Whatever Happened to God the Father?
Novar DeVante Demetrius Cave
Hi dad, I just thought I would send you a message concerning our conversation yesterday. I’ve been thinking along similar lines recently and I thought I would share some of my ‘thoughts’ on this issue.
The Focus of the Gospel
Without out a doubt the Messiah is the focal character of the New Testament. The four gospels record his earthly history, the epistles explain the meaning of his death/resurrection and Revelation foretells his glorious return. Although Jesus is central he does not ‘replace’ the God of the Old Testament, nor does he replace God in the New Testament, to use the language of Hebrews 1:3, the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being. The Son illuminates the Father rather than eclipsing him. The Son, therefore, illuminates the Father’s activity and acts as a window into the life and deeds of God the Father.
The Foundation of the Gospel
The foundation of the gospel isn’t just mercy and grace, but a merciful and gracious person – the eternal God. He is the first cause and prime – mover. He sends Jesus (Galatians 4:4), empowers Jesus to do miracles (Acts 2:22),
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They don’t separate Jesus’ identity in terms of God and man, but in terms of humble Servant (Matthew – Acts) and exalted Lord (Acts – Revelation). When we worship Jesus were not worshipping a man for being a man, we honour him because God requires it by exalting him as Lord and in another sense we honour him for what he has done as Messiah, Lord and Saviour. Messiah was always to be the true Lord of the world (Psalm 87) and honouring him as such is in direct obedience to God the Father. Nevertheless, the Father is worthy of worship in his own right and I would agree that many Christians (Charismatics in particular) focus on Jesus (or the Spirit) to the exclusion of God the