one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all, and in us all.
Parallel Translations
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one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all, and in us all.
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one god and father of all which is above all thorow all and in you all.
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One God and Father of all, which is aboue all, and through all, and in you all.
Cross-references (30)
Passages linked to Ephesians 4:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him are all things. To him be the glory for ever! Amen.
- 1 Corinthians 8:6 yet to us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and we live through him.
- Malachi 2:10 Don’t we all have one father? Hasn’t one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
- Galatians 3:26-28 For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- John 20:17 Jesus said to her, “Don’t hold me, for I haven’t yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”
- Galatians 4:3-7 So we also, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental principles of the world. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of children. And because you are children, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a bondservant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
- 1 John 3:24 He who keeps his commandments remains in him, and he in him. By this we know that he remains in us, by the Spirit which he gave us.
- Revelation 4:8-11 The four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within. They have no rest day and night, saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come!” When the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to him who sits on the throne, to him who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever, and throw their crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!”
- Matthew 6:9 Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.
- 1 John 4:12-15 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we remain in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him, and he in God.
- Numbers 16:22 They fell on their faces, and said, “God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”
- 1 Corinthians 12:6 There are various kinds of workings, but the same God, who works all things in all.
- 2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement does a temple of God have with idols? For you are a temple of the living God. Even as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk in them. I will be their God and they will be my people.”
- 1 John 3:1-3 See how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God! For this cause the world doesn’t know us, because it didn’t know him. Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him; for we will see him just as he is. Everyone who has this hope set on him purifies himself, even as he is pure.
- Genesis 14:19 He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth.
- 1 Chronicles 29:11-12 Yours, Yahweh, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty! For all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, Yahweh, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all! In your hand is power and might! It is in your hand to make great, and to give strength to all!
- Psalms 95:3 For Yahweh is a great God, a great King above all gods.
- Isaiah 40:11-17 He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measuring basket, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? Who has directed Yahweh’s Spirit, or has taught him as his counselor? Who did he take counsel with, and who instructed him, and taught him in the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the nations are like a drop in a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on a balance. Behold, he lifts up the islands like a very little thing. Lebanon is not sufficient to burn, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering. All the nations are like nothing before him. They are regarded by him as less than nothing, and vanity.
- Isaiah 40:21-23 Haven’t you known? Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you been told from the beginning? Haven’t you understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in, who brings princes to nothing, who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
- Isaiah 63:16 For you are our Father, though Abraham doesn’t know us, and Israel does not acknowledge us. You, Yahweh, are our Father. Our Redeemer from everlasting is your name.
- Jeremiah 10:10-13 But Yahweh is the true God. He is the living God, and an everlasting King. At his wrath, the earth trembles. The nations aren’t able to withstand his indignation. “You shall say this to them: ‘The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.’ ” God has made the earth by his power. He has established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding has he stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, the waters in the heavens roar, and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth. He makes lightnings for the rain, and brings the wind out of his treasuries.
- Daniel 4:34-35 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stop his hand, or ask him, “What are you doing?”
- Daniel 5:18-23 “You, king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. Because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. He killed whom he wanted to, and he kept alive whom he wanted to. He raised up whom he wanted to, and he put down whom he wanted to. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the animals’, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky; until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. “You, his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, but have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which don’t see, or hear, or know; and you have not glorified the God in whose hand your breath is, and whose are all your ways.
- Matthew 6:13 Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.’
- John 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him.
- John 17:26 I made known to them your name, and will make it known; that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
- Ephesians 2:22 in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.
- Ephesians 3:17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, to the end that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
- Ephesians 6:23 Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
- Ephesians 1:21 far above all rule, authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 6. One God and Father of all. This is…
6. One God and Father of all. This is the main argument, from which all the rest flow. How comes it that we are united by faith, by baptism, or even by the government of Christ, but because God the Father, extending to each of us his gracious presence, employs these means for gathering us to himself? The two phrases, ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων, may either mean, above all and through all Things, or above all and through all Men. Either meaning will apply sufficiently well, or rather, in both cases, the meaning will be the same. Although God by his power upholds, and maintains, and rules, all things, yet Paul is not now speaking of the universal, but of the spiritual government which belongs to the church. By the Spirit of sanctification, God spreads himself through all the members of the church, embraces all in his government, and dwells in all; but God is not inconsistent with himself, and therefore we cannot but be united to him into one body.
This spiritual unity is mentioned by our Lord.
