Sunday: Revealing the Father
What are the most important points the apostle makes about Jesus at the beginning of the Epistle to the Hebrews? (Hebrews 1:1-4).
New Testament authors repeatedly accent a significant idea: Jesus comes to earth to show human beings who the Father is. In past times, God’s revelation came in a fragmented way through the prophets; in Jesus, however, the final and complete revelation of God has come.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
Also, in His person, Jesus is “the reflection of God’s glory” (Hebrews 1:3, NRSV). As sinful humans, we could not endure full access to the glory of God. As the incarnate Son, Jesus reflects that glory. It is muted in Christ’s humanity so that we might see it and understand clearly the character of God.
Jesus is also “the express image of his person” (Hebrews 1:3). The term used here, the Greek word character, is sometimes used of the impression a seal makes in wax or the representation stamped on a coin. So Jesus is “the exact imprint of God’s very being” (Hebrews 1:3, NRSV).
If we wish to know the Father, we must listen carefully to what the Master Teacher says about Him. And we must watch the Master Teacher, as well. The Father is seen in the Son.
Compare Hebrews 1:1-4 with 2 Corinthians 4:1-6. In 2 Corinthians 4.1-6), Jesus brought us knowledge about God the Father. Similarly, Paul avoids deception and distortion of God’s Word and, instead, sets forth the truth plainly (2 Corinthians 4:2).
Just as God, at creation, used light to dispel darkness, He has given us His Son, Jesus, to dispel false views about Him and to show us the truth about God. It is in “the face of Jesus” that we gain the clearest knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 4:6).
| Jesus accurately reflected the Father, something we too are called to do since we are invited to “be imitators of God as dear children” (Ephesians 5:1, NKJV). What does that mean, and what can we learn from Jesus about how to be “imitators” of God? |
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One of the secrets of being a good teacher is to love the subject you are teaching. When teaching becomes a slave to syllabus, curriculum and assessment, it often loses the appeal of enjoyment. When it becomes an immersive environment your enthusiasm becomes infectious (except perhaps when I'm are trying to ensure my grandsons learn their times tables so that they can beat Grandad!).
In this weeks study much of the quarterly is given over to the theology of the father-son relationship. And while that is important, it should not be forgotten that most of the Gospel writings are about how Jesus lived that relationship. Jesus was engaged in "showing the Father" enthusiastically. It was an immersive experience, not a textbook regurgitation exercise.
Jesus showed us the Father, and in particular, the relationship he had with the Father. Given that for many people today, the only glimpse they will have of Jesus, and by implication, the Father, is through us, what are we to do about that responsibility?
I was going to quote John 14 here but it is just as well I checked because it comes up later in the lesson this week. Now is a good time to read it though and to think through its implications for us.
We know our responsibility as christians, but to even begin to reflect Christ, we have to rely on Him as the source. Our daily prayer should include hymn 330:Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord to thee.
Some people have grown up under a positive experience of ‘father’. Sadly, many have grown up under the opposite.
To help educate sensitivity when ‘presenting’/referring to God as Father, I would invite input to the following question:
How do we ‘present’/refer to God as father for those for whom their earthly experience of father was/is a negative one?
For those who may have undertaken - or may be undertaking - the journey from a negative experience of their earthly father to being able to enter a positive experience of God as Heavenly Father, what helps you on that journey?
Phil, personally, I separate the Father in Heaven from the father one has or might not have in their life by making sure that our earthly father is recognized as one who is imperfect just like I am.
Answering the first question:
I make sure the person I speak with knows that I do not compare/set at the same level the attributes of them. I assess and explain effects from each within the context of their own environment of responsibilities, capacity for fulfilling those responsibilities and my personal interactions with them.
I do not hold my earthly father responsible for anything I experience in my life, nor do I give him ‘praise’ reserved for the Grace I have received in spite of all 'perceived' short comings due to me or my father’s interactions with me - Rom.8:28 KJV.
What helped me on that journey was moving from 'invisibility'/non-definition to definition/acceptability in God’s eyes - my heavenly Father became the center/source of reference.
