God the Father
John 15:21 - Fall 2010

 

Outline:

I.   Introduction

II. The Trinity

III. The Titles of God the Father.

IV. The Person of God the Father

       A. The 1st Person of the Trinity is Identified as the “Father”.

       B. The title “Father” designates His relationship to:

                   1. The Trinity as the 1st Person

                   2. Jesus Christ

                   3. The Believer

                   4. The Jewish Nation (Israel)

                   5. The Universe

                   6. The Angels

                   7. Man

C. The Distinctive Fatherhoods of God includes:

1. Fatherhood over creation, (Universal Fatherhood).

2. Fatherhood over Israel, (National Fatherhood).

3. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Eternal Fatherhood).

4. Fatherhood over all who believe, (Relational Fatherhood).

D. The Characteristics of God the Father:

          1. He is the first person in mode of operation. The First Cause, the Original, the Source, the Beginning, the Commencement, the Fountain-head of all wisdom, the Absolute.

          2. The Foundation of our Redemption.

          3. The Covenant Maker and Keeper, and the Covenant Promiser.

          4. The Architect, Designer, and Controller.

          5. The Provider and Sustainer.

          6. The Light, Unapproachable Light, Life and Love.

          7. Glory, Majesty, Holiness and Fire.

          8. Perfect, Invisible, Spiritual, and Eternally the Father.

          9. The Begetter.

E. The Functionality of God the Father in the Trinity related to Mankind:

1. God the Father Created the Universe.

2. God the Father created Man.

3. God the Father gives and preserves life in man, both body and soul, likewise He cares for His creation and their needs (Divine Providence).

4. God the Father is the planner or designer of salvation for all of mankind.

5. God the Father has elected the believer from eternity past.

6. The believer is Called to salvation, Justified and Glorified by God the Father.

7. The believer is sanctified by God the Father.

8. God the Father indwells all Church Age believers as part of the Mystery Doctrine for the Church Age.

9. The Father is fully responsible for our prayers.

10. God the Father disciplines and judges.

11. God the Father provides Divine power for the function of His Plan for your life.

12. The greatest power the Father has given to us is His Word, Bible Doctrine.

13. The Believer is kept Safe by God the Father.

14. The Pastor’s authority is given by God the Father.

15. All positions of human authority have been established by the Father.

16. God the Father will resurrect all of mankind.

F. God the Father’s role in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

 

V. The Worship of God the Father inside the Trinity.

 

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I. Introduction:

 

John 15:21, “But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.”

 

God is revealed to mankind through nature as its Designer and Creator and through Scripture, (which directly testifies of Him), and through the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, (who came to reveal Him, John 1:18, and introduce men to Him, Mat 11:27).

 

From those revelations God is to be recognized as both Creator and Father.

 

For some reason we tend to comprehend God as Creator more easily and more often than we do as our Father. As such, it is more common to investigate the creative activities of God than to consider His Fatherhood. In spite of this tendency, there is an extended body of truth bearing on the Fatherhood of God in Scripture that we will explore.

 

In John 14:7 Jesus said, “If and you have known Me, you will also know My Father, and from this point forward you keep on knowing Him and have seen Him.”

 

The passage tells us, since we have known Jesus, we also know the Father and from this point forward having known Christ we should keep on knowing the Father, having seen Him through His Son and the Word He will leave behind. This is our revelation of who God the Father is.

 

Jesus Christ, the God/Man, reveals the Father to mankind. He is the Son of God, the Image of God, and is God just as the Father is God. John 1:18; 1 Tim 6:15-16; Heb 1:3; 1 John 4:12-14.

 

Therefore for us to know who God the Father is, we have to: 1) know Jesus Christ and 2) know His Word, which are the only means for us to know God the Father.

 

John 1:18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

 

Jesus makes the Father known. The only intelligible conception of God is precisely what Jesus says in John 14:7, “If you know Me you will know the Father too”. So let us see what Jesus has told us about the Father.

 

II. The Trinity.

 

First we must understand the concept of God. As He has been revealed in Scripture God is one in three persons. There is one God, yet three persons that make up the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. This is called the Trinity.

 

One of the few verses of scripture that capture all three in one verse is John 14:26.

