I don’t recall reading a scripture which says we have to call God “the Father,” though as we shall see, the “children of God” should call God their father. Before we consider that, let’s read Matthew 28:18-20: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20). I quoted this passage to show us the though there is ONE GOD, there are THREE PERSONS in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All three Persons are EQUAL in nature (love and holiness) and in their Divine attributes (Omniscience, Omnipotence, and Omnipresence). So, we could call them God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Now let’s read 1 Corinthians 8:4-6: “Therefore, concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is NO OTHER GOD BUT ONE. For even if there are so-called gods, whether is in heaven or on earth (as there are many gods and many lords), yet for us there is ONE GOD, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live” (1 Corinthians 8:4-6). Here too we learn that there is only ONE GOD, yet this passage teaches us the Father is called GOD, and the Son is called LORD. Why? Because God the Father is the SOURCE in CREATION and in REDEMPTION, for He is the one who planned the creation of the world, and He also planned the work that His Son would do to offer redemption to fallen sinners so they could be a “new creation” (2 Corinthian 5:17). God the Son is the AGENT in CREATION and in REDEMPTION, for God used Him to create all things (John 1:1-3; Ephesians 3:9; Colossian 1:15-17) and He was the one who accomplished redemption on the cross (Ephesians 1:7 and 1 Peter 1:18-20). Those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior become “children of God” so we should call God our Father. We see this truth in Romans 8:15-16, “For you did not receive the spirt of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.’” We see this also in 1 John 3:1, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God.” We call Jesus our LORD because after He died for sinners on the cross God exalted Him and “made Him both LORD and CHRIST” (see Acts 2:36). Someday EVERY KNEE is going to bow and call Jesus “Lord” (Philippians 2:5-11), but today believers gladly call Him “Lord.” In fact, when we are baptized, we own Him as Lord (as we saw in Matthew 28:18-20). We have just seen that when we call God our Father and Jesus our Lord, we are acknowledging that God the Father and God the Son have DIFFERENT ROLES when it comes to CREATION and REDEMPTION, but they are still, as God, EQUAL in nature and Divine attributes.

I will give you a clear scripture where the Apostle Paul recognized these “different roles.” In Romans 1:7 he said, “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Two verses later he simply refers to God the Father as God: “God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son.” But there are other ways to address God the Father (see Ephesians 1:3, 17; 3:14). We can conclude that believers, as children of God, will normally call God “our Father” but we are not wrong to refer to Him as “God” or in the other ways that the Apostle Paul (and others) referred to Him.  (DO)  (711.1)