God the Father
BACKGROUND FOR GOD AS OUR SPIRITUAL FATHER
God the Father
BACKGROUND FOR GOD AS OUR SPIRITUAL FATHER
Again, we stress the overlapping feature of His unfolding plan. Although He is now seen as selective Father, He reveals Himself as being concerned for everyone. This concept for all, even while God is carrying out His selective process through one nation, may be illustrated from three major areas.
The first major area is that of law. Three examples will suffice. The first example falls in the area of legal ethics. The Israelites were not to oppress or mistreat the resident aliens among them (Exodus 22:21; 23:9; Leviticus 19:33). The second example has to do with benevolence. At harvest time they were to leave some grapes on the vines and all that fell to the ground for the poor and the aliens to gather (Leviticus 19:10). The third example shows that God was indeed concerned for all people and that He required reverence from everyone: “. . . the one who blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death . . . There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 24:16, 22).
The second major area in which we see God’s concern for all people is history. Every Bible reader is familiar with the story of Jonah. Even before we could read, most of us had heard about Jonah and the big fish that swallowed him. He lived in a village near Nazareth during the eighth century B.C. At that time, Jeroboam II was king of Israel. Jonah was sent by God to Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, to preach the message of destruction because the people were so wicked. Although he was reluctant to go, he eventually yielded to God’s commission and preached in the city. The implied condition of repentance to escape God’s wrath was sensed by the Ninevites. They repented and prayed to God; therefore, they were spared.
The first area shows how God provided for the welfare of people who were not of God’s chosen nation. They could voluntarily place themselves under the Law, observe its precepts, and receive its benefits. By doing this they were expressing their belief in the God of the Israelites – Yahweh.
The second area shows that God even provided a message of hope to those who were not under the Law as Israelites or as resident aliens. The Assyrians were spared because they believed God and responded to His proclaimed Word (Jonah 3:5, 10). It is easy to forget that a large majority of the earth's population that existed throughout the ages we have been studying were in the same category as the Assyrians. They had to answer to God upon the basis of what they knew. In other words, these large numbers of people were part of the Gentile world spoken of by Paul, as follows: “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus” (Romans 1:14-16; for the larger context read Romans 1:18-2:16, KJV).
God does, indeed, love His human family as universal Father, while at the same time being the selective Father of the Hebrews through whom He performed His wondrous work.
The third major area in which we see God’s concern for all people is prophecy. As God led His chosen people, He began slowly to open their eyes to the future through His Word. He had faithfully kept the promises He had made to His people at the time He chose them. These promises, formalized by covenant, were largely temporal and conditional in nature. Most of them were not designed to be eternal or irrevocable. For example, God chose Abraham to be the “father of the Hebrew nation.” God’s choice was expressed by promise (Genesis 12:1-3). However, conditions were attached; there was a covenant to keep. “God said further to Abraham, ‘Now as for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations’” (Genesis 17:9). Circumcision was the sign of the covenant. Abraham trusted God completely. When Abraham had stood the testing of his faith, God said to him, “In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22:18).
The law of Moses was part of God’s promise/covenant relationship with His people, beginning at Sinai. Even though it was in the form of law, it, too, contained promises. These promises to God’s chosen people were not designed to be eternal or unconditional. For example, one of the commandments carried this earthly promise: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you” (Exodus 20:12). Many examples could be added. For the sake of vividness and clarity, let us refer to the great covenant presentation scenes found in Deuteronomy 26:16-30:20 (KJV). Here we see the full relationship of promise/covenant/law on God’s part and trust/obedience on the part of His people. We also see the utter devastation of those who fail to keep this relationship. Again, this emphasizes the material nature of most of the blessings that accrued to the Israelites.
All of the preceding ideas do not imply that God’s people were totally unaware of life beyond the grave or of blessings God could bestow that would extend into the “afterlife.” Still, it is surprising to find how rarely these concepts were expressed, especially if one does not turn to the words of the prophets.
