The Nature of the Father - Part 2 — Gayle Erwin

The Father's Compassion and Mercy Revealed in Exodus

Last time we were together, we looked at the nature of the Father as viewed through the nature of Jesus. We went into those Old Testament passages where God revealed himself, tied his glory, which is the essence of his being, and his name, which is the essence of his being, together, revealed himself in Exodus 34, especially verse 6, as the compassionate and gracious one who is slow to anger, who abounds in mercy, abounds in faithfulness, extends mercy to thousands, forgives wickedness, forgives rebellion, forgives sin.

And we discovered that this punishment is for those who hate him. We discovered in Deuteronomy some rather joyous passages for those of us who follow him, some disturbing ones for those who don't, actually.

But the beautiful thing is, this that we see here is for those of us who follow him. It's too good, isn't it? It's just too good. But that's the way God is. He's just too good. It's like one of my little grandsons, the youngest of my grandsons, his mother was telling me yesterday when he was holding his plate out for some food, and she said, how much you want?

He says, too much. And I look at the nature of the Father, and he says, how much do you want? And I say, too much, because that's precisely what it is. Now, tonight, we need to bring this into the New Testament, tie it all together, so you can see how beautifully Jesus fulfills this nature of the Father.

Jesus as the Complete Revelation of the Father

Now, I didn't mention last time we were together, but I will in this particular session, that this is also the core of Yahweh's style, my newest book, whereas some of our other sessions were the core of the Jesus style.

When you go to the first chapter of John, you hear the scripture telling us some glorious things about Jesus. In John 1 14, it says, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Now, we see some clues already, don't we? But we keep reading in verse 16, and of his fullness, in other words, of all that he is here, we have all received, and grace for grace. In other words, we received grace after grace from him, or blessing after blessing, because, this is verse 17, for the law came, or was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

So, Jesus takes this that you see, wraps skin around it, and becomes the complete revelation of God. Paul makes that rather clear, when he is describing Jesus, and says, in him was the fullness of the Godhead bodily God, but, in other words, everything he was in Jesus, this that the Father was, he takes and wraps skin around it, so that we can touch him.

Ah, what an awesome thing. But, now that we know, and we talked quite a bit about what it meant for this to be the definition of his name, but I want us to see where it is also incredibly used as the definition of his glory.

The Glory of the New Covenant and Transformation

Go with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 3, beginning with verse 7. Even as I read this, you will catch the connections. It'll be almost unnecessary for me to explain. That doesn't mean I won't explain, but it'll almost be unnecessary.

It begins this way, in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 7. But, if the ministry of death was written and engraved on stones, or written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses, because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away.

In other words, it was fading away, this glory that we saw on his face. How will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. In other words, no glory in comparison with this excellent or excelling glory. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.

That's not there, it just ought to be. Every once in a while when I'm reading, I can't help it, it's like, wow. Verse 12, therefore, since we have such a hope, now what is that hope? That we have a greater glory, or an excelling glory, which doesn't fade away.

We use great boldness of speech, we're bold people, unlike Moses. In other words, we are not like Moses, and those are key words. Who put a veil over his face, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away.

Isn't that sad? Moses was fading away. It's sad to see that. I can see him as he comes down from that mountain. The people are all excited, they see him there. Look at that, that's our leader, man. He's been with God.

Look at his face. Moses, Moses, Moses. No chance. The next day they get together. There he is, our leader, man. He's been with God. Look at his face. It's a little dimmer than yesterday, but it's still pretty good.

Moses, Moses. Third day they get together. There he is, man, our leader, the man with the dimming face. Now can you hear, can you hear the rumors beginning? I wonder what's happening to Moses. He seems to be fading, wouldn't you think?

Now I don't know what might be going on, but I have some ideas. Can you hear the rumors beginning? But remember it says, we are not like Moses, unlike Moses. Those are key words. He was fading away, but we'll see what's happening to us.

But their minds were blinded, for until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.

Nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the next two verses that I'm going to read, I plead with you to commit them to memory. They're two of the most awesome verses in the New Testament.

I think you'll see why. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty or freedom. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image.

Now folks, notice this is passive. It's happening to us. I'm not doing it. God is doing it. We are being transformed into his likeness, into that image. Such a deal. From glory to glory. Do you see this?

We're going from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord, it is he who is doing this. Oh, let me explain. Some time ago, I was part of a group of ministers in the L .A. basin who would meet about every six weeks, men of all different denominations.

One time when we got together and had said our hellos, one of the men, a dear brother whom I loved, began to weep. He said, fellas, is there anything you can do to help me? He says, I've had a problem in my life for 10 years, and it's still there.

