God is all about family...
Ephesians 3:14-15
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. NIV
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. NIV
The overarching theme of the Bible is God's amazing love for the world and His Fatherheart for the human race. For God created humanity in His own image (Genesis 1:26-28) so we would all be an extension of His family on planet earth (Luke 3:38, Ephesians 3:14-15). When Adam and Eve fell, their hearts turned away from God (Genesis 3) but God's heart towards them never changed (Malachi 3:6). For though creating is what God does (Genesis 1:1), a loving Father is who He is at the core of His being (1 Corinthians 8:6; 1 John 4:16, 1 John 3:1).
We see golden threads of God's fathering throughout the Old Testament in the way He expressed His heart for Israel (Isaiah 64:8, Isaiah 63:16, Deuteronomy 1:31, Deuteronomy 32:6, Jeremiah 3:19-20). King David wrote about God's intimate involvement in our creation process in Psalm 139 and he made reference to God's Fatherheart in Psalm 68:5 and Psalm 103:13-14. And these are just a few of the many biblical references in the Old Testament that refer to God's loving care for all of humanity.
And then we come to the New Testament, where Jesus introduces God by one name and one name only... And that is the name, Father. Not only did Jesus refer to God as His Father (John 5:18), but He taught His disciples to pray using the words... 'Our Father in heaven' (Matthew 6:9-13). He told them to pray in secret to your Father because your Father knows what you need before you even ask for it (Matthew 6:6-8).
Jesus also reminded them that if their Heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air, how much more will He look after them (Matthew 6:25-32). And He encouraged them to ask their heavenly Father for good gifts because God's goodness far exceeded that of their biological fathers (Matthew 7:7-11). Jesus also told His disciples to not even call anyone on earth 'father', because they had one Father in heaven (Matthew 23:9).
If we realize that all these New Testament references to God being a Father were still in the Old Covenant (because Jesus had not yet died and rose again), this shows God's Fatherheart for us even then. While this is biblically clear, somehow the idea of God fathering the human race seems to be controversial in some Christian circles.
But my question is simply this... If our creation didn't originate in the heart of God, where did we come from? 1 Corinthians 8:6 clearly states that everything created, originated in both the Father and the Son... But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live. NLT
So what is so controversial about declaring God's Fatherhood of the human race? I think some well meaning believers are concerned that this idea leads to a theology that says, 'If God fathered the human race, there is no need for a spiritual renewal of the human heart because we are already His children'. But even though Jesus referred to God as being 'your Father' many times in the gospels, He still said that we all need a second birth.
In John 3, Jesus is having a conversation with one of Israel's spiritual leaders (Nicodemus) and He tells this Pharisee of the need of a person to be 'born again' in order to see the Kingdom of God. (John 3:3) Nicodemus immediately tries to understand this through a grid of a second physical birth when Jesus replies in John 3:5-6... 5 “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. NIV The NLT describes verse 6... Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.
In essence, Jesus was saying every person on planet earth needs to be born twice. Once in the natural (born by water) and once in the spiritual (born of the Spirit). If we understand that the genesis of both of our births come from our Heavenly Father, then there is no theological conflict in declaring... There is one God and Father of us all!
In Acts 17:16-34, the Apostle Paul shares the good news with pagan philosophers on Mars Hill when he makes the genetic connection between their origin and the first man, Adam. He then goes on to make the divine connection between them and God when he said... As your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring' (Acts 17:28).
This is an important passage of Scripture that links all of humanity to God's fathering heart. But if we look at the Greek word Paul used for 'offspring' (genos), we can see a clear distinction between being God's offspring through creation and being God's 'children' through redemption by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6-7, John 20:21-22, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 19:1-6 , 1 Corinthians 6:19).
The word for offspring is 'genos' means born, country(-man), diversity, generation, kind(-red), nation, offspring, stock. It is a word that can describe things that have a similarity (kind) and it can describe someone who is generationally linked to another person. It is a more technical term to describe our connection to God by virtue of our creation.
I like how The Passion Translation Bible communicates this idea of all of us having our lineage traced back to God in the way TPT translates Acts 17:28-29...
28 It is through him that we live and function and have our identity; just as your own poets have said, ‘Our lineage comes from him.’ 29 “Since our lineage can be traced back to God, how could we even think that the divine image could be compared to something made of gold, silver, or stone, sculpted by man’s artwork and clever imagination? TPT
But it is interesting that there is a different word used to describe those who have been born again. John 1:11-13 says... 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children (teknon) of God-- 13 children (teknon) born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. NIV
The Greek word that John describes here for the word 'children' is the word 'teknon' which means a child (as produced): — child, daughter, son. It also describes an intimate and reciprocal relationship formed by the bonds of love.
This word is used most often, especially in the writings of the Apostle John to describe our familial relationship to God as His children. For example in 1 John 3:1... See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children (teknon) of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. NIV
When we see that both our natural birth and our spiritual birth are essential for us to see the fulfillment of God's dream for His family (Ephesians 1:3-6), we will declare God's Fatherhood and His great love for the entire human race! For God fathered our natural birth when He knit us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13-14) and God fathers our spiritual birth through the finished work of Christ (Titus 3:4-7) when we dare to simply believe it to be true (Ephesians 2:8-9).