 

John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name (all three members of the Trinity in view), He will teach you all things (Mystery Doctrine of the Church Age) and cause you to remember all that I taught you.”

 

The word “Trinity” is not a Bible term, though unquestionably a Bible truth. Trinity is the term given to describe God as having one essence yet being three in person. Therefore, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all share equal, eternally and infinitely the exact same Divine essence and attributes as the other members of the Trinity.

 

See Trinity Slide on our website.

 

In the Old Testament the emphasis of the Trinity is upon Divine unity where a Divine plurality is seen in the meaning of “ELOHIM”, Deut. 6:4, a plurality of persons and unity of essence. The suffix “IM” in Hebrew stands for plurality.

 

Deut 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God (ELOHIM), the LORD is one! “

 

The New Testament lays emphasis upon the individual Persons of the Trinity and their separate responsibilities for the purposes of redemption, yet here too there are occasional references to Divine oneness of essence, Mat 28:19.

 

Mat 28:19, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

 

Water is a good illustration that may serve as a “three-in-one” illustration since it retains its chemical activity whether in solid, gas, or liquid state, (i.e., ice, steam, and water).

 

There is also a triple point for water, a condition under which ice, steam, and liquid water can coexist in equilibrium. All are water, yet distinct from each other.

 

Another analogy, the sun, its light, and its power may help illustrate the Trinity. No one has actually seen the sun just as no one has seen the Father. Yet we learn a great deal about the sun by studying the sunlight just as we learn about the Father through Jesus Christ the Son who is the radiance of His glory, Heb. 1:3. Then there is the power of the sun as it is involved in the growth of seeds and trees and plants. When asked what makes things grow, we say the sun does. The Holy Spirit is like the power of the sun and He is God.

 

1 John 1:5, “And this is the message which we have heard from Him and we announce to you, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.”

 

John 1:5, “TT he light shined in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (overpower) it.”

 

John 8:12, “Again therefore Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the light of the world.  He who follows me will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.’”

 

1 Tim 6:16, “Who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen nor can see, to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.”

 

One God can be three in person because of their shared attributes. The 10 major attributes of God include. Sovereignty, Righteousness, Justice, Love, Eternal Life, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Immutability, Veracity.

 

See Essence of God Slide on our website.

 

These attributes are set forth in Ex 15:11; 33:19; 34:6-7; Deut. 6:4; 10:17; Num 16:22; Isa 44:6; Hab 3:6; Psa 102:26; Job 34:12; Rev. 5:12 and 7:12.

 

A good definition of the Essence of God is found in the Westminster Larger Catechism, which reads: “God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, every where present, almighty, knowing-all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth”.

 

In the Bible and therefore theology, the Trinity is known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father is known as the first person of the Trinity, the Son as the second, and the Holy Spirit as the third.

 

III. IV. The Titles of God the Father:

 

The titles of the First Person are largely restricted to combinations associated with the word “Father.” He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father of Mercies. He is addressed as “Abba, Father”, Heavenly Father, Father of Spirits, Holy Father, Righteous Father, Father of Lights, and Father of Glory.

 

IV. The Person of God the Father

 

A. The first person of the Trinity is identified as “Father” for example:

1. “Our Father … in heaven”, Mat 6:9, 14, 26, etc.

2. “The God and Father of the Lord Jesus”, 2 Cor 11:31, etc.

3. In the Old Testament God was revealed as Father:

a. Of the Israelites, Ex 4:22.

b. To the special representative of the nation, the king, 2 Sam 7:14.

c. As a Father who loves his children, Psa 103:13.

4. In the New Testament it is first revealed in relation to the eternal Son, John 1:14, 18.  

 

John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

 

John 1:18, “No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.”

 

B. The title “Father” represents several scriptural concepts.

1. It designates the first Person of the Trinity.

2. It designates His relationship to Jesus Christ, “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”, 1 Peter 1:3; 1 Cor 8:6; Eph 1:17.

3. It designates His relationship to the believer, “our Father”, as noted in the template prayer of Matthew 6:9. This relationship is also noted in the first words of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in God the Father Almighty.” These are from recognition of this spiritual truth as depicted in the Word of God. Only those saved through Jesus Christ are admitted to the privileges of children in the Divine household of the Father.