He says, I thought I had done all the right things, prayed all the right prayers, but it's still here. Is there anything you can do for me? And even as he spoke, we all nodded our identification with him.

When he finished, for some reason or other, they all turned and looked at me. Erwin? Yeah? How do you deal with this? I said, well, fellas, I'll just have to be honest with you. I've discovered that I'm powerless to change myself.

I try, and I can't. It's like my problems are a cage of wild dogs back there, and if I decide I'm going to tackle that one, just that decision is like throwing beefsteak to him to make him strong for the fight.

It's like if I decide that I'm going to deal with my weight, the whole world turns into food. I said, the only thing I have discovered is this verse. I keep the veil pulled, and he shines his glory down on me.

I expose myself to him. Here I am, God, I need you. And he shines his glory. He doesn't say, I was waiting on this, Erwin. No. But he shines his glory down on me, and I find myself being changed into his likeness.

I said, I like it. I don't give much credit, but I like it. Let me explain it another way. I have a weakness, and I hesitate to tell you this, but I think you'll be gentle with me. Chocolate-covered raisins.

Now, I know you're in shock, but sometimes when my wife sends me to the grocery store for milk, I get the cart, and I know where the milk is. I've been there before. I can see it even. But there's something about that cart that pulls me down an aisle I didn't need to go down, and when I get to where those delicious things are, I say to them, I don't need you.

I've got you conquered. That's why I came down this aisle. I just wanted you to see how conquered you are. So there. And I go, and I get the milk, and I put it in the basket. That's a straight shot to the checkout counter.

I've been there before. I can see it. I know where it is. But there's something about that cart that pulls me back down that aisle I didn't need to go down, and when I get to where those delicious things are, I look at them, and I say, I don't need you.

I have got you conquered. In fact, that's why I came back down this aisle. I just wanted you to see how conquered you are. So there. In fact, I'm going to show you how conquered you are. I'm going to buy you and not eat you.

Well, I get home, and my wife says, what's this? I say, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I sit, and I look at them, and I say, see, I've got you conquered, man. I don't need you. That's why I bought you and brought you home.

I just wanted you to see how conquered you are. In fact, I'm going to show you how conquered you are. I'm going to open you and only eat one. Well, when I finish the package, I'm sick, and I hate myself.

And the next three trips to the grocery store, I don't even go down that aisle. And then on the fourth trip, does this sound familiar? Is there any hope for me? Not in myself, only in him. I have to say, here I am, God, right now.

I need you. Here I am. And you keep yourself. Don't wait till next service. Don't wait till next week. Don't wait till next year. Don't hope there's a mighty move of God somewhere yet. But right now, here I am, God.

And he shines his glory down on me. And I find myself being changed into his likeness, his image, with ever-increasing glory. I love that. From glory to glory. The beautiful thing about that, well, it's a little embarrassing.

I was so arrogant. I'm pretty good now, but I was really arrogant once. I thought that by the time I was 30 years old, I'd pretty much have life conquered. I'd be about as holy as they come. But you see, now that I'm 31, see, the problem with being older is the older you get, the more you know yourself.

And the more you know yourself, the more you want mercy. And God says, I've arranged for it. And I've arranged for it in greater amounts, Gail, because I knew you'd need it. Now can you see why I want you to memorize this?

Seeing the Glory of God in the Face of Christ

And what his glory does for us? Well, there's another revelation just down the road here. Stay where you are, but go down to the fourth chapter of 2 Corinthians and the sixth verse. Listen to this. A revelation from last week.

If you recall, God said to Moses, he said, I will cover you with my hand and let you only see my back. So to me, this represents the back. But now let's see what happens in the sixth verse of 2 Corinthians 4.

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. No more back. Now we see him face to face.

Wait a minute. That'll kill you, won't it? Well, someone had to die so we could see him face to face. This is awesome. This is awesome. Let me back up just a bit, too, because this veil also has some very symbolic meaning for us.

You're all acquainted with the veil that hung between the holy place and the holy of holies where the mercy seat was, the ark covered by the mercy seat. That a high priest could only go in once a year, and when he went in, he had better be sinless or he would die.

So that made being priest just a little edgy. And so what they would do is they would, you know this story, they would sew bells around the bottom of his robe and they would listen as he went in to see.

And if it were me, they would have been probably shaking. And if they quit shaking, oh man, he's dead. Someone go get him. Not me. So they would attach a rope to his leg and play it out as he went in.

And if the bells quit, oh man, he's dead and they'd pull him out. But that veil was an awesome separation between God and man until Jesus. And when Jesus hung on that cross, there was this cosmic lightning bolt from heaven that must have struck the top of that thing.

