Introduction To This Study

Liberal Theology believes in a "Universal Fatherhood of God". Is this right or wrong? Why?

Whenever we discuss the Fatherhood of God we are talking about a specialized attribute of the Godhead. This is a specialized attribute or characteristic because God only expresses His Fatherhood toward the believer in Christ, and never to the world at large! For some time liberal theology has been promoting the idea that "all men are brothers", and we are "all one under God". This is hogwash, and absolutely unscriptural. God only acts as Creator and Judge to the heathen for there is a great barrier of sin that exists between man and his Maker. The only thing that overcomes this barrier is that the individual accept the completed work of Christ on the Cross. Until the individual does accept Christ's work, that person is as lost to God (and His Fatherhood) as any orphan is lost to his parents.

I know it's hard to accept, but even your physical brothers and sisters, if they have not Christ, are excluded from the Fatherhood of God. Though you may have strong emotional ties to a family member, if they have not Christ, you and they will part ways eternally after physical death. There is no "common brotherhood of man", and no unity possible between the saved and the lost. This is why the Bible gives commands like:

2 Corinthians 6:14-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (15) And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? (16) And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (17) Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. (18) And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

and why Jesus said to the Pharisees:

John 8:42-45 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. (43) Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. (44) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (45) And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.

There is, however, a common brotherhood in the Church. Those of us who are united by faith in Christ unto salvation (new birth) are all brothers and sisters together, regardless of our denominational affiliation.

Because we are alive together in Christ, we immediately come under that wonderful attribute called "Fatherhood", and are in that permanent state forever!

If God Is Your Father, You Are Expected To Obey Him

Deuteronomy 32:6 "Do ye thus requite (GAMAL = DEAL WITH, PAY BACK, RECOMPENSE) the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not He thy father (AB = FATHER, CREATOR) that hath bought thee? hath he not made (ASAH = MANUFACTURE SOMETHING OUT OF SOMETHING) thee, and established (KUWN = MADE TO STAND FIRM, ESTABLISHED, MADE TO STAND FAST OR SURE) thee?"

Malachi 2:10 "Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?"

God as our Father has every right to expect our obedience and reverence. Though liberals will call it "the stronger's imposition of will over the weaker", I was raised in a household where I was expected to obey and honor my parents. When I became a parent I demanded the same of my own children, starting as soon as they could distinguish "yes" from "no". My children were warned once when they committed what we considered sin in our household, with the second warning coming in the form of physical punishment (yes, an old fashioned paddling). Though people who never had children disagreed, though liberal parents (whose children grew up into homosexuality, or worse) disagreed, we continued on this course. Today my children are nearly grown, productive members of society. Part of the reason they are productive members of society (and saved children of God) is because we lovingly disciplined them when they did wrong.

Our Heavenly Father demands and deserves respect from His children. When you worship false idols (money, sex, etc) you disrespect your Father. When you put Him on a scale below your other "hobbies" you disrespect your Father.

Vance Havner once asked the question, "Why is it that people will go to a ball game and scream like red Indians, and yet go to Church and sit like wooden cigar store Indians?" The Christian should have more passion for His Lord than he has for a bowl of ice cream or a catfish dinner.

God calls His Children to obedience. If we fail to obey Him as Father, we have no right to expect Him to bless our land.

2 Chronicles 7:14 "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

God Is The Father Over Believing Israel,
And Israel Is His Firstborn

Romans 9:6-8 "Not as though the word (LOGOS = PROMISE, WORD) of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Neither, because they are the seed (SPERMA = SEED, LINEAGE, SPERM) of Abraham, are they all children: (TEKNON= NATURAL CHILDREN) but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise (EPAGGELIA= LEGAL PROMISE, PLEDGE) are counted (LOGIZOMAI = ACCOUNTED, RECKONED AS) for the seed."

Exodus 4:22 "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:"

Jeremiah 31:9 "They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn."

Israel as a nation was and will always be the firstborn of God, the first people called to son-ship in the Heavenly kingdom. How does the Israelite get into Heaven?

