God the Father, Mentor's Guide, MG06

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G O D T H E F A T H E R

God as Father The Goodness of God

Welcome to the Mentor’s Guide for Lesson 4, God as Father: The Goodness of God . The overall focus of the God the Father module is to understand in the first segment the manifold wonder and blessing of God’s goodness to us. In a way completely opposite the definition of the Greek notion of “the good” as a kind of ethical ideal, the biblical view grows out of a sense of the personal self-revelation of God as one who is kind and gracious, and who concretely demonstrates that goodness to all creation. Scripture wholeheartedly affirms that YHWH is both good and does good to all his universe, (1 Chron. 16.34; Ps. 119.68). The goodness of the Lord is associated with his very name (Ps. 52.9), all his promises (Jos. 21.45), his gracious commands and gifts (Ps. 119.39; Rom. 7.12; James 1.17), and all of his works as he shapes and oversees all of history for his own purposes (Gen. 50.20; Rom. 8.28). The very creation itself was fashioned in light of his goodness (Gen. 1.31), and in all of his great acts of redemption and salvation he proves himself to be good to his people. For instance, he was good in his liberation of Israel from Egypt (Exod. 18.9), and good in his drawing them back to himself after the return of a remnant from captivity (Ezra 7.9). Furthermore, God’s goodness is intrinsic to himself, being demonstrated in his deliverance of his saints (Ps. 34.8), to the very salvation he provides to those who believe in Christ (Phil. 1.6). In a very real sense, God alone can be designated as truly good (Ps. 14.1, 3; Mark 10.18). In this segment our intent is to give the students a working outline of the biblical understanding of God’s marvelous goodness expressed in his moral attributes of his perfect moral purity, absolute integrity, and unbounded love. The goodness of God’s perfect moral purity is expressed through his holiness, righteousness, and justice, while the goodness of his integrity is displayed in his genuineness, veracity, and faithfulness. Finally, we will see how the goodness of God’s eternal love is seen in his benevolence, grace, mercy, and persistence. In the second segment we will look at the severity of God against the backdrop of his goodness. We will explore the wrath of God against all ungodliness and evil. In the Old Testament, God’s wrath is manifested against sin and injustice (Num. 11.10), against idolatry (Ps. 78.56-66), and against those who reject and resist his good, perfect, and acceptable will (Deut. 1.26-46; Josh. 7.1; Ps. 2.1-6). A day is yet to

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