4. It designates His relationship to the Jewish nation. Deut 32:6; Hosea 11:1; Psa 103:13; 68:5; Mal 1:6.

5. It designates His relationship to the universe, “the Father of lights”, James 1:17.

6. It designates His relationship to angels, “sons of God”, Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7.

7. It designates His relationship to man, “the Father of spirits”, Heb 12:9; who are created after His image, Acts 17:26-29; Luke 3:38; with Gen 1:27; Mal 2:10.

a. Man, as created, was designed for sonship to God. The realization of man’s true creature destiny was frustrated by sin, and can now only be restored by redemption. Therefore we have the place of sonship in the gospel:

1) As an unspeakable gift and privilege, 1 John 3:1; with Eph 2:8-9.

 

1 John 3:1, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”

 

2) Being obtained by grace, through regeneration, John 1:12-13, and adoption, Rom 8:14, 19.

 

John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

 

In this relation of nearness and privilege to the Father in the kingdom of His Son, Col 1:13, believers are “sons of God” in a sense true of no others. It is a relation, not of nature, but of grace. Therefore, Fatherhood is now the determinative fact in God’s relation to the believer, Eph 3:14-21.

 

C. The Fatherhood of God has several manifestations. The distinctive Fatherhoods of God are:

1. Fatherhood over creation - Universal Fatherhood.

2. Fatherhood over Israel - National Fatherhood.

3. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ - Eternal Fatherhood.

4. Fatherhood over all who believe - Relational Fatherhood

 

1. Fatherhood over Creation (Universal Fatherhood):

 

In 1 Cor 8:6 where it is declared, “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things,” teaches all mankind as belonging to the Fatherhood of God due to His creation of mankind.

 

There is a form of “Universal Fatherhood” which, within its proper bounds, should be recognized.

 

This is in no way to be confused with that Fatherhood which is secured by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

 

This general form of kinship between Deity and Creation is not usually predicated of the Father, but is declared to be between God and His creation, as noted by His love for all humanity expressed in the words, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son”, John 3:16.

 

In tracing the genealogy of Christ back to Adam, Luke accounts for Adam’s existence by declaring him to be a son or creation of God, Luke 3:38. This is sonship by right of creation, the only conception of divine fatherhood which an unregenerate person can entertain.

 

Paul similarly quotes the pagan poets as asserting that all men are the offspring of God, Acts 17:28. (Offspring or children = GENOS that means family, race, nation, people or offspring, i.e. children.)

 

All men may be considered sons of God inasmuch as they owe their existence to Him.

 

2. Fatherhood over Israel (National Fatherhood):

 

The intimate relationship between Jehovah and Israel, which was made possible by the gracious work of God alone, was also divinely expressed by the figure of Father and son.

 

In Ex 4:22, Jehovah instructed Moses to say to Pharaoh: “Thus says the LORD, ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn’.” This was the first mention of that intimate relationship of Father and son between God and Israel.

 

Several other times God addresses the nation of Israel as a Father or as His sons, Deut. 32:6; Isa. 63:16; 64:8.

 

This designation did not intimate that individual Israelites were regenerated sons of God.

 

The term connotes “National Fatherhood” by reason of parental care for all, just as Jehovah declared Himself to be a husband unto Israel, Jer 31:32.

 

3. The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eternal Fatherhood):

 

The phrase “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” is the full title of the First Person of the Trinity. It is used five times by Paul, Rom 15:6; 2 Cor 1:3; Eph 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3 and in 2 Cor 11:31 with no “our” and just “the”.

 

Even though God the Father is also the Father of all who believe, for all eternity to come He must first be recognized by the distinction, “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

 

The relation of the Second Person to the First Person of the Trinity has been from all eternity that of a Son, which is not only eternal but unchangeable too.

 

He did not become a Son of the Father, as some say, by His incarnation or by His resurrection, nor is He a Son by mere title, nor is He temporarily assuming such a relationship that He may execute His part in the Plan of Redemption.

 

The Son, being God himself, is eternally on an absolute equality with the Father. On the other hand, the First Person became the God of the humanity of the Second Person as a result of the incarnation.

 

The First Person is never the God of the Second Person in deity, but is His Father in a peculiar sense which belongs more to other spheres of existence than it does to this earthly one.

