We included the text yesterday which referred to Christ as our Father and our Potter.
It was a prophecy, that Christ, the Messiah, would be called Son; the Son of God:
I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art My Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Psalm 2:7
Before He, God, came down Incarnate to us, Gabriel proclaimed to Mary what was going to happen and we can see all of the shall/t s, including a new Name for the LORD:
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His father David: And He shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of His kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy Thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:31-35
Each time Father is mentioned in the Old Testament, it was referring to the One Who was always wanting to dwell with us, in order to save us from our sins, Christ. e.g. Everlasting Father; Thou art our Father…and Thou our Potter. Christ immediately stepped in and came to a fatherless family to be the Everlasting Father to them, the second Adam, He willingly subordinated Himself and gave all of Himself for the salvation of humanity from their sins. The emphasis on the first born son in any family of the patriarchs and of God’s chosen people was all part of this foreshadowing of the coming One who would save the race from eternal ruin, by providing the opportunity of eternal life - the Son of God, the Son of man.
When Christ came in Person to present the everlasting gospel of the Kingdom on earth He introduced a new Name to humanity:
Father; which He continually used until His ascension -
In order to strengthen our confidence in God, Christ teaches us to address Him by a new name, a name entwined with the dearest associations of the human heart. He gives us the privilege of calling the infinite God our Father. This name, spoken to Him and of Him, is a sign of our love and trust toward Him, and a pledge of His regard and relationship to us. Spoken when asking His favor or blessing, it is as music in His ears. That we might not think it presumption to call Him by this name, He has repeated it again and again. He desires us to become familiar with the appellation. COL 141
So we see that these new Names clarified the new roles of Both of Those Who were involved in the “counsel of peace”; the incredible, selfless plan that our Saviour proposed to save us all from our sins and to bring us back into harmony with the Godhead. This was one of the changes that occurred in order for His perfect plan to be totally successful. They would Both be forever entwined with our race, Christ had also become the Father of our race, because Adam “the son of God” fell into sin, and following the Incarnation, Christ will retain His humanity for eternity; and because of this role change He has sometimes been referred to as the Eternal Son of God.
What can we say to all of this?
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Revelation 5:12,13
