to relish our being given by the Father to the Son.

And then, the Father has sent his Son to us because it’s the Son who knows the Father intimately.[xiv] He’ll be able to really reveal the Father. The Father is the source of his life. And the Father is the source of the life Jesus has come to give to us.[xv]

So, Jesus is not among us merely to hand out free meals. He’s here to reveal what life really is, and how to have it. He’s bringing us to his Father, and preparing us to be the Bride the Father wants to give to him.

All this is better than a free lunch! It’s the way Jesus brings us to share the life that he has before the Father—full of certainty and love.

There’s more Jesus says about his Father in these early chapters of John’s Gospel.[xvi] For example, his critics have a different father to him—the devil![xvii] The alternatives are stark. It’s important we listen carefully to Jesus or we’ll end up in the wrong family!

But Jesus knows that we won’t understand him until we have ‘lifted him up’—meaning, until we have killed him.[xviii] The scene is set for the final revelation of the Father—in the humiliation of Jesus on a cross. And we’ll return to this next time.

[i] John 1:14-18

[ii] John 5:1-17

[iii] Exod. 4:21-23; Deut. 32:6; Isa. 63:16; 64:8

[iv] John 5:17-47

[v] John 5:30; 8:28

[vi] John 5:36

[vii] John 6:22-59

[viii]The reference to bread and circuses is first used to describe Rome’s rulers handing out free wheat and arranging chariot races to deter people from asking serious questions.

[ix] John 6:15

[x] John 6:41-43

[xi] John 6: 32, 40

[xii] John 3:16

[xiii] John 6: 37, 44-45, 65

[xiv] John 6:46

[xv] John 6: 57

[xvi] John 8:12-59

[xvii] John 8:37-47

[xviii] John 8:12-30

[i] John 1:14-18

[ii] John 5:1-17

[iii] Exod. 4:21-23; Deut. 32:6; Isa. 63:16; 64:8

[iv] John 5:17-47

[v] John 5:30; 8:28

[vi] John 5:36

[vii] John 6:22-59

[viii]The reference to bread and circuses is first used to describe Rome’s rulers handing out free wheat and arranging chariot races to deter people from asking serious questions.

[ix] John 6:15

[x] John 6:41-43

[xi] John 6: 32, 40

[xii] John 3:16

[xiii] John 6: 37, 44-45, 65

[xiv] John 6:46

[xv] John 6: 57

[xvi] John 8:12-59

[xvii] John 8:37-47

[xviii] John 8:12-30

Come to the Father !

How should we approach our Creator? Clearly, this is the most important question we could ask. Jesus says we must come to God as our Father. And, of course, Jesus is showing that he is the way to the Father.

We’ve seen how important this is to Jesus. He lays down his life to sanctify us—so we can legitimately come to the Father as his children.[i]

And now, the apostles teach us who trust in Christ, how we should live before our Father. They commonly address us fellow Christians as ‘brothers and sisters.’[ii] We belong to the Father, and so, to one another.

The apostles have been disciples of Jesus. They’ve learned from him. But this identity as disciples seems to get caught up in the new status given to believers—as children.[iii] We still learn from Christ—eagerly—but do so as those who are in him[iv], and so, in the family of the Father. This is where God wants us to spend our present life, and future.

James Packer, in his widely read book ‘Knowing God’ writes,

’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 prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. … “Father” is the Christian name for God.[v]

Here are several wonderful truths about the Father that the apostles make clear in their letters. I hope it’s not too simplistic to choose several words starting with the same letter, but it may help us remember who God our Father is.

The Father is the fountainhead and finale of our life in Christ. He’s the focus for our prayer and worship. And he’s the framework of the new creation to which we now belong.

First, our Father God is the fountainhead and finale of our life.

Paul warns the Corinthians, and all of us, about the subtle influence idols can have. Many things in this world are attractive, and seem easier to get than a relationship with God. Because of this, we need, not just to know about God but to know him—that is, to have a relationship with him.

So, Paul says, for us, there is one God—the Father. Everything comes from him, and is for him. And everything he does happens through Jesus Christ.[vi]

The Father and our Lord Jesus are one God. But there are different ways in which they are God to us. The Father is the fountainhead of all things—in creating the world and in saving us. And the Son is the one by whom the Father’s purpose and grace comes to us.

Jesus never wants to be ‘all of God’ to us. He comes from the Father, and her takes us to his Father.

This pattern of from the Father and through Christ is repeated in the way the apostles begin their letters to churches.

Paul asks that grace and peace, or mercy or comfort, will come to his fellow believers from the Father—and through Jesus Christ.[vii]

Peter says we are chosen for salvation, by the Father, to be sprinkled with Christ’s blood. By the Father’s mercy, we are born again with a living hope through Christ’s resurrection.[viii]

And John says the Father’s eternal life is revealed to us through Christ’s coming.[ix]

Without the blessings that come to us through Christ, we would not want to know God as Father, let alone be reconciled to him. We would see him as austere and unreachable. But Jesus washes us clean, dignifies us with his righteousness and floods us with his love. Through him, we want to know the Father who sent him to be our Saviour.

Paul is awed by all this, and worships. ‘I bow my knees before the Father.’ He wants the riches of the Father’s glory to strengthen us—by the Spirit and by Christ dwelling in our hearts.[x]

There’s something more Paul tells the Corinthians, and us. He says everything is for the Father.

