The Baptist Faith And Message: Article 2.A. (God the Father)
Our discussion of God now comes to a discussion concerning the Three persons of the Trinity in a very specific way. I believe that this will be helpful in understanding, from a different perspective, those things that have been covered over the course of the past few weeks.
Today we are Article 2.A. of the Baptist Faith and Message to discuss what we believe about God the Father.
2A. God the Father
God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.
There are a few things that are covered here that need to be discussed. I will split tonight’s discussion along the two things being addressed. The first is God the Father’s relationship within the Trinity and how He relates to the world. The second is the Universal Fatherhood of God, and the divide between liberals and conservatives that has existed along these lines for many years.
God The Father
It is the first part of this statement that we are concerned with right now.
“God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise.”
The first thing we notice is the word “reigns”. The BF&M says that “God as Father reigns”. This is a term of kingship. This is His lordship over all things. This is an expression of God’s rule and reign over all things.
“But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.”—Jeremiah 10:10 ESV
Simply put, God is king. He rules and He reigns. He created all things and all things are His (Genesis 1:1). But God’s ruling and reigning are not distant. He actually cares and oversees what happens within His creation.
The term “providential care” may not be all that familiar to us today. “Providence” is foresight and care given to something. When we say that “God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of history according to the purposes of His grace” we are saying that God is in control and is caring for the world. We are saying that God is caring for the world right now and that He is overseeing and moving all things according to His plan. Over and over we see God’s providence at work, and it’s no wonder for Scripture states that God works everything according to His will.
“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will,”—Ephesians 1:11 ESV
One of the most revealing stories of this occurring in Scripture is the story of Joseph at the end of the Book of Genesis. Joseph’s brothers had sold him into slavery and then he was falsely accused and sent to prison. Years of misery followed his brothers’ decisions. But by God’s providence, Joseph became second in command over all of Egypt. When their father died, his brothers thought that he would have them killed. It makes sense. Now he had an opportunity to get revenge on those who had betrayed him long ago.
But Joseph’s response was different. He understood that God was in control and that He was guiding all of these circumstances according to His will.
“But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”—Genesis 50:20 ESV
Joseph understood that the evil that was done against him was done so that he could save many people.
There is another illustration of this as well and that is Jesus. Peter points this out plainly in his sermon from Acts 2.
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”—Acts 2:22-23 ESV
In the life of Jesus and of Joseph, you see the free acts of individuals that were ordained by God. God providentially cared for His people in such a way that He moved all of history to save the people of Israel and save His people through the death of His Son.
That is providential care. And we are saying that this is the care that God has over all of Creation.
We say this under the heading of “God the Father” because we see throughout Creation and Redemption that what takes place is the Father’s plan.
In the Creation of the world we see God the Father having planned all of Creation, God the Son carrying out the Creation of the world, and God the Holy Spirit holding all things together (Genesis 1:1-2, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:16).
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”—Genesis 1:1-2 ESV
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.”—John 1:1-3 ESV
“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him.”—Colossians 1:16 ESV
And we see the same thing in the work of salvation.
God the Father sent the Son, who came to Earth and accomplished salvation through His perfect life, sacrificial death, and His resurrection.
“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.”—1 John 4:14 ESV.
And Jesus states that it is new birth by the work of the Holy Spirit that enables the person to come to faith in Christ.
“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”—John 3:5-7 ESV
A lot is said about the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer in salvation. A lot can be said here, but we will save that for a few weeks from now when we discuss Article 2.C. But for now, understand that God the Father is seen as the architect of our salvation, the Son carried it out, and the Holy Spirit applies our salvation.
God the Father, the BFM states is, “all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise.”
- All Powerful—having all power
- All Knowing—having all knowledge (past, present, future, potential future outcomes)
- All Loving—completely perfectly loving.
- All Wise—having all knowledge
Since these have been discussed to some extent already, a few weeks ago, we will not go over these attributes again. But understand that these, and all other attributes of God are equally found in each person of the Trinity.
The Response To Liberalism
Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930) was a famous professor of church history who was incredibly influential to those who claim to be “liberal Christians”. This is a “universalist” teaching, meaning those who hold to this believe that God is the Father of all and that all people will be with God somehow in the end in Heaven. This is a hallmark and cornerstone of what is called “Liberal Christianity”.
In response to this we have the statement,
“God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ.”
