When we declare our faith in God the Father Almighty, there’s a few things we’re not doing:
First: We’re not just declaring that we believe that there is a God; we’re declaring our faith – our trust and loyalty and allegiance to God.
We discussed this last week – that our faith isn’t merely intellectual assent that there is a God; but our faith is a personal trust in God, and a personal commitment to God, and a personal loyalty to God.
Second: We’re not just declaring a belief in any god – a vague higher power whom we don’t really know anything about; or a god of my own making – god however I imagine god to be; but we declaring belief in a particular, knowable God – the triune God as he has revealed himself in the Bible.
The Christian hope, lies in the fact, that God has spoken. He hasn’t kept himself hidden only for the most spiritual or philosophical of us to find; but he’s spoken; he’s stepped out into the light for all of us to see him, find him, & know him.
Third: We’re not just declaring belief in one God among many; as though this is just our “god of choice”; but we’re declaring belief in God as the only true God.
And, so, right off the bat, this creed offends. But it does so no more than Jesus himself who declared himself to be “the way, the truth, and the life” – the only way to come to know the only true God.
And when people make the claim that “all religions are true”; they’re not really stating that “all religions are true”. They’re doing one of two things:
First, the claim they’re really making is that “all religions are true except the ones that don’t agree that all religions are true”
Which, by the way, happens to be all the major world religions. And so they’re making a very broad sweeping claim about religion that doesn’t accurately & fairly account for what most religions actually believe.
If different religions contain mutually exclusive, incompatible claims to truth, then those things can’t all be true. And those competing claims need to be evaluated to see which have internal consistency within it’s own set of truth claims, external consistency with the world and our experience in it, and evidence to back them up – all of which we believe we find in the God who has spoken and revealed himself in the Bible.
And though the world often looks down on those who have faith in God as weak, or stupid, or unreasonable, or anti-scientific; we believe that it is the most rational and unavoidable consequence of our reality.
We’ll look at that more next week – when we consider God as “maker of heaven and earth”; but for now all I want to say is that belief in God doesn’t put us in a special category of “those who believe” over against “those who don’t believe”
The two categories are not: “those who believe God exists”; and “those who don’t believe God exists.” because that implies that the difference is between those who believe and those who don’t believe.
The two categories of humanity are not: “those who believe God exists”; and “those who don’t believe in God.”
The two categories are: “those who believe in God”; and “those who believe in no God.”
Do you see the difference? The difference isn’t in that there’s some believers and others who aren’t believers. Everyone’s a believer – the question isn’t “if” they believe but “what” they believe.
Because believing that God does not exist is just as much an act of faith as believing that God does exist – in fact, I think a much bigger leap of faith and a much blinder faith that has to shut it’s eyes to far more evidence than faith in God’s existence does.
It’s not self-evident that God doesn’t exist; it’s not provable that God doesn’t exist; it’s not the human majority consensus currently or at any point in history.
And the belief that God does not exist fails to answer the chief questions of human existence and fails to satisfy the primary needs of human experience.
4 things we learn about God in this first phrase of the Creed “I believe in God the Father Almighty”.
- God is triune.
By calling God Father as part of who he is – and who he always has been – we are identifying him within the eternal relationship of the Christian Trinity.
Because a father isn’t a father without a child (in this case a son). A man is a man without a son but he isn’t a father without a son; and once he has a son then he is a father.
What makes a father a father, is a son; and what makes a son a son, is a father.
In confessing God as Father we are confessing God as trinity.
God’s eternal Son is identified later in the creed – when we confess that we believe in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord – which would be complete blasphemy unless this person was eternally divine – always fully equally God with God the Father.
And the third divine person is identified last in the creed – the Holy Spirit.
Christians believe not in 3 gods, but in 1 God who exists eternally in 3 persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and these 3 are 1 God, the same in divine essence and equal in power and glory.
This belief in a triune God is utterly unique to Christianity and absolutely essential for Christianity – there’s no Christianity without it.
And some people object to the doctrine of the trinity because the word trinity isn’t in the bible; and granted the word “trinity” is just a label which we’ve applied to it, but the concept is everywhere in the NT and even pointed towards in the OT.
This isn’t going to be a whole sermon on the trinity, but I do want to mention one thing that’s relevant to confessing God as Father: that at the heart of who God is, is that God is personal, and relational.
