Isaiah 63:16
Doubtless You are our Father,
Though Abraham was ignorant of us,
And Israel does not acknowledge us.
You, O Lord, are our Father;
Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.
Hello and welcome to the blog… I’m your host, the Pocket Theologian and today we’re discussing God the Father, the truest of all Theology! If your new to the blog, allow me to explain, I’m the pocket theologian and here on the blog we like to take a theological or philosophical topic and discuss it, anyways let’s get to it.
History
So the history of Paterology is complex, big surprise right? Because the idea of a monotheistic God really stretches back, as far back as mankind’s ability to understand anything. That being said though, it’s important to stress this idea, that we’ll discuss in the key characteristics section, this idea of the beginning and how a God began everything, and this is really where it begins and when we mention the idea of monotheistic God we of course have to mention Judaism.
So it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that the idea of God as a Father or as a beginner, began with Judaism, and this unique perception of God. That God began the world, created everything and chose a certain people to know it. The Father’s relationship with Judaism spans centuries and centuries of history and I couldn’t possibly do it justice here, but basically the Jewish idea of God can be broken down into a few phases that, in this humble theologians eyes, CAN roughly correlate to a growing distance from God.
Phase 1: Abrahamic
This is the original period, where God spoke directly to a person, and the person could directly address God, with some even being called “the friend of God” though something I would like to add is that the prerogative is on God to start and continue the contact. God calls Abraham, God speaks to Isaac, God finds Jacob, and so on. This period to me is when God is the most personal and close to man before Christ.
Phase 2: Tribal Israel
This period is then followed by what I call the tribal period this is when God grows a bit more distant and formal. This can be seen by the official coding of the laws and sacrifices. Another good symbol for this is the fact that God entered something, the tent and the ark of the covenant being the main examples. Now this is special because it shows that God is somewhat limited to being inside something, BUT he still shows desire to want to be with his people wherever they are. This can be seen with GOD choosing who his messenger is, and who is closest to Him. Unfortunately, this changed in the next period.
Phase 3: Kingdom Israel
This period to me changes when Israel officially takes possession of the land of Canaan, and the entrance of the Kings of Israel after the Judges, with these the people of Israel chose who was to lead them, or who was to the hands of God in their lives, as well as confining God to a building in Israel. This eventually ended when Israel got taken into captivity.
Phase 4: Forsaken Israel
This period is defined by God only picking one voice every so often, speaking little and then disappearing before reappearing and continuing the cycle. And of course this all changes when Jesus appears as he ends the period of separation, and provides a permanent link to God the Father, the two’s relationship cannot be understated, it’s so important we did an episode on it.
So this is God the Father in Judaism, but he takes on whole new expressions and understandings in Christianity, but it is important to note that early Christianity worked VERY hard to identify it’s idea of God as a father and a beginner with Judaism’s. The two weren’t separate, they were the same and the Jews were welcome to share in the new outpouring or dispensation of their God. Now many Jews disagree with this idea and believe that Christians took their gods name and misappropriated it. Applying it to something it never should’ve belonged to. This is a debate that still rages to this day.
But Christianity wasn’t quite done with God the Father, the biggest development in the theology of God the Father was this idea of a trinity, of God the Father, and Jesus the Son, and a new Holy Spirit and how exactly the three worked together. This was spearheaded by a guy named Tertullian who we’re pretty big fans of here at the Pocket Theologian.
Notable Figures
Abraham: So as the progenitor of the Jewish people and the “friend” of God the Father, I feel Abraham’s presence is essential here. To me, Abraham represents the idea of a perfect God who has no obligation to care for man, suddenly caring for what is portrayed as a normal man. Abraham is completely unremarkable before he speaks to God. To me this shows that God, even the Father, progenitor beginner God, loves the unremarkable, values the persecuted, or as our New Testament says “leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one”.
Clement of Rome: Clement is somebody we haven’t discussed enough here at the Pocket Theologian, we’ll have to fix that! But basically, Clement is good because he gives us a glimpse into the accepted view of the Father in the early church, specifically around the first century. Which is great because it makes him an awesome source! But Clement spoke often about the constancy of the Father, and how from him are all things and to him are all things. Thus, Christianity can trust that Christ’s sacrifice was good once and for all through their mutual connection.
Tertullian: Developed the idea of God the Father in relation to the Son (213 AD), and the Holy Spirit. So, basically Tertullian was the first one to draw the connections between the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit. To be fair Athanasius could be discussed for exactly the same reason in the man’s words “How could God be an enteral Father, unless there was also an eternal Son.”
Key Characteristics
Eternal: So I know it’s natural to assume that God is eternal, however this element I think is specifically seen within God the Father, since He is the one who is identified as creating man. Even in the early church, Jesus and the Holy Spirit’s eternal nature has been given to them from God the Father. Jesus ability to carry sin and the Holy Spirit’s ability to be constantly present come from their relationship to the Father.
Holy: Naturally, the concept of holiness comes from God. How he is perfect and thus cannot sin, thus being free of sin. Meaning that he is greater than sin, and that holiness is a greater goal than sin.
Judge: This stems from the last point, which is the idea that because of God’s holiness and perfect placement in the divine hierarchy. He alone can act as a perfect judge; evaluating everyone according to the standards He Himself has set.
Misconceptions
That He is cruel: This is partially attributed to Marcionism, who painted the picture of a dualistic God. One who loved man and another who hated him. The elements of holiness and judgement integral to the role of God the father, but like we’ve said the trinity, it’s a natural extension of God, not some side note therefore when seeing the Father with the context of Jesus and the Holy Spirit you can’t help but see him as kind, just, and loving.
That you cannot know Him: It’s often believed that the perfection and holiness of God make him unreachable. Luckily, He provided a road to Himself, because the only way an imperfect being can be perfect, is if a perfect being makes a perfect road to reach Him. Again, trinitarian context helps all aspects of the Christian God to make sense.
That He is limited to Judaism: So a lot of people think that the Jews are the only one’s who have a unique connection to God the Father. This isn’t true, the Jews do have a wonderful and beautiful understanding of God, and I think there is so much that Christians should learn and understand about Judaism before we make assumptions. But that being said, as a Christian, I believe that in the words of Paul, “He respects neither the Jew, nor the Greek.” God has made Himself available to all, He loves them and will always have a special relationship with Him. But He has a relationship with everyone now.
That’s all I have for you today… Go in Peace!
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