Israel as a nation has forgotten the nature of that calling, though, over time and through much hardening of their hearts. You see, salvation has always been by faith in God, and in His Son Jesus Christ. As Israel got into trials and tribulation, sometimes brought on them by their own hand and at other times not, and God saved them from these trials, they began to believe that just to be an Israelite was to be a son of God. Man has never been saved from his sins by physical birth, or by some special status bestowed by being in a higher class of people. Israel forgot faith, and without faith it is impossible to please God, as it is written:

Hebrews 11:6 "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.

In the last days at the Great White Throne of Judgment many who were born Israelite will be cast into the Lake of Fire along with all the disbelieving Gentiles. They will enter that place of eternal torment because they rejected Jesus Christ as Saviour.

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

They are cut off from God's Fatherhood because they had no faith in Him or in His provision. In the same way many outwardly good active members of the Church will suffer next to the unbelieving in hell. Many have the mistaken impression that by belonging to a Church, by giving huge sums of money, by being a "charter member", they are saved. The only thing you can do to enter into a relationship with our Father is by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. You get your permanent "green card" by faith in the finished work of the Cross, by accepting what Jesus did for you. Nothing else is sufficient.

Will the Israelite who has not had a personal relationship by faith with Jesus Christ enter Heaven? Will the child of a Church member who has not had a personal relationship by faith with Jesus Christ enter Heaven?

God Exercises Fatherly Discipline Over All Those
Within His Heavenly Family

Hebrews 12:5-11 "And ye have forgotten (PERFECT TENSE = FORGOTTEN IN THE PAST WITH THE RESULT THAT YOU STILL ARE IN IGNORANCE NOW) the exhortation (PARAKLESIS = ENCOURAGEMENT TOWARD VIRTUE) which speaketh unto you as unto children, (HUIOS = MATURE BELIEVERS, MATURE CHILDREN) My son, despise not thou the chastening (PAIDEUO = DISCIPLINE AS APPLIED TO A CHILD, SPANKING, CHASTENING) of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth (AGAPAO = HAS DIVINE LOVE TOWARD) he chasteneth, (PAIDEUO, PRESENT LINEAR ACTIONSART = KEEPS ON SPANKING) and scourgeth (MASTIGOO = BEATS WITH A WHIP) every son whom he receiveth. (PARADECHOMAI = TO RECEIVE AND EMBRACE) If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, (METOCHOS = PARTICIPANTS, SHARERS, PARTNERS) then are ye bastards, (NOTHOS = ILLEGITIMATE CHILDREN, BASTARDS) and not sons. (HUIOS = MATURE CHILDREN, SONS) Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected (PAIDEUTES = INSTRUCTED, CORRECTED, CHASTISED) us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto (HUPOTASSO = TO BE IN SUBMISSION OR UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF) the Father of spirits, (PNEUMA = SPIRIT, LIFE) and live? (ZAO = FUNCTION IN LIFE) For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, (SUMPHERO = ADVANTAGE, PROFIT) that we might be partakers of his holiness. (HAGIOTES = HOLINESS, SEPERATENESS FROM SIN) Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness (DIKAIOSUNE = RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD) unto them which are exercised thereby."

Jeremiah 3:4-5, 19-22 "Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest." But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me. Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God."

Deuteronomy 32:5-9 "They have corrupted themselves, their spot is not the spot of his children: they are a perverse and crooked generation. Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee? Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee. When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance."

As our society moves ever deeper into liberalism, we often pervert the true nature of God with our own weak views of "political correctness". First political correctness crept into the family, teaching that no good parent would ever physically punish his child. Next political correctness covers up scriptural doctrines by teaching that all men are brothers, that God is only love, that He would never chastise His children.

Can love truly exist apart from discipline? If God is love then does this mean He never chastises His children?

