Word of Encouragement (4/20/2021)

The next prayer we would like to consider is, “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 affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

This prayer, too, is not a petition; it is a prayer of praise to God. Again, we are reminded that prayer is not just asking God to help us and give us something. Prayer is ultimately a dialogue with God. You may not agree with this. Prayer seems to be more of a monologue—us talking to God, who remains silent throughout. So, many people try to hear God somehow and they get disappointed because they don’t hear anything. But as someone said, prayer is a dialogue God started long ago when He commanded us to pray and gave His promises to hear our prayers. He has already spoken to us in His written Word and continues to speak to us through it. Audibly hearing God’s voice is not the only way to “hear” God. Is God speaking to us in a lesser way because He speaks to us through His written Word, not His audible Word? But isn’t God’s written Word clearer and more certain? What do we do when we want to make our words clear and official? Don’t we write it down instead of just say it? When the Holy Spirit illumines God’s Word or reminds us of it in some way, that is God speaking to us. Since prayer is a dialogue between God and us, we don’t just offer up our petitions. Praising God as Paul does is something we should do much more often.

Again, pay attention to how Paul addresses God in this prayer: “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ....” Notice how God is called the God of our Lord Jesus Christ as well as His Father. As far as Jesus’ being is concerned, He is the eternal Son of God and God is the eternal Father of Jesus. However, a new dimension was added to this eternal relationship when the eternal Son of God entered this world through incarnation. He was born of woman, born under the law, to take our place—to live as our Representative—to live, to suffer, to die, and to be raised from the dead for us—on our behalf. He took on the weakness of our flesh and identified Himself with us completely, except for sin. And it is in His identification with us that Jesus calls His eternal Father His God.

This title of God also reminds us of a much-favored Old Testament address to God—“the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” and “the God of Israel.” But there are things in Paul’s expression, which show that something new is happening. Most obvious is the substitution: the names of the Patriarchs—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and the name of Israel are replaced with the title, “our Lord Jesus Christ”: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is now the God of our Lord Jesus Christ; the God of Israel is now the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We no longer invoke the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when we pray. We no longer invoke the God of Israel when we bless His name. Great was the grace that God showed to the Patriarchs. Great were the works of redemption that God accomplished for Israel. But all that God did for them cannot be compared to what God has done in Jesus Christ! In fact, all that God did for the Patriarchs and the nation of Israel find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ! As the candlelight of the night must give way to the surpassing brightness of the morning sun, so must Abraham and his descendants give way to Jesus Christ.

This substitution reminds us that we are now entitled to much greater intimacy with God as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. One of the reasons that the Old Testament saints invoked God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was the intimacy they enjoyed with God. By invoking Him in that way, they expressed their desire to share in that intimacy. But we know that the intimacy our Lord Jesus Christ enjoyed with God is so much greater and deeper. As we are now allowed to pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have the hope and assurance that we will be able to share in the intimacy between God and Jesus. Let us rejoice that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ is our God and give thanks to Him and praise Him for His wonderful mercy!