It was split from top to bottom, not bottom to top. That would be man's doing, but top to bottom, God's doing. And suddenly everyone was in the same room with the mercy seat. Wait a minute, that'll kill you, won't it?

Well, somebody had to die so that we could be in the mercy seat area. And there we are. And that's why we can now come boldly before the throne of grace. And it's speaking specifically of that mercy seat to find grace to help in time of need.

Now I'm telling you this because recently I've heard some teaching, and I understand where they're going with it, and I appreciate where they're going with it, but there's just one problem with it. It's some teaching on worship that says what we need to do is to design worship around the Old Testament temple so that we begin with a certain kind of song out here in this outer court, and then we sing another kind of more intimate song in this next court until finally we come to the holy place, and there we sing a certain kind of song that now will open the veil so we can go into the holiest place.

Folks, that's sewing the veil back up. That's what they did after this veil was ripped. They sewed it back up. How sad. And when I hear people trying to sew it back up today, my heart breaks. When I'm in sessions where people think that that's the way you have to approach the Lord, I feel sorry for them because on the first song I'm in the mercy seat area.

They are too. They just don't know it. They've got their backs turned toward it coming in this direction, I think. So don't sew the veil back up. Don't sew it back up. We're there. Let us come boldly, frankly, before the throne of grace.

The law came by Moses, grace and truth by Jesus Christ. Well, then we have an interesting thing happening. We're not quite through because we've got an unresolved problem, and Jesus, I'm going to quote something from him, and it'll add some tension to our session.

The Divine Name and Jesus' Identity

You recall this set of letters here, Y-H-W-H, pronounced approximately, which they've lost centuries ago. And so they replaced it in the Old Testament with the capitalized word Lord. And it's a replacement word, not actually a translation word at all, just simply a replacement word.

It's a fairly recent word that we have been using, or Jewish people might say Hashim or the name. And now Jesus comes along and he says, in essence, from now on, guys, you can ask him my name and I'll do it.

Wait a minute. God says this is the name he's chosen to be known by from generation to generation or from now on. What is Jesus up to? Is he trying to do an end run around God? Is he trying to pull a fast one?

And he says, hey, fellas, you can use my name from now on. Well, what is he trying to do? Fasten your seatbelts. You're aware by now, of course, that his name was not actually Jesus. That's the way we kind of squeeze it through the Greek.

His name was actually Joshua. Well, it wasn't actually Joshua. That's the way we anglicize his name. So we really can sort of put a line through those. His name was actually Yahshua or a modern Orthodox Jew would probably say Yeshua because he's kind of afraid to even attempt to speak the name, which means Y-H-W-H saves.

So he has restored his name to us in Jesus. Can I prove that? Elementary, my dear Watson. In John, Jesus says before Abraham was, I am. He was doing two forbidden things there. First of all, he was even speaking the name.

It was forbidden to do that. And second, he was ascribing it to himself. That's why they took up stones to stone him there. Ah, another interesting place in the 17th chapter of John, as Jesus begins to pray in what we call a high priestly prayer to the father relative to his own who are following him.

He prays an amazing thing. He says, as he speaks to the father, verse six, I have manifested your name or made known your name to the men whom you have given me. Verse twelve, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name.

Or as one translation puts it, I have made your name known to them, the name you gave me. And his name was given by the father. So Jesus not only fulfills it, but he was named after the father that resolves our problem.

Y-H-W-H saves. Awesome. So he wasn't trying to do an end run around God. In fact, this unlocks some other things for me that I dearly love. When Jesus was coming into Jerusalem on that day we call Palm Sunday, what was the crowd shouting at him?

You remember? Hosanna. You know what Hosanna means? Literally Y-H-W-H save now. The answer was riding on the donkey. Y-H-W-H saves. Hosanna, Yahshua. Hosanna, Yahshua. Y-H-W-H save now. Y-H-W-H saves.

And then they said, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. Awesome. This resolves some things about my praying. Jesus says, ask in my name. Now, when I was growing up, no, no, no, I've never grown up.

When I was young, I always thought those words in the name of Jesus were magic words. You put them on the end of every prayer and it made it valid. Made it work. Didn't matter what you prayed. You could pray, kill him Lord, in the name of Jesus.

And if you forgot it, it meant you ruined the whole prayer. But that's not the way it works. Here, let me explain. Suppose that I were to say, well, I'm going to steal this sound system because Kay told me to do it.

You say, get out of here. She wouldn't tell you to do that. Well, that's the point. If I'm going to do something in her name, I have to do it the way she would do it or else it's not in her name. And if I'm going to do something in the name of Jesus, it doesn't mean just using the word.

