03. The Father
THE FATHER A preacher whom I recently heard made a strong argument for the Universal Fatherhood of God, based on the 3rd chapter of Luke, the genealogy of Jesus being traced back to “Adam, which was the son of God.” He also sought to enforce his argument by the words ofActs 17:28, “We are also his offspring.” I reject his theory, but how can I answer it to others who like the idea of Universal Fatherhood and brotherhood?
There is no doubt that men are God’s offspring in the sense indicated by the Scriptures cited. That is, we all came out of Adam, who came from the hands of God. But nothing is more clearly taught in the Scriptures than that since the Fall all men are “by nature the children of wrath,” and that to become the children of God they must be born again. Just give this testimony to those “who like the idea of Universal Fatherhood and brotherhood,” but don’t bother to prove to them the truth of the testimony. Until they are born again they will not understand these things. The command under which we are working is not to prove the gospel, but to preach it. Have unconverted men the right to call God their Father?
No. Please read John 8:42-44. In the Old Testament God is represented as a living person who talked and appeared to others. Is He so yet?
Yes, He has not changed, and doubtless He still talks and appears to folks. If not to folks on earth, certainly He talks and appears to folks in Heaven. There is not now the need that there was in the past that He should appear to those on earth, for they have His full revelation in His Word.
How do you explainDeuteronomy 10:17, “For Jehovah your God is God of gods and Lord of lords”? Is there more than one God? In 2 Corinthians 4:4 Satan is called the god of this age. The gods of the heathen world are said to be demons in 1 Corinthians 10:20. In addition to these there are doubtless many imaginary gods. But Jehovah is Sovereign over them all and in the absolute sense there is no god but He.
How do you explain1 Corinthians 8:5-6? What does “gods many, and lords many” mean? The passage itself answers your question. Beginning with the latter part of verse 4, it reads: “We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many, and lords many) but to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge,” etc.
Why do we say God is a Spirit? If He has a body and can walk and talk, how can He be a Spirit?
We say God is a Spirit because the Book says so. The fact that He is manifested in a body, as was Jesus for over 30 years on earth, does not make Him any less a Spirit. Even men and women are spirits, though they have bodies.
DoPsalms 113:3andMalachi 1:11speak of time or distance? The expression is highly poetic and its meaning is that the time is coming when, forever after, God’s name shall be great among the nations. That will be when the earth is “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”
Please explainMatthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” While I have diligently studied the footnotes in the Scofield Reference Bible, I have not yet been able to ascertain (1) An exact definition of “the kingdom of God”; (2) who are included in the pronoun “ye” and “you”; (3) what “all these things” include, and (4) when “all these things shall be added unto you.”
I should say that the Kingdom of God in the text referred to means the rule of God. Let this be the first consideration of God’s children, that His rule should be without hindrance, in the individual life not only, but also in the world itself, and in the universe at large. Let this be the first thing in our program, and in our desires, and in our plans. The pronouns “ye” and “you” may refer to anyone who complies with the conditions laid down. Of course, that would be only to a child of God, for no other can seek “first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” The “all these things” are the things referred to in the preceding verses, things to eat and things to drink and things wherewith to clothe us. Our Heavenly Father knows that we have need of all these things, and He will see to it that these things are supplied to those who seek first His rule and His righteousness. The time when “all these things” shall be added to us remains in God’s own will and purpose. Sometimes it pleases God to lead His children through times of privation for His own purposes. Meanwhile it is sure that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).