Where is God

This catchy jingle is probably an accurate representation of Family members’ attitude towards God the Father, and concisely reflects their relationship with Him. Most Family members would see nothing wrong with this way of conducting their prayer life and might make a comment along the lines of, “Sure, why not?” Most SGAs learned this song as small children, most new disciples are encouraged from the very beginning to pray directly to Jesus. Most Family members would vehemently oppose any suggestion that they should do things differently, and many indeed, look down on church people who pray to ‘God almighty out there in the distant we-know-not-where.’ In other words, there is a tendency within the Family to consider themselves as praying considerably more personal prayers than most other Christians, of thinking that they have a much more intimate relationship with Jesus than others do, to the almost complete neglect of God the Father. In general, whenever Family members use the term ‘Lord’, they are referring to Jesus, not God the Father.

The Family picture is of a rather distant (though definitely loving) God Who has appointed His Son as the sole representative of the divine Trinity. In other words, not only is our salvation solely through Jesus, but (in the Family) also our prayer life, service and indeed our entire concept of Christianity centres on Jesus the Son to the almost total exclusion of God the Father.

Now, before we go any further, let’s make it clear that the purpose of this study is not to indiscriminately blast any and all Family doctrines solely on the grounds that they happen to be ‘Family doctrines’. In other words, please do not assume that this introduction implies that this Family way of thinking about God is totally wrong. The purpose of this study, and indeed this entire web site is not to shoot down every Family doctrine while exalting the authors’ views. Rather the one guiding premise is that the Bible is Truth itself, by which everything must be judged. Every detail of our lives from birth to death must be judged by this Truth. When our lives are over, it will be our obedience to biblical Truth that is judged, not our particular interpretations of the Bible. Note that we’ll be judged by our actions, we’ll be measured by our obedience to what the Bible says, not by our mental acceptance of the Bible. That is, it will never be enough to say, ‘Sure, I believe the Bible’ if we do not put the Bible into practice. Even the most loyal Family members will admit that it is fair to say that in the Family, Family word takes precedence over the Bible. GNs form the basis of most, if not all, daily devotions to which a few supplementary Bible verses are added upon occasion. There is no emphasis within the Family on gaining a thorough knowledge of the Bible, however there is an extremely strong weight given to a thorough knowledge of the GNs, particularly the most recent publications. This web site seeks to restore the Bible to its rightful place of prominence, not to blast and condemn Family members for perceived error. This introduction then, is an essential description of Family beliefs on the topic of God the Father, without which we cannot present an accurate comparison of these beliefs and what the Bible actually says.

To continue our description of the picture Family members have of God the Father, we are given numerous memorable illustrations of the relationship between God, Jesus and us, such as that of the iceberg, where God is represented by the bulk of the ice hidden under the water, and Jesus is the tip on the surface that we can see. Or, Jesus is like a portrait of God. God is just too big, too mighty, filling the entire universe, so He gave us Jesus, like a photograph we can hold in our hands. Jesus is something we can see and understand, thus enabling us to have some kind of idea about God.

Family children are given cute pictures of the happy holy family in heaven, wreathed in warm friendly smiles, surrounded by hearts and rainbows, with plaques on the divine walls that say, ‘God is L♥ve’.

In witnessing, Family members will explain that God is love and that God is a spirit, and that He gave His only begotten Son for us. And so from John 3:16, the emphasis is moved pretty quickly onto Jesus, where it stays from then on.

Most Family members would never think of praying to God the Father, apart from the occasional Lord’s prayer. The phrase ‘in Jesus’ name, amen’ (with some minor variations) is an indispensable part of every prayer, as is the opening ‘Dear Jesus’. Praise time is directed almost exclusively to Jesus, and any renegade praises to God the almighty Father sound rather ‘churchy’.

So, is this the right way to conduct our spiritual lives, or are we neglecting a proper balance here? Does the Bible really say that God is too big to talk to, or are we guilty of ignoring inconvenient passages? There are even some denominations which say that we should never pray to Jesus, only to God in Jesus’ name. Could they be right? The Family, on the other extreme, says in effect that it is completely unnecessary to pray to God (or almost completely unnecessary), but if we pray directly to Jesus in His own name we will establish a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus Himself.

Salvation comes only through Jesus

For a start, there is no way we can hold any kind of relationship with God unless we have accepted His Son. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was the only possible means of reconciling us to God. We may be forgiven only because of Jesus. We cannot be saved without Jesus.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Jesus is God incarnate. He came as God in the flesh, He was born as both God and man.

