All-Father

“ Think: the Father of Jesus, with whom, in all his knowledge and all his suffering, the grand heart was perfectly, exultingly satisfied,—that Father he calls our Father too. He shares with his brethren—of his best, his deepest, his heartiest, most secret delight, and makes it their and his most open joy: he shares his eternal Father with us, his perfect God with his brethren. ”

“ He who sees Me, sees the Father.’ For the Son is the natural image of the Father, unchangeable, in everything like to the Father, except that He is begotten, and that He is not the Father. The Father begets, being unbegotten. ”

“ Dear brethren, the oasis in the desert of this world is the Christian family. The father of the family "shall be like a tree which is planted near the running waters." It is indeed but a feeble word to say that the influence of a good father is like the deep shade of a noble tree in the heat of summer, His influence is like the grace of God. Indeed, there is nothing in all this world so much like the presence of God as the influence of a Christian father. {103} When the instinct of the Christian people would give a name to a good priest they called him father. ”

“ The Father is living love, and this life of the Father is in his Sons. And the spirit of the Father is in his Son's sons—mortal men. When all is said and done, the Father idea is still the highest human concept of God. ”

“ The Father comes down to you as a personality only through the divine Sons of the Eternal Son. And you attain the Father by this same living way; you ascend to the Father by the guidance of this group of divine Sons. ”

“ And I humbly beseech you, most loving father, and Christ’s servants who are with you, to intercede fervently with the righteous in behalf of my frailty; and to admonish those, to whom you shall show my work, to do the same. Fare you well, my good and ever loving father in Christ. ”

“ Although he is not only generally the Father of all, but also of each particularly, he would, nevertheless, be called our Father, to remind us of brotherly charity, without distinction of rank, dignity, or age; to love one another as brothers, and to pray for all in common, despising none. ”

“ While you should honor your rulers and reverence your teachers, you should call no man Father in the spiritual sense, for there is one who is your Father, even God. Neither should you seek to lord it over your brethren in the kingdom. ”

“ If men once learnt to hallow the name of Father, to think of a father as one who not only possessed power but felt love, who not only had rights which he would enforce, and issued commands which must be obeyed, but who felt yearning sympathy for his children’s weakness, an active interest in their education, and was ready to labour for, to sacrifice himself for, his family—That would be truly to hallow the name of Father, and look on it as a holy thing, whether in heaven above or in earth beneath. ”

“ FATHER. Son, it shall not be thus, by my counsel.
SON. I trust ye will not me otherwise compel.
FATHER. If thou were as wise as I have judged thee,
Thou wouldest in this case be ruled by me.
SON. To follow the contrary I cannot be turned;
My heart thereon is stifly fixed.
FATHER. What, I say, about thine own destruction?
SON. No, no, but about mine own salvation:
For if I be helped, I swear by the mass,
It is only marriage that brings it to pass. ”

“ There is no question that the Father is greater. No one can doubt that the Father is greater than the Son, in honor, dignity, splendor, majesty and in the very name Father, the Son himself testifying, He that sent Me is greater than I. And no one is ignorant that it is Catholic doctrine that there are two persons of Father and Son ”

“ I know that God is my Father, and I am His child. How can a child show his love and his gratitude toward his father better than by obeying him? So will I render my thanks unto my heavenly Father by cheerfully and willingly obeying Him and by doing according to His commandments. Above all, I will, according to His First Commandment, love Him and trust in Him, my Father, in every need and danger, firmly believing that He will never leave nor forsake me. ”

“ Oh, how justly we call him Father, who is so many times ready to receive us, when we sin, into the same favour as before, that he may at length admit us also to the glory, which is the inheritance of the sons of God! ”

“ We do not mean here by Father the First Person of the Blessed Trinity, but the Blessed Trinity itself—one God. What does a father do for his children? He gives them their natural existence, provides them with food and clothing, teaches, protects, and loves them, shares with them all that he has, and when he dies leaves them his possessions. ”

“ For the Father of all fathers is the Father of thy soul, the Son of all sons died for thee upon the Cross, the Holy Spirit of all holy spirits will make thee a holy spirit and person, even as He is a Holy Spirit and Person Himself. ”

“ All men, the Father has appointed, are to honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. Because, as the Athanasian Creed says, ‘such as the Father is, such is the Son.’ But, if that be true, we are to honour the Father even as we honour the Son; because such as the Son is, such is the Father. Both are true, and we must believe both; and therefore we must not give to Christ the honour which we should to a loving friend, and give to the Father the honour which we should to an awful judge. ”

“ They had both one and the same father, which signifies that God is a common Father to all mankind. There are favours which all alike receive from him, and obligations which all alike lie under to him; Have we not all one Father? ”

“ Father and Son act with the same power; so that the Son is equal to the Father.” Since then the works of the Son as God are the works of the Father, if they blamed the Son for violating the Sabbath, they thereby blamed the Father also. ”

“ By these words of Holy Scripture, he continually invites every one to come to him that stands in need of mercy. How then canst thou imagine that He will forsake thee in the time of trouble, who endured so many and great miseries for thy sake! It is for this that God calls himself our Father. Now we know that a father is more compassionate and tender than a master: so that he would not have us dread him, but love him as a dutiful child does an indulgent father. ”

