God The Father
You cannot describe God in a few words or even a great number of paragraphs or pages! How can you describe a being like the Almighty God who has always existed, is everywhere, knows everything, and created the whole world? The only way, and maybe the best way, is to do research and study some of the
many references to Him. The best definition ever given is the one found in the Westminster Catechism: Who and what is God? (The original text of 1647) “God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” The biblical definition can be formulated from a study of God’s names. The “name” of God in Scripture means more than a combination of sounds; it represents His revealed character.
Majesty is the most comprehensive term for God’s display of Himself in biblical revelation. As God’s self-revelation increases “in many and varied ways” (Hebrews 1:1), the mystery of God’s nature becomes the greatness of His majesty. (Ex. 15:7). God reveals Himself by making known or proclaiming His name. Exodus 6:3; 33:19; 34:5,6. Worshiping God means calling on his name (Genesis 12:8), fearing him (Deuteronomy 28:58), praising him (2 Sam. 22:50), and glorifying him. (Psalm 86:9). It
is wickedness to take His name in vain (Ex. 20:7) or to disrespect or curse it (Lev. 18:21; 24:16). To respect God is to bless or glorify His name (Matt. 6:9). God’s name defends His people (Psalm
20:1), and for His name’s sake, He will not abandon them (1 Sam.12:22).
This majesty of God has a special association with the name Yahweh, the Lord. As El Shaddai, God Almighty, so did Yahweh’s magnificent revelation as the God of the covenant with all of the people of Israel prepare the way for the revelation of “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 1:3), who made manifest the modes, manners, styles, approaches, and ways of God.
The revelation of God as ‘I AM’ (14) shows Him as the uncreated source of all existence. ‘I AM’ is the 1st person singular of the word, which in the 3rd person becomes the name Jehovah, Yahweh, or LORD (15), meaning HE IS – Personal. PhillipCrowe, in his teachings on God’s character as a God who speaks
(Bible Characters V.3), explains that God uses persons like Moses to do His will (10), in accordance with His original purpose of creating man to rule the world as His representative. (Gen. 1:26-28)
The Father Almighty
Without question, God the Father was the dominant member of the Trinity in the Old Testament. God the Son, Jesus, surprised the Jews of his time by beginning to call God by the familiar term ‘father’. He did so in the hope that his followers would begin to understand and enjoy that same relationship. Jesus used the term “father” to try and help the first disciples gain a better understanding of God. I am sure He did so for two reasons:
- He knew his relationship to God was the most wonderful experience a child could have (John 15:9), and
- the ideal human father will have many of the characteristics that the Bible describes about God. God is not like any human, male or female. He is like Himself. Perhaps you can better understand why Jesus chose to call him Father by studying the different aspects of God character as Father.
In the book of Hosea, we see one of the most unusual passages in the Old Testament, but it will show exactly what Jesus wants us to understand about the Father (Hosea 11:1–9). This is where God speaks of Himself as Father; it is a very intensely personal explanation. Earlier in Hosea, God is the husband of the unfaithful wife (Ch. 2).
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