The Lords Prayer – Part two

THE LORD’S PRAYER (2b[1]):     OUR FATHER ….

The LORD Jesus Christ taught his Disciples to pray, and to address God as their Father.   But how can this be?   How can we address God as our Father?   He is the Almighty, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.   He is “from everlasting to everlasting” (Ps90:3).    He is the Creator of all things, and “not even the whole cosmos can contain him” (1Kings8:27).   When Isaiah saw the LORD in “all his holiness” his life was shattered (Isa 6:5).   When the Apostle John saw the LORD in all his glory, “he fell at his feet as though dead” (Rev 1:17).

God created Adam to engage with him as a loving and obedient son in his house, to participate in his divine projects.   But he disowned and perverted his son-ship, like the Prodigal Son, to engage in his own projects.   All his descendants, including us, have followed suit.   That’s why Isaiah was literally shattered when confronted by the brilliance of God’s holiness.   It revealed:  his own spiritual death, alienation from God; his own sin; and that one day we would die and face God’s judgement.

But God in his great kindness, patience and mercy devised a way to reinstate men and women as sons and daughters of God, without compromising his justice.   He sent the eternal Son of God, to become a man, a “Second Adam”, who would own responsibility for men and women, whom he would represent.   On their behalf, empowered by the Holy Spirit, he would live the perfectly righteous life, pleasing to the Father, and die the death required as “the wages of sin”.   Having satisfied God’s justice, he overcame death, rising back to life fully equipped to “save his people from their sins”.

The Gospel[2] of the LORD Jesus Christ, offers free re-instatement as sons of God, to all who will accept in faith that offer as a free gift, as they turn from sin in repentance.   All such are born-again into spiritual life by the Spirit of God;  they are credited with Christ’s own Righteousness;  forgiven all their sins;  and adopted by God as their Father.   That’s full re-instatement.

Ever since Adam’s initial rebellion, the human race has been divided.   One the one hand, there are those whose true son-ship with God has been restored, on the basis of the spiritual power of the Word of God’s promised of re-instatement in Christ.   On the other hand, there are those who are mere children of Adam, alienated from God, but faced with the offer of re-instatement.     Can you afford to refuse?

Oh what a mercy that the Gospel of Jesus Christ re-instates us into an engaged personal relationship with God our heavenly Father, whom we can address as such, as we seek his resources to enable us to grow into and fulfil our role as the true sons and daughters of God on earth.

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[1] This is a second draft … the first was too long … and not focussed on the job.

[2] Gospel means “good news”.

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