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Day 131

Luke 11: 1-13 "THE WONDROUS THOUGHT THAT WE CAN ADDRESS GOD AS "FATHER"

Day 131 – Luke 11

Text: Luke 11: 1-13

THE WONDROUS THOUGHT THAT WE CAN ADDRESS GOD AS “FATHER”

One of the richest points of the Theology of God is surely found in this Doctrine – that we are able to call on God as our Father! If we truly fathom this wondrous doctrine, we will find ourselves praying at a much deeper level!

The teaching of God as Father was slowly revealed in the Scriptures. Let us do a quick survey of how God revealed Himself in the Scriptures.

1. He is first revealed as Creator (Genesis 1). The prophet Isaiah made much of the fact that God was indeed the Creator (Isaiah 40). He called upon the nation of Judah to return to their Creator God!

2. The Lord then revealed Himself as One who is a Covenant-Giving God.

a) First, to Noah, God revealed Himself through a Covenant that we may call the “Noahic Covenant”. In this Covenant, God promised that He would never destroy the world by a flood ever again (Genesis 9:1-17).
b) Secondly, God revealed Himself to Abraham, through another Covenant, often called the “Abrahamic Covenant” (Genesis 12). This Covenant was expanded and explained to Abraham and to his descendants Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 15, 17, 22 – with reference to Abraham; Genesis 26 – with reference to Isaac; Genesis 28:10-22 – with reference to Jacob).
c) God went on further to reveal Himself as their Redeemer, when He delivered the Children of Israel from bondage in Egypt. He went on to give them what is often called, the “Sinaitic Covenant”. It is also called the “Mosaic Covenant” (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5, 28 and 29).

3. Sadly, Israel failed God miserably. A major portion of the history of the nation of Israel reveals that the children of Israel had reneged on keeping their part of the Mosaic Covenant (2 Kings 17).

4. Through the Prophets of God, a NEW COVENANT was offered graciously. Two prophets especially preached on this theme of the New Covenant. They were the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah (Isaiah. 54-56; Jeremiah 31).

5. In this New Covenant, God would draw very near to His people. Isaiah understood that one aspect of the New Covenant was the strengthening of the idea of God as “Father” (Cf. Isaiah 63:16 where Isaiah pleaded with God as “Father”. The concept of God as Father was already present in the Old Testament, from as far back as the time of Moses, however, His Majesty and His Lordship were more frequently highlighted than His Fatherhood – Deuteronomy 1:31; 32:6).

IN THE NEW TESTMENT ERA

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself effectively gave the New Covenant promised by God. When the Lord Jesus instituted The Lord’s Supper, He declared that He had now given to them a New Covenant. Thus the prophecies of both Isaiah and Jeremiah were fulfilled. The long-awaited-for Covenant had been given, and had now replaced the Sinaitic Covenant.

The Book of Hebrews, and particularly the Apostle Paul wrote much about the new relationship that we have in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul found great resistance from the Jewish quarters when he preached and taught people about the Pre-eminent place that Christ must have in the New Testament.

Paul was one who wrote much about how we should indeed offer prayers to God the Father. He certainly practised what he preached. Ephesians 1:3 and Ephesians 3:14 are classic examples of how Paul would pray to God.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places in Christ…”
Ephesians 1:3

“For this reason I bow my knees
to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…
Ephesians 3:14

THE EXAMPLE OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

Let us take a quick look at some of the spontaneous prayers that the Lord Jesus Christ offered,

In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said,
“I thank you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth
That You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent
And revealed them to babes.
Even so, Father for so it seemed good in your sight.”
Luke 10:21
Context of the return of the 70 after a Successful Mission)

“Father, I thank You that You have heard Me,
and I know that You always hear Me…”
John 11:41.42
(Context of the raising of Lazarus from the dead)

APPRECIATING AFRESH OUR ABILITY TO CALL ON GOD AS “FATHER”

When an individual comes to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, he is given the privilege of becoming a child of God (John 1:12). The moment an individual becomes a believer, he is given the Holy Spirit to indwell him. The Spirit of God is both a sign and a seal that we truly belong to God (Ephesians 1:13-14).

The Spirit of God is the One who will teach us how to cry out to God in prayer. He will teach us how we can address God with deep affection and reverence as well, when He teaches our hearts to cry, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15). Paul went on to say that “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16). If we are to pray deeply and well, one of the foremost theological principles we must appreciate is that we can address God as Our Father in Heaven.

Webmaster’s Note :

If you are seeking a deeper level of understanding of prayer, please check out Pastor Charlie Tan’s excellent weekly articles on The Theology of Prayer , which includes a more indepth study of The Lord’s Prayer and how it applies to our prayer-life.