This phrase was part of the original Baptist Faith and Message of 1925. You have to understand that Harnack’s work spread quickly and had to be dealt with quickly. The SBC was not the only Christian denomination dealing with these things either. The problems were evident in the Presbyterian Church as well, which is why J. Greshem Machen wrote his book “Christianity and Liberalism” in 1923. That was only two years before the 1925 Baptist Faith and Message would be published. In it he wrote,
“It is very strange how those who accept only the universal fatherhood of God as the sum and substance of religion can regard themselves as Christians or can appeal to Jesus of Nazareth. For the plain fact is that this modern doctrine of the universal fatherhood of God formed no part whatever of Jesus’ teaching.”—J. Greshem Machen[1]
In 1933, Machen founded a foreign mission board because the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions was funding missionaries who believed in the Universal Fatherhood of God and were not sharing the gospel overseas. He left Princeton Seminary to found Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, which led to the death of what is now called “Old Princeton Seminary”. Dissatisfied professors left with Machen to found a Conservative Seminary.
I mention this because I want you to understand that the fight with liberalism was raging in 1925 and the Universal Fatherhood of God was being dealt with by everyone. Some were embracing it. Some were rejecting it. And in this statement in 1925, the Southern Baptist Convention was thoroughly on the conservative side and rejected it.
But is it biblical?
That phrase should ring a bell because it is almost directly from The Gospel of John.
“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:9-13 ESV)
In Paul’s letter to the Galatians we see it written a different way.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Galatians 4:4-7 ESV)
The Scriptures teach that we are not, by birth, children of God but that this is something we are given through faith in Christ.
So, what we are saying is that God is not Father in truth to everyone. We don’t all have the right to call God Father. Only those who have trusted in Christ have the right to call God Father.
Now, this does not mean that God is not kind to everyone. Notice that this is addressed as well in the last sentence.
God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.
Stephen Wellum, who is still a professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary stated that,
“The BF&M correctly notes that God, as providential Lord, is “fatherly in his attitude toward all men” (Matthew 5:43-48; Acts 14:15-17; Romans 2:1-4). For in God’s work of providence, He sustains and keeps the world that He has made, sending both rain and sunshine alike upon believer and unbeliever.
However, the great privilege of adoption is reserved only for those who have been joined to Jesus Christ by faith. Galatians 4:1-7 is very clear about this. For it is only when God the Son comes into the world and redeems us by His substitutionary work that we receive the blessing of adoption into the family of God as full sons and daughters of the King. On any other basis, there is no adoption into the family of God.”—Stephen Wellum[2]
The Scriptures really are clear about both ideas. God is benevolent and kind toward everyone. As Jesus stated in the Sermon on the Mount,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48 ESV)
But we understand, even in this passage that there is a differentiation between those who are God’s children and those who are not. In other words, there are two different groups that exist.
Herschel Hobbs was an influential Southern Baptist Pastor who died in 1995 wrote a commentary over the Baptist Faith and Message of 1963. In it he wrote,
“The universal fatherhood of God is a beautiful idea, but is not a reality. All men are God’s creatures, but as such are not God’s children….But He is Father in truth only to those who become His children through faith in His Son.”—Herschel H. Hobbs[3]
That is the differentiation that we as Southern Baptists hold to firmly. God the Father is father in truth only to those who trust in Christ, but is fatherly in His attitude toward everyone. And it is a differentiation that is very important.
I would like to close with some words from J. Greshem Machen from his book “Christianity and Liberalism” on this topic. In it he expresses the love that is shown by making this differentiation.
“There is nothing narrow about such teaching; for the door of the household of faith is open wide to all. That door is the “new and living way” which Jesus opened by His blood. And if we really love our fellowmen, we shall not go about the world, with the liberal preacher, trying to make men satisfied with the coldness of a vague natural religion. But by the preaching of the gospel we shall invite them into the warmth and joy of the house of God. Christianity offers men all that is offered by the modern liberal teaching about the universal fatherhood of God; but it is Christianity only because it offers also intimately more.”—J. Greshem Machen[4]
R. Dwain Minor
[1] J. Greshem Machen, “Christianity and Liberalism”, William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids MI/Cambridge U.K., Pp. 51-52
[2] Stephen Wellum, found in “An Exposition from the Faculty of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on The Baptist Faith And Message 2000”, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2001, Pp. 4-5.
[3] Herschel H. Hobbs, “The Baptist Faith and Message”, Convention Press, 1971, Pp. 38-39
[4] J. Greshem Machen, “Christianity and Liberalism”, William B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids MI/Cambridge U.K., Pp. 53-54