TEXT:
‘If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him’ (John 14:7)
When the disciples wanted to know what God the Father was really like, Jesus said a remarkable thing, ‘He who has seen Me has seen the Father’ (John 14:9). So to understand who the Father is, all we have to do is study the life of Jesus.
Millions throughout the world have a “god” that’s nothing more than an idol, with hands that cannot hold anything, ears that cannot hear anything, mouths that cannot say anything, and feet that cannot walk anywhere. Thank God, the Christian does not believe in a God like that!
Millions more have no faith in God at all and therefore have no hope. Such are plunging headlong into a lost eternity without even a thought as to what happens after they die.
Note that Romans 15:4 reveals we get patience or endurance and comfort through the scriptures. God is the same as He is revealed in the Bible. Mankind has all sorts of ideas of God, but it’s what the Bible says that counts, and it is the final authority on the matter. That is why Jesus said, ‘Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved’ (Matthew 5:17-18 NLT).
So, what is the one true God really like? Reading Romans chapter 15 recently, there are four descriptions of God that Today’s Teaching focusses on.
1. The God of Patience v5
He is the God of patience and endurance. ‘In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them. But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!’ (Nehemiah 9:30-31).
God had to put up with the Children of Israel’s bad behaviour, not just in the wilderness but also when they occupied the Promised Land, but He did not write them off. He promised that they would return from exile in Babylon. He keeps in mind the end picture, when Christ will rule and reign in righteousness.
He is the same with us and expects us to show that patient endurance when dealing with other people, whatever they throw at us. ‘So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure’ (2 Thessalonians 1:4). The new Christians in Thessalonica were able to endure whatever life threw at them. They drew encouragement that if Jesus could endure, they could too!
2. The God of Comfort v5
Endurance and comfort go together. God knows what you are going through, even if nobody else does. ‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God’ (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).
God’s comfort is there when we pass through tough times, ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me’ (Psalm 23:4). How many have found comfort reading the scriptures and reminding themselves of God’s promises to bring them through.
What God does for us, we are to do for other people, ‘Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing’ (1 Thessalonians 5:11). It’s important to keep on comforting for it is easy to stop and think only of oneself.
3. The God of Hope – ‘Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’ v13
God gives hope, for from hope faith can rise. It was hopeless for Abraham and Sarah to have a child, but not for the God of hope, who imparted that hope to Abraham: ‘(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be’ (Romans 4:17-18).
If the God of hope could do that for Abraham, what can He do for you? The Bible says, ‘Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say’ (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17).
4. The God of Peace – ‘Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen’ v33
- The Fact – ‘Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 5:1)
We rejoice in the certainty of this promise. We are not trying to be at peace with God, we have that peace because of Jesus. God has reconciled Himself with us, all we have to do is be reconciled with God.
- The Challenge – ‘Don’t quarrel with anyone. Be at peace with everyone, just as much as possible’ (Romans 12:18 MSG)
What helps us to do this is remembering how much God has forgiven us. That way, what other people have done to us pales into insignificance. After all, Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Forgive us our sins, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us’ (Matthew 6:12 TLB).
Paul reminded the Philippians, ‘Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you’ (Philippians 4:9 NLT).
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