There was never a time when God wasn’t relational – he didn’t need to create creatures for that – in order to have fellowship, and love – he had that from all eternity past because he exists as a triune God.
He didn’t need us for that; but he invites us into that.
(1. Triune)
2. God is Gracious
He is gracious, because he invites us into a relationship with him as sons and daughters adopted into the family of God, who are invited to call God “father”.
The bible does speak of God as the father of all creation – in that he is it’s source, it’s maker, all things and all people find their origin in his creative power and grace;
But the primary way that the bible speaks about God as Father isn’t the general sense of “God is the father of all” – but the specific sense of God is the Father of those who have been made his children by his grace.
And in this specific sense, it’s not true that we’re all children of God; it’s not true that God is the father of everyone.
That unique relationship is one reserved for those who are redeemed by his grace – for those who respond to his free offer of salvation in faith.
John 1:12 – “To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”
Jesus is the son of God of God by right; we are children of God by grace.
Jesus is the son of God by essence; we are the children of God by adoption.
Jesus is the eternal son of God; we are the adopted children of God – meaning that at one time we were not the children of God but we were objects of wrath, separated from God because of sin; but now cleansed, forgiven, adopted through faith in Jesus our savior – so that we can now call God our father.
Jesus reflected this reality in the way he talked about God as Father:
-he always – so far as I know – talked about God as His father in an exclusive way:
He never talks about God as our Father including himself; but as “my” father excluding anyone else, or as “your father” excluding himself – when he says “our father” – it is in his instructions to his disciples on how to pray;
and the effect of Jesus’ use of this language is that it preserves the uniqueness of his eternal position as God’s Son; and it reminds us that that isn’t something that is ours by right or nature; but it is something that is given to us by grace.
And he invites us into the sharing of that relationship; by that grace; completely undeserved; never a right but only a privilege that we receive by his hand and so ought to have unending gratitude for.
And – Romans 8 – the Holy Spirit teaches our spirits to call him Father; it gives us the assurance that we have in fact been adopted into the family of God, such that the love of God is ours; such that we have freedom from sin and living in the fear of condemnation but now have the confidence of forgiveness and belonging and acceptance with God, our Father.
That’s why the NIV here, retains the language of “sonship” – I prefer the NIV because it will normally translate with sex-inclusive language when the original context was sex-inclusive even if the greek word was masculine – so, it will translate “children” instead of just “sons”; “brothers and sisters” instead of just “brothers” – and I believe that’s the correct translation. but here, it retains “sonship” – because the Greek word “adoption to sonship” is a technical term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir –
in Greco-Roman culture, a father would choose a male heir to adopt in order to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate – and so it was someone who had been outside the family but brought in and graciously given all the rights and privileges of a natural-born son.
And add to that; that the Spirit teaches us to call God “Abba”, Father. Abba is simply the Aramaic word for Father, Greek is Pater; and the main significance isn’t that it has some different meaning than “Father” – but the significance is that first: it’s what Jesus characteristically called God.
and second, we’re not just calling God “a” father; but “our” father.
Jesus makes us children of God; the Spirit assures us that we are children of God, and enables us to look to God as Father – the very name that Jesus called him, which showed the closeness and intimacy of his relationship to his Father; which is the address that an outsider can’t use; but is the unique privilege of child.
And so, what the significance of calling God “Abba” for Christians, is, that we now, adopted into God’s family, have a status similar to Jesus himself. Not exactly the same of course – but now because of adoption we share with him the right to call God Father – and have all the confidence and assurance of his love and acceptance that comes along with that – such that if we are in Christ – we have eternal security as God’s children.
Only four people in the world call me “dad”. Others might call me Jeff, or sir, or mr. cottone, or reverend, or even refer to me as a father or as a dad, without calling me their father or their dad; those are all things appropriate to outsiders; calling me Dad, is a unique, reserved, special privilege only for those who are my children.
If you are a child of God, then the Spirit of God is in you – enabling you to call God not just a father or somebody’s father, but your Father; enabling you to have peace of conscience and assurance that you are in fact a child of God; enabling you to live in the joy of being God’s child, rather than reverting to living like God’s slave. and giving you the joy that results from that knowledge.