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“Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast, given me, that they may be one as we are.” (John 17:11)
This is true indeed, in a general sense, not only of all men but of all creatures. “In him we live, and move, and have our being.” (Acts 17:28.) And again, “Do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?” (Jeremiah 23:24.) But we must attend to the connection in which this passage stands. Paul is now illustrating the mutual relation of believers, which has nothing in common either with wicked men or with inferior animals. To this relation we must limit what is said about God’s government and presence. It is for this reason, also, that the apostle uses the word Father, which applies only to the members of Christ.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Who only is joined together with us in Christ.
Who only is joined together with us in Christ.
Who only hath the chief authority over the Church.
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Who only poureth forth his providence, through all the members of the Church.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 6 One God and Father of all, who is…
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ver. 6. One God and Father of all] Have we not all one Father? saith Malachi. {Mal 2:10} Why then dissent and jar we? How is it that these many ones here instanced unite us not? "My dove, mine undefiled is but one," Son 6:9.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain One God; God is here taken personally for the…
One God; God is here taken personally for the Father, the other two Persons being before mentioned, Eph 4:4,5.
And Father of all; of all believers.
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Who is above all; not only in the excellencies of his nature, but especially in his sovereign dominion over the church.
And through all; by his special providence, through all the members of the church.
And in you all; by inhabitation, and the conjunction of believers with him. Though the former two may be applied to God’s universal dominion and providence over all the creatures, yet, the apostle speaking of the conjunction of believers in one Father, they are both to be restrained according to this last clause.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain One God and Father of all,.... That there is…
One God and Father of all,.... That there is but one God is the voice of nature and of revelation; and may be concluded from the perfections of deity, for there can be but one eternal, infinite, immense, omnipotent, all-sufficient, perfect, and independent Being; and from one first cause of all things, and the relations he stands in to his creatures: there is but one God, who is truly, and really, and properly God, in opposition to all nominal and figurative deities, and which are not gods by nature, and to the fictitious deities and idols of the nations; and there is but one God of Jews and Gentiles; nor is the unity of the Godhead inconsistent with a trinity of persons in it: and this one God is the Father of all; the Father of all mercies, and of all spirits, both angels and souls of men; and he is the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of all the elect in him: and seeing that they have all one covenant God and Father, who has predestinated them to the adoption of children, and who has put them among the children, and adopted them into his family, and stand in the same relation to him, and enjoy the same privileges, they ought to love as brethren:
who is above all; which may denote the superior excellency of his nature, not above his Son and Spirit, who are of the same nature with him, but above angels and men; and the extensiveness of his government, over all creatures in general, and over his church and people in particular:
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and through all; the Arabic version renders it, "taking care of all"; which may have respect to his providence, which is either universal, and reaches to all creatures his hands have made; or special, and concerns his own chosen people, who belong to his family, and to whom he stands in the relation of a covenant God and Father: or this clause may refer to the perfections of his nature, which appear through the whole of the salvation of all the chosen ones; as his wisdom, love, grace, mercy, justice, holiness, truth, and faithfulness:
and in you all; which is to be understood, not of his being in his creatures, by his powerful presence, which is everywhere supporting them; but of the gracious union there is between him and his people, and of his gracious inhabitation in them by his Spirit. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, the Complutensian edition, and some copies, read, "in us all"; and the Alexandrian copy, and the Ethiopic version, read only, "in all".
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain One God and Father of all - That believe.…
One God and Father of all - That believe. Who is above all - Presiding over all his children, operating through them all by Christ, and dwelling in all by his Spirit.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. One God] The fountain of all being,…
Verse 6. One God] The fountain of all being, self-existent and eternal; and Father of all, both Jews and Gentiles, because he is the Father of the spirits of all flesh.
Who is above all] ο επι παντων. Who is over all; as the King of kings, and Lord of lords.
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And through all] Pervading every thing; being present with every thing; providing for all creatures; and by his energy supporting all things.
And in you all.] By the energy of his Spirit, enlightening, quickening, purifying, and comforting; in a word, making your hearts the temples of the Holy Ghost. Some think the mystery of the blessed Trinity is contained in this verse: God is over all, as Father; through all, by the Logos or Word; and in all, by the Holy Spirit.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain One God - The same God; therefore there should…
One God - The same God; therefore there should be unity. Were there many gods to be worshipped, there could be no more hope of unity than there is among the worshippers of Mammon and Bacchus, and the various other idols that people set up. People who have different pursuits, and different objects of supreme affection, can be expected to have no union. People who worship many gods, cannot hope to be united. Their affections are directed to different objects, and there is no harmony or sympathy of feeling. But where there is one supreme object of attachment there may be expected to be unity. The children of a family that are devoted to a parent, will be united among themselves; and the fact that all Christians have the same great object of worship, should constitute a strong bond of union among themselves - a chain always kept bright.
