Yesterday we began exploring the Holy Trinity by taking a close look at the Holy Spirit and the role within the Trinity that the Holy Spirit plays. Today we will look at Father God and specifically the way God the Father interacts with man.
In the Old Testament the Hebrew people understood God's name to be YHWH or YHVH (english interpretations). Ancient Hebrew did not have vowels or vowel points, these names today have been interpretted by Christians as Yahweh. The name Yahweh was the holiest of all names for God, so holy in fact that it could not be spoken out loud. As a result, other words came into common use when reference to God was made. The name Jehova is believed to have come from an improper translation of the personal name Yahweh. It is believed that this translation may have occured sometime in the 1500's. As a result, may people use the name Jehova when the original text would have called for Yahweh.
When examining the New Testament and specifically the words of Jesus we find that God was ofeten called Abba, which means Father. Elohim, El-Shaddai, and Adonai are also names used to refer to the Godhead in the Old Testament. El-Shaddai is normally translated to mean "God Almighty who is all sufficient" where Adonai is Hebrew for the word "Lord". One interpretation of the name Elohim is "The Power over all powers". When God refers to himself when Moses asks, "who shall I say has sent me?" God answers with Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh which when translated into Egypt means, "I SHALL PROVE TO BE WHAT I SHALL PROVE TO BE."
Why is it important to examine the names of God the Father? In ancient times and still today in many cultures, a name imparted qualities about the object or person being named. By examining the names God was called by they tell us about the Character of God.
It is important for us to remember that God is not simply an idea or a set of rules. It is easy for the human mind to simplify God to an idea, it is important to remember that even in the beginning God was an Entity, not unlike human kind. This is evident in Genesis when we are told that God walked in the Garden with Adam and Eve and that He created man in his own image.
God the Father is first and foremost the creator, an almighty being with the power to do what man cannot, make something from nothing. This is boggling to the Scientific mind that follows the law that matter cannot be created or destroyed, only transfer from one form to another. God makes the impossible, possible. We call this Omnipotent--all powerful.
God is also Omnicient--all knowing. An important concept to know is that there will never be anything that will happen, there has never been anything that has happened that God does not know about. God knows what we think, how we feel, the thoughts we don't verbalize, the actions we do behind closed doors, as well as what we do in the open. GOD KNOWS EVERYHTING! Stop and wrap your mind around that for a moment. While this is something learned Christians know it should never go without a certain amount of awe to comprehend that our God is that far superior to us. We go through the day everyday, not being able to take in all the things that happen all around us. How many times does someone ask us about someting that happened right around us yet we were oblivious? Simulatneously, God knows everything that is happening in this moment, the next moment, and every moment that will ever take place, and he misses nothing!
God is a judge. While there are many other things that we could study and find about God, it should not go past our perception to acknowledge that God is going to sit in judgement of every human that ever lives. God gave his laws to Moses and told us what he expected and wanted out of our lives. Every person will go before God and give an accounting of their life. God will then sort all humankind into two categories faithful and damned. (Luckily, because of the Sacrifice of Jesus, which we will explore more in Part 3, humans have a way to appear perfect in the eyes of the Father.)
This is a giant stumbling block for some humans, the fact that God will sentence some people to eternal damnation. However, it is a point that is clearly explained. God does not wish that anyone would ever be damned, that is why he has made the way so easy for man to enter heaven (at great personal expense). If a man believes in God the Father and that Jesus Christ came to earth in order to die for our sins. All that man need do is to accept God, to admit he is a sinner, to ask God for forgiveness and for the Holy Spirit (see part 1) to come into his heart and guide him in God's direction. If a man would do this, God is willing to forgive every single wrong thing the man has ever done. Imagine that, he will throw it as far as the east is from the west. The God that knows everyhting is willing to forget what he knows you have done wrong because he loves you.
Some say that God is a tyrannt because he is willing to damn some to hell. I say that he is benevolent because instead of damning us all, which would be intirely within his right as creator of a creation that rebels at every turn, he chooses to love us and forgive us. All he asks is that we acknowledge him and love him back. I don't think that is too much to ask! Thank you God, I love you Abba!
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