The Father-Heart Of God
How great is the love
the Father has lavished on us,
that
we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are!
(1 John 3:1)
The fatherhood of God is a foundational biblical truth vital to our understanding of how to respond to God as our heavenly Father. ‘Agape’ (the sacrificial love of God), in the words of Leon van Daele, “is the most powerful single force in the universe”, it is this love that motivated the heart of God to reach out to us.
God’s
love is so totally different from any human love we have ever
known:
it is unconditional, undeserved and absolutely
perfect.
We do not have to work to receive this awesome love:
this is something that we,
as humans, find so difficult to
accept.”
The
nature of love is described in 1
Corinthians 13:4-7.
Most
Bible scholars agree that the love described in this passage is not
human love but the love of God. It is impossible for us to have
this love – it is given to us by the Holy Spirit. It describes
perfect, divine love: the love that our heavenly Father has for us,
His children.
God’s profound love for us is demonstrated in His choosing His only Son to die so that we, as fallen man, may have the privilege to know Him as Our Father in heaven and spend eternity with Him (Matthew 11:27).
Why The Father-Heart Of God?
Why devote a whole section of this Blog to the Father-heart of God?
Because God is a person. He can enter into personal relationships, of which one of the easiest for us, as humans, to understand is that of “father.” Jesus taught those who entered the kingdom of God to regard God as their Father.
He taught His disciples to address God as “our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9).
All
Jesus’ teaching encourages a relationship with the Father that is
intimate,
close and tender. We need to understand that God as
Father is the perfect Father
– He eagerly desires that we rely
on Him for:
• Care and provision in even the most practical matters of food and clothing
(Matthew 6:25-34).
• Protection (Matthew 10:28-31).
• Provision of all good things (Matthew 7:7-11).
Not
all of us have had the privilege of having godly fathers.
Many
of our fathers have let us down in many ways on many occasions
and are
nowhere near perfect.
Sin
has destroyed countless father-child relationships to the point that
they not only function sub-optimally, but in many cases, totally
break down...
(for example: adultery, divorce, alcoholism,
sexual abuse or attitudes of disinterest).
In
Genesis we see that God created both male and female in His image and
so both are part of His nature and character.
In order for
a family to receive a full revelation of God’s love, both
father and mother are needed as they both represent unique aspects of
God’s character.
Where there is a single-parent family, it is important to know that God can compensate for the missing love of a parent.
Because we are continually faced with imperfect father figures, our concept of what a father should be becomes distorted and we, often sub-consciously, transfer this: To our relationship with God.
Picture these situations:
• A young boy spends all afternoon carving what he believes to be a horse
out of piece of wood. At the end of the day he excitedly waits for his dad
to come home to show him his handiwork. A tired, preoccupied man
finally arrives and barely casts a glance in the direction of his son.
• A young teenager going out for the night with her friends looks eagerly
in the direction of her father, hoping he will show some interest in her
activities. All he does is reach for his wallet and ask her how much money
she needs.
• A toddler’s father places him on the kitchen counter and tells him to
jump and he will catch him. As the little son trustingly jumps toward his
father’s arms, his father turns his back. Three times this happens and
finally the father reveals the moral of the exercise to his son: “Son, never
trust anyone!”
We
need to ask God to help us set aside our preconceptions and
experiences of;
Earthly fatherhood in order that we
may relate with Him as He intended.
In
the words of Floyd McClung,
“Don’t
ever resent the failings of your human parents.
They are just
kids that grew up and had kids.
Rather rejoice in the wonderful
love of your Father God.”
In
God we have a perfect Father.
We can unreservedly trust Him to
always be the same:
His character and attributes are both
constant and consistent
(Matthew 5:43-45, Matthew 7:9-11, James 1:17).
Unlike the fathers in the situations above, our heavenly Father always has time for us, delights in us, longing that we will come to him not with clasped hands, but open arms and He desires us to put all our trust in Him.
Scripture
continually expounds God’s passionate love and goodness toward
His children.
2 Corinthians
6:18 states,
“I
will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says
the Lord Almighty.”
What Motivates Us To Serve God?
Fear? Selfish gain? A desire to be successful? A need to be accepted by others?
Surely if this is the motivation, we do not know God!
He
is our Father and we are His children. He first loved us (1 John
4:19) and in response to
His divine care and protection, we
need to serve and obey Him.
1 John 5:3 says, “This is love for God: to obey His commands.”
If
we know our God as Scripture reveals Him, and also His love for
us,
His sons and daughters, then serving Him will not only come
naturally,
but will be a privilege.
Think
of how a young child looks upon his father with awe,
and
passionately defends and boasts about his dad among his friends:
“My
dad’s bigger than your dad,” “My dad’s cleverer than your
dad,” and so it goes on.
We
need to be like children:
We need to love and serve our heavenly
Father simply because He loved us first.
We need to seek
out opportunities to boast about Him and to tell others of our
love for Him.
Receiving God’s Love For Us
We live in an “if …
then …” society where acceptance is performance orientated
and
therefore conditional.
Many children believe that they are only worthy to receive the love of their parents if they receive a good report card, if they are successful in sport, or if they work hard around the house.
Their concept of love is conditional: if you perform, then you will be loved and accepted.
