The idea of God as "Father" originated with the Exodus out of Egypt. When God called Israel out of Egypt he called him as a son.
When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.--Hosea 11:1
When Jesus gave his disciples the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 there was nothing new or radical about referring to God as "Our Father." It is important to note, however, that the title denotes a covenant relationship. Only God's children by covenant are invited to call him "Father."
To our God and Father--he is God by nature and God over all, but he is Father by covenant to his children.
And just as the Christ hymn in chapter 2 describes the humiliation and the exaltation of Christ and the culmination of redemptive history when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. . . .
So Paul ascribes glory to our God and Father at the end of his letter.
But before Paul ends his letter he drops this little bombshell: All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household.
As for why this is such a bombshell and its significance to us as 21st century Christians I invite you to listen to the audio recording linked below. There is a lot more to this concluding section of the book of Philippians than meets the eye. Take a listen and be blessed.
(This concludes the verse by verse exposition of Philippians. There were 29 of them and you will find them all linked here in this blog. Our next series on Wednesday nights will be a verse by verse exposition of Galatians.)
Click here: Philippians 4:20-23
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