Matthew 6:9

Wednesday, 1 January 2025   In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Matthew 6:9   “Therefore, thus you – you pray: ‘Our Father, the ‘in the heavens,’ it be hallowed – Your name” (CG).   In the previous verse, Jesus said that the Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Therefore, rather than focusing on the needs, focusing on other things is appropriate. When these are the main words of one’s prayer, it demonstrates proper priorities exist. And so, Jesus begins with, “Therefore, thus you – you pray.”   The meaning of the word thus is that this is a model prayer, meaning, “in this manner.” However, Luke more precisely says, “When you pray, say...” This would then indicate a repetition of Jesus’ words. Either way, the substance is what should be focused on. Understanding that, He begins the prayer, saying, “Our Father.”   The idea of God as the Father is one that takes on several connotations in Scripture. He is the Father of creation and, thus, humanity. He is the Father of Israel (Exodus 4:22). He is the Father in the sense of love, discipline, sanctuary, and so much more. In this case, Jesus is speaking to His disciples within the context of the community of faith.   This appears more certain based on what it says in John 8 –   “Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.’” John 8:42-47   It is doubtful Jesus would extend His word here to those of Israel who were not truly a part of the community of faith. With that noted, He next says, “the ‘in the heavens.’”   In other words, it is an affirmation that this is not an earthly father. Nor is it a symbolic father, such as a priest (as in Judges 17:10). The words are a prayer to the One in heaven with whom a filial bond exists because of faith. Because of this bond, which rightly calls out for a son to humble himself before his Father, Jesus next says, “it be hallowed – Your name.”   Here, Jesus introduces the verb hagiazó, to hallow, into Scripture. Strong’s Lexicon says the word “means to sanctify or make holy. It involves the act of setting something or someone apart for a sacred purpose or dedicating them to God. In the New Testament, it is used to describe the process by which believers are made holy through the work of the Holy Spirit, aligning them with God's will and character. It also refers to the consecration of objects or places for divine use.”   In this case, it is a hallowing of the name of the Father, treating it with absolute holiness as well as expecting it to be treated in this manner by others. Of this hallowing of His name, some scholars try to insert the idea of the Trinity into Jesus’ words. This does not seem like a sound approach to what Jesus is saying.   The concept of the Trinity, though a valid doctrine in Scripture, was not yet developed at this time. Rather, the term Father is being used as an appellation or designation of God in general. This would be in accord with Paul’s words of 1 Corinthians 8:6, which say, “yet for 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 through whom we live.”   It is true that there is God the Father within the Trinity, but the words here refer to God, the Father of the community of faith. As such, Paul’s words there and elsewhere are not to be taken as a separation between God and Jesus, as if Jesus is not God, but a distinction within the Godhead.   As a way of grasping this, a human government might be considered a fatherly entity. Of it, someone might say, “We have one father (the various branches of authority) ruling over us and one office of propaganda to establish us.” A distinction is made within the government even though the office of propaganda expresses the entirety of the government’s decisions conveyed to the people.   Life application: When discussing the nature of God, or when evaluating statements about God that are recorded in Scripture, care needs to be taken to ensure that we do not stray from what is explicitly expressed elsewhere.   For example, in the Bible, it is explicitly stated that there is a Father who is God. However, it is also explicitly stated that the Son is God and that the Spirit is God. And more, it is clearly seen that the Father is not the Son and the Father is not the Spirit, nor is the Son the Spirit. As these things are explicit, we cannot deny the concept of the Trinity without falling into heresy.   As this is so, then when verses seem to separate Jesus from God (as may be wrongly implied from 1 Corinthians 8 above), we must strive to understand what Paul is saying. Jesus is clearly expressed elsewhere as God and yet He is referred to in addition to God in that verse. Therefore, Paul is teaching us something about the functioning within the Godhead.   It is our duty to accept what the Bible explicitly teaches and then to work within that framework to understand the nuances of words that are affected by those explicit references. When we do this, we will keep from error or outright heresy.   Lord God, we can get easily confused or even led astray by evaluations of Your word that are not in accord with what is clearly revealed. Because of this, we pray that You lead us to sound instruction through teachers and commentaries that are in accord with what is correct. Please keep us from error as we consider who You are and what You have revealed to us in Scripture. Amen.