“ They think of fathers, like too many among themselves, proud, and arbitrary, selfish and cruel. They say in their hearts, even such fathers as we are, such is God. Therefore, they shrink from God, and turn from Him to idols, to the Virgin Mary, or Saints, or any other beings who can deliver them (as they fancy) out of the hands of their Father in heaven. ”

“ Verse 20
Now unto God and our Father - God is our Father in Christ Jesus; and such pity as a father hath for his children, such has the Lord for them that fear him; as a father is concerned for the support and life of his children, so is God concerned for you. A father may be poor, and unable to help his most beloved children; God, your Father, is infinite in his riches of his grace and glory, and out of his abundance we have all received, and grace for grace. Therefore, to God our Father, be glory for ever and ever! ”

“ Will not he who so abundantly satisfies their desire with good things, reserve one blessing also for us, who are his children? We have indeed no confidence in our own merits and justice; but because the plentiful redemption of thy Son leaves us not destitute of merits, we offer them first to thee, O merciful Father. Father, look upon the face of thy Christ, in whom thou art well pleased.
Behold also thy elect, our brethren (for we have one and the same Father in heaven) , come supplicating thee for us to the throne of thy glory, secure of their own salvation, but anxious for ours. ”

“ Fifthly, In all this he would have an eye to his father as a father: " I will arise, and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father." Note, Eyeing God as a Father, and our Father, will be of great use in our repentance and return to him. It will make our sorrow for sin genuine, our resolutions against it strong, and encourage us to hope for pardon. God delights to be called Father both by penitents and petitioners. Is not Ephraim a dear son? ”

“ There are two Persons, indeed, I and the Father; but only One Being, One God. The same truth of the unity of nature of the Father and the Son is further expressed by the words: “The Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” ”

“ They do not fear to come to their Father, for He loves them. They do not doubt, but confidently believe that their dear Father will hear their prayer and help them. Our Father promised to do that. By the endearing name Father, God reminds us: I am your Father, you are my dear child. ”

“ You can call yourself my 'Father Confessor,' you know, if you entertain any scruples as to the propriety of a staid old bachelor's fathering a stray young cub like me—that will make it all right, surely! You will let me, won't you? In all the world there is no one so close to me as you, and such dreams as I may happily bring to fulfillment will be, more than you know, because of your guidance, your inspiration. You are the father of my spirit, whoever may have been the father of my flesh! Let it be hereafter, then, not 'Uncle,' but 'Father Paul'! ”

“ It is this, that we have a Father in heaven; not a mere Maker, not a mere Master, but a Father. All turns on that one Gospel of all Gospels, your Father in heaven. For our Lord seems to me to say, ‘Be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or drink, or wear. ”

“ For he who calls God Father, by him both remission of sins, and taking away of punishment, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, and adoption, and inheritance, and brotherhood with the Only-Begotten, and the supply of the Spirit, are acknowledged in this single title. For one cannot call God Father, without having attained to all those blessings. ”

“ I want a Father to whom I can go with all my sins and sorrows, all my hopes and joys, as freely and fearlessly as I used to go to my human father, sure of help and sympathy and love. Shall I ever find Him? ”

“ When the father is dead his sons come to honour and he knows it not, Job xiv. 21. "But thou, O Lord! art our Father still (the fathers of our flesh may call themselves ever-loving; but they are not ever-living; it is God only that is the immortal Father, that always knows us, and is never at a distance from us) , and therefore our Redeemer from everlasting is thy name, the name by which we will know and own thee. ”

“ At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ”

“ For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power by his Spirit unto the inward man. ”

“ All men belong to God’s family, and upon all some trace of the family likeness is to be seen. The old Greek 29poet, whose words Paul quoted in his memorable speech at Athens, had a glimpse of this truth when he wrote, “We also are his offspring.” Yes, God is the Father of all men! That is the truth that has been rediscovered within the last half century, the truth of the Universal Fatherhood of God, and a blessed and glorious truth it is. ”

“ Let him be answered, “He that honoreth not the Son, honoreth not the Father. Thou liest every way; thou blasphemest the Son, and dost wrong to the Father. For the Father sent the Son, and thou despisest Him whom the Father sent. How canst thou honor the sender, who blasphemest the sent?” ”

“ The Lord Jesus Christ told men that God was their Father. Not merely to the Apostles, but to poor, ignorant, sinful wretches, publicans and harlots, He spoke of their Father in heaven, who, because He is a perfect Father, sends His sun to shine on the evil and the good, and His rain to fall on the just and on the unjust. ”

“ He is our Father; and hence the Scriptures tell us to pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven." Paul says, "We have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence; shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" ”

“ Our father, like unto Abraham of old, sits as a great High Priest, surrounded by his family on earth, which now numbers over five score and ten, and like the ancient patri- archs, is waiting the time when the Lord will call him up, to become a God in eternity, not merely to reign over hundreds, but thousands and tens of thousands. ”

“ You are the child, and it is your Father's kingdom you seek to enter. There is present that natural affection between every normal child and its father which insures an understanding and loving relationship, and which forever precludes all disposition to bargain for the Father's love and mercy. And the gospel you are going forth to preach has to do with a salvation growing out of the faith-realization of this very and eternal child-father relationship. ”

“ We desire and pray that the name of God, that is, God himself, in all that whereby he has made himself known, may be sanctified and glorified both by us and others, and especially by himself. "Father, let thy name be glorified as a Father, and a Father in heaven; glorify thy goodness and thy highness, thy majesty and mercy. ”