Where does the Bible talk about God as Father? 

The Bible passages below can be used in sermons, prayers, pastoral care, or worship planning focused on God the Father. 

• Exodus 4:22, God as Israel's parent (tell Pharaoh that the Lord says "Israel is my firstborn son") 
• Deuteronomy 32:6, father who created (how do you repay your father who made you?) 
• Psalm 68:5, father of orphans (God is father and protector of the vulnerable) 
• Hosea 11:1, father of Israel (out of Egypt I called my son whom I love) 
• Malachi 2:10, father of all (all have one father, God, who has created us) 
• Matthew 6:9, Our Father in heaven (the Lord's Prayer) 
• Matthew 6:26, caring father (God takes care of the birds; does he not take care of you?) 
• Matthew 7:11, generous father (if you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father give good things) 
• Mark 1:11, father of Jesus (a voice came from heaven: You are my Son)
• John 1:18, father seen only by the Son (no one except for Jesus has seen God) 
• John 5:17-18, father of Jesus (because Jesus called God his father, the Jews wanted to kill him) 
• John 17:11, Jesus prays to his father (Holy Father, protect them so that they may be one, as we are one) 
• Romans 8:14-17, heirs of God (we are children of God) 
• 1 Corinthians 8:6, father and creator (through God the Father everything exists) 
• Galatians 1:3-4, God our Father (according to the Father's will we are saved) 
• Ephesians 4:4-6, one God and Father (God the Father is in all and through all) 
• 1 John 3:1, loving Father (what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God) 

Sermon ideas about God the Father 

Sermons on God the Father can examine four ways in which the Bible reveals God's fatherly character: through creation, adoption, care, and relationship to Christ. 

Revealed by creation 

According to the Bible, God's fatherly character is revealed by creation. God is its architect and generator. Parts of creation remind us of God, especially where creation is beautiful, powerful, graceful, or mysterious. God's creation of human beings in the image of God adds more: Now we see created beings with stewardship, communal relationships, and capacity for righteousness. At their best, human beings may be saints — that is, people who make God believable. 

Revealed by adoption of Israel 

Again, according to the Bible, God's fatherly character is revealed by his adoption of Israel as a covenant partner. Israel is God's firstborn. According to the matchless account in Hosea 11, God raised Israel as a toddler, forming so intimate a bond that later, when Israel became corrupt, God simply cannot act toward Israel out of anger. After all, God had taught Israel how to walk, had bent down to Israel and fed her, had lifted Israel up to his cheeks. Like a parent, God's heart keeps going out to Israel. 

Revealed by providential care 

Sermons on God the Father can also point out that God's fatherly character is revealed by God's providential care for creatures — for human creatures, and especially for vulnerable human creatures. The Bible says God is "father of orphans and protector of widows." In fact, God is fierce in requiring justice from Israel toward four oft-mentioned vulnerable populations: widows, orphans, resident aliens, and the poor. Lapses in such justice are prominent causes of God's indignation. God hates mistreatment of the vulnerable. 

Revealed in relationship to Christ 

In the New Testament, God's fatherly character is revealed by his relationship to his only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is equal with God, in the form of God, the "exegesis" of God, who bears "the exact imprint of God's very being" (Philippians 2:6; John 1:18; Hebrews 1:3). The Son as well as the Father is a being deserving of worship (Hebrews 1:6, Revelation 5:14). Jesus Christ is his father all over again. 

A note about language 

The idea and title of God the Father may inspire love and trust in people raised by wonderful fathers, but fear and loathing in people raised by awful fathers. Parents, pastors, and other witnesses to the faith need to bear this constantly in mind, pastorally adapting their language about God for their audience. 

Similarly, because father is a masculine title, many Christians will call attention to the mothering images of God in the Bible. For example, in Isaiah 66 God promises to comfort Israel as a mother comforts her child, and in Job 38 the sea bursts from God's womb and God gives birth to the frost and the ice. 

Still, the title father is deep in scripture and faith. Jesus taught his followers to pray like this: "Our Father in heaven." Christians do not generally wish to correct Jesus. The creeds, following suit, testify to faith in God, the Father almighty. God's fatherhood may be pastorally qualified, but it can't be wholly bracketed or erased. 

Excerpts about God the Father 

Following are sample excerpts from Zeteosearch.org sermon resources about God the Father: 

• "The younger son believes erroneously that he is owed the gifts of his father and the older son thinks he has to earn them. If we see the constant gifting of God towards ourselves, we can avoid both these errors. We can avoid thinking that either his love or forgiveness are owed or for sale." Article about Scripture by Thomas Hardy from Homiletic and Pastoral Review  

• "But in God the Father we do not deal with a human authority figure or with a creature weakened by passions and sins as we are. Instead, we deal with a Divine Father Who gave His only begotten Son that all who believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Like the father in the parable, God the Father is not out to punish sinners or to collect a debt. Instead, He is eager to forgive, eternally waiting for us to return so that He can restore us to the dignity and glory for which we were created as his sons and daughters." The Love and Mercy of God the Father: An Orthodox Homily on the parable of the Prodigal Son by Fr. Philip LeMasters from Ancient Faith Ministries

• "Yet we have the example of God the Father, and we can parent in love flowing from our identity as Christians, representing God's reputation and embodying God's character." Scripture Meditation or Sermon by Heather Moffitt from Faith and Leadership