The Name of Our Father
Scripture Reading - Luke 11:2 KJV
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Today’s lesson is just to highlight the “The Name of Our Father God”. Although some would question why would we teach on “The Name of Our Father” it is solely because we desperately want the children of God to know God as their Father. During a conversation one individual brought up the many names of God. Of course, the Names of God they were referring to are mentioned in the Old Testament. These Old Testament Names of God were revealed to the Children of Israel so that they could understand more about God’s Nature by making the connection to His Various Names. In the Old Testament God’s Names were many and depending upon the situation typically the children of Israel learned something new about God in the midst of their troubling circumstances. This symbolism of using God’s Name to better understand His Character was sufficient for the servants of God in the Old Covenant. However, in the New Covenant that type of thinking is incomplete. Why? Simply because we have the perfect example of our Father God before us in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus showed us the love of God in complete perfection so to understand God more clearly today we must visualize Him through the Person (Personality) of Jesus Christ. Jesus told us in Luke 11:2 that when we pray to God approach Him as your very own personal Father. Yes, all children should understand that their natural earthly father loves them and he is always there to help them. When you have a loving father you can ask him about anything any time you want (you just need to be willing). We see this type of approach to God practiced by the Apostle Paul in Romans 1:7 KJV where the apostle addresses (writes) the church with the following salutation, “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” This greeting is very distinct and very important because how you speak to someone matters. Believers should not address God as other religions do, period. We (ihlcc) know this could be offensive to some other religions that do address God by his Old Testament Names which were appropriate when you were in the Old Testament covenant with God, but Jesus Himself did not allow the unbelieving Jews to approach God based on the Old Testament understanding of God. To be a Christian we are to be like Christ Jesus and for years we (ihlcc) thought that meant in power and demonstration of the Spirit but here more recently we better understand that this means in attitude and in heart humbleness. Yes, the intimacy we should have with God is based one-hundred percent (100%) on our relationship to Him as dearly loved Children of God that fellowship with our Heavenly Father on a regular basis. What we are saying is that God is a general name given to those who aren’t close to Him. We could say it this way to help some people better understand under the New Covenant the name “God” is similar to using someone’s last name as opposed to their first name. Remember there is God, The Father and God, The Son and there is yet still God, The Holy Spirit. Therefore, just saying God does not indicate to whom you are talking directly to. As we grow in our knowledge of God we will be better able to precisely line up our conversation with our Father God in things pertaining to His Will and His Person which is slightly different than fellowshipping with Jesus about what He said in His Word and the direction of the church. Remember, today Jesus is the Head of Church whereas our Father is the Head of the Universe which includes the Church of Christ. However, knowing God as our Heavenly Father puts us into a completely different class than other religions because we don’t know of any other religions outside of true Christianity that refers to God as our Heavenly Father, and His only begotten Son as our own brethren. Yes, being a Christian means being a child of God like Jesus so we are not ashamed to be called his brethren. This relationship is much more than a religious title, it is solely a reality in Christ because we are made just like Jesus. Jesus is born of God and so are we. So when others speak about God’s Names of the Old Testament pointing to God being “Self-Existent” and “Faithful” and “Holy” and “Truth” and “a Provider” and “a Defender” and “Loving Master” and “All-Powerful” and “All-Sufficient” and “All-Knowing” and “Omnipresent” and “Supreme Sovereign” and “Unchanging” and “Eternal” this is all truth but we should know Him first as our Father prior to understanding all the many facets of His Being. You see our Faith Friend children tend to keep things simple by knowing the basics. Children should know first off that their Heavenly Father birth them and He Loves them and He will care of them whenever He is included in their life, so the theological approach to God doesn’t seem as important as the experiences you are living with God right, as your Father. We (ihlcc) can remember being just a baby in Christ and frankly not knowing a lot about God at all and in some sense being void of a healthy relationship with my natural father for years, my (our) Heavenly Father spoke to my heart the words “I AM your Father!” this brought great joy to my heart with peace to my mind and almost brought tears to my eyes because this basically meant He Loves me, yes me individually and personally flaws and all. Therefore when thinking and speaking about God please address Him as your Father or my Heavenly Father to send the right testimony to others. Remember, if you follow the teaching of Jesus you are a holy child of God which has to mean you are birthed by our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Thine Name. Both young and old in Christ and both ministers and laymen should address God as our Father instead of His Holy Attributes because knowing His relationship to us is much more important to our salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior and Friend. Remember we are who we are because Jesus made us children of God, to give us the legal right to fellowship with our Father God everyday and all the days of eternity in Christ Jesus and in His Love. Amen!