John 1:1,14

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 10:30 “I and My Father are one.”

We can understand God by looking at Jesus. God is in Jesus, and Jesus is in God. Jesus came to earth to speak His Father’s words, and to do His Father’s will.

John 14:9-10

9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

10 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

It’s impossible to have any kind of relationship with God unless we also have a relationship with Jesus. And, once we establish our relationship with Jesus, we have automatically been accepted by God.

I Jn 2:23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

We are to meet and pray in Jesus’ name.

Matt 18:20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

John 14:13-14

13 “And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

When we are troubled, we may come to Jesus, take His yoke on us and learn of Him.

Matt 11:28-30

28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

In fact, we cannot even begin to understand God unless Jesus allows it.

Matt 11:27 “All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

Conversely, we cannot begin to understand Jesus unless God allows it.

John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

From these verses and many others we can see that Jesus is absolutely indispensable for our salvation, in our prayer life and in our entire Christian walk. There is no question about it. However, we must ask ourselves what God the Father’s role is. Is it enough to walk with Jesus and assume that He will take care of any necessary business with His Father?

Jesus is the mediator between God and man.

Our eternal salvation is based upon the fact that Jesus died for our sins. We are not saved because of Jesus’ miracles, we are not saved because He spoke words of comfort, we are not saved because He blasted the self-righteous Pharisees. Salvation does not come when we believe Jesus wants us to ‘love one another’, ‘follow Him’ or ‘forsake all’. There is no salvation in renouncing materialistic ways and setting our affection on things above. The only way salvation ever comes is when we accept God’s forgiveness for our sins due to Jesus’ atonement on the cross. That is the starting point from which our Christian life begins. This may appear obvious, but it is essential to make this clear at this point in our study.

Sin separates us from God. Without salvation we are doomed to eternal death, eternally separated from God, eternally apart from all light, hope, truth and love. Jesus, being fully God and fully man paid the price for our sins to enable us to become united with God’s light, hope, truth and love.

Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary:

MEDIATOR

One who goes between two groups or persons to help them work out their differences and come to agreement. A mediator usually is a neutral party, a go-between, intermediary, or arbitrator who brings about reconciliation in a hostile situation when divided persons are not able to work out their differences themselves.

Jesus as Mediator in the New Testament. From the New Testament perspective, there is ultimately only “one Mediator between God and man” <1 Tim. 2:5>-- Jesus the Messiah. He alone, being fully God, can represent God to man, and at the same time, being fully man, can represent man to God. He alone can bring complete reconciliation, because He alone can bring about complete payment for man’s sin and satisfaction of God’s wrath. He alone can bring everlasting peace.

A word on the Trinity

It’s likely we’ll get a bit confused as we discuss the different terms for referring to God, so it may be best for the purposes of this page to propose a definition. ‘God’ refers to the eternal ‘Godhead’, to the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is comprised of, without ever becoming plural, God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. All three are one, one is all three. There are many illustrations and metaphorical examples given to help us try to get a grasp on the concept of the triune God, all are helpful by giving us some understandable idea, all are flawed because it is impossible to compare almighty God to anything on earth without falling far far short.

Our salvation then, is based on God’s desire for us to be united to Him (that’s the triune God, all three in one). So, God the Father sent God the Son to die for us that our sins may also die, and God the Holy Spirit brought Him back to life that our new life may also be a work of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is the mediator between God (all three, including Himself) and man. Jesus is inseparable from God. He is inseparable from His Father, inseparable from the Holy Spirit. The word ‘Trinity’ does not appear in the Bible. It is merely a convenient term of reference for the triune God.

Jesus reconciles us to God (the Trinity)

Rom 5:1-2

1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The only way we may approach God is through Jesus Christ. To this end, He prays continually for us.

Heb 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

So, what is the role of God the Father?

God the Father, is not only Jesus’ Father, but He is also our Father. Our salvation is likened to an adoption, where we were in bondage to sin under the law and were adopted by God the Father through the sacrifice on the cross of His Son.

Rom 8:15-17

15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

17 and if children, then heirs-- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Upon salvation, we are given the right to call out to the Father. In fact, one of the signs that we are saved is that we cry out to God the Father.

