ENJOYING THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD
I must admit that even after being a Believer for over 67 years, I feel I am still a novice when it comes to prayer, and often pray the request of the Disciples made to Jesus in Luke 11:1 NKJV “Lord, teach us to pray. It is so interesting to me, that Jesus then shares with them what has become known as the Lord’s Prayer or the Disciples Prayer, and the very first words are in Luke 11:2 NKJV “Our Father in heaven”. Right from the start of the prayer Jesus highlights and spotlights GOD AS OUR FATHER.
I don’t really know how great and clear was the concept in the Disciples’ mind of the Fatherhood of God. It is often suggested that the behaviour of an earthly father to his child shapes the concept the child develops of God. I know personally that as my father was well into his 40’s when I was born and was an alcoholic, I had very little relationship with him, and never felt much love and connection with him. Often God is portrayed as a despotic ruler and one to be feared not one to revered.
As a new Believer I cannot remember much teaching on the Fatherhood of God, but I can clearly see how the Holy Spirit coming into my life when I was born again changed my understand of God. I can so relate to Paul’s words in Romans 8: 14-16 NKJV For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. I soon began to see God as my DADDY.
There are a number of key words in these verses: SONS, CHILDREN, ADOPTION. We all understand what adoption means, we have now become members of God’s family and are His children, and we begin to get an understanding of what it means to be a son of God, with all its rights and privileges. I will spell some of them out right now.
- We have Security
- We have Authority
- We have Intimacy
- We have Assurance
- We have the Holy Spirit Abiding in us
- We have a Glorious Inheritance, now and in the future
- We have to learn to respond to Discipline
- We have a Family Likeness, as God’s nature has been planted within us, God’s DNA can be seen in us.
These days more than ever when I come to spend some time in prayer I often see myself like a small child running to Daddy and letting Him wrap His arms around me, and experiencing the love and the comfort that He has promised to us.
There should I believe be more teaching on the Fatherhood of God, I guess it is another important aspect of Biblical Discipleship, interestingly the Disciplemaker should strongly have and express a father’s heart” towards the Believer. in other words he should demonstrate and reflect the Father heart of God. Paul again expresses it so well in 1 Cor. 14:15 NKJV For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers;
Let us not just teach about fatherhood, but may God raise up many spiritual fathers to reflect God’s fatherhood to us. I trust you are experiencing and enjoying the father’s heart and love toward you, and that you also have a spiritual father you can turn to, to assist you in your walk with God.
