"God, the Father"

At the heart of our Christian understanding of God is a profound mystery. Emphatically, God is one (Mark 12:29) and yet within that unity he is three persons in perfect relationship and harmony, the Trinity. The Apostles’ Creed tells us something about each of them, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

.

First and foremost it says that God is the Father. This was how Jesus saw his own relationship with God (e.g. John 5:17-18; Mark 14:36) and how primarily he revealed to us what God is like. In the parable of the lost son we see God’s fatherly longing for us to return to him and be welcomed by him (Luke 15:11-24) – his longing for us to be brought into a relationship with him in which we know him and address him as our perfect, heavenly Father (Matt.6:9).

.

As children of God through faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit within us cries out to God as “Abba, Father” (Rom.8:15-16). Both then and now abba is a Jewish child’s everyday word for daddy. Believing that God is our Father is not just a title or term of respect; it’s a declaration that our relationship with God is personal, close and loving. Because of that we can trust him totally, knowing that God will gladly give his children all that we need (Luke 11:11-13).