Gal 4:4-7

4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”

7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Now, this page is not a judgement on the salvation of Family members, past or present. However, as we shall see, there are numerous verses specifically exhorting us to call out to God the Father. Therefore, if we see that we are reluctant to do this, it may be time to check our hearts to see what is blocking our access to Him. Again, despite the fact that the following verses emphasise our relationship with God the Father, they should not necessarily be taken to mean that we are not to pray to Jesus. Rather, we should ask ourselves why we find it difficult to pray to God the Father, when we are told repeatedly that this is a normal part of our salvation and it seems to be essential to our Christian life.

Giving Thanks

God the Father should be the object of our gratitude. We should thank God the Father for everything.

Eph 5:20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Although our works may be done in the name of Jesus, our thanks should be directed to God the Father.

Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

On Prayer:

Jesus told us to pray to God the Father. Why would we feel it is somehow ‘churchy’ to pray to our Father in Heaven? What is wrong with us that we feel awkward to address God using the same words that Jesus told us to? Now, not many Family members would feel uncomfortable about praying the Lord’s prayer, but how many feel at ease in opening their prayer for united devotions with the words, “Our Father in heaven”? Is it normal to hear people who pray for the food at meal times, begin by praying to “Our Father”?

Matt 6:8-9

8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

9 “In this manner, therefore, pray: our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.

Note that the Lord’s prayer covered a large variety of topics, including meal times, witnessing, personal relationships, trials and persecutions, our own yieldedness, and of course, ‘praise time’. Therefore, why should it not be perfectly natural and normal to pray to our ‘Father in heaven’ whenever we pray about any of these topics. Remember, the purpose of this study is not to say that it is somehow wrong to pray, ‘Dear Jesus, bless this food’, but rather to ask, bearing in mind that Jesus told us that we should address God the Father directly, why do we in the Family seem to have an unspoken aversion to pray, ‘Our Father in heaven, bless this food…’?

A quick look through the Gospels will find an abundance of instructions saying that we should pray to God the Father, and very few that say we should pray to Jesus.

When we have private prayer time, do we regularly address our prayers to God the Father? Occasionally? Ever?

Matt 6:6 “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

When we pray publicly, do we address our prayers to God the Father knowing that it is He Who answers them? In the following verses, Jesus told us to pray to God the Father in Jesus’ name, and then God the Father Himself would answer us.

John 16:23-24

23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.

24 “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

When we gather together for fellowship or devotions or prayer time, we are to gather in Jesus’ name, and then our united prayers will be answered by God the Father.

Matt 18:19-20

19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.

20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

There are plenty of verses where Jesus said that God the Father would answer our prayers and that we should direct our prayers to Him.

Matt 7:11 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Luke 11:13 “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

John 15:16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.

Praise and worship

God the Father want us to praise Him. It’s funny, but in the Family we are very comfortable with the Bible term ‘praise’, but somehow feel that the other Bible term ‘worship’ is a bit churchy. But Jesus said that God the Father actually desires people to worship Him.

John 4:23 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.

We should humbly bow in submission and gratitude and worship to God the Father. It’s not some old-fashioned church-made tradition to pray to and worship God the Father, it’s actually in the Bible, and something is wrong if we are unable or unwilling to do this.

Eph 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

Eph 5:20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Salvation

Even John 14:6, that most famous of salvation verses indicates that Jesus is the way to the Father. It does not say that receiving Jesus gives us access to Jesus, but that as we go through Jesus we may come to the Father Himself.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

This raises the question: if we never come to God the Father, if we never praise and ‘worship’ the Father, if we never give thanks to the Father, if we never address our public prayers to the Father, if we never pray to God the Father while alone in our private prayer time, are we really saved?

Not that saying ‘Dear Father God’ is the means to salvation, but rather that salvation will bring us to God the Father.

Eph 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

If we don’t have access to the Father, then something is wrong somewhere, because receiving Jesus as our Saviour will bring us in contact with the Father. Salvation that does not bring us to the Father is no salvation at all.

I Jn 2:23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

Our personal, intimate link with the Lord

It may seem nice to have a cosy relationship with Jesus, justifying to ourselves and to others that there’s nothing wrong with being close to Jesus, hotly defending our intimate link with Jesus, but that’s not the issue in question here. There’s nothing wrong with a personal relationship with Jesus, but as the Bible makes it clear that we are also to have a direct link in prayer and praise with God the Father, it is a part of our spiritual life that we should examine carefully. The Bible says that we are to live in a state of constant fellowship with both the Father and the Son. So, if we do not feel the Spirit of God within us calling out to God as our Father, if we don’t feel comfortable praying to our Father God as Jesus Himself told us to do, then something is seriously wrong somewhere, and we should not rest until we have found the blockage or the sin that is preventing us from coming to the Father.

