God the Father

Why we Believe what we Believe

(The Baptist Faith and Message)

(Message 3)

Introduction: On December 7, 1995, after a six year voyage of 387 million miles, the spacecraft Galileo arrived at the planet Jupiter. A spacecraft would have to travel almost 10 times this distance to reach the planet Pluto, on the outside perimeter of the solar system. Yet, our solar system is only a tiny part of our galaxy, the Milky Way, which contains about 100 billion stars.

The noted astronomer Edwin Hubble calculated that there are almost as many galaxies outside the Milky Way as there are stars in it. In light of the mind-boggling immensity of “the heavens and the earth,” you can appreciate the difficulty of trying to describe God, the Creator of it all in a 30- minute sermon. [Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.] Yet, the Bible repeatedly uses a single word that sums up one of the most important things we can know about God—the word Father. During this lesson on the Baptist Faith and Message we are going to look at “God the Father.” Notice with me…

1. The Father Is One God

1Co 8:6 yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we unto him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we through him.

A missionary who served in West Africa said, “It isn’t difficult to persuade people in an animistic culture to accept the God of the Bible. They have hordes of gods, and there’s always room for one more. They spend their lives trying to appease all of them, ever fearful of omitting some jealous, vengeful deity. What a wonderful discovery it is when they embrace the biblical truth, ‘Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we for Him’” (1 Cor. 8:6).

2. The Father Is Merciful

2Co 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort;

As three-year-old Kim lay pale and feverish on her hospital bed through the long hours of the night, Jan, her mother, had a moving encounter with God. The next morning, as she shared with her Sunday School teacher the good news that Kim was on her way to recovery, she said: “When we studied the lesson about the nature of God a few Sundays ago, I was skeptical. As a child, I learned to think of God as a divine policeman, always ready to punish me if I wasn’t good. I have never been able to think of Him as a loving Heavenly Father. But last night, unable to sleep, I spent the whole night praying. And I knew the Father was in this room, comforting me, loving me.” Jan had discovered that wonderful truth expressed by Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:3. Even when the Father acts in judgment, He never ceases to love His children.

3. The Father Is Accessible to all His Children

Gal 4:6 And because ye are sons, God sent forth the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

A good father is available to his children. Paul’s words to the Galatians remind us that the Heavenly Father is always within reach of His children. Abba was not a technical, theological term; it was the intimate, affectionate term used by children when addressing their daddies. When President Jimmy Carter was in office, Amy Carter became well known to the American public as the nine-year-old who could dash into the Oval Office to see her daddy, though many an important dignitary failed to win an audience with the President. God the Father is just that accessible to His children.

4. The Father Wants Children Who Follow After Him

Mat 5:44 but I say unto you, Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;

Mat 5:45 that ye may be sons of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust.

Mat 5:48 Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

In Matthew 5:48 Jesus is talking about that divine quality that many of us learned about in childhood: “God is love.” He does not ask us to simulate the Father’s power, sovereignty, moral perfection, or perfect wisdom. Rather, He asks us to relate to others in love, just as the Father loves the world (John 3:16). Love your enemies. Why? Because the Father, in His loving-kindness, sends sunshine and rain to bless even those who are hostile toward Him; and He wants his children to be like their Father.

Conclusion: “Honor your father and your mother” (Ex. 20:12) relates to children and their earthly parents. But perhaps that also would be an appropriate guide to our daily conduct as children of the Heavenly Father.