The Bible has a great deal to say about God the Father. Here is an overview of some of the key things the Bible teaches about the Father:
God is the eternal Father
God has eternally existed as the Father. He did not become a Father when He created people or saved people – He has eternally existed as Father, Son and Spirit in perfect loving relationship (Ephesians 1:3-6). This means God’s fatherhood is essential to who He is.
God is the Father of all humanity
God is the Father and Creator of all people. Every human being is His offspring, created in His image (Genesis 1:26-27, Malachi 2:10). As Father, God loves all people, provides for their needs, and desires relationship with them (Matthew 5:45, Acts 17:24-28).
God is the covenant Father of Israel
God had a special Father-child relationship with Israel in the Old Testament. He chose them, redeemed them, disciplined them, and taught them as His children (Exodus 4:22-23, Deuteronomy 1:31, 8:5, 32:6). This special relationship pointed forward to the intimacy He would have with all His people through Christ.
God is the perfect Father
Unlike imperfect human fathers, God is the perfect Father. He is eternally loving, all-wise, all-powerful, and absolutely trustworthy. He knows what is best for His children and His plans are flawlessly good (Psalm 145:17, Romans 11:33-36).
God is an intimate, caring Father
God is not distant or detached. He has deep affection for His people and is intimately involved in every detail of their lives (Psalm 103:13-14, Matthew 10:29-31). He comforts them, guides them, provides for them, and protects them as a loving Father (2 Corinthians 1:3-4, Psalm 23:1).
God disciplines His children
God disciplines believers as a Father, for their good, to make them share in His holiness (Hebrews 12:5-11). His discipline flows from love and is carefully calibrated for the benefit of each child.
God wants His children to obey Him
As Father, God desires His children to obey Him. Obedience brings blessing, while disobedience results in discipline (Deuteronomy 28, Luke 15:11-32). God does not spoil His children – He trains them in obedience for their good.
God wants intimate relationship with His children
The Bible often depicts believers as God’s children and God as their Father. God created people for intimate relationship with Himself. Through Christ, Christians are adopted into God’s family and enjoy unhindered access to their Father (Galatians 4:4-7, Ephesians 1:5, Hebrews 4:16).
God cares about the needs of His children
Jesus taught His followers to pray to God as “Our Father” and ask Him for their daily needs, just as children ask a parent (Matthew 6:9-13). God promises to supply all His children’s needs according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:19).
God works through fathers on earth
Human fathers represent God’s fatherhood on earth (Ephesians 3:14-15). God designed the family with earthly fathers and gave them responsibility to raise children in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). When fathers fail, it deeply wounds children.
God sent Jesus for us
The ultimate demonstration of God’s fatherly love is in sending Jesus to die for our sins (John 3:16, Romans 5:8). Through Christ’s sacrifice, God welcomes believers as justified sons and daughters into His eternal family (John 1:12-13).
Jesus reveals the Father
Jesus makes God the Father known to us (John 1:18). By seeing and knowing Jesus, we see and know the Father, because Jesus perfectly reveals His nature (John 14:7-11). Jesus’ intimacy with the Father shows us what a relationship with God should be.
God adopts us as His children
When a person trusts in Christ, God graciously adopts them as His child (Ephesians 1:5, Romans 8:14-17). This is an incomprehensible privilege. The holy God makes sinful people His heirs, giving them eternal life in His family.
The Father gives the Holy Spirit
God gives the Holy Spirit to indwell His children when they believe (Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 1:13-14). The Spirit enables Christians to know, love and serve God as His children. He also testifies to believers that they are God’s children.
God will welcome us into His eternal home
At the return of Christ, God will welcome His children into their eternal home to live with Him forever (Revelation 21:1-7). Eternal life means perfect, unbroken relationship with God the Father, Son and Spirit.
We are to live as God’s children
As God’s dearly loved children, Christians are called to imitate Him and live holy lives (Ephesians 5:1-2, 1 Peter 1:14-19). Our conduct should reflect our new identity in Christ as children of God.
We are to depend on our Father
As God’s children, Christians should look to their Father to provide for their needs, guide their choices, determine their values, and model their conduct. We are to live in childlike dependence on and devotion to God.
We should love and honor our Father
Loving and honoring God should be the highest priority for Christians (Matthew 22:37-38). He is infinitely worthy of all our affection, loyalty, obedience, and service. We honor God by obeying His commands.
We are to enjoy relationship with our Father
Our relationship with God should not be viewed as mere duty. It is the joy and privilege of children to experience their Father’s love and enjoy close relationship with Him (Psalm 16:11, Luke 15:31-32).
We are to pray to our Father
Believers have the amazing privilege of coming to God in prayer as children coming to their Father (Matthew 6:9). We can pour out our hearts to Him knowing He hears and cares deeply about what concerns His children.
We are to trust our Father
As God’s children, Christians should fully trust their Father in every situation. He is working all things together for their good according to His perfect will (Romans 8:28). His plans can be trusted even when we don’t understand them.
We will inherit our Father’s kingdom
At the return of Christ, God will give His children the inheritance of His eternal kingdom (Matthew 25:34, 1 Peter 1:3-5). As adopted heirs, Christians will be glorified and reign with Christ over the new creation.
In summary, the Bible presents God as the perfect Father – eternal, loving, all-powerful and all-wise. He desires intimate relationship with His children. Through Christ, sinful people can be adopted into God’s family as His beloved sons and daughters and enjoy eternal life as His heirs. This relational framework is key for understanding how God relates to human beings.