And Father of all - One God who is the Father of all; that is, who is a common Father to all who believe. That this refers to the Father, in contradistinction from the Son and the Holy Spirit, seems evident. The Spirit and the Son are mentioned in the previous verses. But the fact that the “Father of all” is mentioned as “God,” does not prove that the Spirit and the Son are not also endowed with divine attributes. That question is to be determined by the attributes ascribed to the Son and the Holy Spirit in other places. All sincere Christians worship “one” God, and “but” one. But they suppose that this one God subsists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, united in a mysterious manner, and constituting the one God, and that there is no other God. That the Father is divine, they all hold, as Paul affirms here; that the Son and the Holy Spirit are also divine, they also hold; see the John 1 note; Heb. 1 note; Phi 2:6 note; Rom 9:5 note. The meaning here is, that God is the common Father of “all” his people - of the rich and the poor; the bond and the free; the learned and the unlearned. He is no respecter of persons. Nothing would tend more to overcome the prejudices of color, rank, and wealth, than to feel that we all have one Father; and that we are all equally the objects of his favor; compare notes on Act 17:26.
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Who is above all - Who is supreme; who presides over all things.
And through all - He pervades universal nature, and his agency is seen everywhere.
And in you all - There is no one in whose heart he does not dwell. You are his temple, and he abides in you; see Eph 2:22; notes, 1Co 6:19. The argument here is, that as the same God dwelt in every heart, they ought to be one. See this argument beautifully expressed in the Saviour’s prayer, Joh 17:21; compare Joh 14:23.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain above--"over all." The "one God over all" (in His…
above--"over all." The "one God over all" (in His sovereignty and by His grace) is the grand source and crowning apex of unity (Eph 2:19, end).
through all--by means of Christ "who filleth all things" (Eph 4:10; Eph 2:20-21), and is "a propitiation" for all men (Jo1 2:2).
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in you all--The oldest manuscripts omit "you." Many of the oldest versions and Fathers and old manuscripts read, "in us all." Whether the pronoun be read or not, it must be understood (either from the "ye," Eph 4:4, or from the "us," Eph 4:7); for other parts of Scripture prove that the Spirit is not "in all" men, but only in believers (Rom 8:9, Rom 8:14). God is "Father" both by generation (as Creator) and regeneration (Eph 2:10; Jam 1:17-18; Jo1 5:1).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. One God—Again St. Paul takes care to fasten…
6. One God—Again St. Paul takes care to fasten our salvation to Him who is above all heavens. He is dealing with late worshippers of Diana or Jupiter. This salvation hangs not from these idols. Nor is it a mere earthly system with no heaven-connected cord. It is bound to the throne of the Infinite.
And Father of all—One of the traces of the fatherhood of God, which Gentilism had lost, is the idea that the name Jupiter is in origin Zeus-pater, God-father, or, rather, Sky-father, or Heaven-father. St. Paul restores the true fatherhood to his converted Gentiles, pointing them to the supreme Zeus-pater, whom no image could represent, and no temple hold.
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Above… through… in—The threefold members are unquestionably based in the Trinitarian thought. Beginning with the baptismal form, (Mat_28:19,) thence taking that of the benediction (2Co_13:14) and the trisagion, (Rev_4:8,) we have models according to which Paul’s trinal clauses should certainly be interpreted. See our note on the Sacred Three, vol. ii, p. 77. The accordance of the prepositions here with the Trinitarian Persons is obvious. The Father, as original creator, is above all; the Son, as agent, or manifest God, is through all; the Spirit, as Sanctifier, is indwelling. Yet while these trinal attributes may thus symbolize the tri-personality, they may still accordantly be considered in pure reference to the one God as Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Immanent. As the Omnipotent, he is the essential force; as Omnipresent, he fills all space; as Immanent, he is the inmost basis of all substance and all existence. But we must never convert this Omnipresence, or Immanence in things, into an identity with things. For this identity with things is pantheism. It makes all things God. Pope’s lines—
“All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body nature is, and God the soul,” etc.,
do truly express this divine Immanence, with great poetic beauty. They should never be charged with pantheism; they declare that God is in all things, but not that he is all things. But Emerson’s language—
“He is the axis of the star;
He is the sparkle of the spar,
He is the heart of every creature;
He is the meaning of each feature;”
identifies God with things, the Creator with the creature. It identifies God with our own persons, and thence becomes self-deification. It identifies God with stocks and stones, and thence becomes fetichism.
