Playlist:

playlist Go to the God the Father (topic) playlist

Filter by Categories

God the Father in the Old Testament

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God the Father is central to all true religion, as He is the beginning and the sum of all things. He is everything concerning what we are, what we are doing, and where we are heading. All true belief systems must start with Him, for without Him, we are nothing and can do nothing. He is revealed as YHWH, the only deity Israel knew, the One who made a covenant with them and revealed Himself to Moses on the mount. He is the singular Being they understood, though also identified as Elohim, a plural noun indicating more than one Being, understood as the Family of God. The Father, alongside the Son, forms the two eternal divine Beings of Elohim, revealing Themselves to humanity as a family structure of Father and Son, always existing side by side in perfect harmony. They act, think, and speak with unity of purpose, being of one mind. He is unique, with no one else like Him, the only true God, and united in purpose with the Son. This unity and uniqueness make Him alone worthy of worship, demanding unwavering devotion and obedience from us, as He condescended to reveal Himself and choose us out of this world. In the Old Testament, hints of the Father's existence appear from the very first verse in Genesis, where Elohim, a plural term, suggests a group, and the phrase "Let Us make man in Our image" indicates a joint decision by the Father and the Son. Though not always known to ancient Israel, the Father was deeply involved in monumental acts like the creation of man, the expulsion from the Garden, and the scattering at Babel, working in perfect harmony with the Son to move His plan for humanity forward. His sovereignty is evident in these interventions, setting the course of history toward fulfilling His purpose of creating God-like sons and daughters. Further revelations in Psalms and other Old Testament passages, viewed through a New Testament lens, show the Father as the One who calls the Son "My Son" and "My King," indicating His senior position. He is the Ancient of Days in Daniel, a term suggesting eternity, paralleling the meaning of YHWH as the ever-living One, a description applying to both Father and Son. The Father is greater, as acknowledged by the Son, and is portrayed as the loving, Almighty Father on His throne in heaven, receiving praise and glory, pouring out His love, and working tirelessly with the Son to bring us into His everlasting Kingdom.

God the Father (Part 1)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

God the Father, though largely unknown to the world, is deeply involved in His plan to bring many sons to glory through Jesus Christ. He sent Jesus to reveal Himself to us, offering a precious gift of knowledge and hope. His personal involvement was crucial in Christ's sacrifice and resurrection, and He remains actively engaged in the lives of His children, personally regenerating His saints. He, along with Jesus Christ, promises to keep and preserve us with Their power. Despite the world's ignorance of Him, a time will come when the knowledge of the LORD God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The only way to truly know God the Father is through His revelation in Jesus Christ and the implantation of the Holy Spirit. Jesus came in human flesh to fully declare the Father to His called and chosen people, while God has purposely hidden His identity from the world and revealed it to His church. The tenderness of the relationship, described as Our Father in heaven and the God and Father of the Lord Jesus, embodies a wealth of love and grace, central to Christ's message. Fatherhood reflects the essence of the Godhead, with love as its main attribute, making God the Father the epitome of love. God the Father and Jesus Christ form the Godhead, two distinct Beings in total agreement and of one purpose, as revealed in scriptures like Psalm 110 and John 1:1. Before anything else existed, God and the Word coexisted, both composed of spirit, working in harmony as creators. God the Father created all things through Jesus Christ, authorizing the works of creation carried out by the Word. He is the ultimate source of biblical truth, directing Christ, who carries out His will without hesitation, united in mind and purpose. God the Father qualifies us for the Kingdom of God, working alongside Jesus Christ, as we remain obedient to Their unified voice. He is the creator and sustainer of the universe, revealing Himself through the natural world and through His Son, though this revelation is largely ignored by the world. His existence and nature are affirmed in the Bible, which declares that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Creation itself points to a universal mind with a master plan, making more sense to accept God as Creator than to assume an orderly universe arose without Him. Although the human mind cannot fully comprehend God due to its limitations, we can still know Him through a personal relationship of faith and study of the Bible's teachings about His nature. His attributes, revealed in Scripture, include being Spirit, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, immutable, and unchangeable, as well as perfect, just, true, wise, loving, merciful, graceful, holy, and righteous. As Spirit, He has no physical form yet possesses form and shape, reflected in humanity made in His image. His immutability ensures His character, will, purpose, and counsel remain unchanging, providing a foundation for our hope and confidence in Him. God the Father's laws and truth are constant, unchanging from eternity, establishing sins like adultery and murder as wrong across time. His fatherly grace does not avert judgment on the unrepentant, as He remains the moral Ruler and supreme Judge of creation. Through Jesus Christ, He offers salvation and eternal life to His potential children, embodying fatherhood as original, selfless love that anticipates, forgives, educates, and communicates sincerely. We are encouraged to pray to Him for all good things, seeking to attain His ideal of perfection.

