One God Series

ONE GOD

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 2/18/2018

If you’re just joining us, we are coming to the end of our seven-week series on the ties that bind us together in Christian unity. As I’ve said every week throughout this series, Jesus passionately prayed that his church—everyone who would ever believe in him—would be one! That’s what Jesus wants for the church. That’s what God and the Holy Spirit want for the church. And, hopefully, that’s what each of us want for the church. But desiring harmony and oneness, and actually achieving it are two different things. Often differences among people can lead to disagreements, division and disharmony.

However, the more points of agreement among members of a group, the more they will be unified, the better they will perform, and the less likely they will be to fight among themselves. That’s why Paul gives us a built-in list of “ones” that can bind believers together in harmony and unity. Let’s read this passage one last time: “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body (the church) and one Spirit (the Holy Spirit), just as you were called to one hope when you were called (the hope of heaven); one Lord (Jesus Christ), one faith (trusting fully in Jesus), one baptism (You’ll recall, the purpose of baptism is the washing away of sin. But baptism also pictures the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. And the true power of baptism is not in the water, but in the Holy Spirit who cleanses us from sin and gives us new life in Christ.); one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:3-6 NIV).

The final tie that binds believers together is God himself; specifically, God the Father. We’ve already talked about Spirit of God and the Son of God. Now, as his final point of commonality, Paul reminds us that there is One God!

In this brief statement, Paul mentions three defining characteristics or attributes of God that I’d like to highlight this morning. First, Paul says that the God who binds us together is an Abba God.

• AN ABBA GOD

Specifically, Paul calls God the “Father of all.” The Bible has many names and descriptors for God. He’s call the everlasting God, a consuming fire, the Almighty, the Most High, the Ancient of Days. But perhaps the most surprising and spellbinding is Father.

Even though God is shown to be the Creator of the Cosmos and the Lord Most high, he also describes Himself as a Father. In fact, Paul elsewhere takes this concept a step further, when he writes, “And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, ‘Abba, Father’” (Galatians 4:6 NLT).

The name “Abba Father” is one of the most significant names of God in understanding how He relates to people. The word Abba is an Aramaic word that would most closely be translated as “Daddy.” It was a common term that young children would use to address their fathers. It signifies the close, intimate relationship of a father to his child, as well as the childlike trust that a young child puts in his “daddy.” The fact that God identifies himself as our Abba Father conveys two wonderful connotations: (1) that God created us and (2) that he cares for us.

People don’t just pop into existence and babies aren’t actually delivered by a stork. Rather, we know that we were created by our parents. But even more than our biological fathers, our heavenly Father had a hand in creating us. David writes, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it” (Psalm 139:13-14 NLT).

Despite what the world tells you or how you may feel from time to time, you are not an accident. You’re not a fluke of nature or a bi-product of irresponsible parents. You were handmade by God Himself. God prescribed every single detail of your body. He deliberately chose your facial features, the color of your skin, your hair, and every other detail. He custom-made you the way He wanted you. Your life is a miracle. You were fashioned and formed by the God of all creation. He’s big enough to breathe out stars, yet intricate enough to fashion together the trillions of cells that make up every facet of who you are.

And God’s Fatherhood doesn’t stop at your creation. He’s not a deadbeat dad or absentee father. In his sermon on Mars Hill, Paul says, “This God is the One who gives life, breath, and everything else to people” (Act 17:25 NCV). In other words, God didn’t just set the world in motion and then leave us to fend for ourselves. He cares for us. He continues to be involved in the affairs of human life. He provides for our needs. He lacks nothing and gives everything!