1 Corinthians 1:3 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. From the Gospels it may be efficiently set forth and illustrated that the Father name for God was a most marked feature in our Lord's life and teachings. He seldom or ever used any other name; and a candid reader cannot fail to realize that in this "Father name" must lie much of the secret of his mission. It may be further shown from the Epistles that his disciples caught his purpose; and, with great frequency, they use the names Father for God, and its correlate, Son, for the Lord Jesus. This appears in the text, but connected with a different name for the Lord Christ. PAUL'S PREVAILING THOUGHT FOR GOD. The Father; our Father; the Church's Father. Towards realizing the aspects of the Divine Being that are gathered under this name, we gain help by considering the natural associations and duties of paternity; the idea of the tribal patriarch as found in the early ages; and the prophetic qualifications of the sterner and governmental conceptions of God which are found in the Mosaic system. If the Father name for God be an essential, and a foundation of Christianity, as set forth by the Apostle Paul, then we must expect to find the entire Christian revelation toned and conditioned by this primary conception of the Divine Being and relations. This may be worked out and illustrated in connection with either of the primary Christian truths. And it may be pointed out that the term "Father" is properly inclusive of all holy demands, all governmental authorities, all reverential relations; but it is new and infinitely precious to the race, because it brings home the possibility of God's individual and personal love to each member of it. In that lies a great part of the attractive and persuasive power of Christianity. - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.WEB: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. |
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