The One God and Father

The One God and Father

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God – who is and who was and who is to come – the Almighty.[1]

Truly, God is.[2] He is the eternal Father who always has been and always will be above all.[3] His existence precedes all creation for he is the origin of the heavens and the earth and all life within it.[4] It is through his Word (logos) that all things were made.[5] Indeed, God is the foundation of law and order.[6] And the government of God is the basis from which all logic, natural laws and moral realities are realized within the world.[7] With unlimited power the everlasting king rules according to infinite knowledge and righteous purposes.[8] The Lord of Hosts – He is the sovereign master of heaven and earth.[9] Although the things of this world fade away, the Holy Father will always be the all-powerful and only wise God.[10] For the immortal God is incorruptible – ever holy and unchangeable in his being.[11] Eternally perfect and immutable, the authority of his word remains forever.[12]

Out of his infinite power and perfect wisdom, God created heaven and earth.[13] He is the father of humanity having made of one blood all nations of men. [14]  From his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.[15] “In him we live, and move and have our being”.[16] We depend on the “Father of light”, for every good thing.[17] The father of creation is ruler and judge over all that he has made.[18] We are his, he is our God, and we are the sheep of his pasture.[19] He who upholds the world looks down from heaven seeing every place and knowing all that transpires.[20] For there is no place that man can hide where God is not afar off.[21] His awareness transcends space and time into the depth of all things, even within the hearts of man.[22]  Being immanent everywhere within the universe yet infinitely superior, God alone is able to rule with perfect justice.[23] Government belongs to the transcendent creator of all things.[24]

God is one.[25] He is the only true God and there is no other God besides him.[26] For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth, there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist.[27] Pre-eminence excludes all but one Lord who is the first, greatest, highest, and supreme.[28]  And the Lord is one within himself- undivided in person and character.[29] This is in accordance to the creed, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”.[30] Accordingly, we are to love God with oneness of person, regarding the Father alone as the Most High God – the Almighty.[31] 

God our Father is a living being active in personality and character.[32] As the individual from whom man was made in his image, the divine Father possesses intellect, sensibilities, and will.[33] God makes conscious choices according to his will.[34] Yet, unlike mankind, he is morally perfect in character.[35] Indeed, the Father of Light is holy and righteous, having a purely good nature.[36] He is perfectly righteous and perfectly loving.[37] Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.[38] Although perfect, God is not just an ideal, principle, or moral law – rather he is a living Father who jealously desires loving relation with his children.[39] His identity as a personal being is profoundly demonstrated through the loving sensibilities he has shown in acts of mercy, loving kindness, and grace.[40] He who is faithful and true has expressed his good will toward creation.[41]

Our all-present Father knows all things about us, yet we are limited in knowledge of the “invisible” God.[42] God is spirit, not of a body of flesh and blood, but is imperishable.[43]  No man has ever beheld the immortal Father directly.[44] He dwells in unapproachable light in the realm of heaven with his angels looking down from on high.[45]  In fact, it is insufferable for man to see God in all his glory lest he die in the presence of the Holy One.[46] Likewise no man can grasp the fullness of God since finite mortals cannot search the one who is infinite nor attain the wisdom of him who is eternal.[47] Yet he is everywhere and his eyes are at every place and he could be known if we would just grope for him.[48] God can be found, if he is sought in righteousness with clean hands and a pure heart.[49] The Father delights in the welfare of his servants showing his face and giving salvation to all who fear him and follow after truth.[50] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.[51] However, God turns his face and hides himself from the unrighteous.[52]  There is however no excuse for unbelief since God can be clearly seen through the things that have been made.[53]

The splendor, order, and vastness of the universe, including the created things within it, point toward the existence of God.[54] The moral laws, written within the hearts of man, also testify that God is true.[55]  While evident in the presence of law, order, and morality, the “invisible” God further reveals himself in the experiences of man and is known by various testimonies he has left upon creation and through many witnesses and signs, the Father has demonstrated himself over the ages.[56] It is he who was revealed to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, by angelic visitation and vision, and to Moses, David, and to many other prophets. In the fulfillment of time, God principally manifested his wisdom and love through his Son Christ Jesus (Yeshua, the Messiah) having perfectly represented the Father in expressing his character, declaring his truth, and doing his will.[57] Scripture is the principal record of God, his law, his dealings with man, and the testimony to his son.[58] 

The Father furthermore demonstrates himself through his Holy Spirit given through Jesus in fulfillment of the Gospel.[59] The Holy Spirit is the breath of God – his transmissible virtue and power that affects the world and life within it.[60] Deriving from God’s infinite power and wisdom, the Spirit is divine substance transmitted from above. Being the supernatural extension of God by which the Father involves himself in our physical world, it can be said that the Spirit is the “finger” of God.[61] When believers are filled with the Spirit of God, they do the work of God in accordance with his will.[62] The Holy Spirit gives  truth, wisdom, life, and power.[63] The Spirit transforms, purifies, and comforts.[64] Through his Spirit, God created the heavens and the earth.[65] And by the Spirit, God has spoken through the prophets.[66] Since God is spirit revealing himself through spirit, those who worship him must do so in spirit and truth; The Father seeks such to be his worshipers.[67] To see the kingdom of God, one must be born again by his Spirit.[68] The gift of his Spirit is our adoption as his sons by which the Father takes charge of our lives.[69] 

Before the ages began, foreknowing all things, God purposed through his eternal word (logos) a Gospel by which man’s destiny would not necessarily be death, but that through the righteousness of faith man could hold an inheritance of eternal life.[70] This provision is for all who would choose to entrust themselves to his Christ in faithfulness to his will.[71] We are saved by God’s wisdom manifested in the Gospel, whereas truth and love are brought together in such way that his perfect law is upheld so that through faith we have the forgiveness of sins.[72] God is no respecter of persons, and desires that all come to repentance in knowledge of the truth.[73] God is love. Yet in his love, he cannot violate his own law and principles.[74] Although the Holy Father wishes that none should perish and that all would be saved, he will eventually cast his judgment on all wickedness and rebelliousness.[75]

Ultimate judgment comes from him who is sovereign over the universe.[76] No standing wrong will go unpunished.[77] The heavens and the earth will be shaken once more.[78] Only that which is imperishable will remain.[79] The world will be judged in fire.[80]  And, as God is a consuming fire, all the enemies of God and of his Christ will be destroyed.[81] The righteous will be separated from the wicked and the wicked will be as chaff destroyed in the fire.[82] Through Jesus, whom he has chosen, God will judge the world in righteousness.[83] In the end, after the destruction of every opposing rule and power through Christ, God will be all in all.[84] Regardless of all opposition, his eternal word will certainly come to pass.[85]

The fool has said in his heart that there is no God.[86] The uncircumcised in heart and ears resist the Holy Spirit.[87] In the pride of his anger the wicked says, “God will not call to account”.[88] Yet, while this world suffers injustice now, God has already initiated his plan and purpose to judge the world.[89] The good God is allowing evil and iniquity to continue for a time so that more may gain eternal life as children of his kingdom.[90] His wisdom will thus be shown in the delaying of judgment until the appointed time. Therefore, we preach, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel!”[91] At the end of the age, God will fulfill all justice.[92]