This viewpoint is so wrong, so blasphemous, that it nearly takes my breath away! The Bible is filled with instances where God punished His children, not just with a strong talking to, but with physical chastisement. In fact, the Scripture goes so far as to note that if you are not chastised by God when you are disobedient, then you are not a Christian, but a bastard, one who is without parent. God punishes His children when they are disobedient for the same reason that I punished my children when they disobey our family rules. God chastises those who He loves because He desires only the best for us. Though we are adults, we are only little children when compared to the Father. We often pick things to do that are bad for us, just as our human children do. We often disobey the decrees of our Heavenly Father, decrees given for our own good, but ignored in our foolishness. When this happens if we do not correct our ways God disciplines us in order to turn our eyes Heavenward again. His punishment always has the end goal of our repentance, praise His name! Once we repent in love He removes the discipline:

Psalms 103:13-14 "Like as a father pitieth (RACHAM = FONDLES, SOOTHES, LOVES DEARLY) his children, so the LORD pitieth (RACHAM = FONDLES, SOOTHES, LOVES DEARLY) them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust."

God is never cruel, nor is the punishment is longer than is necessary for our repentance. He loves us dearly.

God As Our Father Demonstrates His
Forgiving Love Toward Us

Hosea 11:1-4, 8-9 "When Israel was a child, then I loved (AHAB = PASSIONATELY LOVED) him, and called (QARA = TO CALL AS A PARENT CALLS FOR A CHILD) my son out of Egypt. As they called them, so they went from them: they sacrificed unto Baalim, and burned incense (QATAR = TO OFFER SMOKE TO A DEITY) to graven images. (PECI^YL = AN IMAGE OR IDOL THAT HAS BEEN CAST , CARVED, OR MOLDED. GRAVEN IMAGES WERE SPECIFICALLY FORBIDDEN, CLICK HERE FOR REFERENCES) I taught Ephraim also to go, taking them by their arms; but they knew not (YADA = FAILED TO INTIMATELY UNDERSTAND) that I healed them. I drew them with cords (CHEBEL = ROPES, SNARES. GOD TRIED USING CAPTIVITY TO RETURN THEM TO HIM) of a man, with bands of love: and I was to them as they that take off the yoke on their jaws, and I laid meat unto them. How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? (A CITY OF NAPHTALI, WHICH WAS TAKEN CAPTIVE BY ASSYRIA) how shall I set thee as Zeboim? (ZEBOIM WAS DESTROYED WITH SODOM AND GOMORRAH, SEE DEUTERONOMY 29.23) mine heart is turned (HAPHAK = TURNED OVER, TURNED BACK, DESTROYED) within me, my repentings are kindled together. I will not execute the fierceness of mine anger, (APH = GREAT ANGER, LIVID BREATHING) I will not return to destroy Ephraim: for I am God, (EL = THE MIGHTY ONE) and not man; the Holy One (QADOWSH = SACRED, PURE, HOLY ONE) in the midst of thee: and I will not enter into the city."

Isaiah 63:15-16 "Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O LORD, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting."

Isaiah 64:8-12 "But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. Thy holy cities are a wilderness, Zion is a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation. Our holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our pleasant things are laid waste. Wilt thou refrain thyself for these things, O LORD? wilt thou hold thy peace, and afflict us very sore?"

Jeremiah 31:9, 20 "They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD."

Just as I would never disown or cast off my earthly children for sins committed against the family, God will never cast us who are His heavenly children away. We stand eternally secure with heavenly citizenship because God in His Fatherhood is eternal love (also called theIMMUTABILITY of God. Further studies here, but use the BACK button of your browser to return to this study).

Does the love of God ever diminish for His children?

His love never diminishes for us, no matter how disobedient we are, no matter how hard hearted we behave. When we discussed discipline earlier we noted that God disciplines us when we are out of line because He loves us. This love is family love. We can, by our actions, distance ourselves from God, but He stands ever ready to receive us back into full fellowship if we but repent.

Because God Is Love He Exercises A
Godly Love Toward The Whole World

Matthew 5:44-45 "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse (KATARAOMAI = CURSE, VOICE EVIL DESIRES OVER YOU) you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be (GINOMAI = MIGHT BECOME AS) the children (HUIOS = MATURE CHILDREN) of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, (AGATHOS = USEFUL, PROFITABLE) and sendeth (PRESENT INDICATIVE = KEEPS ON SENDING) rain on the just (DIKAIOS = RIGHTEOUS, JUST) and on the unjust.(ADIKOS = UNRIGHTEOUS, UNJUSTIFIED) "

God shows His love for His creation by sustaining it. Yet the love that God shows His children is a deeper familial love. Common Grace is shown to the world at large, but Special Grace is shown to the Child of God.