God the Father (Part 2)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. God the Father works in perfect loving unison with His Son, sending the pre-existent Word, who became Jesus Christ, to earth to do His will and to save the world. The Father sent His Son, and He speaks the words of God, sustained by the will of the One who sent Him. The Father is the One to whom Christ returned, where both now sit in glory and majesty. God the Father testified in advance of His Son's awesome future role, calling Him God and affirming Him as a member of the God Family. The Father's love for Jesus reaches its achievement in the awe-inspiring act of His resurrection, commanding Him and giving Him authority to lay down His life and take it up again. Only the Father could restore Jesus' existence, acting in accordance with a divine plan motivated by love for each other and for humanity. Jesus always directed focus to the Father, teaching us to pray to Our Father in heaven, hallowing His name, and seeking His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. The Father is the preeminent term for the Supreme Being in Jesus' teaching, expressing His essential nature and relationship to human beings as a father to his children, yet in an infinitely higher and more perfect degree. The heavenly Father is perfect and good, contrasting with human imperfection, and He desires to shower blessings while exercising self-control to avoid spoiling His children. The Father has a constant flow of loving concern, actively working out His plan of salvation for each individual, with all things lying in His power as the pinnacle of self-governance. Jesus and the Father are always working together, coordinating Their efforts for the good of all, with Jesus under great duress still desiring the Father's will to reign over His own. The Father is the standard of goodness, determining it, and providing safety, peace, and sustenance to all beings who turn to Him. Jesus encourages us to ask the Father for things according to His will, assuring us of receiving what is good, as the Father is free from imperfection and ready to help for our ultimate good. His goodness shines on all, even the unjust and His enemies, revealing His perfection through Christ's teachings as the ideal to which we should seek to attain. Jesus knows the Father as no one else does, in a unique and intimate relationship central to His teachings, reflecting truth, purity, holiness, and perfection. From His first realization to His last moment, Jesus' mind is on the Father's will, power, and glory, with the Father bearing witness to His perfect sonship, declaring Him as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. The Father loves the Son, entrusting Him with His message and power, giving all things into His hand, and ensuring no doubt of Jesus' importance in the process of redemption and salvation. Jesus is the exclusive agent of true understanding of the Father, revealing Him with authority, and reflecting the Father's glory as an exact image, so that seeing Jesus is seeing the Father. Through Christ, we may know God as our Father, developing a personal, intimate relationship with Him, who remains unseen but all-seeing and benevolent. Our conduct should be determined by awareness of the Father's presence, striving to do His will, to act, love, and forgive as He does, and to be perfect as He is perfect. The Father loves us as much as He loves Jesus, forming a Family where we are in the Father and the Son, seeking an intimate relationship like Christ's with Him. The Father's fatherhood extends to all humanity as their Creator, with everyone born as a potential heir of His kingdom, receiving His love and care even if they become His enemies, yet only true sons in a moral sense receive His fullest blessings. The Father's love flows unimpeded and unrestricted, not determined by the morality or obedience of others, as He is love itself. The Father speaks through the Son, mediating the system of grace, and is the s

God as Father

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

God is the only perfect example of fatherhood. We need to emulate His virtues, among them being the perfect example of what we want our children to be.

