God the Father
Who is God the Father in the Bible?
God the Father is the first person of the Trinity: the maker of heaven and earth, the one Jesus addressed simply as Father, and the one who sends both the Son and the Spirit into the world.
God the Father is how Scripture names the first person of the Trinity — the God who speaks creation into being in Genesis, who reveals his covenant name to Moses at the burning bush, and whom Jesus teaches his disciples to address as "our Father in heaven." The name is not a description of God's appearance or age but of a relationship: he is eternally Father to the Son, and by adoption Father to those who belong to him.
The One God of Israel
The Hebrew Scriptures begin with God creating, and they hold together around a single confession: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4). The covenant name revealed to Moses, YHWH, stands behind the English word LORD in most translations; the more general word Elohim is what Genesis 1 uses of the creator. To Abraham he is El Shaddai, God Almighty, the one who makes promises no circumstance can cancel.
Fatherhood is already there in the Old Testament, though it is used sparingly. Isaiah prays, "But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand" (Isaiah 64:8). Moses is told to call Israel God's firstborn son (Exodus 4:22). David is promised a descendant of whom God says, "I will be his Father, and he will be My son" (2 Samuel 7:14).
Father in the Words of Jesus
What was occasional in the prophets becomes constant in the Gospels. Jesus prays to the Father, obeys the Father, and teaches his followers to begin their prayers with a single word: Father — "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name" (Matthew 6:9). In Gethsemane he uses the Aramaic Abba, the intimate household word, and Paul later says the same word rises from believers by the Spirit.
The Gospel of John presses the relationship hardest. No one has ever seen God, John writes, but the Son has made him known (John 1:18). The Son does nothing on his own but only what he sees the Father doing (John 5:19-23), and on the night before his crucifixion he prays about the glory he shared with the Father before the world existed (John 17:1-5).
The Father in the Letters
Paul writes to Corinth that "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 8:6), and to Ephesus of "one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all" (Ephesians 4:6). James adds: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow" (James 1:17).
Those Who Called Him Father
The Bible is largely a record of people addressing this God. Abraham bargains with him over Sodom. Moses argues with him on the mountain. Hannah pours out her heart at Shiloh. David sings to him and Solomon dedicates a temple to him. Elijah calls down fire in his name and Isaiah sees him high and lifted up. Daniel prays toward Jerusalem three times a day, and Mary answers his messenger with "May it happen to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).
In the New Testament the Father speaks aloud three times — at the baptism of Jesus, at the Transfiguration before Peter, James and John, and in the temple courts in the last week of Jesus' life. Stephen, dying, sees the glory of God. Paul opens nearly every letter with grace and peace "from God our Father."
Related Reading
Follow the thread through The Nativity, The Passion Week, and the people of The Gospels; or read the profile of the Son at Jesus and of the Spirit at The Holy Spirit.
Mentions by Book
- Deuteronomy1
- Isaiah1
- Matthew1
- John11
- 1 Corinthians1
- Ephesians1
- James1
Scripture References
All 17 indexed verses, in canonical order, from the Berean Standard Bible.
Deuteronomy · 1
- Deuteronomy 6:4Partial
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
Isaiah · 1
- Isaiah 64:8Partial
But now, O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
Matthew · 1
- Matthew 6:9Partial
So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
John · 11
- John 1:18Partial
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 5:19Partial
So Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by Himself, unless He sees the Father doing it. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 5:20Partial
The Father loves the Son and shows Him all He does. And to your amazement, He will show Him even greater works than these.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 5:21Partial
For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He wishes.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 5:22Partial
Furthermore, the Father judges no one, but has assigned all judgment to the Son,
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 5:23Partial
so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 17:1Partial
When Jesus had spoken these things, He lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 17:2Partial
For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 17:3Partial
Now this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 17:4Partial
I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
- John 17:5Partial
And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world existed.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
1 Corinthians · 1
- 1 Corinthians 8:6Partial
yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we exist. And there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we exist.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
Ephesians · 1
- Ephesians 4:6Partial
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.
James · 1
- James 1:17Partial
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
Cited as a key verse; added so References, Key Verses and Mentions by Book share one index.