Our Prodigal (Extravagant) Father-God

Did the Holy Spirit inspire any word pictures in the Bible to help us understand and relate to Father-God? Yes, there are many such stories and parables in the Bible that give us glimpses of His true nature – when viewed through the glasses of God’s abundant Grace instead of the demands of the Law. A classic favorite is what is often referred to as the parable of the “Prodigal Son,” found in Luke 15:11-32. The title itself betrays the fact that we humans are often self-occupied rather than focused on God. Jesus presented this parable to a bunch of self-righteous, fault-finding law-keepers to show just how extravagant is Father-God’s love, mercy and grace. Therefore, a better title would be “The Prodigal Father.”

Are you confused by calling both of them “prodigal?” The term “prodigal” has two seemingly opposite definitions. 

1) A person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way or

2) having or giving something on a lavish scale.

Obviously the first definition applies to the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable and the second definition applies to the son’s father – and by extension, to our Father-God! He is rich in Mercy, loves generously and is lavish in Grace.

Predictably the Pharisees were scandalized more by the father’s actions in the story than by what the two sons did. Why? Because the father seemingly let the situation get out of hand by being supposedly too lenient, rather than being a “responsible” father who strictly enforced the Mosaic Law. (Jesus often faced this same challenge, in principle, like when these law-types threw the woman they had caught in the act of adultery down in front of Him in public.)

So how would a Law-minded Pharisee have told the story – according to what the Law required? Well, when the youngest son asked his father for his own share of his dad’s estate, the father should have (at the very least) refused because it was an insult for a Jewish son to even think of getting any of his father’s estate before his father’s death. It is like blatantly saying “Your stuff is more important to me than you are.” (In spiritual terms, it is idolatry – putting created things above the Creator.) And if the son stubbornly refused to take a “no” for an answer, right then and there, the “correct” thing for the father to do, according to the Law, was to have his disrespectful son stoned to death as an example to other sons in town not to be presumptuous, greedy and rebellious.

Their thinking was “If you don’t control the people with the law, they will become lawless.” However, God gave them the Law to prove that kind of thinking is a lie. The Mosaic Law actually arouses more sin and causes death to in Adam sinners, Romans 7:5. That is why Jesus operated from the higher law of faith in His Father’s love for Him, which engendered love for God and liberty from the world system and the devil’s devices. This “higher” law is contrasted with the Mosaic Law Romans 8:2. The parable was a way to show what happens to sons who are self-focused rather than living consciously in a love-based relationship with their father. Two opposite extremes are presented through the behavior of the two sons: license and legalism.

Both sons were in bondage to “self” but neither knew it nor cared. While the sons focused on their self-centered goals, the father focused on their welfare out of His unselfish love for them. Yes, they were legally related to their father. But their self-focus prevented the sons from seeing their true needs. Just owning his “stuff” in the seen realm could not provide lasting fulfillment or satisfaction because “stuff” is temporary. But they could not grasp that reality unless and until they would come to the end of their stubborn self-centeredness and the self-sufficiency of their flesh. They were their own point of reference, not their father. In the Big Picture, this is really a picture of a born-again Christian who is now a child of God but who is still immature. walking according to his self-centered flesh rather than a mature son who realizes who his Father really is and loves and serves his Dad from a grateful heart.

God’s Way Of Sacrificial Love

But rather than follow the demands of the Mosaic Law, this good father spared his youngest son’s life and gave in to his demands, which probably caused the father great embarrassment and ridicule locally and shocked the older, law-abiding brother. The younger son’s selfish downfall forced him to eat food meant for pigs. In desperation, he “came to his senses” and decided to return home, beg for forgiveness, and ask to be treated as a hired servant. Now, here is where the Pharisees were shocked beyond belief. They expected that the father would stone him or certainly disown him or at least refuse to let his son return home. But no, he did none of that. He didn’t even require him to confess all his sins and promise to “mend his ways.”

