The Father

Part 1 of God: The Father

Lesson #1 in Studying The Bible – Part 2

It isn’t easy to imagine what it would be like to be new or a novice when it comes to the Bible. Therefore, I must use my imagination and do research. There is some fundamental knowledge that one could use when starting. A person will need an understanding of God. As I have mentioned, God has a makeup that encompasses different aspects, three to be specific. Let’s talk about the most familiar one. I refer to this first part of God as the Unlimited Being or, as the Bible refers to Him, Father.

Most people outside the church community don’t know God as The Father but as the supreme being. They may use qualifiers that limit God. For example, they might say, God of the universe, God of Heaven, or God of Earth. They often use His attributes as a stand-alone replacement for who He is. People will tend to come up with names for God that limit Him. The world is skilled at this. For example, “Father Time” is limiting, “Mother Nature” is limiting, and “Act of God” is limiting. Other examples of limiting perspectives include seeing God as a distant judge, a genie who grants wishes, or a force of nature. Most people try their best to identify with one attribute of God over another without considering that God is unlimited. He can be in both Heaven and Hell. ^[1] Now, that’s a different thought.

Ordinary people, in their humanity, limit God by default because we, as human beings, are limited. God, however, has no limits. God isn’t just God of the universe because that implies someone else might be God beyond the universe. That type of thinking is an indication of the common ideas that limit God. He is The Unlimited Being; it is vital to know this when we read or study the Bible. We must remember that what we are about to read is that of a limited being interacting with a limitless being.

Refrain from Limiting God
You might not think about it this way, but even questioning God is our way of limiting God. Am I saying you can’t question God? No, but I am saying that you can’t question God to another human who, too, is limited in how he can view God. In other words, the only direction you can genuinely take in questioning God is to ask the question of God. Try asking Him your questions.

Job tried consulting his friends about God and had many questions. Here’s how Job responded to God taking him to school regarding his questioning of The Almighty (The Unlimited Being): “I’m speechless, in awe—words fail me. I should never have opened my mouth! I’ve talked too much, way too much. I’m ready to shut up and listen.” ^[2] Sometimes, many times, most of the time, we need to shut up and listen to what God’s saying to us. God is ready to speak to the person who has questions. Therefore, refrain from limiting God with your limited perspective of the questions. Let’s think about it differently: if you genuinely believe in God, The Unlimited Being, would you even try to question what He does? It would seem a little strange for a person to question someone they believe and know is God.

What does this have to do with Bible study?
I think the most challenging aspect regarding the Bible is that the books are all about God. All other books that we have, for the most part, are about people. To study the Bible, we must get beyond a limiting frame of thinking as it relates to God. Therefore, it’s essential to change reference points. We tend to view the Bible from an Earth-to-Heaven perspective instead of Heaven-to-Earth. We know this is true with our studies of space and the discovery of galaxies. The overarching question is: are we alone in the universe? The obvious answer is no; otherwise, there would be no need for the question in the first place. Earth, as a speck in the galaxy, now puts our point of view in the right place. We aren’t the center of it all; God is.

In other words, we have to get an uncommon, non-average view of the word of God, which I’d refer to as the Bible. It starts with how we recognize who God is in three parts. I need to readjust or alter your view of those three words: The Unlimited One. The Bible says these words using one word: Father. It does so to move the thoughts of The Unlimited Being, being untouchable, to The Unlimited Being, being relational. He’s The Father.

As we do this, I want to start bringing the picture of this phrase into focus for you: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The first piece of God is that of the Father. In the eyes of every child who has had a father, their father, they considered their father as unlimited, at some point earlier than later. There’s a reason for that. It’s an idea that comes from God. God is The Father of fathers, God of gods, King of kings, and Lord of lords. ^[3] That’s how He refers to himself as The Father.

Question: What is one limited way you have thought of God?

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[1] Psalms 139:7-10 NKJV, Bible.com, accessed August 15, 2024, https://www.bible.com/bible/114/PSA.139.7-10
[2] Job 40:3-5 NLT, Bible.com, accessed August 15, 2024, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/JOB.40.3-5
[3] Revelation 19:16 NLT, Bible.com, accessed August 15, 2024, https://www.bible.com/bible/116/REV.19.16

All Scripture references used by permission, see our Scripture copyrights.