September, 1941
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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don’t you think He will look, after you, too? Of course He will. He knows your every need and He will supply it. He will do so because He loves you. What does our memory verse say? “The Father himself loveth you.” I do not know why He should love me, but I know that He does, and I am glad. Did you ever sing:
affirm sonship but only that men are in a certain sense of the same “species” or "stock” as God. The expression, "Father of spirits,” in Hebrews 12:9, should be “Father of our spirits” (R. V. margin). Golden Text Illustration M atthew 6:9 Do we adequately comprehend the beauty and significance of the invitation to the Christian to address God as “Father” ? There is a story of a boy who left his home and went to the city alone for the first time. He set out with fore bodings, but everything turned out bet ter than his fears. The conductor was kind; a stranger sat beside him and de scribed the places as •they passed. A driver at the city station knew exactly where he wanted to go. When it was all over, he learned that his father had been with him all the day in another car, planning for his comfort and send ing helpful persons to him. In every day of life this is God’s way with every one of us.—Selected. The Heavenly Father M atthew 6:24-33 MEMORY VERSE: "The Father him self loveth you” (John 16:27). APPROACH: Do you have a garden at home? When you walk in it, do you ever think how gay and pretty the flow ers look in their many-colored dresses? parables, and sometimes He told them quite plainly what they ought, and ought not, to do. One lesson that He was very eager for them to learn was the importance of putting the kingdom of God first in their lives. He told them they couldn’t serve two masters at the same time. He said, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matt. 6:24). By “mammon” He meant the things that go to make up all the desires of our flesh, like our desire for food, clothing, shelter, etc. Of course there is nothing wrong in oup haying these things. Jesus, Himself, said, “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” The wrong lies in our desiring them so much, and making them so important, that we have no time for God. When Jesus talked to the people about these matters, He told them to look around at the flowers, and at the birds, an& to see how God cares for these things. If He looks after birds and lilies, When you have a new dress, who pro vides it for you ? Where dp you sup pose the flowers get their dresses? LESSON: W h e n the Lord Jesus was u p o n e a r t h , He taught His disciples many lessons. Some times He spoke in
Points and Problems 1. In dealing with the subject of "God Our Heavenly Father,” it is highly im portant that we should understand clear ly the exact limitations of this divine Fatherhood. (fit. is probably no exaggeration to say that the fundamental error of modem religion is the notion that God is the Father of all men. According to the high priests of this cult, Christ did not come into the world to make men the children of God through a new birth; on the con trary, He came to tell men that they are the children of God. In the modern istic scheme of salvation, men are not saved by being bom into the family of God, but by finding out that they are already in the family of God.. The great distinctive contribution of Christ to the doctrine of God, the modernists say, was His teaching that God is the Father of all men. The most effective way to deal with this heresy is to ' ask where our Lord ever plainly taught that God is the Father of all men. It is quite astonish ing how much error has been taught on the alleged authority of Christ, but with no Scriptural foundation. Some years ago, while dealing with this important matter in a theological class, I found one scholarly? adherent to the universal F a t h e r h o o d idea who was honest enough to admit that it had no basis in the New Testament records. In his Theology of the New Testament, G. B. Stevens of Yale University devotes an entire chapter to "The Fatherhood of God.” And in the beginning of the dis cussion, Dr. Stevens frankly admits, "There is no passage in our (N. T.) sources in which Jesus explicitly speaks of God as the Father of all men.” One would suppose that this would end the matter, but no; the author, after mak ing this fatal admission, goes on to argue that we have a right to infer that Christ believed it, even though there is no evidence that He ever taught it (page 70 if.). 2. There are five parties, and only five, to whom God stands in the relation of Father. First, He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son (Eph. 1:3). Second, He is the Father of the angelic beings who were brought into existence by individual and direct crea tion (Job 1:6; 38:7). Third, God was the Father of Adam also by individual and direct creation (Lk. 3:38). Fourth, He was a Father to the nation of Israel (Hos. 11:1). And finally, God is the Father of all those who believe on His Son and are bom again into His family (John 1:12). 3. Several passages have been wrong fully used to teach that God is the Father of all men. In the Sermon on the Mount, references to God as “your Father” are addressed to saved men (Matt. 5:1), not to unbelievers. The fa mous passage; in Acts 17:28, 29, "we are the offspring of God,” does not
"Jesus loves me, this I know, For the Bible tells me so” ?
If the Bible says Jesus loves us, and God loves us, then we can be sure it is true.
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Object Lesson G od the G iver
OBJECTS: A dictionary, a loaf of bread, a piece of white outing flannel, a triangle 2x2x2 inches made from gilt paper, and a piece of blue paper, cut in a circle, with a diameter of 1% inches, (Make a jacket for the dictionary with the white outing flannel. Print “GOD” on the gold triangle. On the blue circle, in large letters, print “FATHER,” and in small letters the word, “Provision.? Mount the triangle and circle on sepa rate pieces of flannel, in order that they will stick when placed on the flannel jacket.) LESSON: You are wondering what this book, covered with white material, will be teaching us this morning. First, it is white, and reminds me of the purity and holiness of God. We will put this golden triangle, on which the word "GOD” is printed, on the back of the book. Again, you are wondering what kind of book could remind us of God. You will be surprised when I tell you that it is a dictionary. This dictionary has in it many ’ thousand words. In fact, there is much more in it than any one person has ever learned or will ever learn. No one person will ever be able to learn all about God. This triangle reminds us that God is a Trinity, composed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Today I want to tell you about God the Father. We will place this blue circle, on which the word “FATHER” is written, above the triangle, to remind us of God the Father. On this circle we find also the word “Provision.” This word is found on page 555 of this dictionary. Provision iqpludes food, such as the loaf of bread you see
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