Meeting God Notes 4/6/08
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or subscribe via email and never miss a new post. Thanks for visiting!
Recap
God is not:
- An old man “upstairs”
- A harsh unloving boss
- A cosmic sheriff - police of the universe
- Clueless, old-fashioned grandfather
- Distant demanding parent
God is, as we learned last week, our Father.
God uses this personal, relational title on purpose - He is a personal and relational God!
Entering the Relationship
We cannot come to truly know God outside of his relational nature. We only truly know someone by entering the relationship.
As we come to know God better, we will see clearly that He is our Father. If he is our father, that makes us His children.
Abba
God is not only our Father, but He is our “Abba, Father”.
- “Abba” - Aramaic for father. Mark 14:36, Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6
- Abba has been a difficult word to translate, but it implies a deeper, more intimate connection similar to the term “daddy”
As Jesus prayed to His Father in one of his toughest moments he cried out “Abba, Father”.
And Romans 8:15-17 says this:
“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought your adoption. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
When we put our faith in the Son we are adopted by the Father!
We are invited into the personal relationship that Jesus had with the Father
The same relational language that Jesus used, we can use
And Jesus shows us how this personal relationship works
- John 5 - Everything Jesus did was done as an outflow of the relationship
In following Jesus, we learn to live the same way - as true children of God.
The truth that God is our Father has serious implications for our lives.
- Our true identity - children of God
- Our lifestyle - as children of God
The Apostle Paul said (in Romans and also Galatians) that we are no longer slaves (or workers) but children.
Think of it this way: There is a big difference from being just an employee and being a son or daughter of the boss.
One lives out of fear, the other out of love.
We often live our lives out of fear
- Fear of loss of control
- Fear of surrender to God
- Fear that God wants to punish and crush us
But as children we are no longer to be enslaved by fear!
God is our perfect, loving Father and perfect love drives out fear! (1 John 4:18).
God is our Father. He loves us, comforts us, and disciplines us because we are His children.
Discussion Questions:
- Do you ever find yourself fearing God? In what ways? Why do you fear?
- What does it do to our relationship with God if the way we live does not match up to our voice that calls God “Abba, Father”?
- Read 1 John 3:9-11. What are the characteristics of a child of God?
- Read Ephesians 4:22 - 5:2. What are characteristics of a child of God?
- What are some of the characteristics of a human father/child relationship? How might this reflect the Father/child relationship God wants us to have with Him?
- Discuss the differences of how we might live when we view God in the following ways:
-
- Fearful - Dysfunctional views
- Loving Father
2 responses so far
I like that part about relationship being Gods purpose. I just started reading a devotional called “What is the Father Like” by W Phillip Keller, it is divided up into specific attributes of God. It is written in first person as if God were speaking to us. In The chapter “I am Long suffering” It has a reference to God wanting to empower us and bestow His benefits: “You do not need to come to me with stilted, formal liturgy. You do not need to “praise” me until you have whipped yourself up into an extravagant show of emotional excitement. That is not what I long for from you. Oft recited prayers and shouting really do not impress me. What I yearn for is…you. I ache fro you with an amazing intensity. You, your race, your people were bought for one supreme purpose- that you might become my dear children, conformed to my character, with whom I can commune in harmony for all eternity. All that I am all that I have ever done all my plans for you are aimed at one sublime end…that you should know who I am.
Dianne, Wow that is powerful!
Things would look so much different if we were to realize that God’s greatest desire is us!