Triune God: The Father Series

The Triune God: The Father

07.23.06

**NOTE: THIS IS A CONCEPT OUTLINE FOR THIS MESSAGE, NOT THE FULL MANUSCRIPT. GRAPHICS AND MULTIMEDIA ARE AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT THIS SERIES.

This morning we continue our series on the Triune God

and we begin by looking at the person of the Father and His relationship with us

I was surprised this week as I was preparing for this message

My first thought was “I’m dealing with the Trinity, gotta make sure I get this right”

I immediately reached for as many large, imposing, theology books as I could find in order to study the person “God the Father”

And I discovered that there are not a lot of writers who go into great depth concerning the first person of the Trinity.

In most of the books, the doctrine of the person of the Father consisted of a couple paragraphs.

I found page upon page concerning Jesus the Son of God, pages that expounded the deep truths of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity… but not much on the Father.

and that led me to begin to question “Who is God the Father within the Trinity, what is His purpose, and how does He interact with me in my regular life?”

Thankfully, the Bible is filled with examples of who God the Father is and how He relates to us.

There are a couple things to remember as we look at God the Father

•He is not simply a division of God (1/3 x 1/3 x 1/3)

•He is not a personality or characteristic added to God

•He is not a different perspective of God

God the Father is fully God

He shares in the characteristics, nature, will, of God

Yet, He relates to us in His own way

I Corinthians 8:5-6

After all, there is only one God.

Many things in heaven and on earth are called gods and lords, but none of them really are gods or lords. We have only one God, and he is the Father. He created everything, and we live for him.

All about relationship

Throughout the Bible we see God the Father interacting with people

We find a relationship that is unique in the world

It’s more than your typical “God/Humanity” relationship

•Where humanity lives in fear of the unknown while an indifferent God-character looks down and blesses one person, smites another, and sends a third on an impossible quest for a grail or a golden fleece.

•Where I, the lowly created, seek to appease the almighty Power whom I cannot know or understand

•Where I, the finite, struggle to comprehend the infinite

•It is a relationship of love

•A relationship of friendship

•We find a God who says, “I want to be a Father to you and I want you to be part of my family”

God the Father wants to have a relationship with us

The Bible shows us a God who, as a Father, is very compassionate

Always concerned for the well-being of humanity

Desires to be a part of people’s lives on a regular basis

This week I’ve read a lot of books and spent a lot of time studying people’s thoughts and opinions and insight into who the person of God the Father is…

Some said He is the Creator, and that His role and purpose is to be the Father of everything from before Creation – and that is true

Some said He is the Planner, and that His role was to put in motion the plan for humanity’s redemption – also true

One writer stated, “It is the Father who directs, the Son who acts and the Spirit that empowers” and that is true as well

But as I studied Scripture, I began to realize that God the Father is exactly that: a Father. And His purpose is to provide us with a place within God’s family, within His community.

Ephesians 1:3-6

How blessed is God! And what a blessing He is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in Him. Long before He laid down earth’s foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ.

In Scripture, we see the Ultimate Father. Everything a Father could be, He is, because our concept of fatherhood is based on Him. He is a Father of love, His nature is love, His acts are love.

From before the world began He loved us.

He knew us.

He knew everything that we would do.

He knew how far we would fall.

He knew what it would cost Him to restore our relationship.

He knew that – and because of love – He was willing to give up the Son so that you and I could have new lives centered in God.