Instead, this loving father left his dignity behind when he pulled up his robe and then ran to his son while still far-off, kissed him, and restored the privileges of son-ship that he had legally forfeited. The joyful, grace-based father even threw a party for him which brought to light the older son’s pride in his dutiful law-keeping and hidden resentment for his brother. His relational father was now grieved that his oldest son’s objections proved that he was also self-centered. He neither loved his dad nor his brother. His anger revealed that he, too, was focused on himself and what was in it for him – his dad’s stuff – that was now supposed to be all his. He had worked for his father out of duty, not thankful devotion and love.

Jesus did not tell us what the oldest son decided to do – continue to pridefully create division and discord or change his mind (repent) and be grateful to his loving dad and join the party. But one thing was made clear. Legalism and license are both symptoms of dysfunctional, loveless mind-sets. In contrast, heaven operates on faith, love and liberty which is how God operates and how He graces us to operate, too, as His children. If Father-God or our elder brother, Jesus, were legalists, Jesus would not have come down to rescue us so that we could join their family party in heaven. Everything they did and still do for us is always motivated by Father-God’s extravagant love, just like the parable demonstrated. Jesus correctly portrayed His Father as a loving, faithful and longsuffering giver, not as an exacting, selfish judge like the Pharisees believed Him to be.

Jesus indirectly addressed this common negative misconception about His Father in the following parable from Luke 18:2-8:

There was a certain judge in a certain city, who did not fear God and did not respect man. But there was a widow in that city who went to him, saying, ‘Vindicate me from my adversary.’ Yet he refused to do so for a long time. But afterwards, he said to himself: ‘Even though I do not fear God, nor respect man, yet because this widow is pestering me, I will vindicate her, lest by returning, she may, in the end, wear me out.’ Then the Lord said: ‘Listen to what the unjust judge said. So then, will not God grant the vindication of his elect, who cry out to him day and night? Or will he continue to endure them? I tell you that he will quickly bring vindication to them. Yet truly, when the Son of man returns, do you think that he will find faith on earth?’

If you string all the negatives about this judge together you get a very bleak picture. He was unjust, he did not respect God or people, he refused to do his job for this needy widow and, finally, he reluctantly did what he should have done to begin with only because he feared she would wear him out. Does this sound like a fair description of God to you? Well, I hope not – but it is for many believers who are confused by the elephant of mixture. Why? Because they are trying to obtain from God what He has already provided through Jesus. Ignorance, doubt and unbelief about who He really is, traps them into relating to God as a fickle judge who gives blessings and healing and miracles arbitrarily to some – but not to them.

Eventually, they conclude that “He does not really love me” or “I am not worthy” or “God stopped doing all that when the last Apostle died, centuries ago.” We tend to form our concept of God according to human experience in the seen realm instead of on the whole Gospel of lavish Grace from Father-God through Jesus. It seems easier to focus on the world around me rather than discover and operate from the “word of Christ” that reveals God’s New Covenant realities in Christ, apprehended by faith. It seems easier – until we get desperate when the answers from the seen realm don’t work.

This parable has some parallels to the Israelite’s plight in Egypt, discussed in Chapter Sixteen of the “Elephant book”. When things got really tough, they “cried out to God” who apparently did not come running immediately. They persisted and He eventually raised up Moses. But, at first, Moses tried to save them his way. This cost them 40 years while Moses got his head straight shepherding sheep. (This is about faith and trust in God’s strength, not ours.) Then, those who trusted in God’s direction about putting a lamb’s blood on the door post were spared the death of their firstborn son. Those who followed Moses out of Egypt left healthy, rich and free, all by faith. But later, they failed many faith tests by focusing on the seen circumstances, not on God. It cost the first generation the blessings of the Promised Land. It was theirs by grace through faith but unbelief, not God, kept them out. So it is no coincidence that Jesus ended the parable above by saying:

Yet truly, when the Son of man returns, do you think that he will find faith on earth? Luke 18:8

Most believers think that this refers to Jesus’ second coming and it probably does. But even when Jesus walked on earth, He experienced more unbelief than belief, even among His own disciples. This is even after they witnessed many miracles in the seen realm. Then, even though He told them of His coming death, they did not believe Him. They clung to their hope that He would conquer the Romans instead of His prophetic word to them. Consequently, when He died, their misplaced faith caused them to be fearful and demoralized – until He arose from the dead. Their wrong beliefs were always founded on what they saw, not on what He said. No wonder they often missed it and why we can miss Father-God’s best sometimes too.

