GOD, THE FATHERChristian Unity Includes

Adoring and AppreciatingGod the Father

Eph 4:1-6

Eph 4:6 – “One God . . .” There is only one God There is None comparable to Him

The Otherness of God So “Other” than you or me

His Righteousness versus ours – Rev 16:5 His Power compared to ours– Psalm 33:6-9 His Eternal Nature – “the I AM has sent you”

1 Timothy 1:17 He is Creator. So, Who Else is

comparable to God? Who could be?

Eph 4:6 - “One God and Father”

God as Our Father is within Ephesians 1:3 1:17 2:13 3:14 5:20

He is Father: so, we are His family. Jesus gave us the right to become family.

John 1:11-13 Are you an “only child”? Or, conversely,

have you brothers and sisters?

“One God and Father of All”

All = Not one is Missing 1 John 3:1 – What manner of love does it

take to make you and me His children? What manner of forgiveness does it take? What manner of inward strength? What manner of mercy? Romans 11 and 12 You and I should hold tight to provide same

spirit of love, forgiveness, inward strength, mercy – 1 John 3:2-23 – to His family.

“All” means “all believers”

God, Who is Above All

Isaiah 46:8-10 God is Transcendent So although the creation is exquisite, He

is far above it – not held only within it. The flower, the electron, the Grand Canyon all

show God’s purpose, aesthetic and precise abilities, but God is not just the flower itself, or the electron or the canyon.

God is high above the Milky Way, but is seen in the majestic power of that galaxy.

A Transcendent God, Rev 4:11 “His Will”

God, Who is Above All

God is Sovereign Psalm 115:3

He will do as He wishes As with Job, my qualms are resolved:

Why am I now a member of this local church in this city?

Am I doing the right thing right now? Can I really get along with that sister who

offended me last month? That brother? Will tomorrow be ok? How?

1 Chronicles 29:11; Daniel 4:34

God, Who is Through All

God is not just above all, He is Immanent This means He is inherent or present

throughout the universe. Job 12:10 Acts 17:25,28 Col 1:17, proving Christ is God Heb 1:3, proving Christ’s Deity The Father remains within His creation,

HOWEVER . . .

God, Who is Through All

God is distinct from His creation. Psalm 33:13,14 Romans 11:33,34 – His mind is separate

from the earth

Our God is Through Everything on Earth.

God, Who is In You All

“God is Creator”, the Deist says and stops short of Truth.

“God is in the Creation”, the Pantheist says and stops short of Truth.

And here, the Bible says God is actively alive in individual

believerswhich believers comprise His family.

God, Who is In You All

No One is Left Out – God is in Each Have you left out, discounted, moved

from, forgotten any believers? In You All, Paradox of Psalm 139 Same Paradox of Acts 17

He is so high above all, but so near!

God, Who is In You All

2 Corinthians 6:16 How He gives you His undivided attention 1 John 4:12 Note that He is not giving you the

standard of right, but He is the Standard of Righteousness.

God does not just set the standard of mercy; but rather, He is the Standard of Mercy.

We are united because

One God and Father of All

Who is Above AllAnd Through All

And In You All