PORTRAITS OF GOD: THE FATHER

“A father of the fatherless...is God in His holy habitation.” (Ps.68:5)

Jesus told us to pray, “Our Father in heaven,” which echoes the truth in this Psalm. This is the first and most familiar metaphor of the first person of the Trinity.  It is a portrait of God—a word picture that we cherish.

Good fathers—and the ideal of what they should be—are shadows of which God is the standard. Earthly fathers are imperfect—even the best of us.  The Eternal Father is the only perfect Parent.

He will never abandon us—as some Dads do—thus, the Psalmist reminds us that God is a Father to the fatherless.  God would never abuse us, as some sinful human fathers do to their children. He will correct us for our good, motivated by love,

“‘For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’

Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” (Hebrews‬ ‭12:6, 9‬)

Even good human fathers are limited in what they can do, but not our Heavenly Father.  A father may desire to do something for his child and be without the capacity, yet Father God has infinite power and provision.

I know I love my children, and yet the love of God is supreme—and He loves each of you!  Multiply the love of a good father exponentially and you will be describing the boundless love of God our Father.

You may only truthfully call God your Father if you have been born into His family. That relationship comes through giving your life to Jesus Christ—faith that receives the grace He has to save you.  Can you call God your Father today?

PORTRAITS OF GOD

“A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.” (Psalm 68:5)

A picture is worth a thousand words.  That’s the old saying—and it’s true.  There is something about a visual image that connects with our brain more quickly and clearly than words.  We have employed many words about God during the course of this series, “The God You Should Know.”  We have considered words like omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, for example—all important words—but in the end we have discovered that God is so far beyond our vocabulary.

So, the Holy Spirit has also taken His brush, and on the canvas of Scripture, has painted several portraits of God.  We will examine seven in these studies, though there are many more we might view in the Sacred Text.

The portraits of God we will contemplate are: God as Father (which we see in Psalm 68:5), Defender (also seen in this verse), Savior (found in this same Psalm), Shepherd, Helper, Rock, and Sun.  Other Psalms display the wonder of God in these ways. Join us as we travel through the Art Gallery of God!

GOD THE FATHER: The Leader of His Household

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. ... “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” (Proverbs 3:5-6,11-12)

God has designated me to be the leader of my household.  That’s a father’s job.  Too many men fail in that role.

I assure you, God the Father, never fails.  He leads His dear children along (Prov.3:5-6).  It doesn’t mean the path will always be easy.  It will always be best.  We may not understand the ways God leads us—but we are told not to lean on our own understanding.  What are we to do when we don’t understand with our head?  Trust Him with all our heart!

The Father’s leadership isn’t just in direction, but in discipline (Prov.3:11-12).  He is not a permissive parent.  The man who decides to be his son’s friend rather than his father, allowing him to pursue his own path, may think that he is being loving, but is actually being cruel.  Children need discipline. God the Father sets the pattern. He corrects us with compassion and disciplines us because He delights in us.  Our response determines whether the pain makes us better or bitter.

GOD THE FATHER: The Lover of His Family

“O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:25-26)

Human fathers are not perfect fathers. Some are horrible—they may abandon their children; they may be mean and abusive.  Don’t let that color your view of God the Father, if that was your misfortune.  He is nothing like such wicked men.

A good father is one that loves us—it is heard in his words and seen in his works.  In this, the Heavenly Father is the ultimate.  He’s a good, good Father—the best. God our Father is perfect love.

Jesus speaks in this text of the intimate love relationship He had with His Father and that every believer is invited to experience.

There are two evidences of love I think of when I think of God the Father.

God loves us as OUR PROVIDER.

“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matt.6:26)

If God feeds the fowls of the air, will He not feed His children?  If He clothes the flowers of the field, will He not clothe His children?  We need not worry.  Earthly fathers provide for their family—yet, they may be limited in what they can do.  Not so with God!

God loves us as OUR PROTECTOR.

“And he said: ‘The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; My Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies.’” (2 Sam.22:2-4)

David testifies to God’s protection. He had protected him when lions attacked the flock he shepherded.  God stood by him when he fought the giant Goliath.  When Saul chased him like a hound after a fox, all over the Judean wilderness, the Lord preserved David.  As King, leading his troops into battle after battle God shielded him.  God will take care of you! I know as a father I will do all I can to keep my family safe.  How much more the good and great Father in heaven who is both willing and able to do so!

GOD THE FATHER: The Life-giver of His Children

“You do the deeds of your father.” Then they said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father—God.” Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John‬ ‭8:41-44‬)

Fathers are fathers because they produce children.  God gives spiritual life to all those who are His spiritual children.

There is the mistaken notion that everyone is a child of God.  In the limited sense of God being the Creator, and all humans being made in His image, that is so.  But, specifically, Jesus says here that not all have God as their spiritual father.  He says that the devil was the father of the Pharisees.

By virtue of our first physical birth we are sinners—lost and under the wrath of God.  Our spiritual daddy is the Devil—sinful and hellbound. What we must have is a second spiritual birth that makes us sons of God—saved and heavenbound.  We will abide at home with our father forever. Whose your daddy?

Have you had that new birth?  It comes as we turn from our sins and trust in the Savior. We respond to the gracious activity of God and the drawing of the Spirit.

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

God the Father is the life-giver of His children.

THE GOD YOU SHOULD KNOW: God Our Father

“one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:6)

Most, if not all, of my children’s first words were, “Da-da.”  That was because I worked so hard to teach them to say it.

You may imagine a Hebrew toddler reaching up to his father and saying, “Abba.”  That was a term Jesus used frequently.

When you think of God, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?  We know what it was with Jesus—the word, “Father.”  In the next few devotions this week, we want to examine the first person of the Trinity—God our Father.  We can call Him, “Abba,” too!  What does this mean for God to be our Father?  It is such a precious description of God that conveys His love for us.

Memorize Ephesians 4:6 and meditate on that reality today.

DEAR AND NEAR

 

The LORD is righteous in all His ways,

Gracious in all His works. 

The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,

To all who call upon Him in truth.  (Psalm 145:17-18)

We are dear to God, and, therefore, He is near to us.  As a father hears the cry of his child—responsive to the need—so, our Heavenly Father hears our desperate plea.  If we call out to Him with a sincere heart and pure motive, we may be sure that He comes to our aid.  We may not perceive Him as clearly as we would wish, but He has promised to be present—and He cannot lie!  We cannot always count on human fathers.  At our best, we are still flawed—and we are not always at our best.  We are imperfect and impotent to know what to do and to be able to do what our children need at times.  Mortal men have their limitations.  The nicest father on earth may be powerless to provide, even when he wants to respond in love.   What if my child falls and gets hurt on the school playground, while I am on a business trip halfway around the world?  I might even be in a location where I could not even receive a cell phone call!  Should word reach me, how long might it take for me to reach my son or daughter?  If I got to them, would I be able to help them?  Maybe they had severed their spinal cord or sustained a brain injury that would be fatal—what could I do even if I were there?  Our Father in Heaven has no such limitations.  Because He is infinitely wise, He always knows what needs to be done.  Since He is infinitely holy, He will always do the right thing.  So, the Psalmist declares, “The LORD is righteous in all His ways.”  Being infinitely loving, we can depend on Him to desire to help His child. He is, “Gracious in all His works.”  Being ever attentive, He responds promptly to our sincere cry, “The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.”  He is the LORD, and so all-powerful to deliver us!