In you all— The you is rejected by the best readings.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. one God and Father of all] The ultimate…
6. one God and Father of all] The ultimate Source of spiritual unity. Baptism seals faith, faith unites to the Lord Christ, Christ reveals the Father as “the only true God” (Joh_17:3), with Whom He, one with His Church, is eternally one.—“Of all”:—here, obviously, all believers. Other aspects of Divine Fatherhood are not here in question. See above on Eph_1:2. And cp. on this Ephesians 4 :1Co_8:6.
above all, &c.] The thought in these clauses progresses downwards and inwards. The Eternal Father, in His Son, supremely presides “over all” His regenerate children, carries out action “through” them, and dwells “in” them. On the last word see Eph_2:22; 2Co_6:16-18; 1Jn_4:12; 1Jn_4:16.—“In you all”:—there is clear evidence for the omission of “you”; considerable evidence for the reading “us”; but a preponderance, chiefly of patristic quotations, against any pronoun. The context however is clear for the special reference to the Church. The power and immanence of God in the Universe would be only a remote plea for Christian union.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) One God and Father of all.—Necessarily, through the…
(6) One God and Father of all.—Necessarily, through the Son, we pass to the Father (as the Lord Himself invariably teaches us to do), since He is (to use the old Greek expression) “the fount of Deity.” He is said to be the “Father of all.” We cannot limit this universal Fatherhood; although, undoubtedly, the context shows that the immediate reference is to those who are His children by adoption in Jesus Christ. The Church is essentially Catholic, inheriting by special gift what is the birthright of all humanity; incapable of perfection till all be drawn into that closer sonship, yet having neither right nor desire to deny that outside her pale at any moment the wider Fatherhood of God extends.
Who is above all, and through all, and in you all.—The word “you” has little authority; many MSS. and commentaries have “us.” But the best MSS. and authorities omit both, as probably early glosses of explanation which have crept into the text. Accordingly, the word “all” throughout must be taken, as above, as applying to all God’s rational creatures, made in His image (and indeed, in a lower sense, even to all His creatures), but especially and properly to the members of Christ’s Church. In the three-fold sentence many ancient and modern interpreters trace a reference to the Holy Trinity. But, strictly speaking, this cannot be, as the passage expressly points to the Father; although, in virtue of the eternal unity of the Godhead, it may be true that in the expression “through all” and “in all” we trace those manifestations of the Father which are especially made through the Son and by the Holy Spirit. Hence we must refer all properly to the ultimate conception of God the Father; as “above all” in the sovereignty of His will, since to work out “His pleasure they are and were created,” and His will becomes to them the “law eternal;” as “through all” in the diffusive power of the forces—physical, moral, and spiritual—by which the world of nature, still more the world of man, most of all the society of Christians, are swayed as wholes; and “in all” by the indwelling of God in the individual for creation, sustentation, regeneration, which is the breath of life—both the physical and spiritual life. (This individuality, and the especial reference to Christians, are marked by the very natural gloss “us,” or “you,” in this clause.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain One God and Father of all, who is above…
Eph_4:6
One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
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The universal Fatherhood of believers
I. A truth proclaimed by the gospel.
II. A truth manifoldly confirmed by Christian experience.
1. The Divine Father is over all His children. Fatherhood the ultimate truth concerning God on which all others rest, and out of which they grow. Expressive of
(1) supreme authority;
(2) protective care;
(3) the grace of God as an administrative principle.
2. The Divine Father is through all His children. This preposition suggests movement and instrumentality.
(1) The energy of the Father working through His children;
(2) the distribution of spiritual gifts;
(3) the revelation of the Father through believers.
3. The Divine Father is in all His children.
(1) In the consciousness of their relationship to Him (Rom_8:15; Gal_4:6);
(2) in real union with Him (Joh_17:22-23). (A. F. Muir, M. A.)
One God and Father
The ideas connected with God and Father are here joined beautifully in the same person--power and love. Majesty is softened with tenderness, and the splendours of the Divinity tempered by the condescensions of paternal love. This principle is indeed wonderfully exemplified in all Gods dealings with the human race since the beginning of the world. The entire Jewish theocracy was the clothing the splendours of the present Ruler under the forms of a carnal ritualism. Whenever, in the old Testament, the glory of the Lord appears, two things take place--the sinful creature is laid in the dust, and then a word of comfort comes from the excellent glory: power is tempered with grace; the majesty of Jehovah with the human heartedness of the Father. Thus it was with Isaiah (Isa_6:5-9); Ezekiel fell prostrate (Eze_3:23); and Daniel fainted and was sick certain days (Dan_8:17-27); John, the beloved, fell down as dead before the glory of his Master (Rev_1:17); and even the fierce murderer of the saints (Act_9:4-5) was overwhelmed by the manifested glory. It is a source of comfort to remark that in these and all such cases there is ever some word or act of kindness on the part of God to raise up and strengthen His trembling creatures. It is the realizing of the name, God and Father. This is, indeed, the principle of Incarnation. The awful glory of the incorruptible God is tempered, softened, humanized in the person of Christ. (W. Graham, D. D.)