In this divine transformation, we are born again of God's own seed (1 John 3:9, 1 Peter 1:3-4, 1 Peter 1:23), and His Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are indeed His children and His much loved heirs.
Romans 8:15-17
15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. NIV
We see golden threads of God's fathering throughout the Old Testament in the way He expressed His heart for Israel (Isaiah 64:8, Isaiah 63:16, Deuteronomy 1:31, Deuteronomy 32:6, Jeremiah 3:19-20). King David wrote about God's intimate involvement in our creation process in Psalm 139 and he made reference to God's Fatherheart in Psalm 68:5 and Psalm 103:13-14. And these are just a few of the many biblical references in the Old Testament that refer to God's loving care for all of humanity.
And then we come to the New Testament, where Jesus introduces God by one name and one name only... And that is the name, Father. Not only did Jesus refer to God as His Father (John 5:18), but He taught His disciples to pray using the words... 'Our Father in heaven' (Matthew 6:9-13). He told them to pray in secret to your Father because your Father knows what you need before you even ask for it (Matthew 6:6-8).
Jesus also reminded them that if their Heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air, how much more will He look after them (Matthew 6:25-32). And He encouraged them to ask their heavenly Father for good gifts because God's goodness far exceeded that of their biological fathers (Matthew 7:7-11). Jesus also told His disciples to not even call anyone on earth 'father', because they had one Father in heaven (Matthew 23:9).
If we realize that all these New Testament references to God being a Father were still in the Old Covenant (because Jesus had not yet died and rose again), this shows God's Fatherheart for us even then. While this is biblically clear, somehow the idea of God fathering the human race seems to be controversial in some Christian circles.
But my question is simply this... If our creation didn't originate in the heart of God, where did we come from? 1 Corinthians 8:6 clearly states that everything created, originated in both the Father and the Son... But for us, There is one God, the Father, by whom all things were created, and for whom we live. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created, and through whom we live. NLT
So what is so controversial about declaring God's Fatherhood of the human race? I think some well meaning believers are concerned that this idea leads to a theology that says, 'If God fathered the human race, there is no need for a spiritual renewal of the human heart because we are already His children'. But even though Jesus referred to God as being 'your Father' many times in the gospels, He still said that we all need a second birth.
In John 3, Jesus is having a conversation with one of Israel's spiritual leaders (Nicodemus) and He tells this Pharisee of the need of a person to be 'born again' in order to see the Kingdom of God. (John 3:3) Nicodemus immediately tries to understand this through a grid of a second physical birth when Jesus replies in John 3:5-6... 5 “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. NIV The NLT describes verse 6... Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.
In essence, Jesus was saying every person on planet earth needs to be born twice. Once in the natural (born by water) and once in the spiritual (born of the Spirit). If we understand that the genesis of both of our births come from our Heavenly Father, then there is no theological conflict in declaring... There is one God and Father of us all!
In Acts 17:16-34, the Apostle Paul shares the good news with pagan philosophers on Mars Hill when he makes the genetic connection between their origin and the first man, Adam. He then goes on to make the divine connection between them and God when he said... As your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring' (Acts 17:28).
This is an important passage of Scripture that links all of humanity to God's fathering heart. But if we look at the Greek word Paul used for 'offspring' (genos), we can see a clear distinction between being God's offspring through creation and being God's 'children' through redemption by the indwelling Holy Spirit (Galatians 4:6-7, John 20:21-22, Acts 2:38-39, Acts 19:1-6 , 1 Corinthians 6:19).
The word for offspring is 'genos' means born, country(-man), diversity, generation, kind(-red), nation, offspring, stock. It is a word that can describe things that have a similarity (kind) and it can describe someone who is generationally linked to another person. It is a more technical term to describe our connection to God by virtue of our creation.
I like how The Passion Translation Bible communicates this idea of all of us having our lineage traced back to God in the way TPT translates Acts 17:28-29...
28 It is through him that we live and function and have our identity; just as your own poets have said, ‘Our lineage comes from him.’ 29 “Since our lineage can be traced back to God, how could we even think that the divine image could be compared to something made of gold, silver, or stone, sculpted by man’s artwork and clever imagination? TPT
But it is interesting that there is a different word used to describe those who have been born again. John 1:11-13 says... 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children (teknon) of God-- 13 children (teknon) born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. NIV
The Greek word that John describes here for the word 'children' is the word 'teknon' which means a child (as produced): — child, daughter, son. It also describes an intimate and reciprocal relationship formed by the bonds of love.
This word is used most often, especially in the writings of the Apostle John to describe our familial relationship to God as His children. For example in 1 John 3:1... See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children (teknon) of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. NIV
When we see that both our natural birth and our spiritual birth are essential for us to see the fulfillment of God's dream for His family (Ephesians 1:3-6), we will declare God's Fatherhood and His great love for the entire human race! For God fathered our natural birth when He knit us together in our mother's womb (Psalm 139:13-14) and God fathers our spiritual birth through the finished work of Christ (Titus 3:4-7) when we dare to simply believe it to be true (Ephesians 2:8-9).
In this divine transformation, we are born again of God's own seed (1 John 3:9, 1 Peter 1:3-4, 1 Peter 1:23), and His Spirit testifies with our spirit that we are indeed His children and His much loved heirs.
Romans 8:15-17
15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. NIV