We find King David praying for his sick child born to Bathsheba. After the child died, David expressed a desire to worship. His attendants were astonished. His explanation to them was, “. . . now he has died; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23). Although this is not an irrefutable example of a belief in life after death, it is assumed to be by many various commentators. However, many interpreters doubt that David expected to join his child in a living state. So, at best, this is an ambiguous example of belief in life after death, especially since no idea of resurrection is expressed.
There are other statements outside the prophetic writings that are often viewed as life after death affirmations. However, most of them are debated among exegetical scholars. One such text is Psalm 16:9-11. Another is Psalm 73:24-26. Also, Job 14:7-14 is considered by many to be evidence of Job’s belief in life after death. This passage, too, is contested among the interpreters.
However, there is clear-cut teaching found in the Old Testament non-prophetic writings asserting afterlife. For example: “God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; for He will receive me” (Psalm 49:15).
As we turn to the prophetic writings, two statements will be emphasized. The first one is: “Your dead will live; their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy. For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, and the earth will give birth to the departed spirits” (Isaiah 26:19).
This verse is in a context that deals with the deliverance of the Jews from Babylonian Captivity and their return to their homeland. For them, this implied a new setting, life, freedom and a fresh relationship with their God in His temple. This wonderful news was presented by analogy of a bodily resurrection. We realize that Isaiah's analogy of resurrection to describe the overall revival of God’s people would be meaningless at best and misunderstood or misleading at worst, if his readers either had no concept of resurrection or did not believe in resurrection. Thus we have here, by analogy, a belief in bodily resurrection so strong that hope may be based upon that faith.
The second reference is: “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever” (Daniel 12:2-3).
This passage emphasizes four major teachings: (1) For many, the resurrection will result in everlasting life; (2) For others, it will bring shame and eternal contempt; (3) The wise ones will “stand out” in the heavenly realm; (4) The evangelistic ones will survive forever and ever, along with those whom they have led to righteousness.
Conservative biblical scholarship holds that Isaiah was written during the eighth century and early seventh centuries B.C. and Daniel was written in the sixth century B.C. At a relatively late date, measured from the time of Abraham's call, God began to speak prophetically about a bodily resurrection of the dead that would be a great blessing to many. As this grand vista opens up, the time came for God to fulfill His role as spiritual Father.
So we turn to consider this part of the Fatherhood of God by considering the progress of revelation. We have looked at God as eternal Father (in the Godhead), universal Father (in creation), and selective Father (in promise/covenant). We have seen how His role of universal Father overlapped His role as selective Father, and we have briefly mentioned how His role as spiritual Father overlapped that of selective Father. We now turn to a more detailed study of God as spiritual Father.
Although God’s plan unfolded in historical epochs with some overlapping, it is, in fact, one great plan presented on the stage of history. A relay race provides a good illustration. While a relay race is actually one race, there is some “overlapping” in each segment as one runner passes the baton to the next team member. Even so, God, in His three Persons, is involved in all phases of His great plan. We have been emphasizing the central role of God the Father in the plan, but this emphasis is not to minimize the work of God in His totality.
We are aided immeasurably in our study by what we call God’s progressive revelation. This has already come before us in our tracing of the subject of resurrection. Apparently, in its early development, the idea of life after death did not necessarily involve a bodily resurrection. This seems to be the case from the ambiguity that surrounds the use of the word Sheol in the Old Testament. However, as we have seen in the prophetic books of Isaiah and Daniel, straightforward statements affirmed the bodily resurrection of the dead. This growing awareness was not the result of a superior intellect on the part of either Isaiah or Daniel. As God’s prophets, they received God’s revelation.
God’s progressive revelation occurs in another way that is pertinent to our study. Notice the reference to “a prophet” as Moses spoke to the people God’s words: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him . . . I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And it shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him” (Deuteronomy 18:15-19).
