Have you ever wondered what God thinks about you? In The Love of the Father, Ben Stuart reminds us that we are recipients of the perfect love of God and shows us through Scripture what it looks like to relate to God as our Father.
Scripture References
3.But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
16.For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.
6.yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
3.Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4.For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5.he1:4,5 Or sight in love. 5 He predestined us for adoption to sonship1:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture. through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6.to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
29.Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.10:29 Or will; or knowledge
1.The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;
3.Our God is in heaven;
he does whatever pleases him.
1.See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
4.But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5.made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6.And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7.in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8.For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
37.Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’22:37 Deut. 6:5
38.For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39.neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
17.The Lord your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
4.In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5.And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,6.because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”12:5,6 Prov. 3:11,12 (see Septuagint)7.Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8.If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9.Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live!
About the Contributor
Ben Stuart is the pastor of Passion City Church D.C. Prior to joining Passion City Church, Ben served as the executive director of Breakaway Ministries on the campus of Texas A&M. He also earned a master’s degree in historical theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Donna, live to inspire and equip people to walk with God for a lifetime. View more from the Contributor.