"The Family Name of God" If you will -- God's honor and reputation -- "A good Name is better than riches" (Prov 22:1). Unless we are reminded, we tend to do the natural -- just honor our natural and spiritual Dads, which is honoring to God, but that is actually only honoring the remnant that Jesus says is still tainted by sin, "If you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall Your father in Heaven give Good things to those who ask" (Matt 7:11), even "The Holy Spirit" (Luke 11:13).
Paul reveals, when he teaches on prayer in Ephesians, essentially the same thing that Jesus opens with when Jesus first considers the topic of prayer, firstly, Paul states his posture (reverence) and focuses on the one to whom he is praying, "I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name"). Jesus taught his disciples first to pray that His Father receive Honor (Matt 6:9, Luke 11:2). Jesus and Paul, through the same Holy Spirit, seem to have this concern about The Father in Heaven, which men and women tend to forget, much less consider or pray about, accompanied by a reverence and respect, much of which has been left behind in our modern churches.
God's Name, which one of the Ten Commandments says should not be talked about improperly, or taken, or misused, in other words, used in vain, "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God," or, "Take the Name of the Lord your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7), needs to be prayed about specifically, so that God's honor and reputation be vindicated on earth from all misrepresentation, falsehood, separated from all cursing and mockery. The Jewish people of old broke their quills (pens) after they wrote the letters of YHWH. It was suitable for nothing else so far did they respect the Name of God.
This leads to the next point, the respect of Jesus' Name. Jesus said honoring His Name, the Name of Jesus, was tied up with honoring the Father. He said God's will was "that all may honor the Son, just, (i.e. - exactly), as they honor the Father," John 5:23, and that "Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." What if Christians had the same zeal for the Name of Jesus that Muslims had for the Name of Mohammed, without all the blood-thirsty beheading and fear-driven feigned obedience?
God's name is not being honored as it should be, thus the necessity of the 1st Petition of the Lord's Prayer (Jesus assumed all this when he answered the question on how to pray). It is being used in vain and not being set apart as Holy. To Jesus, this is to be the Christians first subject of prayer and primary focus. It is the remedy for the anthropocentricity (self-centeredness, man-centeredness rather than God-centerdness [Theo-centricity]) that is characterized by the man and woman from immediately after the fall (blaming others and even God -- the serpent beguiled me, or the woman you gave me -- rather than confessing our sins).
This lack of reverence for God and the Scriptures we have received has spread as a pathogen through most of our seminaries and pulpits this present day. "Hallowed be God' the Father's Name!" Is the only logical answer. "Since it is not honored as it ought to be and we are unable to force it to be hallowed, we ought to make it the subject of our prayers" (John Calvin, Institutes, III, xx, "On Prayer."
Could this be why fatherhood is often treated contemptuously and under attack? That it is that we are to image God, but that the tempter has striven to remove praying for the honor and glory of God and blasphemed God's reputation just like his first lie, that we can't trust God or God is a liar -- whereas the father of the unsaved and our old nature, the devil, is the "father of lies," even lying about God's character and motivations?
May the Name and reputation of Jesus be made Holy by our lives and thought about as such throughout the whole world as it is esteemed and cherished by the saints and angels in heaven ("I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened" [Dan 7;10]).
This is just in case your pastor forgot to mention this in His (or her) Father's Day message so we may direct our hearts to Honor the one who has power to kill the body then cast us into hell (Matt 10:28, Luke 12:5), yet has shown us to be "the Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort" (2 Cor 1:3) in sacrificing His "beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased" (Mark 1:11, Matt 3:17, Matt 17:5), which Peter, who like John and all the Apostles, and The Lord Jesus, could not bear false witness, reminded us, "He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased' -- and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain" (2 Peter 1:17-19). Thank you on behalf of Jesus.
Paul reveals, when he teaches on prayer in Ephesians, essentially the same thing that Jesus opens with when Jesus first considers the topic of prayer, firstly, Paul states his posture (reverence) and focuses on the one to whom he is praying, "I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name"). Jesus taught his disciples first to pray that His Father receive Honor (Matt 6:9, Luke 11:2). Jesus and Paul, through the same Holy Spirit, seem to have this concern about The Father in Heaven, which men and women tend to forget, much less consider or pray about, accompanied by a reverence and respect, much of which has been left behind in our modern churches.
God's Name, which one of the Ten Commandments says should not be talked about improperly, or taken, or misused, in other words, used in vain, "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God," or, "Take the Name of the Lord your God in vain" (Exodus 20:7), needs to be prayed about specifically, so that God's honor and reputation be vindicated on earth from all misrepresentation, falsehood, separated from all cursing and mockery. The Jewish people of old broke their quills (pens) after they wrote the letters of YHWH. It was suitable for nothing else so far did they respect the Name of God.
This leads to the next point, the respect of Jesus' Name. Jesus said honoring His Name, the Name of Jesus, was tied up with honoring the Father. He said God's will was "that all may honor the Son, just, (i.e. - exactly), as they honor the Father," John 5:23, and that "Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." What if Christians had the same zeal for the Name of Jesus that Muslims had for the Name of Mohammed, without all the blood-thirsty beheading and fear-driven feigned obedience?
God's name is not being honored as it should be, thus the necessity of the 1st Petition of the Lord's Prayer (Jesus assumed all this when he answered the question on how to pray). It is being used in vain and not being set apart as Holy. To Jesus, this is to be the Christians first subject of prayer and primary focus. It is the remedy for the anthropocentricity (self-centeredness, man-centeredness rather than God-centerdness [Theo-centricity]) that is characterized by the man and woman from immediately after the fall (blaming others and even God -- the serpent beguiled me, or the woman you gave me -- rather than confessing our sins).
This lack of reverence for God and the Scriptures we have received has spread as a pathogen through most of our seminaries and pulpits this present day. "Hallowed be God' the Father's Name!" Is the only logical answer. "Since it is not honored as it ought to be and we are unable to force it to be hallowed, we ought to make it the subject of our prayers" (John Calvin, Institutes, III, xx, "On Prayer."
Could this be why fatherhood is often treated contemptuously and under attack? That it is that we are to image God, but that the tempter has striven to remove praying for the honor and glory of God and blasphemed God's reputation just like his first lie, that we can't trust God or God is a liar -- whereas the father of the unsaved and our old nature, the devil, is the "father of lies," even lying about God's character and motivations?
May the Name and reputation of Jesus be made Holy by our lives and thought about as such throughout the whole world as it is esteemed and cherished by the saints and angels in heaven ("I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened" [Dan 7;10]).
This is just in case your pastor forgot to mention this in His (or her) Father's Day message so we may direct our hearts to Honor the one who has power to kill the body then cast us into hell (Matt 10:28, Luke 12:5), yet has shown us to be "the Father of all mercies and the God of all comfort" (2 Cor 1:3) in sacrificing His "beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased" (Mark 1:11, Matt 3:17, Matt 17:5), which Peter, who like John and all the Apostles, and The Lord Jesus, could not bear false witness, reminded us, "He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, 'This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased' -- and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain" (2 Peter 1:17-19). Thank you on behalf of Jesus.
