Our Commitment - To God the Father

Our commitment as believers is first to God – the person. There is only one God according to= the Bible. Yet God is Triune. There is the Father, the Son and t= he Holy Spirit. This is evident = in many passages of the Bible like in the verses Mathew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14. The Trinity is a myste= ry, and we have no vehicle, no means, to express it adequately. When we say our commitment is firs= t to God we mean the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<= /span>

Specifically, our commitment to the Father refers to our commitment to expressing Him. This is the p= urpose of the ages for the church as seen in Ephesians 3:10-11. As the church we are the Body of C= hrist, the one new man, to express our Father God. Without our commitment to this pur= pose, God will remain largely invisible to the world. “[We] are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that [we] may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness i= nto His marvelous light” (1Pet 2:9).

Our elder brother Jesus, in the four gospels lived a perfect [complete] life on the earth, expressing the Father.&= nbsp; Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father and Jesus replied <= i>“He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). As with Jesus, the fi= rst born son of God, we as the many sons have been brought into this commitment. Today there are millions of members in the Body of Christ who are all over the world that c= an express their heavenly Father in their work places, in their homes and in a= ll situations.

Since the day we were regenerated, the Fathers life has been growing in= us and as He lives in us we begin to express His life and nature in our living= as a testimony. There are many attributes of the Father like holiness, goodness, love, righteousness, wisd= om, faithfulness, mercy, compassion, kindness, longsuffering, etc. that will be expressed in those fully involved in this commitment.

In the universe God alone is holy.&nbs= p; Where all else is common, only God is different and distinct. You may be sinless and perfect, bu= t if you are not one with God, you are not holy. The four living creatures have no = rest day or night saying “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty” (Rev 4:8).&nb= sp; Holiness is the one characteristic that even God Himself swears by.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Jesus lived a human life separate = and distinct from all that was common. The apostle Paul and many others with him were rescued from a common life of religion to become a holy temple in the Lord. Even the tabernacle moves us from = the outer-court, through the holy place to end up in the holy of holies. Eventually, the church, = “holy and without blemish”= ; will become the holy city New Jerusa= lem for eternity.

“No one is good except One-- God” (Luke 18:19). Goodness is an extremely comprehensive attribute that should be multiplied in our lives in the shape= of good works. “We are His masterpiece, create= d in Christ Jesus for good works” (Eph 2:10).&nbs= p; In the Fathers household arrangement, “we know that all things work together= for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom 8:30). Eventually, in our daily living we are those “bearing fruit in every good work and growing by the full knowledge of God” (Col 1:10). It is not our = trying to do or be good, but it is God’s very nature emanating from us in all manner of good works. In other words, goodness is communicative to those we are with as “<= span style=3D'mso-arabic-font-family:Arial;mso-cyrillic-font-family:Arial;mso-de= fault-font-family: Arial;mso-greek-font-family:Arial;mso-hebrew-font-family:Arial;mso-latin-fo= nt-family: Arial;mso-latinext-font-family:Arial'>His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all” (Eph 1:23).

We express God who is love which is exemplified in self sacrifice, show= n in loving all, not just those who like us.&nb= sp; This love is proven by practical help. We also, express the God who is righteousness, the governing principle of God’s kingdom, a fruit that= we should be full of, even the “clothing” t= hat we wear. “It was given to her [the lambs wife] that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the f= ine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints̶= 1; (Rev 19:8).

These and many other divine attributes of our Father must be lived out = of His many sons that He could be expressed.&= nbsp; As the many sons of the Father this is our commitment, that God who lives in us has an outlet to be expressed through us.