Commentaries on
God the Father
from the early church fathers
» I
believe in God the Father,
by Augustine of Hippo
» God
is Father, by Cyril of
Jerusalem
» The
Foundation
Stone
of the Soul, by Cyril
of Jerusalem
» The
Privilege
and
Responsibility of Calling
God Father, by Cyril
of Alexandria
Commentaries on the Lord's
Prayer from
the early church fathers
» Our
Father, by Gregory
of Nyssa
» Who
art
in
Heaven, by Gregory
of Nyssa
» Hallowed
by
thy
Name, by Origen
» Thy
Kingdom Come, by
Origen
» Thy
will
be
done, by Origen
» Give
us
our
daily bread, by
Gregory of Nyssa
» Forgive
us
our
trespasses, by
Cassian
» And
lead
us
not into temptation,
by Origen
» But
deliver
us
from evil, by
Cyprian of Carthage
Jesus'
Parable on the Father
and the Prodigal Son
» The Return
of the Prodigal Son,
by Rembrandt - Master
Painter and Storyteller
» Parable of the Prodigal Son,
a Gospel reflection by Don
Schwager
|
Introduction to The
Fatherhood of God by Don
Schwager
The essential nature of
God’s relationship with us is that of a
father who loves, cares, protects, and
governs. The Scriptures and the wisdom of
the early church fathers have much to teach
us about the fatherhood of God.
For the people of
Israel the fatherhood of God was a living,
experiential reality. God created Adam in
his image and likeness to be his son
(Genesis 1:26-27). Joined with Eve they
become the father and mother of the human
race (Genesis 3:20). God called Abraham to
be the father of a multitude (Genesis 17:5)
with descendants greater than the sands of
the sea and the stars of the heavens
(Genesis 22:17). The name Abraham literally
means “the father is exalted.”
When God delivered his
people from bondage in Egypt he revealed
himself as the father of Israel – “his
firstborn son” (Exodus 4:22). He was
not only their one true God and master, he
was their provider and protector who freed
them from oppression and slavery and gave
them their daily food in the
wilderness. Despite their repeated
failings and unfaithfulness, God continued
to reveal to Israel his unbounded fatherly
love and compassion (Psalm
103:3-5,13).
Jesus, the eternal Word
of God who became a man for our sake and for
our salvation, revealed the full nature of
the Father to his disciples. John, in the
prologue to his Gospel, writes: “No one has
ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the
bosom of the Father, has made him known”
(John 1:18). To be in the bosom of someone
signified for the Jewish people the deepest
and most intimate of relationships. Jesus,
who is united with his Father in complete
and uninterrupted intimacy, makes it
possible for us to join in that same union
of love and intimacy. Jesus’ longest and
most moving parable is the story of the
prodigal son who foolishly loses his
inheritance, home, and family, then comes to
his senses, repents and returns to the bosom
of his father. Jesus taught his disciples to
pray boldly and confidently to the Father in
heaven (Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke
11:2-4).
In Ephesians 3:14-15,
Paul the Apostle tells us that all
fatherhood, whether spiritual or natural,
takes its name and origin from the Father in
heaven.
The early church
fathers recognized the significance of the
fatherhood of God and explained how the
Scriptures proclaim our new nature as the
adopted sons and daughters of God.
