The sixth word picture is God as our father and we as his children.
Although not everyone had a good biological father—in fact all human fathers make mistakes in raising their children—our spiritual father, God, is without fault, raising us out of perfect love and without error.
With God as our spiritual father, that is our father in heaven, we see him as being wise, loving, disciplining, and patient. Also, as our father there is the hope of us one day receiving an inheritance from him.
For us as God’s children, we are loved, cared for, given generous gifts, and protected. We are also heirs, looking forward to an inheritance that we will one day receive from him—eternal life for all who follow him.
Lastly, just as adult children have the potential for friendship with their earthly parents, we too, are poised to become a friend with our heavenly parent, God.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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When Paul talks in the Bible about marriage, I struggle with his words because he was a bachelor. What does he know about the subject? Peter, on the other hand, was married so I give more credence to what he says on the subject. Even so I struggle a bit when he talks about women as the weaker vessel in 1 Peter 3:7.
This verse is specifically about husbands and wives. It’s part of a longer passage that talks about the marriage relationship. Let’s breakdown what Peter says.
The Weaker Vessel
In looking at multiple versions of this verse, most use the phrase weaker vessel. It offends my sensibilities because I strive to view men and women as equals. Some verses clarify that this weakness refers to physical characteristics, which I understand to be true, even if I don’t want to dwell on it.
The Message translation doesn’t use the phrase weaker vessel. Instead. it says, “as women they lack some of your advantages” (1 Peter 3:7, MSG).
The Expanded Bible clarifies this even further using the phrase as “the less empowered one” and explains that in the society of that time, women tended to have less power and authority (1 Peter 3:7, EXB).
Can we expand our understanding of this teaching beyond marriage to produce a general principle? Or is that taking the verse out of context?
If we choose to extend Peter’s instructions beyond marriage, we should all—men and women—take care in how we treat others who may be a weaker vessel to us: those who lack our advantages, who aren’t as empowered, and who possessed less authority.
The outcome of husbands treating their wives properly, as joint heirs with Jesus, is a more effective prayer life. In this way, Peter gives a command with a promise: treat your spouse well and your prayers won’t be hindered. Other renderings say “blocked” (1 Peter 3:7, CJB) and “ineffective” (1 Peter 3:7, AMP).
Moving Forward
Putting this all together, when husbands treat their wives properly—when everyone treats everyone else with respect—our prayers will be more effective.
Don’t we all want a more vibrant, effective prayer life? Then we should take care how we treat others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Prosperity Is Not a Bad Word, and We Must Start Embracing It as Good
A popular pastime today is to decry prosperity as an evil that plagues the world. These folks think that all people who prosper are greedy and selfish—though some are.
They advocate taking from those who have and give to those who have not. In truth, these people aren’t interested in helping the poor as much as they are envious that others have more than they do.
They miss the point that God wants us to prosper.
The Bible has much to say about prosper and prosperity. We often think of prosper in terms of money, but it also applies to other areas of our life.
Our family can prosper. We can prosper by enjoying good health. And we can prosper in intangible ways when we lead a God-honoring life.
Consider some of what the Bible says about the idea of prospering:
God plans to prosper his people and not harm them, plans to give them hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
God told Jacob to go back home and he would prosper (Genesis 32:9).
You will prosper more, and then you will know that I am your Lord (Ezekiel 36:11).
God made his people prosper while they were in Egypt (Acts 13:17).
Some of these verses apply to individuals, while other passages have a broader audience, but the point we can glean from all these verses—and many others in the Bible—is that God loves us. And he wants us to prosper.
Blessed to Be a Blessing
But many people desiring prosperity, miss the point of why. They think their prosperity is for their benefit and theirs alone. Taken to an extreme we end up with a prosperity gospel and a prosperity theology. Don’t go there.
These overreaches miss the basic biblical truth that God wants us to prosper. He wants to bless us. But why?
God told Abraham, “I will bless you and you will in turn bless others” (Genesis 12:2). This means that God’s blessings are not for us to consume or to squander in conspicuous living.
Our blessings are to share with others. As God is generous with us, may we be as generous toward others.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The Parable of the Lost Son Shows God’s Unconditional Love
Jesus teaches us of his Father’s unconditional love in a parable. Some people call this story “The Prodigal Son,” but calling it “The Lost Son” is more accurate (Luke 15:11-32). In this allegory we have a man and his two boys.
