God the Father: Eternal, Personal, Supreme

Series: God the Father: Knowing the First Person of the Trinity

The Father: Not a Role, But an Identity

The Scriptures never portray the name “Father” as a mere analogy or borrowed term—it is who God has always been. Long before time began, before angels praised and before humanity walked the earth, God was Father. This isn’t something He became. It is who He is.

God the Father is not an optional theological extra or a softening of divine transcendence. He is the First Person of the Trinity, eternally begetting the Son and sending forth the Spirit. His name reveals His nature: eternal, personal, and supreme.

Eternal: The Father Has Always Been

Psalm 90:2 declares:

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.”

The Father is not created. He has no origin. He is the uncaused cause, the beginningless One who begets the Son not in time, but in eternity. In theological terms, the Son is eternally begotten—not made—and thus the Father has always been the Father.

Jesus affirms this in His high priestly prayer:

“Father, glorify Me in Your own presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.” (John 17:5)

God has always been relational, never solitary. There was never a moment when the Father existed apart from the Son and the Spirit. His Fatherhood is not a role taken on at creation—it is His very essence from eternity.

Personal: The Father Is Relational

God is not a force or a principle. He is personal. He thinks, speaks, chooses, loves, disciplines, gives, and receives glory. As Father, He exists in eternal relationship with the Son and Spirit.

Jesus consistently addresses God as “Father” throughout the Gospels—not as a distant deity but as the One with whom He shares perfect fellowship. In John 10:30, He says:

“I and the Father are one.”

And in John 14:31, He declares:

“I do as the Father has commanded Me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”

This relational dynamic is not a hierarchy of worth but a harmony of roles. The Father sends the Son (John 3:17), the Son obeys (John 6:38), and the Spirit proceeds from both (John 15:26). The Trinity is a communion of love, and the Father is the fountainhead of that eternal love.

Because the Father is personal, He can be known. Not fully—He is infinite—but truly, through the Son. Jesus reveals the Father (John 1:18), and by the Spirit we are drawn into fellowship with Him.

Supreme: The Father Rules Over All

God the Father is not only eternal and personal—He is supreme in all things. He is the Creator (Gen. 1:1), the Sustainer (Matt. 6:26), and the Sovereign Ruler over all creation.

Ephesians 1:3–6 lifts our eyes to this truth:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ… He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world…”

Everything that exists flows from His will. He planned redemption, appointed Christ as Savior, and now calls all His children to Himself. His providence is not theoretical—it’s intensely practical. Every detail in the believer’s life is ordered by the Father’s hand.

And His sovereignty is not cold or distant—it’s fatherly. He disciplines those He loves (Heb. 12:6), provides daily bread (Matt. 6:11), and hears every prayer (Matt. 6:8). To be under His rule is to be under His care.

Implications for Worship and Faith

To confess God as Father means more than acknowledging His title. It reshapes how we view every aspect of our faith:

1. We Worship a God Who Is Relational by Nature

God was not lonely before creation. He didn’t make us because He lacked love or fellowship. He is love (1 John 4:8), eternally satisfied in the communion of the Trinity. This means His love for us is not needy—it’s overflowing grace.

2. We Trust in His Unchanging Sovereignty

Because He is eternal and supreme, nothing surprises or overwhelms Him. The same God who planned redemption before the world began (Eph. 1:4) governs our present with wisdom and care.

3. We Relate to Him as Adopted Children

The personal nature of the Father invites us not just to serve, but to know Him. Through Christ, we receive the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15).

4. We Find Security in His Supremacy

No earthly crisis dethrones the Father. He reigns. And because we belong to Him, our future is secure—even when the world is not.

Rejecting the Distortions

Some have misunderstood or distorted the doctrine of God’s Fatherhood—reducing it to sentimentality or reshaping it through the lens of broken human experiences. But God is not the projection of fallen fatherhood. He is the perfection of it.

He is not harsh like a tyrant, weak like a permissive parent, or detached like a stranger. He is just, holy, loving, wise, and attentive. He is the Father we were made to know.

Conclusion: Behold Your Father

In a culture filled with confusion about identity, authority, and love, the doctrine of God the Father offers anchor and clarity. He is not a construct, not a metaphor, and not an impersonal force. He is the eternal, personal, supreme Father—source of all things and center of all truth.

To worship Him is to embrace reality. To trust Him is to rest in His rule. To walk with Him is to enjoy the privileges of adoption. Through Christ, the Son, we come to the Father—and find joy in the One who has always been.

“To the only wise God, be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.” (Romans 16:27)