Replacing as source for emotional comfort my earthly father with my heavenly Father was facilitated early in life. It was much easier to obtain a feeling of comfort and peace in imagined acceptance than attempting to obtain acceptance/visibility/definition dependent on ever changing circumstances.
I learned early on that I can trust my heavenly Father with everything I bring to Him at any time under all circumstances. My deeply felt *Faith of a Child* allowed me to experience my Heavenly Father comforting me and forming me into who I am; with Him, I fully experience my child – father relationship.
The issue of the negative father image is something that I have come up against a number of times. It is a sad reflection of our sinful state that the metaphor that is so powerful and meaningful for some of us produces negative feelings for others. It is the same with the marriage as a metaphor for our relationship with Jesus. It works for me, but I appreciate that for someone who has had a rocky abusive marriage, the symbolism is lost. Fortunately the Bible uses a number of metaphors and does not stipulate that one is more important than another. Teacher/student, hen/chicken, mother/child and so on can all provide lessons on relationships.
Significantly we need to concentrate on the characteristics of God rather than the flawed metaphor.
Father Knows Best was a TV series in the 1950s which according to Wikipedia the father, Jim, was "a thoughtful father who offered sage advice whenever one (or more) of his children had a problem".
Well this is before my time - I just remember hearing the title - and it may not be a family today's viewers would relate to much. Many shows now echo the reality of dysfunctional parent-child relations. Thankfully our heavenly Father's parenting is always the perfect role model as time passes and His advice IS and always will be best.
Like good human parents communicate with and discipline each of their children differently, God is the same with us. What's best for one may not be for another. Jesus told Peter in John 21 how his future would play out. Peter then wanted to hear about John's future. Jesus told Peter to, basically, MYOB and simply to remember, "You must follow me." John 21:22. The Father has very different and equally perfect plans and teaching methods for each of us, His children.
God's word, the lamp for my feet and light for my path. Following the teachings of Jesus who said "repent and believe the Gospel". This is where it all begins, if we believe and act in faith. Throughout this God reveals Himself to all who do not fall back in unbelief.
Thanks to all who provided input to my invitation...
Humans were created in the image of the Triune God (Gen 1:26) and their plan is for humans to be restored into their image again (Rom 8:29) So what is the image or character of the LORD?
God is Love (1John 4:8)
Why did our study guide start this week with the truth that we can learn about the character of God the Father from watching and listening to God the Son? I believe it is because many have got the wrong impression of the character of God the Father and His Principles of Life.
I am looking forward to discovering which treasures our guide will help us find this week.
God sent His Son into the world to reveal His character, as well as to seek and save the lost. When we die to sin we have activated faith in God, faith in God generates obedience, as we daily kneel at the foot the Cross the power of the Cross as we visualize God's character of love, mercy, and grace, activates our love to obey Him. Yes, and simultaneously as we are at the Cross, the power of the, Cross gives us power to fulfill the will of God. So I am not misquoted, let me say, grace, love and mercy, does not give us the license to sin. Romans 6:1-8.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10
Christ came that he might re-create the image of God in man. The image of God is His character. Gal 5:22-23. calls his character the fruit of the spirit, without these no man can claim Christ as his friend and Master. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Then how does the Spirit of Christ operates? Does he dwells in chaos?, calm even with chaos all around? How did Jesus show us and live to please his Father?
I was at work recently and had a difficult assignment, my supervisor came to me and asked me 'how do you maintain such a calm attitude even with a hard assignment', I smiled at her. She said 'I am serious', and repeated what she said before. She probably thought I did not heard or understood what she said the first time.
Our purpose on this earth is bigger than our difficult assignment, even in the face of longsuffering. Both Jonah and Jesus were sleeping in the boat while the storms were raging above them. In both circumstances the men were crazy busy at work to save their lives at all cost. The disciples asked Jesus, 'dont you care that we perish'?
That question is still asked today- Jesus, dont you care that we perish with all that is going on today. The Covid, political unrest, unemployment, bills to pay with their dead lines, depression, stress, worries, etc. In all of these Paul said we are more that conquerors in Jesus Christ.