Vindicated By Our Just Judge And Merciful Father

Believer, as you increasingly embrace Jesus’ whole gospel of Grace, you will understand that you already have been “vindicated” by Jesus. God judged and defeated the devil through Jesus, removed your sin nature and gave you a new one, now compatible with Him, positioned you in heaven in Christ and He has provided everything you need for life and godliness – just by believing His revelation to Paul, the Fifth Gospel. You reside in the unseen Promised Land of heaven now and the unseen King of all Kings resides in you. What more do you need?

Persistently asking for what you already have or trying to get it through your efforts, produces needless frustration and anger, depression and even despair. It comes from being tromped on by the elephant of mixture instead of from living the butterfly life of dependent faith in God’s love for you that leads to experiencing the liberty of resting in His Finished Work. That is God’s will for everyone because He is not partial to a chosen few. It is God’s enemy who steals the word of Jesus’ whole Gospel of lavish Grace and truth from us and plants weeds of deception and fear and he lies about Father-God’s true nature of Love and mercy.

Misconceptions From Translations

Another source of potential misconceptions about Father-God’s nature and about our new nature in Christ (as well as other key concepts) can come from translations of the Bible that ignore the culture and context of the passage. (I elaborate on this and other causes in Appendix # 12 of the Elephant book.) One of my own misconceptions about Father-God came from a common translation of John 15:1-3:

I (Jesus) am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He removes. And each one that does bear fruit, He will prune, so that it may bring forth more fruit.

Taken at face value, this translation says, in effect, that all believers (branches) are under pressure to “bear fruit” or God “removes” or “cuts us off” from Jesus. Of course, that can only mean one thing – being hell-bent since there are only two kingdoms in the Big Picture. That frightening thought undermines any sense of relational security with Father-God. Of course, it is consistent with the pre-cross time period under the Mosaic Law that Jesus came to fulfill and replace. Simply put, this translation uses words that describe God’s conditional acceptance of the Jews (not me), based on their performance (Galatianism), not on grace. If that was still true under the New Covenant, it would deny Jesus’ Finished Work and nullify His Divine Exchange with us. And that is probably what a lot of law-minded believers still think this passage is meant to convey. The elephant of mixture – Galatianism – is the wrong belief system that is mentally condemning its victims.

How relieved I was to discover that the exact opposite is true – according to the grape-growing practices of the day and the primary meaning of the Greek verb “airo,” which is “to lift,” not “to remove.” It turns out that both definitions (lift and remove) are possible but vinedressers typically do not cut off and remove grape branches during growing season. Why? Because they wouldn’t be able to reap as much fruit as possible – which is the whole reason for having a vineyard. Instead, the vinedresser lifts up the sagging branches, possibly dust or mud-covered etc., and ties each one carefully to the sturdy trellis. This is regarded as “training” the branch, giving it the support it needs to be cleansed by the rain and to yield fruit.

The vinedresser may also prune off unneeded shoots on the branch called succors which waste the energy of the sap in order to encourage more fruit-bearing. That is a description much more in keeping with the merciful, magnanimous heart of our Father-God who sent us the Holy Spirit to sanctify our outer man. Unfortunately, a translator’s ignorance of vine dressing (or his bias about who God really is etc.) can influence the choice of alternative English words for a particular Greek word and, thereby, distort the true meaning of Bible passages. The New Covenant is unconditional and unilateral and eternal. Salvation and all of God’s other blessings are based on our faith in the fruit of Jesus life, not on what we “produce,” otherwise our salvation would be based on the “works of the law” – Judaism.

Next week’s Post will wrap up this 4 Part series exploring who Father-God really is according to the Bible. Enjoy the coming song Launching Our In Faith that expands on how good and trustworthy Father-God has shown Himself to be.