 

Only from Jesus’ humanity could Christ address the First Person as “My God.” He did this in the moment of the supreme manifestation of His humanity, when on the cross He said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”, Mat 27:46. And again, after His resurrection, He said, “I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God”, John 20:17.

 

The thought of inferiority or succession is not to be included in the Divine Father and Son relationship. That is held for the understanding of His self willed humility in terms of manifestation in his humanity.

 

Jesus may appear inferior from wrong applications of certain scriptures. But the unique, eternal affiliation between the First and Second Persons of the Godhead is best revealed to the human mind by the pattern of the appellations used for an earthly father and his son.

 

Therefore, whenever Christ addressed the First Person as “God”, it is clearly indicated that He spoke from His humanity, Mat 27:46; Heb 10:7 (Psa 40:7-8).

 

Many false doctrines persist regarding Jesus’ sonship which must be rejected including:

a) That Christ became a Son by His incarnation, Luke 1:35.

b) That He became one by the resurrection, Rom 1:4.

c) That He is one only by virtue of office.

d) That He is one only by title.

 

Taking just one of the above scriptures out of context has led to these misunderstandings and false doctrines. Comparing scripture with scripture tells us that Jesus was the Son of God by His incarnation and His resurrection. So which is it?  It is neither. He has always been the Son of God and His sonship is made manifest by His incarnation and resurrection, the two cornerstones signifying His humanity.

 

Jesus asserted the principle of His sonship from eternity past in John 17:5, 24. As does Paul in Col 1:15-16.

 

Jesus was the Son whom God sent into the world, whom He “gave”, Isa 9:6; John 3:16.

 

The Nicene Creed states: “The only begotten Son of God, begotten of His 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.”

 

The Athanasian Creed states: “The Son is from the Father alone; neither made, nor created, but begotten . . . generated from eternity from the substance of the Father.”

 

The terms Father and Son, as applied to the First and Second Persons in the Godhead, are somewhat anthropomorphic in character. That sublime and eternal relationship which existed between these two Persons is best expressed to human understanding in the terms of father and son, but wholly without implication that the two Persons, on the divine side, are not equal in every way.

 

4. Fatherhood over all who Believe (Relational Fatherhood):

 

Under this the fourth aspect of the divine Fatherhood, a most intimate relationship and abiding reality is in view.

 

Even though generation and regeneration are closely related there is a subtle difference. The generation is the begetting of life which is the starting point of physical existence, while regeneration is the begetting of life which is the starting point of spiritual existence.

 

Jesus distinguished the difference between the two when evangelizing the Pharisee Nicodemus in John 3:1-7.

 

Peter reiterated the significance of regeneration compared to generation in 1 Peter 1:3, 23-25a.

 

1 Peter 1:23, “For you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass.   The grass withers, And the flower falls off, 25But the word of the Lord endures forever.””

 

Paul signified the difference of the regenerated spiritual life in 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 6:15.

 

2 Cor 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

 

1. The authority of God’s Word testifies that men in their natural estate of generation are spiritually dead until born again (regeneration).

2. Being born again gives the impartation of the Divine nature to the believer.

          3. Men are either perfectly lost, being unregenerate, or perfectly saved, being regenerate as to their relation to God.

          4. Regeneration is one of the 40 things God provides the believer at the moment of salvation.

          5. Being regenerated is made possible by God the Holy Spirit and results in legitimate Fatherhood on the part of God, and legitimate sonship on the part of the one who believes.

6. This sonship, though it brings the believer into the position of an heir of God and a joint-heir with Christ, is not the same as the Sonship of Christ which is from all eternity.

a. Christ never used the phrase “our Father”, other than when instructing believes how to pray in Mat 6.9.

b. He spoke of “my Father, and your Father; my God, and your God.”

c. However Paul spoke of “our Father”, in most of his opening or closing salutations and other places as well, Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:3; 2 Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; 4:20; Col 1:2; 1 Thes 1:1; 3:11, 13; 2 Thes 2:16; Phile 1:3.

 

          7. Regeneration is God’s own plan by which the lost may enter into that relation to Himself which is infinitely near and real.

