This question might seem redundant to some, but I am simply following what is clearly given in Ephesians 4:6: “One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Someone may want to question whether or not Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, is called “God the Father” in Scripture. To my knowledge there is no place in Scripture that Jesus is called “God the Father”, rather we hear Him using the term: “My Father” in John 5:17: “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work”. There are numerous other references in which Jesus speaks of “His Father”. This, of course, does not mean that Jesus is any less “God” than is the Father, but it does show a position that Jesus took, at least on earth, in which He called on the Father in heaven. The Holy Spirit is God, but He is not called “God the Father”, even though He is co-equal and co-eternal with the Father and the Son. My only reason for going into this is the language used in Ephesians 4:6, which says, “One God and Father of all…”
I am positive that there is much about the Trinity that I do not understand, and should some of you fully understand God as the Trinity, then come and explain your findings to me. I am speaking in jest, for I am well aware that God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) is so far beyond our comprehension of Him that we will no doubt be learning more about Him eternally!
It is clear that Jesus, while on earth, took a position as the “Son of God”, but we do not see that term used of Him before He came to earth, so it could be a term used basically of His life on earth. Certainly, His position as “son” does not mean that He is any less than the Father, or the Spirit, in His eternal existence, but He did take a position a little lower than the Father, or the Spirit, in coming to earth. Philippians 2:5-8 is interesting, and helpful, on our subject: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” So, Jesus did not have to “grasp for equality with the Father”, for He was equal with the Father. Yet He laid aside the free exercise of some of His attributes as God the Son to become Jesus the Savior! Our verses teach us to have the same mind of submission that our Lord Jesus had in coming to earth to die for our sins. No, we cannot pay for our sins or those of any others, but we can submit to Christ, so that He can work through us, as we give the message of His salvation to others. Jesus did not use His position as “God the Son” to make a reputation for Himself, rather He humbled Himself to the position of a servant, being made like us, except without a sin nature.
So, the will of the Father was the driving force of the life of Jesus on earth, and that will of the Father centered around the death of Jesus on the cross for the sins of all mankind! So, we may get a better picture of God as “the Father” from the submission of Jesus while on earth to His Father in heaven! Thus, since Jesus willingly submitted to the Father while on earth, it might be a worthwhile occupation for us to submit to both the Father and the Son, through the power of the Holy Spirit, while we are on earth. After all, God did not make mankind simply for the pleasure that we may get on earth, as we seek to do our own thing. Rather, God made man for His Own glory, and Jesus is the one perfect man, yet still fully God, Who completely did the will of the Father while He was on earth. His example should give us a sufficient pattern to follow, so that we too might better please the Father while we are on earth, even though none of us will do it to the extent that Jesus did, for His surrender to the Father was a perfect surrender. So, this is my thinking of “One God and Father of all, Who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” Of course Paul was speaking only of the saved, when He said, “and in you all”, but the good news is that all others are invited to receive Christ for salvation, so that both the Father and the Son can be in them through the presence of the Holy Spirit in them.
By J. Briggs King, Rainsville, AL (678) 451-0921