El Shaddai, El Elyon, Adonai, Yahweh, Jehovah Jireh; these are just a few of God’s names that are revealed in His Word. They have varied meanings and all point to His sovereignty, majesty, power, and love. They reveal a facet of His being that comforts and reassures us of His nature and goodness. However, when it comes to His names, there is none more meaningful and precious to Him and us as the name “Father”. God is our Heavenly Father, and He’s given us His Word so that we can know Him. He wants us to understand that our relationship with Him is a parental one. He’s our Father, and He has patterned the biological relationship of parent and child so that we would understand His unconditional and limitless love for us all.

In a biological relationship between a parent and child, there’s immediate trust. A child comes out of the womb totally relying on its parents for care. The parent doesn’t see this as a burden, but a blessing. A good and loving parent is thrilled beyond belief for the birth of their children. They see this as a gift, and they are very thankful to receive it. If we understand this, we should also understand God’s love for us. He is the Creator of biological relationships, and He patterned them after the relationship He desires with His children.

He is teaching us through the pattern of biological parents that His love, appreciation, and joy for us as His spiritual children is unimaginable and far exceeds any love a human being can express. Philippians 4:19(ESV) states, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”  He tells us in 2Corinthians 3:5 that we don’t have any merit of our own; everything that we are is because of God, and He alone is our sufficiency. All that we need is found in God, and He wants us to understand this.

Our inner consciousness is formed from all the information we believe and have been taught. These are words spoken or written that we have modeled ourselves after, and therefore, we are becoming a version that is not our true identity. Christ is God’s blueprint for the creation of humans, and God’s Will is that we become like him in every way. We are to strip off that old identity that was modeled after the world, and we are commanded by God to put on our new reality in Christ. He tells us in Ephesians 4:22-24(NLT) “22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”

God is our Father, and Genesis 1:26 tells us that we are created in His image. He wants a relationship with us, and He wants us to be like Him. He wants us to love, live, and share that same way that Christ did when he walked upon this earth. To do this, we must change the way we think. God’s Holy Spirit is God’s seed. He, the Spirit, comes to live within us once we make Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. The Spirit will help us change the way we think if we will allow him. The Holy Spirit is our Helper, and Jesus Christ tells us in John 16:13-14(NLT), “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.”

Each of us is different and unique. Some of the spiritual lessons that we need to learn are similar, but others vary. Only the Spirit knows what you need, and only the Spirit can help you transform into the person God created you to be. Just as a child is totally dependent on its parents, God’s children must be totally dependent on the Spirit of the Living God. The Spirit guides us into ALL truth. He will not guide us to anything false, faulty, or flawed. As we give ourselves over to the Spirit, we can be confident that He is guiding us in our Christ identity, which is the truth. Our Christ identity is the truth of who we are, and we cannot get there without the Spirit’s help.

Jesus Christ taught in John 6:63(NLT), “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”  We can’t get to the place that God desires us to be on human effort and energy. It’s the Spirit that gives life, and we must submit to his guidance. Every morning, before we start our day, we should be praying to be led by the Spirit. We should ask God what He would have us to do in the day He gives us. Then, we should pray that we are alert and wise enough to do whatever God requires.

Philippians 4:13(NLT) says, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” God has empowered us in Christ. We have everything we need to follow where God leads. The only thing that is missing in most of us is the willingness to be led. We want to take matters into our own hands. Many of us don’t want to learn the spiritual lessons of patience, love, faithfulness, gentleness, kindness, joy, peace, goodness, and self-control. But these are lessons our Father wants us to learn because they teach us to be like Him. If we will humble ourselves as God’s children, and recognize that where He leads, we should follow, we will please our Heavenly Father. We’ll witness that the motivation to please Him in all that we do will help us walk in the victory that Jesus Christ has won for us all.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. 

“God Is Our Father”, written for Springfield Fellowship © 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.