Last week we established that when we talk about the Father’s heart of God that we will focus on the character of God’s heart. I had several people ask me about the feminine side of God after reading the blog.
The name father is a metaphor we use to describe God. It helps us to understand what character He has. Father is not what God is; He is Spirit. God is Spirit, and we must worship him in Spirit and in Truth – John 4:24. There are a few places Jesus uses a feminine metaphor to describe God’s heart to us.
Jesus compared himself to a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings (Luke 13:34, Matthew 23:37).
In the Parable of the Lost Coin, Jesus compared the searching God to a woman who swept her house looking for a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10).
God is compared to a woman giving birth (Deuteronomy 32:18; Isaiah 42:14), a mother quieting her child on her lap (Psalm 131:2), a woman who can’t forget her baby (Isaiah 49:15), and a mother comforting her Son (Isaiah 66:13).
Clearly, part of the image of God is the mothering role.
God as Father:
God is only mentioned as “Father” in the Old Testament about ten times. However, in the New Testament, Jesus refers to God as Father many more times.
The Prophets refer to God as Father: “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.” – Isaiah 64:8
“But you are our Father, though Abraham does not know us or Israel acknowledge us; you, O LORD, are our Father, our Redeemer from of old is your name.” – Isaiah 63:16
God refers to Himself as their Father: “They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble because I am Israel’s Father, and Ephraim is my firstborn Son.” – Jeremiah 31:9
a. Jesus introduces us to the Father:
“… That you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:45
Teaches us to pray to the Father:
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name….” – Matthew 6:9
b. Reveals the Father’s character to us:
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” – Matt 7:8-10.
c. Introduces us to intimacy with the Father:
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him, we cry, ‘Abba, Father.‘” – Romans 8:15
“Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.'” – Galatians 4:6
d. Teaches us to pray to the Father:
“When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” – Matthew 6:6
Often the New Testament focuses on God as the Father of Jesus Christ, his Son. But in several places, we see God as the Universal Father in the context of a parent and his children:
“I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” – 2 Corinthians 6:18
“For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” -Ephesians 3:14
“We have all had human fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!” – Hebrews 12:9
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” – 1 John 3:1
The New Testament is rich in explaining how we can become children of God, “begotten by God” – John 1:10-13, “born again” – John 3:1-8 through believing in Jesus Christ.
Through Jesus, we are birthed into God’s family as sons and daughters – John 1:12-13, James 1:18.
Next week we will look at the fathers’ character in more detail.
