You Are Our Father
From The HeartPublish date: 06/20/2011
Yet, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our Potter, and we all are the work of Your hand.
Isaiah 64:8 AMP
God is not just our God – He is our Father – our Heavenly Father. He is our Creator – He gave birth to creation. He created the first man and woman and built into them the power to pro-create and to reproduce.
I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 7 You shall have no other gods before Me or besides Me. Deuteronomy 5:6-7 AMP
Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Deuteronomy 5:16 AMP
Honor (esteem and value as precious) your father and your mother – this is the first commandment with a promise – 3 That all may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. Ephesians 6:2-3 AMP
The first commandment of the Ten Commandments God gave through Moses, was to honor Him alone – our Heavenly Father – and the fifth was to respect and honor our natural father and mother. This fifth commandment had a promise attached to it – that we would live a long, blessed life if we honor our parents. In life, we learn first to obey, honor and respect our natural father and mother, and by so doing, we learn how to honor and respect our Heavenly Father. As parents, ourselves, we must lead by example. We must honor God, our parents and our elders and we must teach and train our children to respect us, and their elders, and to honor God. God’s goal for us and our children is that everyone makes heaven and spends eternity with Him. This should be our goal as well. This will not happen in the family, unless God is honored above all other gods and there is no room made for idols.
Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 5 To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5 KJV
Only those who are born again can actually call God “Father”. Sinners cannot call Him Father, but He would love to make them His own children, if they will accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It is the will of God our Father that Jesus would give Himself for our sins and that He would deliver us from this evil world. It was His idea – He sent Jesus – His only begotten Son to be sacrificed on our behalf.
And if you call upon Him as [your] Father Who judges each one impartially according to what he does, [then] you should conduct yourselves with true reverence throughout the time of your temporary residence [on the earth, whether long or short]. 18 You must know (recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless (fruitless) way of living inherited by tradition from [your] forefathers, not with corruptible things [such as] silver and gold, 19 But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1:17-19 AMP
If you know that God is your Father and that you were purchased with the precious blood of Christ, then you should also realize that this world is not your final home. Your home, and your final reward, is in heaven. Since you are here only temporarily, you should have a respectful attitude toward God and all He has done for you and because of it, you should be prepared to obey Him in all things and to conduct your life and yourself in a godly way.
And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father! 7 Therefore, you are no longer a slave (bond servant) but a son; and if a son, then [it follows that you are] an heir by the aid of God, through Christ. Galatians 4:6-7 AMP
For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba (Father)! Father! 16 The Spirit Himself [thus] testifies together with our own spirit, [assuring us] that we are children of God. Romans 8:15-16 AMP
We are not merely servants of God, as under the Old Covenant, but we are children – sons and daughters. We are adopted into the family of God and the Holy Spirit seals the deal. We have the privilege of calling Almighty God, Father. Not just Father, but Abba – Daddy. God is not some old man in the sky – He is our Abba Father. He loves us with an everlasting and unconditional love. He wants us to know how much and how deeply He loves us and He longs to have us respond to His love. Religion and the devil want us to keep God far away from us – they want us to see Him as unapproachable, judgmental, and hard to please. This could not be farther from the truth. Father God is good and kind and generous and gracious and understanding and forgiving.
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, Who loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and encouragement and well-founded hope through [His] grace (unmerited favor), 17 Comfort and encourage your hearts and strengthen them [make them steadfast and keep them unswerving] in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 AMP