Be Like HIM, father's

Father's Be Just Like THE Heavenly Spiritual FATHER In JESUS CHRIST!

Shared by Apostle James R Winfree Sr,/ I Owe You All GOD'S Love And The Lord Jesus Christ Truth!

The Fatherhood of GOD

Throughout the Bible we find GOD portrayed as The Father of All. This portrayal, however, is surprisingly rare in the Old Testament. In the Word, GOD is specifically called The Father of the Nation of Israel ( Deut 32:6 ; Isa 63:16 ; [twice] 64:8 ; Jeremiah 3:4 Jeremiah 3:19 ; 31:9 ; Mal 1:6 ; 2:10 ) or The Father of certain individuals ( 2 Sam 7:14 ; 1 Chron 17:13 ; 22:10 ; 28:6 ; Psalm 68:5 ; 89:26 ) only fifteen times. (At times the father imagery is present although the term "Father" is not used [ Exod 4:22-23 ; Deut 1:31 ; 8:5 ; 14:1 ; Psalm 103:13 ; Jer 3:22 ; 31:20 ; Hosea 11:1-4 ; Mal 3:17 ]).

The teaching of The Fatherhood of GOD takes a decided turn with Jesus Christ, for "My Father" was His favorite term for addressing GOD. It appears on His lips some sixty-five times in the Synoptic Gospels and over one hundred times in John. The exact term Christ Jesus our Lord and Blessed Savior used is still found three times in the New Testament ( Mark 14:36; Rom 8:15-16; Gal 4:6 ) but elsewhere the Aramaic term Abba is translated by the Greek pater [ pathvr ]. The uniqueness of Jesus Christ' teaching on this subject is evident for several reasons. For one, the rarity of this designation for GOD is striking. There is no evidence in pre-Christ Believing Jewish literature that Jews addressed GOD as "Abba. " A second unique feature about Jesus Christ' use of Abba as a designation for GOD involves the intimacy of the term. Abba was a term little children used when they addressed their fathers. At one time it was thought that since children used this term to address their fathers the nearest equivalent would be the English term "Daddy." More recently, however, it has been pointed out that Abba was a term not only those small children used to address their fathers or daddies; it was also a term that older children and adults used. As a result, it is best to understand Abba as the equivalent of "Father" rather than "Daddy."

A third unique feature of Jesus Christ' teaching concerning the Fatherhood of GOD is that the frequency of this metaphor is out of all proportion to what we find elsewhere in the Old Testament and other Jewish literature. (Note 165+ times in the four Gospels compared to only 15 times in the entire Old Testament!) This was not just a way Jesus Christ taught His disciples to address GOD; it was the way. They were to pray, "Father, Hallowed be Your Name" ( Luke 11:2 ). This is why the Greek-speaking Gentile Believers in Galatia and Rome continued to address GOD as Abba. They used this foreign title for GOD because Jesus Christ had used it and taught His followers to do so. It should be pointed out that although Jesus our Lord addressed GOD as "Father" and taught His disciples to do the same, He referred to GOD as "our Father." ( Matt 6:9 is not an exception, for here Jesus is teaching His disciples how they [ plural ] should pray. ) His "Sonship" was different from that of His followers. He was by nature The Son; they were "sons" through adoption. This is clearly seen in John 20:17 in the distinction between "My" GOD and "your" GOD. It is also seen in Matthew 5:16, 45, 48; 6:1, 4, 6; 7:21; 10:32-33, where Jesus Christ refers to "your" (singular and plural) and "My Heavenly Father, and Jesus also said in John 10:30 that He and His Father are ONE, Yes, He said when you have seen Him, You have seen The Father GOD.

Because of Jesus' Christ use of this truth, it is not surprising that the rest of the New Testament also emphasizes The Fatherhood of GOD. In the Pauline letters, our Apostle chosen by Jesus Christ Himself,  GOD is described as "Father" over forty times. It occurs in blessings ( Rom 1:7 ; 1 Cor 1:3 ), doxologies ( Rom 15:6 ), thanksgivings ( 2 Cor 1:3 ; 1 Thess 1:2-3 ), prayers ( Col 1:12 ), exhortations ( Eph 5:20 ), and creeds ( 1 Cor 8:6 ; Eph 4:6 ). For Apostle Paul, this Fatherhood is based not so much on GOD'S role in creation but rather on the redemption and reconciliation He has made available in Jesus Christ. This is why Apostle Paul refers to "The GOD and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" ( Rom 15:6; 2 Cor 1:3; 11:31 ). It is through the work of Christ that GOD invites us to call Him "Jesus, The Father's Name." It is through Christ that grace and peace have resulted and we have become GOD'S children, His sons and His daughters ( Rom 8:12-16; 1 Peter 1:3-4; 1 John 3:1 ).

Yes, as many of you know that the description of GOD as "Father" is under attack today in certain circles. It is charged by some that this leads to a false view that GOD is a male. This criticism should be taken seriously in that GOD is not a "man" ( Num 23:19 ). He is a Spirit ( John 4:24 ) without sexual parts. When GOD is referred as a Father, this is simply the use of a fact in which He is likened to a kind and loving Father. Elsewhere GOD'S love and care can be compared to that of a concerned and caring mother ( Isa 49:14-16; Luke 13:34 ). Yet to avoid the truth of Father as a description and designation for GOD is to lose sight of the fact that Jesus Christ chose this as His truth to address GOD and that He taught this as the fact by which His disciples should address God. It also loses sight of the continuity established by the use of this truth with those who have called GOD "Father" over the centuries. These include the disciples; the earliest congregations ( Rom 8:15 ; Gal 4:6 ); the earliest Ministers and Believers councils ("Yes,I Believe in GOD The Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, And He Lives In The Lord Jesus Christ  "); and Christ Believers members all over the globe who over the centuries have prayed together "Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name Jesus."

Happy father's Day!!!

We Are Leading All Souls To GOD Our Father and Savior.

Apostle James R Winfree Sr, Online Love Fellowship Nations Media Church Ministries.

The GIVER GOD Lives In you!