As we look at the scriptures and the history of faith since the early church, fatherhood in the church plays a significant role. Now whilst some will say our society has changed with males and females being equally responsible for things, the concept of fatherhood is still important for us as individual Christians and as a bunch of people that God loves.
The New Testament Church emphasises God as father, far stronger than the church in the Old Testament.
There are only a few references to God as father in the Old Testament and most centre around God being the Father who creates us and rescues us....read Psalm 89:26 and Isaiah 64:8.
But in the Gospel of John alone, God as Father is mentioned at least 115 times....
In John 14:9 Jesus says "The Father and I are exactly alike. If you have seen me, you've seen Him."
The two words in the New Testament used for God as father are Pater and Abba.
Pater is the more common one, and in the New Testament it is not just used for God the father, but also biological fathers, legal, ancestors and fathers of a clan.
It has the sense of someone who is senior, wise, mature, important, someone who guides, encourages and disciplines.
Abba is less common. We can find it in only 3 passages, all 3 refer only to God the Father.
Read Mark 14:36, Romans 8:16-17 and Galatians 4:6-7.
What are these passages saying about the type of relationship God desires with Jesus and us?
Does talking to God as Abba change the way we relate to God our king?
Something to think and talk about
What does it mean for God to be our Father?
How does this help us in our role as leaders?
Another important role that scripture reveals is that earthly fathers have a responsibility in caring for those who are younger and less mature in the faith than them. And when Jesus says "Go and make disciples of all nations", there is encouragement to the disciples not limited to those who simply bear children, but also leaders that they are encouraged to be fathers to those who are new to and growing in the faith.
Read to discover more what this entails Deuteronemy 6:4-12, Ephesians 6:4 and 1 Thesselonians 2:11-12
What is this saying about the role of fathers?
How does this apply to my role as a leader in the church?
Some things to think about during the week
What can I learn from God about being a father?
What young people has God put in my life (in my family, street, workplace, social scene and church) that God is calling me to train, encourage, comfort and urge in the faith?
Whether I am a male or female leader, how does the the bible's discussion on fatherhood shape how I nurture the faith in those God has entrusted me with?
If you have futher comments please feel free to leave them at the bottom of the page.....
2 comments:
Interesting perspective, but where does this leave female leaders? Or are you suggesting that femaleness and leadership are mutually exclusive in the church?
Normally I don't take too much notice of anonymous comments and won't publish them because encouraging anonymous letters and criticism is not helpful for the Christian life.
However on this occasion I thought it best to answer the question that some people maybe asking from this short study.
My focus was to encourage PEOPLE to think about How does God the Father help them as leaders and what aspects of fatherhood that appears in the bible is helpful for them as leaders.....regardless of whether they are male or female leaders (I don't believe I have made reference to anything else.)
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