Subscription Lists

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” (2 Corinthians 1.3-4; this and all subsequent points of emphasis mine, jb).

With the text just cited, we begin a fifteen part miniseries treating the general subject of mercy with special emphasis on the fact that God is portrayed as the Father of mercies. The reader is invited to study along with this series in order to achieve three principal objectives: 1) To gain a fuller grasp of the biblical subject of mercy, 2) To achieve a greater respect and reverence for God as a result of His role as concerns mercy, and 3) To be able to apply the principles of mercy to our lives in view of the fact that the merciful are those who will obtain mercy (Matthew 5.7).

We will begin by briefly exploring the implications of the fact that God is called the Father of mercies. To be described as the father of something is equivalent to being called its creator, inventor, or foremost champion. We will illustrate this type of figure by examining several biblical passages.

On one occasion, Jesus referred to the devil the father of lies. “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” (John 8.44). Paul recognized Abraham as the great champion of faith when he wrote, “And he [Abraham] received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised. (Romans 4.11-12).

The Hebrews writer stated, “Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?” (Hebrews 12.9). In so doing he clearly identified the fact that God is the creator and sustainer of life. In a similar manner, James spoke of God and His character when he wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1.17). Physical light was spoken into existence by God (Genesis 1.3) and He also is the source of the spiritual light required by moral beings.

To review, inspiration states that God is the Father of mercies. Succinctly put, this means that He is the origination point from which all mercy has derived. He is not only the point of origin, He is also the Champion of mercy in its various forms and in innumerable instances. Hence, to speak of God as the Father of mercies is but to affirm His constant character of ultimate goodness especially when it come to how He treats us!

Questions:

1. What does it mean to be the father of something as in 2 Corinthians 1.3?

2. What was meant when Jesus said that the devil was the father of lies?

3. How has God demonstrated mercy?

4. How do we know what it means to be merciful?

"Inspiration For You" from Randy Mitchell

Watching Your Dollars Fly Away