Core pt1- The Father

Why this series?- I have watched over the last 2 years plus as a lot of people who I love and in many cases trusted, have gone down the rabbit whole of a movement called “deconstruction.” Some have come out the other side of this season of life with their faith stronger and more intact than ever. Others, not so much. So much of how that ends seems to come down to how willing a person is to dive into and understand what is essential, what we would call orthodox, and what is cultural baggage- that creates unbiblical hoops to jump thru in the best of cases, and what creates unorthdoxy, or a false gospel, in the worst cases. As a pastor who teaches the Bible, I know I have a responsibility to address these issues, and honestly, we often speak of these topics, peripherally, in most sermons here at West Metro, but I think there is a real need to speak directly to some of the key, uncompromising points of theology and orthodoxy in this season. So earlier this summer we spent multiple weeks addressing the reliability and purpose of the Bible. Those sermons are still available on YouTube and the notes are available on our sermons page on our website. We have created an additional landing page for this site, and I would commend you a singular resource for this series- Paul Tripp’s book “Do You Believe” which is an excellent primer on the topics we will discuss over the next few weeks. I want to thank Parker for pointing me to this book!

Who is God the Father?- open with Reading John 1:1-18

“The Father is revealed to us as the principle of the Godhead, the one who plans the work of salvation and who sends the Son in order to carry it out. The Son pleads for us in the presence of the Father and the Father forgives us because of the Son’s intercession on our behalf. We are encouraged to pray to the Father and enabled to do so because the Son has united us to him in his death and resurrection”- Gerald Bray

Jesus tells us that He and God are simultaneously the same (John 10:30), and yet while He was on earth, Jesus was doing what the Father told Him to do. (John 6:38-40)

If this sounds convoluted, I get it. The relationship between the three members of the Trinity has always been difficult to explain- how can One God, because Christians are mono-theists, be three different Persons at once?

This mystery is one that no analogy, nor explanation, can fully explain. But we know that it is how things are based on what Jesus said to us while He was here, and based on the whole of scripture.

Jesus tells His disciples to have seen Him is the see the Father (John 14:9) and we know that God the Father told Moses, if Moses looked at Him, he would die (Exodus 33:20) So the best way we understand the Trinity is Jesus is the Father with His glory restrained, the Holy Spirit is God is us, and the Father is God in all His glory enthroned in heaven.

What is He like?

And being the same, they each reveal unique aspects of the character of God. So the question many of us ask is, what is God like?

We have had these visions of God passed down for centuries. And people will grab on to certain aspects, often informed by their experiences with others, but not fully hitting what God is like…because we often confuse our experiences with our earthly fathers with what a Father God would be like.

• God is holy- 1 Samuel 2:2, Revelation 4:8 - this means He is completely without any form of sin- thought, action, inclination- sin is as foreign to Him and as distant from Him as the east is from the west- and as such He balances 2 responses to sin- Grace and Wrath

• God loves His creation- John 3:16 - When we see the creation narratives in Genesis 1and 2 we see that God called His creation good. And when it is marred by sin, no longer good, God still loves it and us, despite the fact that it has been marred. And Jesus reiterates that in John 3- especially God’s love for humanity.

• God hates sin- Proverbs 6:16-19- why does God hate sin so much? Because it is a perversion of His best. He wants the best for us, for creation, and sin inhibits that. Makes it impossible- it is an attempt to thwart what God wants to happen.

• God wants to be known- Jeremiah 31:33-34- God’s desire is not be hidden, or distant, or incomprehensible. The whole story of the Bible is God making Himself known to a people who would in many cases rather ignore Him.

• God will be glorified- Revelation 15:4- no matter what, God will be glorified. He is worthy of glory and worship, and He will receive it one way or another.

What does He do?

• He plans for our redemption- begins in Genesis 3:15- proto-gospel

• He sends the Son- as promised, when the time is right, God sends Jesus into the world- John 1:14- to show the world what God is like and how to know Him- John 1:18

• He resurrects the Son- Romans 6:4- Jesus is resurrected by the power of the Father for the glory of the Father to usher in the age of salvation for us

• He calls us to salvation- His resurrection is our invitation to salvation- He calls us to be saved- John 6:44

• He adopts us as His children- 1 John 3:1-2- We are no longer children of wrath (Eph 2:3) but we are now adopted into the Father’s household

• He gives us good gifts- Luke 11:13 - “When we seek to know God, the Bible is clear that we begin to experience his love (Romans 5:5), hear his voice (John 10:27), and feel his peace (2 Thessalonians 3:16). We can partner in his purposes (1 Peter 2:9), experience his freedom (Romans 6:4), and rest in his presence (Psalm 16:11).”- Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God

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