I Believe in God the Father

There have been many books written about the Fatherhood, and the Father-Heart of God in recent years. As Christians we have come to take it for granted that God is our Father but we must ask the questions:

What do Christians mean when they say that God is their Father?
Is the concept of the Fatherhood of God uniquely Christian?
How does the Fatherhood of God affect the knowledge that God is also Almighty ?

What do we mean by Father?

There is more than one way of understanding the word "Father".

It is possible for a man to be the cause of the birth of a child yet have nothing more to do with the child. Such a man is still technically a father. This sense of the word may be defined as "paternity".
Paternity can go a stage further. A man can be a father in the sense described above and also remain in touch with the child. He may be at home helping to bring up the child. He may teach the child wrong from right and reward and punish the child according to the way in which the child responds. This has often been portrayed as the way many Victorian fathers acted. But all of this may be done without affection or love. The father does "his duty" but no more.
The true father, however, loves his child and continually cares for him. As well as teaching right and wrong he teaches love by his example. He still rewards and punishes but even the punishment is done in love in order that the best may be given to the child. The love this father gives is not in name only - it is in action. He lifts up the child when he has a fall, he holds him close when he is upset and he goes looking for him when he is lost. Love and care are, at all times, the over-riding principle of this man's role as father. This is true Fatherhood.

The Christian Concept of the Fatherhood of God.

He is Father because he is Creator . The Bible starts with the words "In the beginning God created . . ." (Gen. 1:1) and goes on to declare that God "created man in his own image" (Gen. 1:27) . So God has a clear paternal claim upon us. He brought us into being. In that sense, at least, he is Father.
He is Father because he sustains us. God's role as Father goes way beyond mere paternity. Like the second father-figure mentioned above he not only brought us to birth, he also teaches us right from wrong, he is there to provide for our needs. He is "YHWH Yireh", The LORD who provides. Indeed, he goes further than merely providing for he also blesses. His blessings are "new every morning". The Psalmist said, many times, "His merciful kindness endures forever". (Ps. 136) God does not merely correct and sustain us, he pours out love upon us beyond measure.
He is Father because he makes us his children. John says "to all who received him, (Jesus) to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become Children of God". (John 1:12) Jesus brought to us a whole new understanding of the Fatherhood of God. Those who believe in Jesus are miraculously brought into the family of God and are called Children (or sons) of God. This is the same relationship with God as Jesus enjoys. Paul says "he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ." (Eph. 1:5) He also says, "We are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ." (Rom. 8:17) Perhaps one the most beautiful pictures of this relationship is expressed in the words "you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him (the Holy Spirit) we cry ' Abba , Father.' " (Rom. 8:15)

Other thoughts

Before this article gets too long to read I will finish it with two other questions which must be answered elsewhere.

If God is our Father, is he also our Mother ?
Does the fact that God is Almighty affect the fact that he is our Father?