Hello Reader,

Do you ever struggle with just how to pray? I've written elsewhere about the value of praying the psalms, but Jesus himself has given us a model and pattern for prayer. However, we can often struggle with this prayer, too. For some of us, the familiarity of the prayer means the words slide from our lips without our hearts being moved. For others, the language of the prayer itself can be a stumbling block.

As I have been working hard on translating Ursinus' The Body of Doctrine, I paused in my work on the Apostles Creed in order to translate the entire section on the Lord's Prayer. I shared a little bit on the nature of prayer in the last issue, but I wanted to share more about the Lord's Prayer through Ursinus' reflections on Q120. This is a first draft, so I appreciate your grace. As you will see below, the Catechism provides a great entryway into thinking well about the Lord's Prayer, but Ursinus' treatment (and answering of objections) deepens our appreciation of Jesus' gracious invitation for us to pray, "Our Father."

At Peniel Press, we believe that Good Theology is Good Discipleship. My hope and prayer is that reading Ursinus' reflections below will deepen your life of prayer. If someone shared this issue of Theological Footnotes with you and you would like to receive it in your own inbox, you can sign up by clicking here.

Praying "Our Father"

Question 120: Why does Christ command us to call God, “Our Father”?

Answer: At the very beginning of our prayer, Christ wants to kindle in us a reverence and trust toward God that is fitting for the children of God and should be the foundation of our prayer, namely, that God through Christ has become our Father. Just as our earthly father do not deny us earthly goods, our Heavenly Father will much less deny us what we ask of him in true faith.a aMt. 6:9-10, Lk 11:11-13

Exposition

There are three parts of the Lord’s Prayer: the beginning, the petitions, and the closing.

The beginning is “Our Father who is in heaven.” This has two parts: 1. Calling upon the true God — “Our Father.” 2. His description — “who is in heaven.” Christ taught us to begin our prayer this way, because God wants to be called upon with due honor and reverence. This honor consists in: 1. True knowledge. 2. Trust. 3. Obedience. Obedience includes true love, fear, hope, humility, and patience.

Our Father: God is our Father, 1. on the basis of our creation. “Who was the son of Adam, the son of God” (Lk 3:38). 2. On the basis of our redemption and reception into grace through Christ the Mediator. Christ is the only-begotten and natural Son of God. We are by nature children of wrath, adopted as children by God for the sake of Christ. 3. On the basis of our sanctification or regeneration in Christ by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, God want us to call him Father, 1. That we truly know and call upon him, the true God, who is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2. That we truly know him, who, through and for the sake of the Son the Mediator, adopted us as children, when we were his enemies. “I am ascending to my Father and your Father” (John 20:17), who regenerates us by the Holy Spirit and gives us everything we need. 3. That we revere him, so that true reverence is kindled in us. Since God himself is our Father, we behave in way that is fitting of his children. We have the same kind of reverence for Him as children should have for their fathers, especially since we are freely adopted and unworthy of God’s gifts. 4. That we trust him, so that we grow in confidence that we will be heard and that God will give us all that we need for salvation. Since God, whom we call upon, is our Father, and indeed loves us so much that he gave his only-begotten Son to die for us, how will he not, in him, give us everything we need for salvation (Rom. 8:32)? 5. That we remember our creation. God will hear only those who pray in this way, for only in them do his gifts achieve their purpose.

Objection 1: We are told to call upon the Father. Therefore, we do not call upon the Son and the Holy Spirit. Answer: We reject the conclusion, because when something is attributed to one person of the Godhead, it is not therefore removed from another person of the Godhead. When the name Father is used to refer to God, as opposed to creatures, it refers to the divine essence. When the name Father is used as opposed to another person of the Godhead, it refers to the divine person. In this instance, the name Father refers to the divine essence, and the reasons are clear: 1. Because the name Father is not placed with another person of the Godhead, but is opposed to creatures, in naming whom we call upon in prayer. Thus, in Isaiah, Christ is called the father of eternity, or of the ages (Is. 9:6). 2. Because when one person of the Godhead is named, the other persons are not excluded, when speaking of external works. 3. We cannot think of God the Father except in the Son, the Mediator. The Son has made us children by the Holy Spirit, who is therefore called the Spirit of adoption. 4. Christ commands us to call upon him: “If you ask for anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13). 5. Christ gives the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we are to ask for the Holy Spirit from him.

Objection 2: Christ both is called and is our brother. Therefore, he is not our Father. Answer: As he is human, he is our brother. As he is God, he is our Father, Creator, and Redeemer. “He is the everlasting Father” (Is. 9:6).

Objection 3: He who receives us into grace for Christ’s sake is not Christ himself. Answer: He who receives us into grace for Christ’s sake is not Christ himself, that is, in the same respect. Christ, insofar as he is the Mediator, is the one for whose sake we are received, but, insofar as he is God, he is the one who receives us.

Our Father. Why does Christ not command us to say my Father, but our Father?

1. To awaken in us confidence that we will be heard. We do not pray alone, but the whole church prays with one accord. God does not reject the prayers of the whole church, but hears them, according to the promise: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (Mt. 18:20).

Objection: Christians often pray at home when the church in unaware of it. Answer: The godly, and the whole Church, always pray both for themselves and for all the members with affection and longing. Love and longing are habitual qualities, remaining even when you sleep. It is not a passion that passes away quickly. Therefore, even when you pray alone at home, the whole church prays with you with affection.

2. To encourage us to mutual love. Having received the gift of mutual love, Christians should pray for one another. With these words at the opening of the Lord’s Prayer, Christ encourages us to mutual love: 1. Because without a true love of neighbour, there is no true prayer, nor can we know that God will hear us. For if we come to God without having the children of God as our brothers and sisters, then God will not have us as his children (1 John 4:20). 2. Because without a true love of neighbour, there is no true faith. Without faith there is no true prayer. “Whatever is not of faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23).

Objection: A father should not withhold anything from his children. Yet, God withholds many things from us. Therefore, he is not our Father. Answer: A father should not withhold anything from his children that is necessary and beneficial for them. A father should withhold from his children what is not necessary, useless, and harmful. God does this for us, when he gives us all the spiritual and physical goods that are necessary, useful, and beneficial for us.

New Youtube Videos

I added two more videos to my series teaching the basics of Christian Doctrine through the Heidelberg Catechism. You can subscribe to my channel to get regular updates, or check them out below.

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Writing Updates

I have blown past my goal of 100,000 words for the year and sit at 131,250 as I write this. I am so thankful for the encouragement and support through all of this.

My main writing goal is to continue working through translating The Body of Doctrine. I should have the whole Lord's Supper section completed (draft 1.0) by some time next week. The hope is to pause translation and work on editing it so that I can release it as a standalone ebook. I want you to be able to grow deeper in prayer without waiting for the whole book to come out (which make take a few years).

Thank You

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From the desk of

Stephen C. Shaffer

Author, Pastor-Theologian

​www.penielpress.com

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