The Fatherhood of God
There are degrees of Fathership; or rather, there are such different degrees of the development of a Fathers love as make new orders in the relationship. He is the Father of the inanimate creation. Job calls Him the Father of the rain. In a higher sense and measure, He is the Father of the whole human race. All are the creatures of His hand; all are the subjects of His special providence; for all Jesus died. But the believer says it as a heathen or man of the world never says it. Or, see it again in this way. God has only one begotten Son, Jesus Christ. As many as believe are united to Jesus Christ; they become members of that mystical body. So they become sons by a double process, and by virtue of their union with Christ they are sons indeed. Therefore to them in a further degree God is Father. I do not say He is a reconciled Father to them, that He did not need (that is not in the Bible), but they are reconciled children to Him. There are two persons who best know what it is to say Father. One is a little, simple, trusting child, of the womb of the morning, who has not yet unlearnt the faith of his infancy. The other is a penitent, rising up from his sin, going back to his home--I will arise, and go to my Father, and will say unto Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. I believe the remedy of all sorrow and almost all sin will be to think of God more as a Father. But this is not the line of thought along which I wish to take you now, but it is this, that God is the common Father of us all. Surely it would be a great thing if we could have it always before us--One God and Father of all. There is a great deal of harshness of opinion in the world just now, and men are very busy unchurching and un-Christianizing one another. The rich speak of the poor as the lower orders, and the poor--partly in consequence because they think the rich look down upon them--the poor dislike the rich much more than the rich dislike the poor. But ought this to be where all are one family? Do we call brothers and sisters lower orders? At this moment, have you any disagreement with any living man? have you any quarrel? Now think--That person has the same Father that I have; how patient that Father has been with that man; how very patient God has been with me; and is this the way, as a child of God, I should act to another child of the same God? There are deep mysteries in Gods providence--why some are heathen and some are Christian, some know nothing and some know much, some have so many advantages and some have so exceedingly few. But let us never forget the Word, and all it tells, and all it teaches us to do--One God and Father of us all. I know nothing which brings heaven so near. Here are we on earth trying to say, and we ought to say, every day, Our Father. And up there, just inside the blue veil, the hundred forty-and-four thousand have the Fathers name on their foreheads. Was this the reason why Christ taught us to say, Our Father? (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
God the Father of all
The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide worlds joy. The lowly pine on the mountain top waves its sombre boughs, and cries, Thou art my sun. And the little meadow violet lifts its cup of blue, and whispers with its perfumed breath, Thou art my sun. And the grain in a thousand fields rustles in the wind, and makes answer, Thou art my sun. So God sits effulgent in heaven, not for a favoured few, but for the universe of life; and there is no creature so poor or so low that he may not look up with childlike confidence and say, My Father, Thou art mine. (H. W. Beecher.)
God is above all
When Bulstrode Whitelock was embarking, in the year 1653, as ambassador for Sweden, he was much disturbed in his mind, as he rested at Harwich on the preceding night, which was stormy, while he reflected on the distracted state of the nation. It happened that a good and confidential servant slept in an adjacent bed, who, finding that his master could not sleep, at length said, Pray, sir, will you give me leave to ask you a question? Certainly. Pray, sir, dont you think that God governed the world very well before you came into it? Undoubtedly. And pray, sir, dont you think that He will govern it quite as well when you are gone out of it? Certainly. Then, sir, dont you think you may trust Him to govern it properly as long as you live? To this last question Whitelock had nothing to reply, but, turning himself about, soon fell fast asleep, till he was aroused and called to embark.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 6. One God. Not gods many, but one God…
6. One God. Not gods many, but one God for all; “The Father of all, above all, through all, in all.” Meyer, upon this passage, says that the elements of church unity are: (1) The church itself constituted as a unity: One Body, one Spirit, one Blessed Hope. (2) The means by which this united church is built up: One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism. (3) Over all one Supreme Ruler, the God and Father of all. Bishop Pearson, on the creed, notes “Points of Unity of the Church.” He enumerates, (1) Unity of the Head; (2) Unity of the Spirit dwelling in it; (3) Unity of hope; (4) Unity of faith; (5) Unity of ordinance for admission; (6) Unity of the one Father; (7) Unity or organization, one Body.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.