          8. Each individual who is born of God has become a son of God in the most vital and immutable meaning of sonship and has been received into the household and family of God, Mat 5:9; Luke 20:36; John 14:2; Rom 8:14-19; Gal 3:26.

 

Gal 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”

 

          9. The regenerate one may say as Christ did in Mark 14:36, “Abba Father”, a term of filial (fili-el) relation, Rom 8:14-17; Gal 4:6-7.

 

Rom 8:14, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

 

D. The Characteristics of God the Father:

          1. He is the first person in mode of operation. The First Cause, the Original, the Source, the Beginning, the Commencement, the Fountain-head of all wisdom, the Absolute.

          2. The Foundation of our Redemption, John 3:16.

          3. The Covenant Maker and Keeper, and the Covenant Promiser, Gen 6:18.

          4. The Architect, Designer, and Controller.

          5. The Provider and Sustainer, Job 24:23, Psa 35:5; 145:14; Gal 3:5.

          6. The Light, Unapproachable Light, Life and Love, Rom 4:17, 6:23; 1 Tim 6:16, 1 John 4:8, 16.

          7. Glory, Majesty, Holiness and Fire, Heb 12:29.

          8. Perfect, Mat 5:48, Invisible, Spiritual, and Eternally the Father.

          9. The Begetter, John 3:16.

 

E. The Functionality of God the Father in the Trinity related to Mankind:

 

1. God the Father Created the Universe, Ex 20:11; Psa 102:25, “Of old You founded the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.”

a. Jesus Christ’s part in creation is stated in Col 1:16, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible”

b. God the Holy Spirit’s part in creation is stated in Gen 1:2, “The Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters’, and, Job 26:13, “By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens’

 

All of this is combined in the one sublime statement in Gen 1:1, “In the beginning God [Elohim] created the heaven and the earth”. The separate, yet complete, act of creation on the part of each Person is gathered up in the assertion that Elohim, which name declares the mystery of plurality in unity and unity in plurality, achieved the undertaking.

 

2. Similarly God the Father created Man, Gen 1:26; 2:7; Eccl 12:1; Isa 54:5.

 

Gen 1:26, “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness”

 

Also in Gen 2:7 Jehovah Elohim is said to have, “formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

 

a. Christ’s role in creation of man is declared in Col 1:16, “by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible”

b. God the Holy Spirit’s role is declared in Job 33:4, “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life”.

 

3. God the Father gives and preserves life in man, both body and soul, Mat 6:25-34, likewise He cares for His creation and their needs (Divine Providence), cf Psa 8:6-8

 

a. The Father provides our Logistical Grace blessings, Rom 8:32.

 

4. God the Father is the planner or designer of salvation for all of mankind. Isa 14:27; John 4:34; 5:17; 12:44; 1 Cor 8:6; Eph 3:11

                   a. God the Son executed salvation on the Cross, John 4:34; 5:17; Rom 5:8; Heb 10:7; 1 Pet 2:24; 3:18.

          b. God the Holy Spirit reveals the message of salvation. Under the doctrine of common grace, He makes the gospel perspicuous, John 16:8‑11.

 

5. God the Father has elected the believer from eternity past, Mat 15:13, 2 Thes 2:13.

 

Mat 15:13, “But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted.””

 

          6. The believer is Called to salvation, Justified and Glorified by God the Father, Rom 8:28-30; 9:22-26; 1 Cor 1:9; Gal 1:15-16; 1 Peter 1:15; 5:10

 

7. The believer is sanctified by God the Father, 1 Cor 1:2; Heb 2:11 and Jude 1:1 (KJV). Jude 1:1 (KJV) “To them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called.”

a. Of Christ it is said in Heb 2:11, “For both He who sanctifies (Jesus Christ) and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.”

b. The Holy Spirit’s sanctification in relation to believer is noted in Rom 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11. 1 Cor 6:11, “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

 

          8. God the Father indwells all Church Age believers as part of the Mystery Doctrine for the Church Age, John 14:23; Eph 4:6; 2 John 9. His abiding establishes our eternal relationship with Him.

                   a. God the Son indwells us according to John 14:20; 17:22-23; Rom 8:10; 2 Cor 13:5; Gal 2:20; Col 1:27; 1 John 2:24. We are the temple for the dwelling of the Shekinah Glory.

                   b. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is found in Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 3:16, 6:19-20; 2 Cor 6:16. He indwells us to empower us to execute the spiritual life and adorn the Temple of Christ.

