Our Father in heaven

Right at the beginning of the prayer, we need to know who it is that we’re praying to. When we come to the God of the universe in prayer, Jesus tells us, we can call him Father. There’s a complete summary of the Christian faith wrapped up in that single word, Father. When we bow before God, and call him Father, we acknowledge that at the heart of the universe there is not only ultimate power, but ultimate love too.

It’s a wonderful privilege, to be able to call God, Father. The people of God in the Old Testament didn’t address him individually as Father. In fact, the word Father for God was rarely used, and on those occasions it was used, it always referred to the relationship of God to the nation of Israel. As far as we are aware, people such as Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, or Daniel — those great saints from the Old Testament — never addressed God as their Father when they prayed to him in the solitude of their tents. Yet in the New Testament, that is how we’re told to speak to God — at least 275 times! When we come to the sovereign majesty of the universe, because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, and his subsequent resurrection, the word that should fall readily from our lips is Father. Awesome!

When we address God as “Our Father in heaven”, as in the Lord’s Prayer, we recognize the intimacy that we have with God as our Father, and also the awe we should have as we come to him in prayer. By teaching us to pray in this way, Jesus is saying that this One to whom we come to as Father is the sovereign God of heaven, the God of all power, the God of all authority.

The early Jewish Christians probably understood having a proper awe of God easier than intimacy with him. We seem to have swung to the other extreme nowadays, and God is often referred to in anything but awe-inspiring terms. I can’t quite imagine the men and women of the Bible speaking of “the big man upstairs”, or other similar phrases. To say that God is our Father doesn’t imply that he is a great, big, huggable teddy bear.

The Bible manages to keep the tension between intimacy and awe. In the letter to the Hebrews we read, “Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). The fact that we come to a throne should fill us with awe. But it’s approachable because it’s a throne of grace. Thanks to Jesus Christ, the sovereign, almighty God of the universe has allowed us to approach him in prayer, and address him as Father!

This is the second post in a series that will offer a reflection based on each of the clauses of the Lord’s Prayer

You give us gifts and make them grow

The “Gifts of the Spirit” appear to be making the news again. Todd Bently, ministering at Lakeland, at what has become known as the Florida Revival, and Trevor Baker, ministering to the people of Dudley, at what has become known as the Dudley Outpouring, are two of the main people involved in this recent explosion.

I have to say, right from the start, that I’m somewhat sceptical of such movements. I guess, in this particular thing, I’m a little like Thomas, and need to see things for myself. But I do know that there are some very sincere people who have been affected by these events, and set great store by them.

However, I like to, at least try to, keep an open mind; and certainly don’t want to limit God by keeping him in my particular box.

My own, somewhat more conservative, thoughts on the spiritual gifts go something like this:

There are several instances recorded in the book of Acts in which the apostles were involved in healing and casting out demons (3:2-16; 5:12-16; 9:36-42; 20:6-12; 28:1-6). These miracles helped to give validity to the apostles’ teaching. Only two people who weren’t apostles were said to have performed miracles: both specially commissioned “deacons” (Acts 6:5), Stephen (Acts 6:8) and Philip (Acts 8:5-13).

The apostles had a unique function to play in the establishment of the early church. Ephesians 2:20 tells us that the church was “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone”. Paul spoke of miracles being the mark of a true apostle. Describing his own ministry he wrote, “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, signs and wonders and mighty works” (2 Corinthians 12:12).

Nowhere in the New Testament do we find believers in general performing the same types of dramatic miracles as the apostles do. The apostles were commissioned especially for the founding stage of the church.

I don’t think we need dramatic “signs and wonders” to mature or minister, we can do both without the drama. “Allowing the Spirit to do his work” doesn’t mean we have to have out of control Church services. Our Lord is a God of order (1 Corinthians 14:40), and he produces the fruit of self-control (Galatians 5:23).

People asked Jesus for a sign, and he told them, “An evil and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it” (Matthew 12:39). They were curious but not ready to repent and follow him yet. And the same problem exists today, people who have little desire to involve themselves in the spiritual self-discipline needed for personal growth, still want to see a show of supernatural power.

Despite all the protests to the contrary, those who promote the use of “spiritual gifts” — such as: speaking in tongues; healing; words of knowledge; prophetic utterances; and ecstatic feelings — do exert an intimidating force on those who don’t share their experiences, or question their validity. I’ve been on the receiving end of that intimidation, and the urge to conform was immense, and not from God.

Paul warned the Corinthian believers against false teachers who were trying to force them into submission with incredible claims of spiritual authority (2 Corinthians 11:1-15). These “super-apostles” even claimed to be superior to Paul. He was concerned that the believers may be led astray from the simple truth of the gospel.

We would be naive to think that we don’t face the same threat today. That’s why we must carefully examine our faith, evaluate what we’re being told, and test all things by what God has said in the Bible. We should do as the Bereans did; they “examined the scriptures every day” to see if what Paul preached to them was true (Acts 17:11).

I think I’ve wandered far enough away from the phrase chosen in this week’s Collect, so should probably stop now. I think what I’m really trying to say with the above is, let’s not deny the spiritual gifts, but let’s be careful out there and be sure they do come from God. But, I suspect, that isn’t quite what the Collect is referring to. Just as well this blog is about personal reflections.

Generous God,
you give us gifts and make them grow:
though our faith is small as mustard seed,
make it grow to your glory
and the flourishing of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Additional Collect for The Seventh Sunday after Trinity
is Copyright © The Archbishops Council