It means I've got to do it the way he would do it or it's not in his name. Even if I use his name, can I prove that elementary, my dear Watson, Matthew chapter seven, you've all read this. Jesus speaks of those who would say, but haven't we done many mighty works in your name, cast out demons in your name.

And yet he would say, depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you. You mean you can do things in his name and it's still not be in his name. That's exactly what he is saying. One of my favorite chapters, it has some hilarious things in it is Acts chapter 19.

You'll, you'll discover if you read it right. It's hilarious. There are the seven sons of Siva, sort of the psychic wonders of their day. Remember them? They, along with some others who had been doing some rather remarkable things, see Paul doing things they had never seen before.

And I can see them as they watch him closely to discover, how does he do this? And then they hear it. He has a formula in the name of Jesus. That's it. Okay, guys, we've got it. We have the formula. Now, can you see these seven men, the seven sons of Siva?

They're going to test it out. And so they get themselves a demon possessed man. And can you see these seven men lined up now? Okay, fellas, we got it. Remember? Remember? In the name of Jesus, right? Okay, okay.

Ready, guys? Okay. Demon, we tell you or adjure you in the name of Jesus. In case you don't know which one it is, it's the one Paul preaches, okay? Come out. What happened? Well, he didn't exactly come out.

Well, maybe he did, but just far enough to beat the tar out of these seven men. And they were running away, screaming, and naked and bleeding. But they used the name. But you see, they didn't do it in his name.

Do you understand what I'm saying? So if I'm going to pray in his name, then my prayer must be a compassionate and gracious one, slow to anger, abounding in mercy, abounding in faithfulness, extending mercy to thousands, forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.

Or it is not in his name, even if I use his name. It resolves some other areas of the Scripture for me. You've heard and read where two or three are gathered in my name. There I am in the midst of them.

Have you ever been in a place that had his name over the door, but you just couldn't seem to find him inside? Did it ever bother you? It has bothered me until I understood this. Just because I put a name over my door, his name over my door, doesn't mean that I have met in his name.

Not until I meet around compassion, grace, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and faithfulness, mercy to thousands, forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Then I have met in his name, and he is there.

Just calling myself this doesn't do it, but meeting in his name. Now I understood and had a resolution to an old baptismal formula problem that exists in some areas of the church. There are those who, in dwelling on Acts 2 .38, where Peter instructs them to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of their sins, and they would receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Dwell on that and say, aha, that means that you're to be baptized in Jesus' name only. And those people will take Jesus' admonition to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit and say, well, the name of the Father is Jesus, the name of the Son is Jesus, the name of the Holy Spirit is Jesus.

I think they missed the point. You see, first of all, if I'm being baptized in the name of the Father, what am I being baptized into? Compassion, grace, slow to anger, abounding mercy, abounding faithfulness, mercy to thousands, forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.

If I'm being baptized in the name of Jesus, what am I being baptized into? Into compassion and grace and longsuffering, into mercy and faithfulness, into mercy to thousands, into forgiveness of wickedness, rebellion, and sin.

If I'm being baptized in the name of the Spirit, what am I being baptized into? I'm being baptized into compassion and grace and longsuffering and abounding mercy and faithfulness, mercy to thousands, the forgiveness of wickedness, rebellion, and sin.

And I say, now, where's the problem? It just doesn't exist anymore. Another area that I began finally to understand, Jesus, in response to a request of the apostles, taught them how to pray. He said, here's the way you're to pray.

The Father's Nature as the Pattern for Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Suddenly, I saw it. Yes, here he describes his name. And when I honor and, oh, I do this, I begin to say to him, I want to honor your name. And I honor you because you are the compassionate.

When I honor you because you are the one of grace and you are so longsuffering. And I talk to him and honor him for being this and tell him how he is as I view it in my life. I honor him because he abounds in faithfulness in my life and extends mercy to thousands to thousands generation.

And, oh, the forgiveness he has given me, I'm overwhelmed by it and I honor him for it. Now, there is some teaching I have heard that, and I think the guy's on to something when he's talking about the Lord's prayer, but he misses this entirely.

And he just goes to the Jehovah-dashed, Jireh, Nisi, and Rophi, and so forth. And that's okay, except that most of those names God did not assign to himself. This is his specific assignment to himself.

And though they are good, most of them are just our reaction to him. That would sort of be his acts, whereas this is his ways. And when you know this, then you know how he's going to act, pretty much.

So when I march through this, by the time I get down to the bottom of this forgiveness passage, I am just raring to go. I'm ready to pray the next part of that prayer that says, thy kingdom come. Now, that's a very personal thing that says, I want you to dominate me.

