THE BAPTIST FAITH AND MESSAGE, Article Three

God the Father

“God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all-powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.”

Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7. (Baptist Faith and Message, 2000)

One of the first words to escape the lips of a little child is, “da da.” Instinctively the helpless infant looks into the face of the father and utters a plea, encapsulated in these two syllables a longing for protection, provision and love. So, the children of God, born into His family by faith in Christ, cry, “Abba, Father.” (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6)

Our Heavenly Father reigns over all things. He spawned the created order by the sheer power of His spoken command. He cares for His creation and all that dwell upon this planet. God the Father presides over the course of creation and is channeling all things to the consummation of His will and glory. In the sense of being created beings, made in the image of God, all humanity can be considered His offspring. This gives dignity and establishes the sanctity of human life.

Yet, in a superlative sense, He calls those whom He elects into a personal relationship with Him through regeneration. Only those who have had a new birth—a spiritual second birth—can fully and truly call God their Heavenly Father. In fact, Jesus said of those who rejected Him that they were of their father, the devil! (John 8:44).

Unlike human fathers, our Heavenly Father has limitless resources to supply our every need. He has limitless knowledge to know our every need. He has limitless love so that He desires to supply our every need. There are times, as a frail father of flesh, when I may desire to do something for my children but do not have the means to accomplish my will. Other times I may not know what is best in a particular circumstance for my children and so, even of I had the ability to do something for them, it might work for their ruin rather than their welfare. A less frequent problem, yet still a struggle, is that I can be self-centered, self-absorbed and look to care for myself first and not my children. In short, I try to be a good father, yet I know I am not a perfect father.

But this is not true of our Father in Heaven! God the Father is the perfect Parent. Do you know Him in this personal, most intimate relationship?

Have you spoken to your Father today? He’s waiting to hear from you.