Hello Lyn:
Hello My new SDA family. I just wanted to comment on this because I feel the Spirit is moving amongst us, and this is important in my current life. As everyone knows here-I have been reading and studying this site, and also SDA Church teachings. I just wanted everyone to know the Spirit has moved me to further study, Jesus is standing right with me. I have begun a Bible Study "virtual" of course with our local SDA Pastor. We have another gentleman in the study, and this is so big for me, my mother who lives in another state has joined! Praise and many Thanks to HIM above who is guiding us all. I find this Church intriguing, the teachings on many subjects bring clarity and understanding...I love this Church! 🙂
Thank you all!
Welcome! I'm so happy for you! You are now on a journey of discovery that will continue throughout eternity as together we discover more and more of the love and beauty in the character of God.
"What are the most important points the apostle makes about Jesus in Hebrews 1:1-4?"
1) Jesus is the heir and lawful owner of all that exists.
2) Jesus made all physical and spiritual worlds, all universes, everything that exists!
3) Jesus is the radiance of God's glory, the Son/Sun, He is the searing brightness of what God fully is.
4) Jesus is the exact character/letters/Word of God.
5) Jesus upholds the Universe by His mighty hand. He keeps the atoms together and the hearts beating. Jesus has never taken His eyes off creation and He never will or it would cease to exist. He is Sustainer as well as Creator.
6) Jesus purified the world of the sin problem. He became sin. He dealt with the problem of rebellion in the hearts of humans.
7) Jesus' sacrifice is over. He is at the place of authority and power next to the Father and makes intercession for us (1 Jn 2:1). He is priest and king.
The thing that caught my eye in this days lesson, is the statement that “God’s revelation came in a fragmented way through the prophets”. I don’t quite understand that statement, and maybe I am misunderstanding it. Jesus, as a child, teen and young adult, learned of God through those prophets. If it was fragmented, how could a child learn from them? By his study of scripture, with the help of his mother and the Holy Spirit, he knew by the time he was 13, enough of scripture to baffle the Jewish leaders in the temple. I bring this point up because I believe we too can learn from scripture, the same way Jesus did, so that our life’s will also reflect God’s character. This is the way I look at Jesus as a Master Teacher.
Think of "fragments" like this, there is a whole apple pie, and though you might slice it up in to "fragments", you will eventually eat the whole pie, one fragment at a time. Each piece adds to the total sum. What Jesus had as a child(like any of us today), was a revelation of the will of God that even a child can follow with confidence. Jesus' life proves this, who had no advantage over any of us.
I've always had a curious fascination with the workings of my own mind and that of my fellow humans. I don't think we can give beneficial consideration of this quarter's theme of "education", without acknowledging and reflecting on Scripture's revelation regarding the true state of our individual minds (Rm 5:12; Jer 17:9).
This is a critical part of our education. Education is the transfer of correct information sourced in the brain of one (the teacher), into the brain of a recipient (the student). The student's brain must necessarily have the ability to receive (senses), process (reason/cognition), and store (memory) the information received from the teacher for later use. A failure of any of the student's brain functions effectively blocks the educational process.
Scripture reveals that the Being (Gen 3:4-5) responsible for introducing false information into Eve's brain, which caused her to think (Gen 3:6), and therefore act, contrary to our Creator's truthful declaration (Gen 2:16-17), still has a hold on the brains all individuals today (Rev 12:9; 2 Cor 4:4; 1 Jn 5:19; Mt 13:4,19). Have we individually accepted God's truthful declaration as recorded in Scripture, or are we still being victimized by sin's fallout?
In the case study of our progenitors, Adam and Eve, we see them in the fallout of their disobedience, irrationally hiding and afraid of their only Source to life-affirming truth (Gen 3:10; Prov 14:26-27).
It is my hope that as we consider the theme of "education" this quarter we'll maintain a greater awareness that education, both secular AND religious, only occurs in a single organ--the brain. Scripture (Eze 34:23-24; 1 Cor 6:19-20) and Jesus (Mt 23:8-9; 11:29) makes bold claims on the brains of all who would be a part of His Church. I believe the time has long been available for each of us to embrace Scripture's stark, unadulterated truth (Eph 4:17-19) about the one place (Isaiah 53:6; Ps 95:10) within each of us, for which Christ died to ensure our health (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Pt 2:24-25).