I Jn 1:3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

As Christians, Jesus lives in us and works through us. Jesus had such a knowledge of His Father that He referred to Him hundreds of times throughout the Gospels. Jesus also told us to pray to ‘our Father in heaven’. If Jesus truly is in us, His Spirit will naturally direct our prayers toward God the Father. If we do not feel that pull of the Spirit to call out to our Father in heaven, to pray to and to praise and thank and worship our Father God in heaven, then we must ask ourselves first if we are resisting the Spirit in some way. Are we preventing the Holy Spirit from praying through us? Are we trying to box the Lord by praying only in the way we prefer?

If we honestly do not think we are resisting the Spirit, we must next consider the shocking question of whether Jesus is actually living in us. The importance of this cannot be overstated. We’re not talking about minor doctrinal disagreements here, we’re not discussing the relevance of the Ten Commandments or the order of end time events. It is possible to misinterpret plenty of doctrines and still avoid the eternal death of separation from God after we die. However there is no way we can escape hell if we do not have access to God the Father through the sacrifice on the cross of Jesus the Son.

Please note that the intention here is not to imply that ‘You are not saved if you don’t agree with me.’ Rather, we are all in the same situation. Every one of us must be assured of his own salvation personally. It will do no good for our faith to rest on what someone else has told us. We must have within our own hearts our personal assurance of salvation, and that can only come according to the way God set down in the Bible. With salvation always comes access to God the Father, the adoption by Him as His sons and daughters.

2 Cor 6:18 I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.

Jesus loves the little children…

Yes He does. He rebuked those who tried to prevent children from coming to Him.

Matt 19:14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

However children should also have within their hearts the peace and assurance of knowing that God the Father of Jesus is also their Father.

I Jn 2:13 I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father.

Witnessing

Anytime we go witnessing, we should remember that we are bringing people to the complete triune God, not just bringing them to Jesus.

Matt 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

This is because Jesus without His Father is not God. Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of the Father is God our Saviour, but Jesus the kind loving friend who makes no reference to his Father in heaven is not God, but an imposter.

That is a strong statement, and more is written on the identity of Jesus within the Family in another study entitled ‘Who is Jesus?’ Suffice it to say for now that Jesus is totally inseparable from His Father God, whether we are discussing salvation, prayer, witnessing, His life on earth or any other part of our Christian lives.

Why should we help others publicly? Why do we show we care for others? Why do we give to those in need, go out of our way to give assistance to the injured man on the road to Jericho? Jesus said we do it that people may see and give glory to God the Father in heaven.

Matt 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Good works that are done to glorify ourselves do not accomplish this purpose.

Matt 6:1-2

1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.

Giving to the poor so that people may think well of you earns no points with God. Participating in ‘Consider the Poor’ exercises to show the world how wonderful the Family is comes into this category. The ‘poor’ that we are ‘considering’ may be helped but we shouldn’t think that by doing so we are earning extra blessings from God. In other words, if a charitable act doubles as an exercise in public relations then it can no longer be thought of as ‘letting our light shine before men.’ Is it therefore wrong to help the poor in the name of the Family? No, of course not, but we should honestly admit that these actions are not glorifying God, they are glorifying the Family. As such, we have our reward in the praise of man.

Genuinely shining our light before men as Jesus told us to involves several principles. First, it must not be our own light, but the light of Him Who is the Light of the world.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Second, it should not be done in such a way that people will glorify ourselves or our home or our ministry or our church or the Family. In fact, the less people who know who we are the better.

Matt 6:3-4

3 “But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4 “that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

Third, all the glory goes to God.

Matt 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Notice that Jesus specifically said the glory should go to God the Father.

In conclusion

A form of Christianity revolving entirely around Jesus without mention of or reference to God the Father seems off balance. Our prayer life should include God the Father, our praise and worship should include God the Father. Our witnessing and giving should be to glorify the triune God, not Jesus alone, and certainly not ourselves. When we lead someone to the Lord, we are showing them how to access God the Father through Jesus Christ His Son. Once we are saved, the Holy Spirit in us will naturally lead us to call out to God as our Father.

As we grow and mature as Christians we will learn more and more about God. Does this mean we’ll be learning about God the Father or Jesus the Son? Colossians 2:2 has the answer.

Col 2:2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ

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