The Fatherhood of God

The beauty of the Fatherhood of God and the knowledge of His person is understated.

Recently I read something in a book titled The Power of Your Mind, written by the man of God, Reverend Dr Chris Oyakhilome, and I noticed something odd. He wrote:

"After you come to Christ, God gives you new ways of thinking about Him, Heaven, yourself, your circumstances, the world around you, and life in general."

Now, I have studied this book before (not read), so noticing this came as a shock to me because, when I reread what I've already read, I aim to see the following:

1. Things that I may not know yet
2. Things I'm familiar with but I have not mastered yet
3. Things that I have mastered but, unbeknownst to me, are lacking an ingredient

Now, on this new discovery, I noticed the particular order those things were written in, and I was shocked. In my study of Scripture, I have come to learn of a law/concept in hermeneutics, which is the science of interpretation of Scripture. It's called Proton: the first. The law of the first is simple. It basically is how whatever God mentioned first, or has attached "first" to, is in fact what you must take priority of and see as most important. Like we see in 1 Timothy 2:1:

"I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;"

The Apostle Paul, speaking the mind of God, reveals the urgency through the first, being the supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks for all men.

Being familiar with the delivery of this man of God (Pastor Chris), I came to realise there wasn't a mistake in what I had noticed in the book, as he usually has an order to which things are said or written. Here it is simply put: putting "God giving you new ways of thinking about Him" as the first thing prompted something so significant: the fact that that's the first and most important thing a Christian would do for themselves knowledge-wise once they come to Christ. And we see this in Scripture as well.

Look at when God first introduced Himself to Abraham. He gave Abraham a name. Now, the name given suggests a character, and it's a common concept in the Bible where you cannot separate a man from his name. So, in giving Abraham a name that suggested a character, the beginning of a pattern was triggered, even up until the Lord Jesus, whose name actually means salvation.

So, Biblically, the name always reveals character first. Well, now it's rather intended, unlike as it was before, as someone named Moses might rob you tomorrow. With God, see that the first revelation of His name was the first presentation of a character to man, of course after Adam, but he spoilt his chances. This name is El-Shaddai, meaning "strong and breasted one", suggesting parentage to Abraham, as He had just asked him to leave his father's house, which was uncommon, as in their tradition moving out was not the norm. The name gave context to character, preempting the thoughts of Him that could ensue.

Looking at this statement made me think: what if we had a formula for how to approach God when we are new to this thing? Imagine if one knew that, before they go searching for anything else, knowing God and who He truly is mattered more? For the Christian that's fairly new to this life, how blessed you are. And for the Christian that's been a Christian long enough, a type of re-education is then necessary.

Many a time I've heard that the first thing a Christian should learn is the Fatherhood of God.

One personal experience of mine where I saw the Fatherhood of God was when, in the span of two months, I made blunders and mistakes, took risks and saw the consequences like never before. Interestingly, at the beginning of one of those months I had prayed, and the Lord said to me, "This month you will experience My Fatherhood like never before," and I was excited out of my pants! I said, "Wow, so I'm about to see His supply," as that's where my mind went to. But eventually it was His mercies I enjoyed, because, for every blunder and mistake I made, it could have only been the mercy of God that covered me. One of my closest friends, in a conversation with a brother of ours, said it was through me he came to understand a dynamic of God's mercy. And I only noticed after he said it. Coincidentally, one of my favourite pictures is 2 Corinthians 1:3:

"Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;"

But what really is the Fatherhood of God in essence, as I've only just described a personal experience? The Fatherhood of God is seen throughout Scripture, but also in the Lord Jesus. It's mainly defined by:

• Love
• Mercy
• Peace
• Grace

Love, because God Himself is love; mercy, because the Lord Jesus is the ultimate revelation of His merciful nature; peace, because He is in a realm where only peace is; and grace, lastly, being the supernatural enablement He grants, not merely favour from Him.

In truth, many experience God's Fatherhood in different ways, hence why some have stories you'd think they made up when you hear them, but these stories are true. I heard once that God reveals Himself to the one who needs it more; He's most likely to appear to the person in jail than the person in the comfort of their home, who is in fact even praying fervently to maybe just see His eyes. Does that make Him biased? No, actually. In fact, that's very fair, and I'll explain why.

The earlier statement about who He most likely would appear to made me realise something, which applies to every other part of Christianity. Is the Christian life a supernatural journey with abnormal occurrences? Yes. Is the Christian life a simple, consistent life of blessings? Yes. But here is the thing: that there is no supernatural wow to it does not make it any less of Christianity.

Simply put, as long as the Scripture exists, there is room for both the wow and the calm.

To cut it short, the Fatherhood of God is provided now through two ways:

1. The Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit
2. The Word of God in the Scriptures

The first, being the Lord Jesus through the Holy Spirit, is because He is now the manifestation of the Father, so to interact with the Father you would have to put your attention to Him. But even more beautiful is the detail in the "sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit", who is, as I've recently coined, "The Distributor of the Realities of God". We see that in John 16:14-15 MSG:

"He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I've said, 'He takes from me and delivers to you.'"

As in, He will take directly from the Master and deliver it to your doorstep. You want the love of God? Tell the Holy Spirit. You want the favour of God? Tell the Holy Spirit. And it's even better when He's your friend. I believe this is what some have unlocked when they find that their prayers get answered easily and their desires get met quickly.

On the other hand, we see in Scripture again that all of His promises are "yes" in Christ, but wherever would one find these promises except through the Scripture?

Scripture goes beyond just reading and studying; there is the interaction: a tangible interaction the Child of God gains to experience in the Bible, where the Scripture you see becomes just as real to you as the fingers you see while you scroll reading this. I have times where, while I studied, I would sob as though I had just seen what I read, or laugh as though I was part of the conversation. I could have attributed it to just me being imaginative, but I didn't have to get my mind working. The Scripture itself imparts itself to you, given that you are open to it.

Once you then begin to interact with the personality of God through the Word, you notice a shift in your person and your convictions of God in your life. You become better equipped for interacting with this Father we have in God: well versed in what He responds to, aware of what He doesn't like as well. His Fatherhood isn't just about the nice stuff, but the discipline also applies, as, since He's a Father, there's definitely His sight of when you are misbehaving, like a kid would.

In all, you can experience Him through the Scripture.

I learnt and have seen that the Fatherhood of God is more accessible than we know it to be, it's more important than we have esteemed it to be, and it's a whole experience in itself.