The Father-Son Relationship (Part Four)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus referred to His Father as 'My God,' indicating that They do not share equality, preeminence, or superiority. They are equal in kind, but one is subordinate.

The Unique Greatness of Our God (Part One)

CGG Weekly by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

We have a God who is different from the common. This relates to how we view God in general in our everyday lives—in our everyday relationship with Him.

The Father-Son Relationship (Part Eight)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus Christ and God the Father are one in spirit and purpose, purposing to draw us toward that same kind of unity that currently exists between them.

God Is . . . What?

Booklet by John W. Ritenbaugh

What is God's nature? Is God one Being? Two? Three? Bible students have long searched for the answers to these questions. The truth is both simple and profound.

The Father-Son Relationship (Part Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Christ Himself asserted the superiority of the Father. Jesus serves as the revelator of the great God, providing the only means of access to Him.

The Father-Son Relationship (Part Five)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Although Christ is not the Absolute Deity, He is nevertheless the complement of the Father. He had a pre-existence as the God of the Old Testament.

The Father-Son Relationship (Part One)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The Father is the source of everything and the Son is the channel through which He carries out His purpose. Jesus declared that the Father is superior to Him.

Christ's Revelation of the Father

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

John 1:1-3 reveals Jesus' pedigree as the Logos (Spokesman), whose function was to declare or reveal the Father. He had existed with His Father from eternity.

The Ultimate Father's Day

Article by Staff

Father's Day is a time we honor our human fathers, but a time is coming when our ultimate Father in heaven will be honored for eternity.

The Father-Son Relationship (Part Three)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The Father and Son are separate; the Father is the source of all power, while the Son serves as the channel through which we interface with the Father.

The Nature of God: Elohim

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Understanding Elohim teaches us about the nature of God and where our lives are headed. Elohim refers to a plural family unit in the process of expanding.

Focus on the Father

Article by Staff

Instead of some grandiose title, God asks us to call Him simply "Father." We have human fathers, church fathers and since our calling, a spiritual Father.

Jesus Is God

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus Christ is the Word, by whom the world was created. He has always interfaced between mankind and the Father, having primacy as our Lord, Master, and Ruler.

Image and Likeness of God (Part Two)

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Jesus did not take on a different shape or form when He was transfigured. Taking on the image of the heavenly does not vaporize one into shapeless essence.

Our Father

Feast of Tabernacles Sermon by John O. Reid

Emotional and spiritual well-being of children improves when fathers fulfill their role. People from dysfunctional families have a skewed image of God.

God's Pattern of the Family

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

The family structure, with assigned orders of responsibility (not orders of importance implying superiority or inferiority), is paramount to God's plan.

Parenting (Part 2): Fathers

Sermon by Richard T. Ritenbaugh

Patriarchy is family organization with the father having ultimate authority. The husband's role, grounded in love, must not be abusive or domineering.

Fatherhood and Modern Temptations

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Many fathers abdicate their leadership responsibilities, becoming addicted to workaholism, television, or even pornography. The culture teeters on destruction

How Much Does God Love Us? (Part One)

'Ready Answer' by Pat Higgins

In John 17:23, Jesus states that the Father loves every child of God as He loves Christ! The spiritual ramifications of this love are astounding.

The Sovereignty of God: Part Two

'Personal' from John W. Ritenbaugh

That God is sovereign means that He IS God, the absolute governor of all things. This has profound implications for us: It means He chooses goodness or severity.

The Holy Spirit

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

Theologians, misapplying grammatical gender and personification, falsely deduce a phantom third person, propped up by a spurious insertion (I John 5:7-8).

Malachi's Appeal to Backsliders (Part Two)

Sermon by Martin G. Collins

Malachi assures the people of Judah that if they repent, God's favor will resume, but if they continue defiling the Covenant, a day of reckoning will come.

Jesus Christ: First Savior, Second High Priest, Third King

Sermon by John W. Ritenbaugh

The book of Hebrews teaches that our relationship to Christ as our Savior, High Priest, and King is the key to salvation. He shows us the way to the Father.