The love that God shows to Christians is not the same love that He shows to unbelievers. God loves His creation because He made it. God sustains His creation with rain and food because He wants all men to be saved. But God loves the Christian believer because they are cleansed, adopted children of God, purified by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The unbeliever's relationship with God is one of take-take, accepting the provision of God's Common (or Logistical. Further studies here, use the BACK button of your browser to return to this point) Grace. God will continue to provide Logistical Grace to the unbeliever in hopes that he or she will sooner or later accept Christ as Saviour. The believer, on the other hand, has a relationship with the Father that He will continue to try to make stronger. When the believer acts like an unbeliever God takes disciplinary action to try and return him to a right relationship. Unbelievers have a tendency to think that because God loves His creation that He will not cast them into eternal torment after death. What they fail to understand is that the unbeliever dies outside of the family relationship and therefore have no place reserved for them in Heaven. When they stand at that Last Judgment (Further studies here, use the BACK button of your browser to return to this point) they will stand condemned because they rejected the salvation of Jesus. If you have not already, will you accept Jesus as your Saviour right now?

God As Our Father Answers Our Prayers,
Granting What We Need

Matthew 7:7-11 "Ask, (AITEO, PRESENT IMPERATIVE = KEEP ON ASKING IN PRAYER) and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; (HEURISKO, PRESENT INDICATIVE = KEEPS ON FINDING) and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man (ANTHROPOS = BETTER TRANSLATION IS WHO OF MANKIND) is there of you, whom if his son ask (AITEO = HAS ASKED FOR) bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, (PONEROS, WICKED, MALICIOUS) know (OIDA= HAVE A SOUL KNOWLEDGE OF) how to give good (AGATHOS = GOOD OF INTRINSIC VALUE) gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

When God answers our prayers, His answer will always be for our best. God does not answer a prayer "yes" if that "yes" would ultimately harm us.

The key to prayer to a kind Heavenly Father is the understanding that He always grants what we need, not necessarily what we want. We may want, and pray for, a million dollars, but God in His Fatherhood knows that we will abuse the money we receive. There are very few Christians who possess the strength necessary to have great riches or possessions. Very few Christians (even the Apostles, who, in my mind, were the greatest of all) possess much more than what is necessary to live a Godly life. We will one day all have riches beyond measure, for God promises us a place in the Heavens:

Luke 12:32 "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

and not just a log cabin, or a little plot of land, but a great mansion:

John 14:2 "In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."

Imagine the richness of a mansion that Jesus has spent over 2000 years developing for each one of us who are His! God also feeds us the bread of Salvation that satisfies:

John 6:32 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven."

No man can give you what God in Christ has provided, a perfect and pure salvation from the endless humdrum existence that this world offers. It's sad but interesting to note that most rich people (like J. Paul Getty) ended their lives in loneliness and despair, their money turned to ash in their mouths. Many rich people often take their own lives, mistakenly believing that it will be better in the next life. But when they get to that next life, if they have not Christ they have, in reality, gone from bad to worse. God alone can end our loneliness by giving us eternal companionship:

The greatest part of the Christian faith is not the material, but the fact that Eternal God is our Father and as our Father is always with us.

John 16:32 "Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me."

In that relationship we have with the Father we are never truly alone. There is not a day that goes by that I can't speak with my Heavenly Father and know that He hears and responds to my prayers. We are all secure in the family of God, because God grants us eternal security:

John 10:29 "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."

and also defends us when we are helpless:

Matthew 18:12-14 "How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."

God not only guarantees the salvation of the Christian, He guarantees that He is there in time of trial. God the Holy Spirit teaches us and guides us into all truth.

God gave us the Holy Spirit (Further studies here, use the BACK button of your browser to return to this point) to aid us in our spiritual growth, an indwelling Teacher to guide us in studying God's Word:

John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

John 15:26 "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:"

John 16:13 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

Christians should never be deceived by the cultic, by the world. With the indwelling Holy Spirit in each one of us we should always be Children of the Light, shining the light of Christ in a dark and lost world. We are truly children of the Greatest Father of All!

Next Study, Dm066b, The OmniPresence of God