The ‘agape’ love of our God is so very different—God is love (1 John 4:16).
Because He is love, His very nature means that we do not need to do anything to get Him to love us. All He desires is that we be found in His presence and receive His love.
As with any love relationship, there needs to be both giving and receiving of love.
What is your response to God when he tells you that he loves you?
Do
you tenderly receive his love or do you anxiously and actively search
for a way to earn His approval?
1
John 3:1 puts it this way, “How
great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should
be called children of God!”
If you have been disappointed by your natural father, soak yourself daily in scriptures that portray the qualities of your heavenly Father —for it is only truth that will set you free (John 8:32).
Your Father Revealed
Your real Father is waiting eagerly to reveal Himself to you; all He desires is that you ask Him.
Adopting Father
Ephesians 1:4-5
In
love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus
Christ.
Ephesians 1:11 In Him we were also chosen.
John 1:12-13
Yet
to all who received Him, to all who believed in His Name,
He
gave the right to become children of God – children born not of
natural descent, ... but born of God.
Romans 8:15
For
you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to
fear,
but you received the Spirit of son-ship.
Galatians 4:4-5
God
sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under
law,
that we might receive the full rights of sons.
2 Corinthians 6:18
I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters.
Father To The Fatherless And Defender Of Widows
Psalm 68:5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows.
Deuteronomy 10:18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow.
Psalm 146:9 The Lord ... sustains the fatherless and the widow.
Psalm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families.
Covenant-Keeping Father
Isaiah 54:10
“Though
the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My
unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor My covenant of
peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
Isaiah
61:8-9
In
My faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant
with them. Their descendants will be known among the nations and
their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will
acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.
See
also Luke 15:11-31 for
the story of the prodigal son clearly depicting God’s
amazing
love and grace in keeping covenant with His children.
Rewarding Father
Hebrews 11:6
And
without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who
comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He
rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Matthew 6:3-4
But
when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your
right hand is doing,
so that your giving may be in secret. Then
your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 10:41-42
Anyone
who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a
prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man
because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s
reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these
little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you the truth, he
will certainly not lose his reward.
Matthew 5:12
Rejoice
and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the
same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Ephesians 6:7-8
Serve
wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because
you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he
does, whether he is slave or free.
Prayer-Answering Father
Luke 11:9-13
So
I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will
find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who
asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the
door will be opened. Which of you fathers, if your son asks for
a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg,
will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know
how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!
James 4:2
You
do not have, because you do not ask God.
John 14:13-14
And
I will do whatever you ask in My Name, so that the Son may bring
glory to the Father. You may ask Me for anything in My
Name, and I will do it.
John 16:23-24
In
that day you will no longer ask Me anything. I tell you the truth, My
Father will give you whatever you ask in My Name.
Giving Father
Matthew
6:25-33
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your
life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you
will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body
more important than clothes? ... your heavenly Father knows that
you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.
Psalm 37:4
Delight
yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 34:9-10
Fear
the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him lack nothing. The
lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack
no good thing.
Matthew 7:11
If
you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your
children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good
gifts to those who ask Him!
Forgiving And Redeeming Father
1 John 1:9
If
we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Luke 15:21-24
The
son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against
you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the
father said to his servants, “Quick! Bring the best robe and
put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast
and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again;
he was lost and is found.” So they began to celebrate.
Matthew 6:14
For
if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father
will also forgive you.
Jesus’ prayer at Calvary is a dramatic demonstration of God’s forgiveness!
Disciplining Father
Hebrews 12:7-11
Endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what
son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined
(and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate
children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human
fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How
much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and life! Our
fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best;
but
God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His
holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but
painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of
righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Proverbs 3:11-12
My
son, do not despise the LORD’S discipline and do not resent His
rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those He loves, as a father
the son he delights in.
God’s discipline as Father produces righteousness, peace and joy.
Psalm 66:18 indicates
God’s silence as His discipline.
If you are not hearing God,
ask yourself: Did you obey what He last said to you?
Loving Father
John 3:16
For
God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 3:1
How
great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be
called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the
world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
John 15:13
Greater
love has no one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends.
1 John 3:6
No
one who lives in Him keeps on sinning.
No one who continues to
sin has either seen Him or known Him.
Romans 8:35-39
Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or
hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As
it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we
are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these
things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that
is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Psalm 33:12-19
But
the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose
hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and
keep them alive in famine.
We
are the “apple of His eye”
(Deuteronomy 32:10, Psalm 17:8,
Zechariah 2:8),
His treasured
possession (Exodus 19:5).
At
the end of the world His sons and daughters will be His
inheritance:
a bride (Revelation
21:9-10)
for His Son for all eternity.
See also Luke 15:11-32 for the story of the prodigal son
Credits
Extracted from Laying FoundationsCopyright © 2002 by Cornerstone ChurchPrint Date: March 2003This manual may be duplicated whole, or in part in anyform (written, visual, electronic or audio)without express written permission of the publisher,providing it is not used for commercial purposes.Published by Cornerstone Church+27 11 616 4073info@cornerstonechurch.co.zaDownloaded from NCMI Websitehttps://www.ncmi.net/resources/books
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