In its context, this passage likely referred to the authoritative voice of God spoken by His servants, the prophets that would ring across the centuries through men like Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Amos. However, by God’s progressive revelation we find in the New Testament that embedded in this prophecy was an additional meaning that would emerge at the proper time. Peter explained to a crowd composed of “men of Israel” that Moses had also spoken of Jesus, the Messiah, as the authoritative prophet who would be raised up.
The import of these two examples of progressive revelation found in the Bible has a direct bearing on our study. First, we see that God had an overall plan for us all along. It was not a piecemeal, crisis-centered, decision-making operation on God’s part. Second, we are grateful that we are able to observe the marvelous unfolding of God’s plan in its fullness as it has been made apparent to us in His Word.
The coming of Jesus the Messiah into the world had ample publicity. Moses made reference to Him as the authoritative One. Messianic passages appear often in the Old Testament. The word Messiah means “anointed.”
The psalmist spoke of God’s anointing the king of Israel with the “oil of joy”: “Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Thy kingdom, Thou has loved righteousness, and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Thy God, has anointed Thee With the oil of joy above Thy fellows” (Psalm 45:6, 7).
By the phenomenon of progressive revelation we find that this passage is used to indicate God’s selection of His Son as the Messiah (Hebrews 1:8-9).
Exactly what did the Father select or “anoint” His Son to do? The answer to that question is one of the most significant statements ever made. In John 3:16-17, we find the answer stated: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.”
The answer is also provided by what Paul wrote: “a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Timothy 1:15).
Have you ever thought about the complexity of God’s plan of redemption? Have you ever wondered why He did not just wipe man out of existence when he sinned – or why He did not go ahead and save man and have it done? Why has His plan been in effect from ages past? It seems almost ridiculous to suggest that the difficulties suggested by these questions arise because of the very nature of God and humankind – but it is true.
Let us notice some major developments in the relationship between God and humanity. God is loving, holy, just, gracious, and forgiving. His human creation was created pure and holy – like God. God’s creation of man and woman was a love act, and love always seeks response – not out of obligatory love but out of reciprocal love. For human beings’ response of love for God to be real, they had to have an option. They had to be able to choose to love and gladly yield to God’s will; otherwise, their relationship would not have been a loving or godly one. They made the wrong choice when they decided to satisfy themselves instead of God. This caused a breach between God and humans because of the very nature of God’s holiness and their sinfulness.
In His loving nature, God reached out to the “separated ones” to bring them back to a mutually loving relationship. However, this had complicating elements. God could not receive them back in their sinful state, because he is absolutely pure. Absolute purity cannot mix with impurity. God could not simply forgive their sins, because He is absolutely just. Sin has its price. Justice demands it.
The wisdom of the omniscient God is seen in His solution to this seemingly insurmountable dilemma. It unfolds in the pages of the Bible and spreads over thousands of years. As we have studied, we have seen Him calling a special people through whom all nations would be blessed. We have marveled as we watched how those people turned to idolatry, tested His love, and violated His laws. We have been amazed at His extensive patience and longsuffering. He kept calling them back through His prophets. Through them He kept reminding the people of the coming Messiah, Who would bring blessings to all people.
God was preparing the way for the Ultimate Solution. It was not an easy solution, but it was the only solution that would not violate any of the attributes of an absolutely pure, just, loving God. His solution was the only solution that would permit humans to be reconciled to Him in a pure state.
We have noted that as selective Father God gave precious promises of many blessings to His chosen people. He spoke prophetically of a Messiah who would eventually come through the seed of Abraham and through whom all nations would be blessed. Therefore, it is obvious that God had planned another role for Himself in His effort to reconcile the human race to Him. We know that God’s role as universal Father in creation was not sufficient for salvation, because He became selective Father of a people to prepare the way for a time when His blessings of salvation would be available to all humankind. Therefore, neither His works as universal Father nor His works as selective Father were meant by Him to be the Ultimate Solution.
