"Our Father in Heaven": Heidelberg Catechism Lord's Day 46
Notes
Transcript
120. Q. Why has Christ commanded us to address God as our Father?
120. Q. Why has Christ commanded us to address God as our Father?
To awaken in us at the very beginning of our prayer that childlike reverence and trust toward God which should be basic to our prayer: God has become our Father through Christ and will much less deny us what we ask of him in faith than our fathers would refuse us earthly things.
Bakit inutusan tayo ni Kristo na tawagin ang Diyos na ating Ama?
Bakit inutusan tayo ni Kristo na tawagin ang Diyos na ating Ama?
Upang pukawin sa atin sa simula pa lamang ng ating panalangin ang paggalang at pagtitiwala sa Diyos na tulad ng sa isang bata na siyang nararapat na maging saligan ng ating pananalangin: Ang Diyos ay naging ating Ama sa pamamagitan ni Kristo at lalong hindi Niya ipagkakait sa atin ang hihilingin natin sa Kanya sa pananampalataya na kung paanong hindi rin ipinagkakait sa atin ng ating mga ama sa laman ang mga bagay sa mundong ito.
Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
Luke 11:11–13 (ESV)
What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
Kevin DeYoung: “We ought to interpret our experiences through God’s revelation and not the other way around. So instead of running from the Fatherhood of God because we had a bad father, we ought to let God define true Fatherhood for us and grieve that our fathers fell so far from the divine example. For those who hate their father, learning to love our heavenly Father can bring necessary healing and forgiveness.”
The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism Question 120. Why Hath Christ Commanded Us to Address God Thus, “Our Father?”
Obj. It belongs to a father to withhold nothing from his children. But God withholds many things from us. Therefore he is not our Father. Ans. It belongs to a father to grant his children everything necessary and proper for them; and to withhold from them whatever is unnecessary, useless and hurtful. It is in this way that God deals with us, giving us all good things, temporal and spiritual, which are necessary and profitable, and contribute to our salvation.
121. Q. Why is there added, in heaven?
121. Q. Why is there added, in heaven?
These words teach us not to think of God’s heavenly majesty in an earthly manner, and to expect from his almighty power all things we need for body and soul.
Bakit idinagdag ang, na nasa langit?
Bakit idinagdag ang, na nasa langit?
Ang mga katagang ito ay nagtuturo sa atin na hindi natin dapat pag-isipan ang makalangit na karingalan ng Diyos sa makamundong pamaraan, at asahan mula sa Kanyang makapangyarihang lakas ang lahat ng ating kinakailangan para sa katawan at kaluluwa.
Jeremiah 23:23–24 (ESV)
Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.
Ursinus: Christ commands us to address God as our Father who art in heaven...
That he might show what a contrast and difference there is between earthly parents and his Father.
That he might excite in us a confidence that God hears us.
That he might excite in us reverence.
That we may call upon him in fervency of spirit.
That the minds of all those who worship him may be elevated and fixed upon heavenly things.
That we may be led to desire heavenly things.
That we may not fall into the error of the heathen, who imagine that God can be adored and worshipped in creatures.
That we might be admonished not to direct our prayers to any particular place, as under the Old Testament.
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Kevin DeYoung: “We are not bowing before a tyrannical despot or distant deity. We are praying to our Father. He’s bigger, better, and stronger than any earthly father. He loves us more fiercely, understands us more deeply, and delights in us more fully.”
Question 26. What do you believe when you say: “I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth”?
Question 26. What do you believe when you say: “I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth”?
That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and all that is in them, and who still upholds and governs them by his eternal counsel and providence, is, for the sake of Christ his Son, my God and my Father.
In him I trust so completely as to have no doubt that he will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul, and will also turn to my good whatever adversity he sends me in this life of sorrow. He is able to do so as almighty God, and willing also as a faithful Father.