 

9. The Father is fully responsible for our prayers.

                   a. The Father hears (receives) our prayers. We pray to the Father. Mat 6:6-9; 7:11; Luke 11:2, 13; John 15:16; 16:23; 1 John 1:7-9. We approach the throne of Grace, Heb 4:16

b. He answers our prayers, Mat 18:19; Luke 11:13; John 15:16; 16:23; 1 John 5:14-15. Mat 18:19, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.”

c. He forgives us of our sins when we confess them to Him, Mat 6:14 cf 1 John 1:9. Mat 6:14, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

d. The Son is our Intercessory/Advocate in prayer, Rom 8:34; 1 John 2:1.

e. The Holy Spirit helps us (intercedes for us) in prayer, Rom 8:26.

 

10. God the Father disciplines and judges, Mat 18:35; Heb 12:4-11, (Prov 3:11-12; Psa 119:75); Deut 8:5; 2 Sam 7:14.

 

Mat 18:35, “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”

          a. Jesus Christ is said to discipline the reversionistic believer in 1 Cor 11:32; Rev 3:19.

          b. The Holy Spirit brings judgment, Judges 3:10.

 

          11. God the Father provides divine power for the function of His Plan for your life. The omnipotence of God the Father is related to our Portfolio of Invisible Assets. He is also the designer of God’s Power System that is available to every believer.

 

Your Portfolio of Invisible Assets includes:

 

Primary Assets consist of:

          Baptism of the Holy Spirit

          Pre-designed Protocol Plan of God (P3G)

          Equal Privilege and Equal Opportunity

          Unique Royal Commissions

          Unique Mystery Doctrine of the Church Age

          Indwelling of the Trinity

          100% Availability of Divine Power.

 

Secondary Assets:

          Positive volition toward Bible Doctrine

          Production Assets = Residence in the P3G (Fruit of the Spirit)

          Suffering for Blessing

          Invisible impact blessings

                   a. Personal impact – blessing by association

                   b. Historical impact - national blessing (Pivot)

                   c. International impact - association with Client Nation to God

 

Personal Asset:

          Operating in your Spiritual Gift

 

Unique Asset:

          Indwelling of the Trinity

 

                   a. The omnipotence of God the Son is related to the preservation of the universe as well as the perpetuation of human history.

          b. The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit is related to residence, function, and momentum inside God’s Power System.

         

12. The greatest power the Father has given to us is His Word, Bible Doctrine, John 15:15; 17:14, 17 cf. Heb 4:12.

          a. The Bible is said to be the Mind of Christ, 1 Cor 2:16; 2 Peter 3:18.

          b. The Bible was inspired by God the Holy Spirit 2 Sam 23:2; Acts 28:25; 2 Tim 3:16, and is revealed / taught to man by the Spirit, John 16:13; 1 Cor 12:8; Eph 6:17; 2 Peter 1:20-21.

 

2 Sam 23:2, “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.”

 

2 Tim 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

 

“Inspired by God” is the Greek word THEOPNEUSTOS which comes from THEOS that means God and PNEUMA that means breath or spirit. Literally it is “God-breathed”, (i.e. inspired by God.) PNEUMA is used in the New Testament for the Holy Spirit, therefore it is the Holy Spirit who has inspired the writers of the New Testament to write the Word of God. This is called “Verbal Plenary Inspiration of the Scripture.”

 

13. The Believer is kept safe by God the Father, which also speaks of our eternal security. Christ declared of the Father in John 10:29 that, “No man is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” 

a. The same thing is promised by the Son Himself, John 10:28, and in Rom 8:34 we see the fourfold nature of Christ’s safekeeping, Rom 8:34, “Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.”

b. Nothing is more assuring than Eph 4:30 that tells the believer he is “sealed (by the Spirit) unto the day of redemption.”

 

14. The Pastor’s authority is given by God the Father. 2 Cor 3:5-6

a. The Pastor’s authority is of the Son, as Paul testified in 1 Tim 1:12, “He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry.”

b. The Pastor’s authority is of the Holy Spirit, as Paul instructed the elders of the Church in Ephesus, Acts 20:28, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.”

