When the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth and began His formal ministry, the kingdom of God came in another sense and was closer. In Christ it was among mankind. Thus, Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is among you.” Now, as His Spirit works in the lives of those who have been given Him by the Father, there is a sense in which the kingdom also comes in men. Thus Paul, who went about "preaching the kingdom of God," defines it in its internal aspects as "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Rom. 14:17). This kingdom comes today whenever and wherever God's righteousness, peace, and joy transform a life and bring the fullness of spiritual blessing. 

What more can we say of our God? Can we say that He is the Way? Certainly, for He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the source of our life, the sustainer of life; He is life itself. He is the light of the world, the bread of life. He is the good shepherd, the great shepherd, the chief shepherd. He is the Lord of hosts: He is the King of kings. 

Let me put this in terms of a question. Do you hallow the name of God? For instance, do you honor Him in His name of Elohim? This is the name that acknowledges God as Creator. It is the third word in the Bible, the name that heads the account of creation. We are told in the passage that "God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth." He was responsible for the sun, moon, stars, and planets. He created the trees and the mountains, the flowers of the field and the plains. He formed all living things. He formed man of the dust of the earth and breathed into him the divine breath of life. Do you honor Him as the one and only Creator?

The opening words of the Lord's Prayer teach us who those are who can pray and what the privileges of access are for them. We say, "Our Father, who art in heaven," implying that God may be approached as a father by those (and only those) who have been reborn into His spiritual family. It is entirely possible, however, that a person might be a member of God's family and know this, and yet know very little about praying. Consequently, six petitions follow, the purpose of each being to instruct us in general terms what we are to pray for and how we are to do it. 

There are not one but two families and fatherhoods in this world. There is the family of Adam into which all men are born. And there is the family of God into which some men are reborn by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. These latter were once children of darkness; they are now children of light (Eph. 5:8). They were dead in trespasses and sins; they are now alive in Christ (Eph. 2:1). They were once children of wrath and disobedience; they are now children of love, faith, and obedience (Eph. 2:2-3). These are God's children. And these and only these can come to God as their Father.