Jesus models what this means for us. He’s lived his life on earth for the Father.[xi] But at the end of history, he will present the kingdom—all he has labored for—to his Father. He wants us to see the Father being everything to everyone.[xii]

This is the great objective of Christ—to have us before his Father, sharing in the relationship he enjoys and bringing glory to the Father.[xiii]

This is a truth we need deeply. We are created for relating, for serving, and to be appreciated. If we don’t come to know the Father and live for him, we are in danger of other things in this world becoming ‘father’ to us. We start to drift. We’re coming from no-where and going no-where. We prostitute our personhood on people and things that cannot be god to us. We become warped and deeply unsatisfied.

Jesus has died and risen to restore this relationship and to make us whole. If we now live our life in Jesus our Lord, from the Father and for the Father, our whole life is brought into balance. Other relationships take their place around this but don’t have to bear the weight of ultimate significance.

It’s an enormous relief to know that, through Jesus, we have come home to the Father.

Second, the Father is the focus of our attention.

For us, calling God ‘Father’ is not just remembering the right name. It’s a cry of recognition. In the same way that a young child’s first words may be ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’, we cry ‘Abba, Father’. Like an infant, we are recognising the God who has given us new life, and whose provisions and words are our sole means of staying alive. The Father has our full attention![xiv]

Paul talks about this cry of recognition in two of his letters.[xv]

The Holy Spirit has come to us, and he cries out within us, ‘Abba Father’. We are speaking to God in the way Jesus did.[xvi] The Spirit is witnessing to our spirits that we are children of God.

The Holy Spirit is God—together with the Father and Son. He’s enabled Jesus to live among us and fulfill his ministry. He’s enabled Jesus to pray to the Father. Now he’s come to us to enable us to call on God as our Father. His special ministry is fellowship.[xvii] We are being included in the divine companionship!

This is not something to try and make happen. It’s a gift. And entirely necessary.

For example, the Galatians are in danger of relating to God legally—not truly. While they were still worshipping idols, they’d been slaves to their passions and to the demands of the world. And now they’re in danger of reducing their new life in Christ to a list of demands.

They’re thinking of God as an owner of slaves, not a Father of children. If they don’t know God as their Father, their behaviour will become wooden and false.

The world, and our own human nature, makes slaves of us—as we try to satisfy cravings on the one hand and demands on the other. We’re never really doing what we want to do, even while we’re claiming to be free.

But the cry of ‘Father’, coming from our hearts, and coming from above, is persuasive evidence to us that God is not harsh or demanding. We’re legitimate and permanent members of his family. Our names are known, our needs are important. We have a place in his enterprise and an inheritance to come.

We’ve not just been justified. We’ve come home!

Then, in his letter to the Romans, Paul says we must stand nobly and say ‘No’ to our fallen nature. And to do this, we need to know we are God’s children. We’re not slaves of our broken humanity. The Holy Spirit, poured into our hearts, is conveying to us all the love of the Father and all the victory of his Son.[xviii] And we need this certainty to keep us confident of receiving our family inheritance.

Again, in his Ephesian letter, Paul surveys the broad sweep of God bringing people of all nations to himself.[xix] He calls this God’s wisdom, realized through the unsearchable riches of Christ. And, for this reason, he bows his knees to the Father.[xx] He is the fountain-head of all that we need for life and godliness.

So, he asks the Father to further reveal this wonderful Christ to his church—so they will be filled with all the fulness of God! He, the Father, before whom Paul kneels, has more to share with us than we could ask or think of!

Our life as God’s children is like that of the prodigal son in Jesus’ story. We’ve been received home. We have a place of honour, and a future. Perhaps we could imagine this son, home again, on the day after the party his father arranges. He’d be up early, looking around for things to do! Does this describe our relationship to the Father? I hope it does!

I’ll take up a third aspect of how the apostles understand God being Father to us in another article. He gives to us the framework for our families, and churches, and for the future of our world.

[i] Heb. 2:11 with John 17:21

[ii] The apostles speak of believers most frequently as ‘in Christ’, or similar phrase. The second most frequent is ‘brothers and sisters’. The third most frequent is ‘saints’.

[iii] A disciple is an undistracted learner. That’s what the apostles were. It’s the way converts are spoken of in the missional book of Acts. But in the letters that speak to the inner life of the church, not at all.

[iv] Eph. 4:22.

[v] In ‘Knowing God’, p. 224. The whole chapter on adoption as God’s children is wonderful to read.

[vi] 1 Cor 8:6. This verse is an adaption of Israel ‘Shema’ or confession of faith, suggesting that God is now our covenant Father.

[vii] Paul’s opening greetings; and Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:20; Col. 1:12

[viii] 1 Pet. 1:1-3

[ix] 1 John 1:1-3

[x] Eph. 3:14-16

[xi] John 17:4

[xii] 1 Cor. 15:27-28

[xiii] Rom. 15:6; Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:20; Col. 1:12; 3:17; 1 Thes. 3:13; 2 Thes. 2:16; Rev. 1:6

[xiv] Because Christ is our Saviour, and our life, we do well to have him as the focus or our lives too. But it’s important to know God in all the ways he’s revealed himself to us. We need to let our affections widen, and receive all the ways God is being God to us.

[xv] Gal. 4:4-9; Rom. 8:12-17

[xvi] Mark 14:35-36

[xvii] 2 Cor. 13:14

[xviii] Rom. 8:9; the Spirit is the Spirit of God and of the Son.

[xix] Eph. 3:8-11

[xx] Eph. 3:14-21