I want you to be king in my life. And when you know this is what he's like, you definitely want him to dominate your life. And when you know this and you've said that, you're ready for the next part. Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.

Now I can pray much better because I know what his nature is like, I have a better idea of what his will would be like, and I can pray accordingly. Oh, this unlocks another passage, a couple of other passages.

James reveals to us, he says, you have not because you ask not. He says, you ask and don't have because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your own lust. You see, God has no stake in a prayer that violates his very nature, that just says, gimme gimme, I want, I want.

But he does have a stake in a prayer that fulfills this. And then in 1 John 5, about verse 14, 15, 16, right in there says, this is the confidence we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

And we know that if he hears us, we have the petition we desire of him. Oh, it changed everything for me. I can see now what God was up to. The more I know him, the more I understand him, the more powerful prayer becomes.

I am praying in keeping with who he is. It's no longer a wrestling match with me and God, but it is cooperating with his plan because I know his nature. And then you end that prayer with this glorious statement, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.

Jesus' Exalted Name and the Glory of the Father

Amen. Now I understood better why that Philippians passage that we studied much earlier in our series, in Philippians chapter 2, verses 9 through 11, therefore God has raised him up, or exalted him, and given him the name that is above every, at whose every knee shall bow in heaven and earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

You know, I fall in love with Jesus over and over. I really do. It's overwhelming to me. He helped me see the Father in ways that I so enjoy. I think, oh Lord, this is too much. This is too much. This is, this is knowledge that people would kill to get.

It's so good just to know you, just to see you, just to touch you, and to know that you are not divided. You're very unified. And what you are in the Old Testament, you are in the New Testament also. Well, I saw a few other things.

I'll just read you a few scriptures here that I think speak well of his name in Colossians 3 .12. Paul tells us to put on bowels of, and you know that they didn't mean bowels like we know bowels today.

It meant to just sort of surround yourself with or clothe yourself with, although, you know, come to think of it, maybe he was saying this is something that you need to do regularly. But he says in a sense to put on or to clothe yourself with, and you go down that list, starts with compassion.

And you discover that in essence what he's doing is saying clothe yourself with the very nature of God. And then in verse 17 we hear him saying this, and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Hebrews chapter 6 verse 10 says,. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you've shown toward his name, in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. In first John 3 .23, and this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his son Jesus Christ and love one another as he gave us commandment.

Revelations 2 .13, and of course this is just pulling out this one little passage because there was a problem at this church. He says, I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is, and you hold fast to my name and did not deny my faith, even in the days in which Antipas was my faithful martyr who was killed among you where Satan dwells.

Now I understand better why it says there is no other name given under heaven among men whereby we might be saved. My heart cries out, blessed be the name of the Lord. Oh, oh, got to tell you this, got to tell you that.

The Mark of the Beast and the Name of the Lord

You're certainly aware of what the mark of the beast is, right? You're also aware that it is a name, and that's interesting, a name. And it's to go in rather symbolic places on the forehead or the back of the hand, very symbolic.

The forehead, representative of your highest powers, your ability to judge, to think clearly and make decisions. The hand, the symbol of strength, the ability to make a living. That's why they would pray, if I forget thee, Jerusalem, may my hand be cut off.

Serious prayer. Now without it, you'd not be able to buy and sell or to get and gain. It sort of has to do with greed almost. Sometimes I think we have some forms of it already, but Revelations also tells us that there will be a day when he will place his, the Lord's name, in our forehead, and we will see his face.

Oh, that thrills me. Then, with his name in my forehead, I'll have to think maybe I won't even be able to be something other than this, where now I have to sometimes struggle to be this. Then it would be automatic.

What a glorious expectation. With John, my heart cries out, hurry up, Lord. And in the meantime, blessed be the name of the Lord. If you haven't yet taken his name on you, now's a good time to do it. Prayer rooms are open for you, where those who love you will be delighted to pray with you and for you and introduce you to the one whose name is above all names.

Immediate Surrender to God's Mercy and Grace

No one else in the whole world can do this for you. God said he wouldn't share his glory with any flesh. Your spouse is not wired to be this. Your job is not wired to be this. Your money is not wired to be this.

Only God can provide this for you. So don't try to turn to anyone but him. Don't seek it anywhere else. Why prolong your joys? He longs to place his name on you. Oh, blessed be his name. Father, you're so good.

Your thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Your ways are higher than our ways. Your ways are beyond finding out to us mortal men unless you reveal them to us. And you've done it. You've done it in Jesus.

Thank you. And with a very delighted heart, I say to you, I'll gladly follow him. I'll gladly live for him. And as you enable and strengthen us, we will do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving glory to you through him.