         

          15. All positions of human authority have been established by the Father, Rom 13:1-4.

 

16. God the Father will resurrect all of mankind. It is recorded of both the Father and the Son in, John 5:21 “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.”

a. Of the Third Person it is stated in Rom 8:11, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

 

F. God the Father’s role in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.

 

John 3:16, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”

 

John 5:26, “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself.

 

1. Three Persons are present in the incarnation of Jesus Christ:

a. The Spirit generates the Son, Mat 1:18-20,

b. But in such a manner that the Son ever addresses the First Person as Father, Mat 4:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:23, 38; John 3:35.

c. The Son always did the will of the Father, Mat 26:39; Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42; John 6:38

d. To accomplish this, the Spirit was given to the Son without measure, Mat 3:16; 4:1; Mark 1:10, 12; Luke 4:1; John 3:34.

 

2. God the Father was involved in the death of Jesus Christ upon the Cross as prophesized in Psa 22:15.

 

Psa 22:15, “And You lay me in the dust of death.”

 

a. Likewise Jesus gave up His own life, Luke 23:46; John 10:11-18, Phil 2:8.

 

John 10:18, “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

 

b. Of the Spirit’s part in Christ’s death it states in Heb 9:14, “Christ . . . through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God.”

 

3. The Father resurrected Jesus Christ (returning His spirit from heaven), Eph 1:20; Col 2:12; 1 Thes 1:10; 1 Pet 1:21; Heb 13:20

 

          a. The Spirit returned His soul from Hades/Sheol, Acts 2:24; Rom 1:4, 8:11; 1 Peter 3:18.

b. The Son raised His body, John 2:19; 10:17-18.

         

4. God the Father will place all authority in subjection to our Lord Jesus Christ, (Operation Footstool), 1 Cor 15:25-28; Eph 1:22, Heb 2:8.

 

“Marvelous, indeed, are the works of God and of surpassing import is the fact that these works are, in each case, said to be wholly wrought by each of the Trinity separately, not in partnership or mutual cooperation, and sufficiently in each instance to make it appear to be unnecessary for the work to be undertaken by Another! Thus unity and plurality are demonstrated as existing in the Godhead on a plane of relationship above and beyond the range of human experience.” (L.S. Chafer, Chafer Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, Chapter 18.)

 

V. The Worship of God the Father inside the Trinity.

 

All created intelligences are appointed to render worship to God, and their worship, such as it is, comprehends the triune Godhead.

 

1. He is worshiped by Angels. The angels ascribe worship to three Persons when they say in Isa 6:3, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts”, and the “living creatures” are saying in Rev 4:8, “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.”

 

2. God is worshiped by Saints. All prayer and worship is now directed, by divine instruction, to God the Father, in the name of the Son, and in the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, John 16:23-24; Eph 6:18.

 

3. The Benedictions gives praise to the Trinity. In Num 6:24-26, the blessing implored by the high priest upon the people is recorded as;

 

Num 6:24, “The LORD (YEHOVAH) bless you, and keep you;”

Num 6:25, “The LORD (YEHOVAH) make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you;”

Num 6:26, “The LORD (YEHOVAH) lift up His countenance on you, and give you peace.”

 

In 2 Cor 13:14 the most used benediction of the church is recorded, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.”

 

Keep in mind that even though we have some revelation about who and what God is He remains the incomprehensible one that humans cannot totally fathom, both in His essence and ways, Job 36:26; Isa 40:13, 25, 28; cf. Deut 29:29

 

Eph 4:4-6, “TNote:  The change to pitch (12) and font (2) must be converted manually.here is one body and one spirit, just as you have been called with reference to one hope of your calling; one lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, even the Father of all.”Note:  The change to pitch (12) and font (1) must be converted manually. 

 

Verses 4-6 teach that just as there is unity in the trinity, so in principle there is unity in the body of Christ. 

          Verse 4 teaches there is “one Spirit.” 

          Verse 5 teaches there is “one Lord.”

          Verse 6 teaches there is “one God, the Father of all.”

 

 

One inexplicably three,

One in simplest unity