“I Believe in One God the Father”: How God’s Power and Providence Shape Your Life
Scripture Reading: Romans 8:18-25
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth
Preached by Pastor James Huenink • Lent • Readings: Isaiah 46 • Romans 8
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
We are doing a series on the Nicene Creed during this season of Lent. Last week, for Ash Wednesday, I introduced the idea of the Creed — why it was written, what it’s for, and how the Nicene Creed helps to fend off the various heresies it was written against. We talked about a number of heresies that American Christians still hold according to surveys, and how if they simply confessed the Nicene Creed every Sunday, they wouldn’t.
Over the next few weeks we are going to take the Nicene Creed and break it down section by section, all the way up until Easter Sunday. Today we cover: the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and all things visible and invisible. Next week we will look at the person and nature of the Son — how he is both God and man. The week after, his work on earth. Then his return for judgment. After that, the person and work of the Holy Spirit. And finally, for Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday, we will take up the one holy, catholic and apostolic Church, one baptism for the remission of sins, and the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come — which fits Easter rather well.
Lenten Series: The Nicene Creed
God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth (today)
The Person and Nature of the Son
The Work of Christ on Earth
The Return of Christ for Judgment
The Person and Nature of the Holy Spirit
The Work of the Holy Spirit
The Church, Baptism & the Resurrection (Good Friday – Easter)
Not a Distant God
When many people imagine God the Father, they picture him making the heavens and the earth and everything visible and invisible — and then retreating to his white robe and puffy beard, floating on clouds far above us, looking down and saying, “Oh, isn’t that nice.” But that is not who our God really is.
Our God is a God who is intimately involved in every aspect of creation. Both of our readings today — Isaiah 46 and Romans 8 — make this clear. God is the one who brings about all things. He holds power over life, history, events, and everything in the world. Every cloud, every rain shower, every plant growing — God is behind that. And not just creation’s beauty: he is also behind every disaster, every earthquake, every disease, every missed opportunity, every fire. God is there with his might and power behind all of them.
I can see by some of your faces that this is not a comfortable thing to think about. But here is why it is actually good news: if God is behind all of that, then it is still part of his plan. It is not outside his control. It does not happen against his will. It happens as part of it.
“We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.”— Romans 8:28
God Feeds Us Through Vocation
One of the great gifts of our Father and creator is that he provides for all of creation — not just spiritually, but in body and soul. And one of the remarkable ways he does this is through what we call vocation: every human being is called to a task, to care for the creation and the people God has placed around us.
Think about the soups served at tonight’s meal. Someone had to grow the vegetables. Someone harvested them, brought them to a store, processed them. Someone worked to earn money to buy them, brought them home, and cooked them. Every single person in that long chain is, in a sense, working for God. Every one of them is a small part of the great, cosmic story God is telling — which means that every person living faithfully in their daily tasks, whether paid or unpaid, family or community, is living in God’s purpose.
God feeds and clothes and cares for you through the people in your life. And only God could arrange it all. I certainly don’t have the ability to manage my own week, let alone the complex web of supply chains that go into making one simple chicken and broccoli soup. Only God could do that.
And God feeds you not just in body, but also in soul — through vocation again. God appoints a church with pastors, servants, and preachers of the gospel to share the message of Jesus Christ. This vocation is no different from any other vocation, except that instead of giving you food for your body, it gives you food for eternal life. Through Word and Sacrament, God gives you the grace of Jesus Christ in your daily life. He provides for both body and soul.
The Purpose Behind All of History
But God’s almighty power does not just interact with your daily life. His might and power are also at work guiding the course of history itself. All of history, all of creation, every motion, every joy, every catastrophe — God is there, and it is all part of his plan.
God has promised us through Christ that all of creation is moving toward the culmination of history: the day that Jesus returns to raise us from the dead and judge the living and the dead. That is why Paul can say:
“The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”— Romans 8:18
Our Father has given all of creation a purpose — to arrive at the day of that glory, when Christ returns and we see with joy his coming and our own resurrection. Paul tells us that not just we, but all of creation is yearning and groaning for that moment: the adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. This is the moment the Father has planned for all his people.
And so we can trust this heavenly Father, who loved us so much that he sent his Son Jesus to die for us. Because we know that whatever he does today, tomorrow, or the day after that — his purpose will be fulfilled in Christ. On the day of the resurrection, we will see him again and live forever.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.