The Name of Father: God’s Self-Revealed Identity

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

In the Gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly calls God His Father. He teaches us to pray to “Our Father.” Paul says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Eph. 1:3). And at the climax of redemption, the risen Christ tells His disciples, “I ascend to My Father and your Father” (John 20:17).

God’s name as Father is not incidental—it is essential. It reveals who He is within Himself and how He relates to His people.

Not a Human Analogy, But a Divine Identity

When modern minds hear “father,” we often think in human terms—biological, emotional, or social relationships. But God is not called Father because He copies human roles. Rather, human fatherhood is patterned after divine reality.

Paul says, “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named” (Eph. 3:14–15). God is not like a father. He is the Father—and earthly fathers are faint reflections of Him.

Before the creation of the world, before angels sang or galaxies spun, God was already Father. He did not become Father when He made mankind or adopted the redeemed. He was Father eternally—because He eternally had a Son.

Eternally the Father of the Son

This is the heart of Trinitarian theology. God the Father is not Father because He created, but because He eternally begot the Son. Jesus said:

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

Theologians speak of the “eternal generation” of the Son. This mysterious but vital truth means that the Father has always been Father, and the Son has always been Son—coequal, coeternal, yet eternally distinct.

This matters. It means that God is, by nature, a relational being—not solitary, not abstract. From eternity, He has existed in love and communion.

As 1 John 4:8 declares, “God is love.” But love requires another. God the Father has always loved the Son, and this love flows from His very being.

Father Revealed in the Old Testament

Though more veiled than in the New Testament, the Fatherhood of God is not absent from the Old. He is called the “Father of Israel” (Deut. 32:6; Isa. 63:16). He nurtures, disciplines, and delivers His people. But this fatherhood is largely metaphorical and covenantal—rooted in redemption and relationship.

The full unveiling of God’s name as Father comes only through the incarnation of the Son. Jesus brings us into the eternal relationship He has always enjoyed.

Father Made Known Through the Son

In John 14:9, Jesus says:

“Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.”

He doesn’t mean the Son is the Father (that would be heresy called modalism), but that He perfectly reveals the Father. No one knows the Father except the Son—and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him (Matt. 11:27).

This is why Jesus’s constant prayer address is “Father.” It is why the Lord’s Prayer begins, “Our Father in heaven.” And it’s why the cross was not just an act of divine justice—but also of divine Sonship. The Son obeys the Father, honors the Father, glorifies the Father—even unto death.

The Father in the Apostles’ Proclamation

The apostles did not move away from the language of Fatherhood. It permeates their writings. Peter blesses “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:3). Paul describes the gospel as rooted in the Father’s plan:

“He chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4).

The Father is the source of every blessing (James 1:17), the one who adopts us (Rom. 8:15), disciplines us (Heb. 12:6), and welcomes us home (Luke 15:20–24).

Why This Name Matters Today

In a world of distorted views of fatherhood—absent fathers, abusive fathers, disinterested fathers—God’s name is a healing truth. He is not a projection of our broken experiences. He is the original. He is holy, just, faithful, compassionate, and wise.

To know God as Father is to know the One who initiates salvation, who plans redemption, who adopts the orphan, who loves His Son, and who loves all who are united to His Son.

It is not sentiment—it is identity.

Responding to the Father’s Name

How should we respond?

1. With worship– Knowing God as Father should move us to praise Him for His love and wisdom in planning our salvation.

2. With reverence– He is “Our Father in heaven,” deserving honor and awe.

3. With obedience– Like Jesus, we are to do the will of our Father (Matt. 12:50).

4. With comfort– In suffering, we run to the Father who knows, sees, and cares (Matt. 6:8).

   
   

Conclusion: Not Just a Title, but a Treasure

The name “Father” is not a soft alternative to “Judge” or “Lord.” It is not a metaphor tacked on for human understanding. It is who God is in Himself—eternally and immutably.

To know God as Father is to begin to grasp the depths of divine love, relationship, and grace. It is to hear the heartbeat of the Trinity. And it is the foundation for the Christian life.

“See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God—and so we are.” (1 John 3:1)