The Father

“Then he [God] said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.” -  Exodus 3:6

The word “father” means source. The One speaking to Moses was the source of creation. I will address John chapter 1 (“Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”) when I write about Jesus tomorrow.

The Father is one with yet distinct from Jesus. Jesus prayed to the Father.

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” – Luke 24:24

Jesus told His disciples to pray to the Father.

“Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’ So He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us day by day our daily bread.’” – Luke 11:1-3

I am certain that you have recited the Lord’s prayer many times. I’ll bet that not once you imagined that you were praying to Jesus. One of the most remembered verses, I think, is John 3:16.

“For God [the Father] so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” – John 3:16-17

Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, which was the ruling body of the Jews. The Jews revered God the Father and awaited the coming of the Messiah. They had their idea of what the path to eternal life was but Jesus turned that idea upside down and told him that he had to be born again. Jesus did not say that He, Jesus, was the Father – He was the only begotten Son. I doubt that you once thought that Jesus had sent Himself.

So why cover this ground that you have traveled many times before? To emphasize what should be a fundamental understanding for every Christian. Because it is so easy to lose your way. To let what is wrong slide by you to the point that you know longer think of it as wrong. We must be like the Bereans.

“Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they [the Bereans] received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” – Acts 17:10-11

If you know what is true then you will recognize what is not.  It is like looking at a corner in a room and accepting that it is a square corner – 90 degrees – a right angle. But when you put a carpenter’s square against the corner you find that it is, actually, 97 degrees. Not off by much – tolerable even – it looks right, but it is not square.  And so when you hear things said in church or among other Christians you must be able to recognize truth and almost truth.  Like with my wife, you hear something and immediately you think, “That is not right.”

I was taught in the military that if you ignore a variance from the truth or a standard, then you establish a new truth or standard. So it is with Biblical Truth. But this assumes that you know what that (truth) is. You can’t just depend upon what other people say. The standard for truth is the Word of God. Remember the Bereans.

Today, our culture says the standard for truth is consensus – not true consensus but perceived consensus. Consensus means “majority of opinion”. With the “new” truth being taught – promoted – there may not be actual consensus. It might look like the corner is square, but it is not. Perhaps the media or even the government tells you that some opinion about an issue is the consensus of our country, when in fact, it is the opinion of a minority wanting to influence the majority and not the majority at all. And so – be careful in deferring to the culture’s truth without first testing it against the Standard of Truth.

Tomorrow – The Son

Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone