God The Father

The Author of the Plan

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God, the Father

• The Father as the First Person

The Holy Trinity

the Father

the Son

the Holy Spirit

the First Person is designated as the Father

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God, the Father

• The Father is presented as

• The Son is presented as

• The Holy Spirit is presented as

electingelecting lovingloving bestowingbestowing

sufferingsuffering redeemingredeeming upholding the universeupholding the universe

regeneratingregenerating indwellingindwelling

baptizingbaptizingenergizingenergizing sanctifyingsanctifying

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God, the Father

• New Testament revelation centers in revealing Jesus Christ, but in presenting the Christ as the Son of God, the truth of God, the Father is likewise revealed.

• God as the Father of all creation; • God the Father by intimate relationship; • God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and • God as the Father of all who believe in Jesus

Christ as Savior and Lord.

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God, the Father

• The Father as the First Person

• Fatherhood Over Creation

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God, the Father• The First Person, or God the Father, in a special way

is the Father of all creation. Ephesians 3:14-15

• Here the whole family of moral creatures including angels and men is declared to constitute a family of which God is the Father.

• In Hebrews 12:9 the First Person is referred to as “the Father of spirits,” which would seem again to include all moral beings such as angels and men.

• According to James 1:17, the First Person is "the Father of lights“ a peculiar expression which seems to indicate that He is the originator of all spiritual light.

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God, the Father

• In Job 1:6, 2:1 and 38:7 angels are described as sons of God.

• Adam is referred to as of God by creation in Luke 3:38, by implication, a son of God.

• Malachi 2:10 asks the question, "Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us?"

• Paul in addressing the Athenians on Mars Hill included in his argument, "Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God" (Acts 17:29).

• In 1 Corinthians 8:6, the declaration is made, "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things."

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God, the Father• In this sense only, it is proper to refer to the

universal fatherhood of God.

• All creatures in this sense participate in the universal brotherhood of creation.

• This does not justify, however, the misuse of this doctrine by liberal theologians to teach universal salvation

• or for anyone to teach that every man has God as his Father in the spiritual sense.

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God, the Father

• The Father as the First Person

• Fatherhood Over Creation

• Fatherhood by Intimate Relationship

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God, the Father• The concept and relationship of father and son are

used in the Old Testament in several instances to relate God to Israel.

– According to Exodus 4:22, Moses instructed Pharaoh

– God revealed to David that His relationship to Solomon would be like a father to a son. 2 Samuel 7:14

• In general God declares that His care as a Father will be over all who trust in Him as their God. Psalm 103:13

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God, the Father

• The Father as the First Person

• Fatherhood Over Creation

• Fatherhood by Intimate Relationship

• The Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ

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God, the Father• The First Person is described as “the God and Father

of our Lord Jesus Christ.“ EPHESIANS 1:3

• The most comprehensive theological revelation of the New Testament is that God the Father, the First Person, is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person.

• The fact that Jesus Christ is referred to frequently in the New Testament as the Son of God and that the attributes and works of God are constantly assigned to Him constitutes at once the proof of the deity of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity as a whole, with Christ as the Second Person in relationship to the First Person as a son is related to a father.

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God, the Father

• Theologians ever since the first century have wrestled with a precise definition of how God is the Father of the Second Person.

• Obviously the terms "father" and "son" are used of God to describe the intimate relationship of the First and Second Persons without necessarily fulfilling all the aspects that would be true in a human relationship of father and son.

• This is especially evident in the fact that both the Father and the Son are eternal.

• The early error of Arius in the fourth century, that the Son was the first of all created beings, was denounced by the early church as heresy in view of the fact that the Second Person is just as eternal as the First Person.

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God, the Father• Some theologians have attempted to begin the role of

the Second Person as a Son at some point in time either at the Creation,

at the Incarnation, or at some subsequent point of special recognition of the Second Person such as

– His baptism, – His death, – His resurrection, – or His ascension.

• All these alternate views, however, are faulty, as Scripture seems clearly to indicate that the Second Person has been a Son in relation to the First Person from all eternity past.

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God, the Father• As such He is the “only begotten Son“ whom God

“gave“ as a Son to the world when the Son became incarnate. John 3:16

• Scripture seems to indicate that He was given as a Son - not given in order to become a Son.

• Isaiah 9:6 states, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given."

• This is especially brought out in Colossians 1:15 where Christ is declared to be "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature."

• If Christ was the firstborn of every creature, that is, a Son before any other creature was created, then it is clear that He was a Son from all eternity past.

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God, the Father• The relationship of Father and Son relates to the deity and

unity of the Holy Trinity from all eternity, in contrast to the Incarnation, in which the Father was related to the humanity of Christ which began in time.

• Within orthodoxy, accordingly, the words of the Nicene Creed ( A.D. 325 ) - in answer to the Arian heresy of the fourth century - states, "the only-begotten son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father."

• In like manner, the Athanasian Creed states, "The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten . . . generated from eternity from the substance of the Father."

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God, the Father• In using the terms "Father" and "Son" to describe the

First and Second Persons, the terms are elevated to their highest level, – indicating oneness of life,– oneness of character and attributes,– and yet a relationship in which the Father can give

and send the Son, – even though this involves ultimately the obedience of

the Son in dying on the cross.

• The obedience of Christ is based upon His sonship, not on any inequality with God the Father in the unity of the Trinity.

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God, the Father• While the relationship between the First and the Second

Persons of the Trinity is actually that of a father to a son, and a son to a father, the fact of this relationship is an illustration of vital truth, which accommodates itself to the mode of thought of a finite mind.

• The truth that the Father is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, though mentioned infrequently in the Old Testament, is one of the most general teachings of the New Testament.

2 Corinthians 1:32 Corinthians 1:3Galatians 4:4Galatians 4:4

Hebrews 1:2Hebrews 1:2

Psalm 2:7Psalm 2:7Isaiah 7:14Isaiah 7:14

Isaiah 9:6-7Isaiah 9:6-7

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God, the Father

The Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ • The Son of God is said to have been begotten of the Father.

• The Father acknowledged the Lord Jesus Christ to be His Son.

• The Father is acknowledged by the Son.

John 1:14John 1:14 John 1:18John 1:18 John 3:16John 3:16

John 3:18John 3:18 1 John 4:91 John 4:9

Matthew 3:17Matthew 3:17 Matthew 17:5Matthew 17:5 Luke 9:35Luke 9:35

Matthew 11:27Matthew 11:27 Matthew 26:63-64Matthew 26:63-64Luke 22:29Luke 22:29

John 8:16-29John 8:16-29 John 8:33-44John 8:33-44 John 17:1John 17:1

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God, the Father

The Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ • The fact that God the Father is the Father of the Lord

Jesus Christ is acknowledged by men.

• The Son acknowledges the Father by being subject to Him.

John 8:29John 8:49

• Even the demons recognize this relationship between the Father and the Son.

Matthew 8:29

Matthew 16:16Matthew 16:16 Mark 15:39Mark 15:39

John 1:34John 1:34 John 1:49John 1:49 Acts 3:13Acts 3:13

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God, the Father

• The Father as the First Person

• Fatherhood Over Creation

• Fatherhood by Intimate Relationship

• The Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ

• The Father of All Who Believe in Christ

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God, the Father• God is the Father, in a special sense, of those who

believe in Christ, and have received eternal life. • The fact that God is the Father of all creation does

not assure the salvation of all men, or give them eternal life.

• Scripture is clear that there is salvation only for those who have received Christ by faith as their Savior.

• The claim that God the Father is the Father of all mankind, and that there is therefore a universal brotherhood among men, does not mean that all are saved and will go to heaven.

• Scripture teaches instead that only those who believe in Christ unto salvation are the sons of God in a spiritual sense.

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God, the Father• This is based upon their second, or spiritual, birth

into the family of God.

• By the regenerating work of the Spirit the believer is made a legitimate child of God. – God being actually his Father, he is impelled by

the Spirit to say, "Abba, Father." – Being born of God, he is a partaker of the divine

nature, and on the ground of that birth, he is heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ.

John 1:12John 1:12 Galatians 3:26Galatians 3:26

Ephesians 2:19Ephesians 2:19 Ephesians 3:15Ephesians 3:15 Ephesians 5:1Ephesians 5:1

John 1:12-13John 1:12-13 John 3:3-6John 3:3-6 Romans 8:16-17Romans 8:16-17

Titus 3:4-7Titus 3:4-7 1 Peter 1:41 Peter 1:4

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God, the Father• The impartation of the divine nature is an operation

so effective that the nature thus imparted is never removed for any cause whatsoever.

• When the teachings of Scripture relative to the present power and authority of Satan are considered, added proof is given that all men are not children of God by their natural birth.

• In this connection the most direct and faithful sayings of Christ are in evidence.

• Speaking of those who disbelieved He said, "You are of {your} father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own {nature;} for he is a liar, and the father of lies. (John 8:44).

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God, the Father

• Likewise, when describing the unregenerate, He said, "The tares are the children of the wicked one" (Matthew 13:38).

• The Apostle Paul wrote of the unsaved as "the children of disobedience" and "the children of wrath" Ephesians 2:2-3

• Emphasis should be placed on the fact that it is not in the power of anyone to make himself a child of God.

• God alone can undertake such a transformation, and He undertakes it only on the one condition which He Himself has imposed, that Christ shall be believed upon and received as Savior. John 1:12

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God, the Father• The fatherhood of God is an important doctrine of

the New Testament.

• The assurance of the love and care of our Heavenly Father is a great comfort to Christians and an encouragement to faith and prayer.

John 20:17John 20:17

1 Corinthians 15:241 Corinthians 15:24

Ephesians 1:3Ephesians 1:3

Ephesians 2:18Ephesians 2:18

Ephesians 4:6Ephesians 4:6

Colossians 1:12-13Colossians 1:12-13

1 Peter 1:31 Peter 1:3

1 John 1:31 John 1:3

1 John 2:11 John 2:1

1 John 2:111 John 2:11

1 John 3:11 John 3:1

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1. How are the works of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit contrasted in the New Testament?

The Father is presented as electing, loving, and bestowing.

The Son is presented as suffering, redeeming, and upholding the universe.

The Holy Spirit is presented as regenerating, indwelling, baptizing, energizing, and sanctifying.

2. What are the four distinct aspects of the fatherhood of God?

(1) God as the Father of all creation; (2) God the Father by intimate relationship; (3) God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; (4) God as the Father of all who believe in Jesus

Christ as Savior and Lord.

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3. Summarize the evidence that God is the father of all creation.

On the basis of several texts in Scripture, there is sufficient ground to conclude that the First

Person of the Trinity as the Creator is the Father of all creation and that all creatures, having physical life, owe their origin to Him.

4. What is meant by the fatherhood of God by intimate relationship?

The concept and relationship of father and son.

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5. Discuss the question of the eternity of the relationship of father and son between God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Scripture seems clearly to indicate that the Second Person has been a Son in relation to the First Person from all eternity past. As such He is the "only begotten Son" whom God "gave" as a Son to the world when the Son became incarnate. Scripture seems to indicate that He was given as a Son - not given in order to become a Son. Isaiah 9:6 states, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given." This is especially brought out in Colossians 1:15 where Christ is declared to be "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature." If Christ was the firstborn of every creature, that is, a Son before any other creature was created, then it is clear that He was a Son from all eternity past.

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6. What are some of the evidences supporting the concept of God the Father in relation to Jesus Christ the Son?– The Son of God is said to have been begotten of the

Father.– The Father acknowledged the Lord Jesus Christ to

be His Son.– The Father is acknowledged by the Son.– The fact that God, the Father is the Father of the

Lord Jesus Christ is acknowledged by men.– The Son acknowledges the Father by being subject

to Him.– Even the demons recognize this relationship

between the Father and the Son.

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7. What is meant by God being the Father of all who believe in Christ?God the Father, as the First Person of the Godhead as Creator extends to all creatures. However, the relationship of God being the Father of His children only extends to those who have believed in Christ?

8. How does a man become a son of God?A man becomes a son of God on the bases of their second, or spiritual, birth into the family of God. That spiritual birth can only be accomplished by faith alone in Christ alone.

9. What are some of the results of becoming a son of God?By the regenerating work of the Spirit the believer is made a legitimate child of God. God being actually his Father, he is impelled by the Spirit to say, "Abba, Father." Being born of God, he is a partaker of the divine nature, and on the ground of that birth, he is heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ.

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10. What is the error involved in stating that all men are the children of God?

The fact that God is the Father of all creation does not assure the salvation of all men or

give them eternal life. Scripture is clear that there is salvation only for those who have received

Christ by faith as their Savior. The claim that God, the Father is the Father of all mankind and that there is therefore a universal

brotherhood among men does not mean that all are saved and will go to heaven.

11. How does the fatherhood of God provide comfort to a believer in Christ?

The assurance of the love and care of our Heavenly Father.