GOD THE FATHER (1)

1. God the Father

a) The word "Father" is used of God in five different ways in Scripture.

b) He is called the Father of Christ. Jesus often spoke of or to His Father: 20 times in Matthew, twice in Mark, 11 times in Luke, 62 times in John, three times in Revelation. Paul spoke six times of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter used the same words in his first letter and John used almost the same words four times.

c) God called Christ His Son. At two different times He spoke from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17; 17:5.

d) This does not mean that God had a wife or created the Son. In the next chapter we shall see verses which show plainly that the Son is eternal and was never created. He had no beginning. But there are two words in the Bible we can look at here:

i) Only Son, John 1:14. These words are used of Christ five times in John's Gospel and in his first letter.

ii) First Born, Colossians 1:18. These words are used seven times of Christ. Except where we read about His birth by Mary, the words firstborn mean first in Position, not first in Time. In Colossians 1:15 He is called, "the firstborn of all creation"; in Colossians 1:18, "the firstborn from the dead", in Romans 8:29, "the firstborn among many brethren."

e) In Old Testament times the firstborn son was usually given a greater blessing than the other sons. However sometimes this blessing was given to another son, not the one who was born first into the family. For example Shem, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Solomon, all were given this blessing although they were not the firstborn in their families.

f) When used of Christ, the word "firstborn" refers to His position, not His beginning. He never did come into being - He always was.