The older son is compliant, while the younger son is rebellious. The younger boy, the prodigal, has the audacity to ask his father for his share of the inheritance while Dad is still alive.
The father agrees, and the son
takes off. He turns his back on his dad. The young man squanders his
inheritance on an unrestrained life. Soon his money is gone. He’s left with
nothing, taking on a despicable job to stay alive.
In his despair, he thinks back to his father and of how well he treats his hired hands. They have it much better than this wayward son—the lost son—who is penniless and starving. He decides to return home in humility.
He plans to beg the father he disrespected to take him on as a hired servant. At least then he’ll have enough to eat.
Meanwhile the father is on the
lookout for his boy.
As the son journeys home, his father spots him in the distance. He runs out to embrace his boy. The son is returning to the father, and the father accepts him without hesitation, without asking questions.
Dad will have none of his boy’s
plea to work for his food as a laborer. Instead the father reinstates the boy’s
status as a son, an heir to all he has. With much joy Dad takes his boy in,
reunited again.
To celebrate, the father throws a lavish party for his boy. He explains his rationale to the older brother. “My boy was as good as dead but is alive again. My lost son is now found.”
The Lost Son and Us
Like the lost son, the same applies to us if we disrespect God and turn our back on him. He’s waiting, looking for us to return. And when we come back, he’ll throw a lavish party. He will reinstate us as his heir.
We were dead but are now alive. We were once lost but are now found.
Whether lost or found, God offers us unconditional love that we don’t deserve. All we need to do is embrace him and accept his love.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Discover
How God Can Have One Son and Have Many Sons (and Daughters) Too
The Bible calls Jesus the Son of God. We see this in forty New Testament verses from speakers ranging from his disciples to his detractors, including evil spirits and even Satan.
Saying that Jesus is the Son of God suggests there’s only one Son. Indeed, other verses—such as John 3:16—call him God’s one and only Son.
This means that God is Jesus’s father, and Jesus is his
only Son.
But if Jesus is the only Son of God, why does the Bible also call us sons and daughters (children) of God? If we receive him (John 1:12), are led by his Spirit (Romans 8:14), and have faith (Galatians 3:26), then we become children of God.
As his children, is that why we pray to him as “Our Father” (see Matthew 6:9) or should only Jesus get to do that?
The Bible is not contradicting itself. Jesus can be the
one and only Son of God and at the same time, we can also be sons and daughters
of God. Here are two ways to understand this.
The Bride of Christ
Jesus talks often about the groom (bridegroom) and his bride, implying that he is the groom and his followers are his bride.
John the Baptist testified that he came to pave the way for the Messiah: Jesus, the bridegroom. The bride belongs to the groom (John 3:27-29).
The apostle John reinforces this in his epic vision that includes a future wedding of bridegroom and bride. Jesus is the Lamb, and we are his bride.
As the bride of Christ, we become God’s children through
marriage. God has one Son, and through our marriage to his Son, we, too, become
the children of God.
However, this idea of being spiritually married to Jesus is hard for many people to accept, especially men. Fortunately, there’s another analogy that’s easier to grasp.
Through Adoption
Another illustration of our relationship with Father God is adoption.
Paul writes that by receiving God’s spirit we’re adopted into God’s family, becoming his sons and daughters. Through God’s spirit, we can then call him, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).
Being adopted as his sons and daughters was God’s plan from the beginning (Ephesians 1:4-6).
Adoption is a beautiful image. As adopted children, God selects us; we’re chosen. The act is intentional.
Through adoption we then become God’s heirs, co-heirs with Jesus (Romans 4:14). As heirs, we receive eternal life from him (Titus 3:7).
We Are Children of God
Through our spiritual marriage to Jesus, we become children of God. Through our spiritual adoption into his family, we also become children of God. As God’s children we are heirs of all he has. This includes the gift of spending eternity with him.
Praise Father God.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Athaliah is an evil woman. She encourages her son, the king, to act wickedly. He does and is soon assassinated.
Then Athaliah seizes control and asserts herself as queen. Her lust for power is so great, she kills all the members of the royal family, including her own grandchildren.
One baby, however, is rescued by his aunt, Jehosheba. His name is Joash. Six years later, he, the rightful heir to the throne, is crowned king by the priest, with the support of the Levites and heads of the leading families.