The loud call of the first angel (Rev 14:6) is to "every nation and tribe and language and people" dwelling on Earth, to "FEAR God and GIVE HIM GLORY" (Rev 14:7). This "FEAR" is not the familiar brain response of dread, fright/flight or distrust! No, rather it is the "FEAR" (Prov 9:10; 14:26-27) that generates a strong confidence in a God who though relentlessly providing us with the truth about ourselves, also provides us copious evidence of His deep commitment to our restoration, as revealed in the ministry of Christ (Jn 17:3; Jer 9:23-24). Can you find it in your brain to GIVE GLORY to such a loving, just and righteous God?
Hello Lynrol – thank you for your contribution! I have carefully read your comments and appreciate very much the many great Scripture references you provided – all you pointed out is very helpful!
I might be somewhat similar to you in your approach to understanding our own mind’s working and applying the Good News to our daily lives diligently and intelligently; therefor my response to your comments. 🙂
You used many, very helpful Scripture references. May I ask which Bible version you work from, or if you use different versions?
I agree, to earnestly attempt to discover the state of our mind as well as heart should be a topic of everyone’s careful scrutiny. Learning Scriptural Truth does not automatically mean it is properly understood and applied. In my contributions, I have often pointed out that we start with loving God with all our heart and mind first - Matt.22:37 and the rest will follow.
You use Eph.4:17-19 to point to the need to demonstrate the change in behavior as the sign that shows that the believer is living by a different rule than the person still living in darkness, and with this can effectual show the difference between Light and Darkness.
I fully agree that our focus need to be on how we live the Teachings of Jesus Christ who we profess to believe in – Psalm95:10; 1Pt.2:24-25; Prov.9:10;14:26-27 are so very relevant toward this effort - Thank you!
God has offered to form a new heart and mind in all who *dare* to believe Him with all their heart and mind – yes, I would hope that all who believe do so fervently and give HIM Glory!
Brigette, I'm pleased that you found Scripture references within the body of my post helpful in furthering your understanding of your own reading of Scripture! I perceive that you take Jesus' words (Mt 4:4) seriously which therefore makes you a fellow "foodie":).
As to your query regarding the version I use; I grew up on the KJV and that's where my memory orbits. I was introduced to The Modern Language Bible (The New Berkeley Version) in my college years and liked it. However, I had a hard time finding texts when using a concordance (that's before online Bibles). Now the NKJV is my staple, although I will occasionally refer to the Young's Literal Translation and the NLT.
For clarification, I used Eph 4:17-19 to reinforce my use of Rm 5:12 and Jer 17:9 in the first paragraph of my original post. Scripture is clear that satan's seduction of Adam and Eve triggered something hereditary (genetic?) affecting "ALL men". Notice that Eph 4:17 (NKJV) states that the Gentiles lived their lives in the "futility of their MINDS". Then Eph 4:18 (NKJV) speaks of their "UNDERSTANDING [being] darkened", their alienation "from the LIFE OF GOD, because of the IGNORANCE that is IN THEM, because of the BLINDNESS OF THEIR HEART...". I wanted individual readers to give serious contemplation to what Scripture is declaring regarding our being. The words "minds", "understanding", "ignorance" all point to the operations of our BRAINS. Now, if Scripture is truthful (I have zero doubt that it is!) and "blindness of their heart" (aka the brain) is in fact the cause, then we're on a path of truth that's leading us to a cure (Jn 8:31-32)!
Scripture identifies who is responsible for the pandemic of "blinded minds (brains)", as well as Who has the remedy ( 2 Cor 4:4; 3:14-16)! Every single problem that negatively impacts the living of "ALL men (individuals)" arises in our BRAIN (Prov 4:23).
Brigette, studying, identifying and understanding a disease process is the proven method for developing an effective treatment, and Christ want us to learn exclusively from Him (Mt 23:10) and live (Jn 1:4; Jer 15:16). Keep feeding on God's words.