(1. Triune; 2. Gracious;)
3. God is Personal
And the image of God as Father – doesn’t mean that God is male – God is a Spirit – he has no body and so he is neither male nor female;
and even though the bible never instructs us to call God “Mother” as it does instruct us to call him “Father”, nevertheless the bible does use motherly metaphors to describe God’s relationship to his people.
But these are metaphors – to describe something about God – and at it’s most basic meaning is that God is personal God, who, in a deeply personal way, knows his children, loves his children, cares for his children, and values the welfare of his children.
And who we, in return, love and trust him.
And that is what we see in this passage from Matthew 6 which we read earlier.
God feeds the birds; God clothes the flowers of the field; and those things are only his creation; and have minimal importance and value; they are God’s creation – but you are his children.
v26; vv 31 & 32.
And if he cares for the less important aspects of his creation with such detail and attention – then can’t we know that he will take care of us? He is our heavenly Father.
And so we can trust him.
Maybe it’s not easy. For “us of little faith.” But we need some faith. We need some faith to trust God – and know that he is watching over us, holding us in his care and love.
Don’t live like you’re an orphan who is fending for yourself.
Believe that God is a personal God – our heavenly Father – who cares for us.
Remember, he’s not just our Father; he’s our heavenly Father.
Remember, he’s not just “God the Father”, but “God the Father Almighty.”
Almighty reminds us of the necessary counterpart to God being personal – because it reminds us that he is the absolute person – and when we are in a relationship with him it’s not like any other relationship because he is absolute.
“Almighty” means: all mighty. It means he has all might. It means he is all powerful – with none who rival his strength, no one he struggles to overcome; who encounters no limits like we do; who has no weakness; who has no needs such that he needs his creation for his own existence or happiness; who rules over all in complete and absolute sovereignty – such that even the feeding of birds is done by his hand; and later in Matthew Jesus says that a sparrow does not fall to the ground outside of his sovereign hand.
He is almighty – and this can raise some difficult questions; and this has been a controversial truth – even though it basically is the definition of God – above all else, stronger more powerful than anything, the one who rules, Lord – and it’s everywhere assumed and explicit in the Bible – and it’s a truth for which God is and ought to be worshiped and praised.
You see, if God is just personal, but not absolute (polytheism) – then he might care about our problems, our needs – but that care can’t give us any assurance that he can help us with our problems or provide for our needs.
If God is just absolute, but not personal (like fate) – then he – actually “it” – might rule over all things but is ultimately either uncaring or indiscriminate – he might have the ability to do what we need, but he doesn’t know our own needs or care about them.
And what reason or ability do these alternatives give us to trust?
But, uniquely, the bible reveals God as both personal and absolute – and that is a God that we have every reason to trust.
Romans 8:17 – doesn’t mean we don’t suffer; but it means that God always accomplishes what he intends and fulfills his promise – and through the suffering that is still under his sovereign control – we can put unshakable hope in his promise of eternal glory.
(1. Triune; 2. Gracious; 3. Personal)
4. God is transformational
Because when God is your father, you grow into his likeness.
We don’t become divine, but we reflect the moral character of God in our lives – his love, compassion, goodness, truth, mercy, righteousness, holiness.
All humans share some characteristics with one another – generally we all have two eyes, two ears, a nose & mouth, varying degrees of hair on our heads; but humans who are in the same family share a special likeness that sometimes is unmistakeable.
All humanity is made in the image of God; but only some share a special likeness – the likeness of a child to a parent.
To anyone who looks at my daughter, and then looks at my wife – there’s no question of family likeness.
To anyone who looks at my son and then looks at me – there’s no question of family likeness.
Because children bear the marks of their parents.
In John 8, Jesus is talking to the evil religious leaders, and he tells them that if they were the children of God, they would do things that are reflective of God but as it is, they have a very different father – the devil – because they do the things that characterize him.
And what Jesus is saying: you always bear the marks of your spiritual Father. Faith is evidenced by a moral likeness to God – those who truly are his children – look like him, reflect him – in them appears his goodness, truth, love, holiness, compassion, peace, kindness, patience, gentleness, faithfulness.
Calvin: “God’s children are pleasing and lovable to him, since he sees in them the marks and features of his own countenance.”
If we are God’s children – if he is our Father, then we will bear his likeness;
Do we?