Athaliah accuses them of treason and tears her clothes to express her outrage. But she can’t change what has happened. At the direction of the priest, the army kills her.
The country celebrates her death and calm returns.
Athaliah could have positively influenced her son and helped him rule wisely. She could have protected and groomed his successor. Had she done so, the people would have celebrated her life; instead they celebrated her death.
Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in e-book, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Hezekiah and Moses Plead with God for a Different Outcome
In Isaiah we read about King Hezekiah. The king is sick, and Isaiah comes to him with a dire message from God. Through Isaiah, God tells Hezekiah to put his affairs in order because his illness is fatal. Death looms.
Though few of us would welcome death, knowing when our end would occur might bring about a certain appreciation. This would give us an opportunity to say our goodbyes and get our estate organized for our heirs.
Hezekiah Prays and Cries to God
But Hezekiah doesn’t give God a heartfelt, or even a respectful, “Thanks for the heads up.”
Instead the king cries bitter tears and reminds God—as if God needed reminding—of his lifetime of faithfulness, devotion, and good living.
Guess what happens next?
God hears Hezekiah’s prayers and sees his tears. God changes his mind. Instead of sticking to the plan that the king’s end is near, God pledges to give him another fifteen years of life (Isaiah 38:1-5).
Moses Also Seeks God’s Favor
However, long before the reign of King Hezekiah, Moses and God have another interesting exchange. When God’s chosen people decide to worship a golden calf instead of him, God has enough.
He says he’ll destroy his people and start over with Moses to make a new nation.
If this happened to me, I’d bow my head in false humility and say something like, “As you wish.” But not Moses. Instead he tries to talk God out of it. Moses fights for the nation of Israel even though they don’t deserve it.
God listens to Moses’s reasoning and he relents from destroying his people as he had planned (Exodus 32:9-14).
God wants to do good things for us, and sometimes all we need to do is ask.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
In the book of Genesis, we meet Abraham. God takes a special interest in Abraham and gives him a bold promise. He pledges to make Abraham “into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2, NIV).
What makes this promise even more incredible is that Abraham is seventy-five years old and has no heirs.
It would seem that this great nation God has in mind will end with Abraham’s death.
Of course, God has a different plan. Miraculously Abraham and his wife Sarah have a child, Isaac, twenty-five years later, when Abraham is 100 years old. Through Isaac, God’s great nation will emerge.
Isaac has Jacob, also called Israel. Jacob has twelve sons, from which the twelve tribes of Israel will emerge. A great nation is born.
But before this happens, Jacob and his family travel to Egypt. They stick around too long and over many generations their growing group becomes oppressed and enslaved.
Four hundred years later Moses leads them out of Egypt to return to the land God originally pledged for Abraham and his family, the Promised Land. There the great nation will live.
However, this great nation almost gets derailed. The trip from Egypt to their future home in Canaan should only take a few days, two weeks tops.
Instead, the journey lasts forty years, because they’re not ready to receive what God has planned for them and because of their disobedience.
Discover What Moses Did When God Offered to Make Him into a Great Nation
At one point, God becomes exasperated with them and tells Moses what he wants to do. Because of the people’s ongoing disobedience and lack of faith, God has had enough. He threatens to strike them down and destroy them.
Then he’ll start over with Moses. He tells Moses, “I will make you into a nation even greater and stronger than they.”
If I were Moses, I’d jump at the chance. After all, these people—God’s chosen people—have caused nothing but frustration and dissension, complaining the whole time.
I’d be happy to be done with them. I’d be honored for God to arrange a do over, starting with me and my children.
Of course, Moses, a humble man—more humble than any other—turns down God’s generous offer. He begs for a second chance for these people who don’t deserve it. And God grants it.
In fact, he’ll give them many more chances in the centuries to come.
But what if Moses didn’t fight for his people and accepted the offer God gave him? Then instead of us talking about the children of Abraham, we’d be talking about the children of Moses.
It wouldn’t be the nation of Israel; it would be the nation of Moses or one of his sons.
Moses, however, is a wise leader. He doesn’t seek to promote himself. Instead he wants what’s best for those who he’s charged to lead—even though they don’t deserve it.
So, it is with God. Everything he gives us is something we don’t deserve.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
