Question: Why is God called the Father?

Answer: God is called the Father because He is the instigator of all life. When we refer to Him as Father, we are acknowledging that He is the Creator.

God refers to Himself as Father in many passages of scripture. In Psalm 89:26, God is speaking about David. - ”He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.’”

God wants His people to call Him father, which is obvious from Jeremiah 3:19 where God speaks again. - …”you shall call Me, ‘my father,’ and shall not turn away from Me.”

Here are some other references that address God as father. –

Isaiah 63:16 - Doubtless You are our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: You, O LORD, are our father, our redeemer; Your name is from everlasting.

Isaiah 64:8 - But now, O LORD, You are our father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and we all are the work of Your hand.

Jeremiah 3:4 – Will you not from this time cry to Me, “my father, You are the guide of my youth?”

Malachi 1:6 - A son honors his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is My honor? and if I be a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, that despise My name. And you say, Wherein have we despised Your name?

Malachi 2:10 - Have we not all one father? has not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

Jeremiah 31:9 - They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

Isaiah 9:6 - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 is a reference to the Messiah, who is described as the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace. God Himself is never referred to as a prince, so here we see the union of God the Father in the prince, the Messiah. - God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19).

Jesus also referred to God as Father multiple times in the New Testament, even calling Him the Hebrew equivalent of “Daddy” - “Abba” in Mark 14:36. –

And He said, "Abba, Father, all things are possible to You; take away this cup from Me: nevertheless not what I will, but what You will."

So we can see from the bulk of scripture, that calling God Father is not only an acknowledgement of Him as Creator, but it also reveals God’s desire to have His children address Him as Father and have an intimate parent/child relationship with Him.

Romans 8:15 -For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:6 - And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:7 - Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Copyright 2022 by H.D. Shively

Questions and Answers | Cafe Logos Homepage